Cannoli Dip
Cannoli Dip is creamy and sweet, made with simple ingredients like mascarpone cheese, ricotta, and powdered sugar with almond flavor and cinnamon, ready in 5 minutes!
Cannoli Dip is one of my favorite no-bake desserts to bring to a party! It’s really quick and easy to make, and always goes fast. It’s the creamy ricotta filling that you love in a classic cannoli, without all of the work to make them. I usually rotate between bringing this and either Cream Cheese Caramel Apple Dip, or Pumpkin Dip in the fall.
This is hands down one of my favorite dessert recipes. You can add mini chocolate chips, chopped pistachios, or orange zest on top. Serve with other sweet treats like gluten free waffle cones broken into pieces, gluten free chocolate cookies, or gluten free graham crackers.
Table of contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Quick and Easy: This recipe takes 5 minutes or less to throw together, and doesn’t require any difficult or confusing steps!
- Gluten Free: Cannoli dip is made with gluten free ingredients, and goes really well with several gluten free cookies and chips for dipping.
- Nostalgia: If you grew up with cannoli at family parties and special occasions, especially if you went gluten free later in life, this brings back the nostalgic feelings!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Mascarpone Cheese. This cheese has a very mild flavor and creamy texture, which adds a lot of creaminess to cannoli filling. This is basically Italian cream cheese.
You can substitute with regular cream cheese instead, but it will have a little more of a tangy flavor.
Full-Fat Ricotta Cheese. This is another cheese with a mild flavor, and is traditionally used in cannoli filling. Whole-milk ricotta cheese adds a creamy and smooth texture to the dip. Use fresh ricotta cheese for the best flavor.
If there’s excess liquid, drain the ricotta first, or use paper towels to absorb some of the excess liquid. If you’re piping this into a cannoli shell, then you really have to drain the ricotta. But the dip is more forgiving.
Powdered Sugar. Also known as confectioner’s sugar, this adds sweetness, and also a fluffy light texture when whipped with the cheese.
Vanilla Extract. This is added for extra flavor, and helps round out the almond extract.
Almond Extract. This is one of the main flavors in this cannoli dip, with a really nice nutty profile. If you don’t like almond flavor, just leave this out.
Cinnamon. A pinch of cinnamon adds a nice flavor that works really well with the ricotta cheese and sugar.
Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips. Miniature chocolate chips are optional, but the chocolate goes really well with the cannoli flavors. You can also use larger chocolate chips, it’s a personal preference.
Kitchen Tools
For this recipe, you’ll need an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer with a whisk attachment.
How to Make Homemade Cannoli Dip
Time needed: 5 minutes
- Whip the cheese together.
In a mixing bowl beat together mascarpone cheese, ricotta cheese, vanilla extract, and almond extract until just combined. On low speed, add in the powdered sugar and cinnamon.
- Mix until stiff peaks form.
Once combined, increase to medium-high speed until the cannoli mixture begins to form stiff peaks. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Decorate and store until ready to serve.
Top with additional mini chocolate chips. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Recipe Variations
- Add a tablespoon of cocoa powder in with the powdered sugar for a chocolate cannoli filling.
- Replace the chocolate chips with chopped pistachios and a tablespoon of lemon or orange zest to get closer to an authentic cannoli flavor.
- If you’d like this to be lighter, try adding whipped cream to the dip. Check out my Easy Mascarpone Frosting for directions on how to incorporate heavy cream into the dip.
Recipe Tip! This dip also pairs well with fresh fruit! Try serving with fresh cut strawberries, apple slices, blueberries, or banana. I like to fill a decorative cutting board with my favorite dippers like fruit, gluten free vanilla wafers, graham crackers, or broken waffle cones. Or use your favorite gluten free cookies.
Frequently Asked Questions
I like to use mascarpone because it helps make the texture more creamy and indulgent, but it’s not part of a traditional cannoli filling. If you can’t find it, you can substitute with more ricotta cheese instead. You can also use cream cheese, which is used in some traditional cannoli filling recipes.
If your cannoli dip is too thin, you may just need to whip it for longer. Turn the mixer on to medium-high and mix the dip for another minute. If this doesn’t do the trick, add an additional cup of powdered sugar slowly while mixing on medium speed.
On the other side, if your dip is too thick, you can add a small amount of heavy whipping cream while mixing until the desired texture is achieved.
Recipe Tip! Dessert dips are perfect for parties because you can make them the night before and store them in the refrigerator to save some time.
More Dessert Recipes
- Homemade Apple Pie Filling
- Pineapple Dump Cake
- Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls
- Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Storage
Refrigerate cannoli dip in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
I don’t recommend freezing this cannoli dip recipe. Ricotta is very high in water, and it can change texture when it’s frozen and defrosted.
Cooking Tips
- You can enjoy this dip immediately, but personally I like to refrigerate it first so it is served cold.
- You can use a whisk, but I always make this with a handheld electric mixer. It’s quick and easy, and works really well. I don’t usually get the stand mixer out for this recipe.
- If you need to drain your ricotta, place it in a sieve lined with cheesecloth or a coffee filter over a bowl. Let it drain in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
If you loved this recipe, be sure to leave a 5 Star review below, and tag me with a photo of your finished recipe on Instagram @Jacqui_DishingDelish!
Best Cannoli Dip Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cannoli Dip
- 8 ounces mascarpone cheese
- 8 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Equipment
- electric mixer
Instructions
For the Cannoli Dip
- In a mixing bowl, cream together mascarpone cheese, ricotta cheese, vanilla extract, and almond extract until just combined.
- On low speed, add in the powdered sugar and cinnamon. Once combined, increase to medium-high speed until the cannoli mixture begins to form stiff peaks.
- Fold in the chocolate chips, and top with additional chocolate chips. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
- Replace the chocolate chips with chopped pistachios and a tablespoon of lemon or orange zest to get closer to an authentic cannoli flavor.
- If you’d like this to be lighter, try adding whipped cream to the dip. Check out my Easy Mascarpone Frosting for directions on how to incorporate heavy cream into the dip.
Nutrition
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I love cannolis! I could eat them all the time! And yes, you do need to have authentic ones to truly enjoy the experience. I use both mascarpone and ricotta and I have to drain mine as it is SO wet. And I sometimes use orange zest but I don’t always have them on hand. I do need to get a set of those fabulous molds but I really like a multitasking toy not a one use mold. This dip looks delicious and thanks for including my oreo dip!
Mm, this looks absolutely delicious! I would love to make this dish for desert for our next family dinner. It’s perfect for fall! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe and instructions!
Thanks so much! 🙂
So the recipe above doesn’t have the chocolate chips as an ingredient. How much would you recommend adding?
Oops! I’ll add those in there. I’d use about 1/2 a cup of the mini chocolate chips, more if you’d like for personal preference. Thanks!
I tried this one for my book club and they loved it!!!
I’ll preface by saying I haven’t made this yet, but I have eaten it, and it was delicious!!! I can’t wait to try making it myself!
Can I use Gluten free flour tortillas instead of corn tortillas? Corn doesn’t seem to go with ricotta.
I’m not sure how the larger tortillas will bake, it would be a trial and error thing to see if they work. If you don’t like the corn tortillas, I would suggest an easy swap with gluten free graham crackers.
I’ve been eating this dip right out of the mixing bowl for the last 20 minutes. I think I’ll just go hide and spend the remainder of the day eating the rest of it. So good.