ricotta

noun

ri·​cot·​ta ri-ˈkä-tə 

-ˈkȯ-

: a white unripened whey cheese of Italy that resembles cottage cheese

also : a similar cheese made in the U.S. from whole or skim milk

Examples of ricotta in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The sauce is a snap to make: just a dollop of ricotta, thinned out with a little pasta cooking water, which gets tossed with the pasta and crisp-tender asparagus spears. —Melissa Kirsch, New York Times, 3 May 2025

Lemony whipped ricotta teams up with sweet roasted beets in this vibrant spring salad. —Wire Report, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2025

Ideal as an appetizer in May, a pea leaf salad comes enriched with herbed ricotta, Tokyo turnips and a Dijon vinaigrette, while Hen of the Woods mushrooms nestle with pearl barley, fiddlehead ferns and sugar snaps. —John Mariani, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025

Menu highlights include the signature raw bar, carving stations, dulce de leche ricotta pancake station, dessert bar and more. —Amy Drew Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Italian, from feminine of past participle of ricuocere to cook again, from Latin recoquere, from re- + coquere to cook — more at cook

First Known Use

1617, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for ricotta

• biota
• iota
• lakota
• nonquota
• chota
• cota
• quota

Kids Definition

ricotta

noun

ri·​cot·​ta ri-ˈkät-ə 

: a soft, white Italian cheese