ricotta
Americannoun
-
ricottas
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of ricotta
1875–80; < Italian < Latin recocta, feminine of recoctus, past participle of recoquere to re-cook. See re-, cook 1
Compare meaning
How does ricotta compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Ricotta is a soft, creamy cheese made from whey. Because it tastes mild and slightly sweet, ricotta can be used in desserts as well as savory dishes. Mixed with garlic and parmesan, ricotta makes a delicious filling for pasta shells baked in red sauce. Italian cheesecakes and sweet cannoli can also be made using ricotta. It's similar to cottage cheese, but it's smoother and sweeter. In Italian, ricotta means "recooked," a reference to the way this versatile cheese is made, by cooking milk whey that's left over from making other cheeses.
Vocabulary lists containing ricotta
Cheesy Goodness
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Pizza, Pizza!
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5th Grade World Cuisine, List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Note: If the ricotta seems especially wet, drain it in a fine-mesh sieve before whipping.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
Mixing ground beef with ingredients like mashed black beans, brown lentils, mushrooms, ricotta cheese or bread crumbs can help cut costs while maintaining flavor.
From MarketWatch ● May 22, 2026
Finish with a generous dollop of ricotta and shower with freshly grated Parmigiano.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
Augmenting a humble cinnamon coffee cake with plush ricotta and floral cardamom.
From Salon ● May 12, 2026
She put ricotta cheese on crackers, frogs’ legs on crackers, bamboo shoots on crackers, and fish killies, still with their heads, on crackers.
From "The Pigman" by Paul Zindel
Ricotta: I find that most store bought ricottas can be very "wet," and in some instances, this can prevent your dough from crisping well, sometimes even turning the whole pie somewhat soggy.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2022
Furthermore, certain ricottas can taste somewhat plain, bland, or tepid on their own, so I advise seasoning your ricotta — nothing other than salt, pepper, and some Parm can really perk up those ricotta dollops!
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2022
The cheeses are mostly intriguing pecorinos and ricottas.
From New York Times ● Oct. 5, 2015
Like many "curd nerds", he got interested when he made his first simple ricottas but it wasn't long before he began building a cheese laboratory in the spare room of his small south London house.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 23, 2011
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
