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Homemade cannoli are one of the most recognizable Italian pastries, known for their crisp fried shells filled with sweet ricotta cream. You often see them in Italian bakeries with chocolate chips or chopped pistachios on the ends and a light powdered sugar dusting. This version follows that classic idea with a Marsala pastry dough that fries up crisp and golden, paired with a smooth ricotta filling flavored with vanilla and optional orange zest. The contrast between the crunchy shell and the cool creamy center is what makes cannoli such a beloved dessert.
Why You’ll Love It
Homemade cannoli are crisp fried pastry shells filled with sweet vanilla ricotta cream and finished with mini chocolate chips or pistachios.
Classic cannoli flavor: The ricotta filling has the sweet dairy flavor most people expect from bakery cannoli. This recipe is easily as good.
Contrasting textures: The first bite breaks through the crunchy fried pastry before you get to the creamy filling inside.
Custom finishes: Chocolate chips or pistachios on the ends give each cannoli a different finish or you can experiment with other garnishes.
Love this delicious recipe? Also try my cannoli cheesecake, cannoli pie, no-bake cannoli cones and this eclair cake.
Italian Cannoli Ingredients
A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
All purpose flour: Forms a sturdy dough that can be rolled very thin for crisp shells.
Granulated sugar: Adds a little sweetness to the pastry dough.
Butter: Contributes flavor and helps the shells brown when fried.
Eggs: Help bind the dough and provide structure.
Marsala wine: Adds depth to the dough and helps create a crisp shell after frying.
Water: Helps bring the dough together and is used in the egg wash for sealing the shells.
Frying oil: Cooks the pastry shells until golden and crisp. You can use canola or vegetable oil.
Whole milk ricotta cheese: Forms the base of the cannoli filling with its traditional dairy flavor. Keeping it chilled helps maintain a thicker consistency.
Heavy whipping cream: Helps smooth the ricotta mixture so it pipes easily.
Powdered sugar: Sweetens the filling and gives it a smooth consistency.
Vanilla extract: Adds the familiar sweet flavor associated with cannoli filling.
Fresh orange zest: Brings a light citrus note that pairs well with the ricotta cream.
Mini chocolate chips: Add chocolate texture inside the filling and on the ends.
Pistachios: Provide a nutty alternative topping for the ends of the cannoli.
Powdered sugar garnish: Dusts the finished pastry before serving.
How to Make Cannoli
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
Mix cannoli dough: Pulse flour, sugar and salt with cold butter in a food processor until crumbly, then add egg yolks, Marsala wine and water and process until a dough forms.
Knead and chill: Press the dough together until smooth, divide into rounds and chill until firm enough to roll thin.
Drain the ricotta: Squeeze ricotta through cheesecloth until most excess liquid is removed.
Mix the filling: Combine ricotta with cream, powdered sugar, vanilla and orange zest, then fold in some of the mini chocolate chips and refrigerate.
Roll and cut dough: Roll the dough thin and cut circles using a round cutter.
Wrap the forms: Wrap each dough circle around a cannoli form and seal the seam with egg wash.
Fry the shells: Fry the wrapped dough in hot oil until golden brown and crisp, then remove and cool slightly on paper towels before sliding off the cannoli molds.
Fill the shells: With a piping bag, pipe filling into each shell from both ends and coat the ends with chocolate chips or pistachios dusting with powdered sugar using a fine mesh strainer.
Substitutions and Variations
Wine swap: Use dry white wine (something like Pinot Grigio) if Marsala is unavailable.
Alcohol-free swap: Use white grape juice with a small splash of white vinegar for acidity.
Citrus change: Replace orange zest with lemon zest or omit it.
Chocolate variation: Use finely chopped chocolate in place of mini chips. Mini dark chocolate chips would be good or you can use milk chocolate or even white chocolate.
Nut garnish change: Almonds or hazelnuts can replace crushed pistachios on the ends, or you could add a melted chocolate drizzle or finely chopped candied fruit.
Gluten-free version: Use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend suitable for pastry dough.
Store bought cannoli shells: Pre-made cannoli shells are a timesaver if you’re pressed for time.
A pinch of spice: Add a tiny pinch of ground cinnamon to the filling recipe.
Serving Suggestions
Appetizers: Begin your meal with a tomato burrata salad or some arancini.
Main dish and sides: Enjoy peposo, manicotti or a seafood lasagna for your main course, perhaps with a fennel orange salad or roasted artichokes.
Dessert and drinks: Pair your homemade cannoli with a glass of homemade limoncello or a pistachio latte.
How to Store
Leftover filled cannoli: Filled homemade cannoli shells can last chilled for 3 to 4 days, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or in an airtight container. It can be kept for up to 5 days but will be pretty soft by then.
Cannoli filling: Refrigerate the creamy ricotta filling in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Cannoli shells: Unfilled cannoli shells can last refrigerated up to 1 week
Freeze shells: Freeze unfilled shells for up to 1 month. Don’t freeze the filling.
Thaw shells: Thaw frozen shells at room temperature before adding the filling.
Top Tips
Drain ricotta thoroughly: Removing excess moisture keeps the filling thick.
Roll dough thin: Thin dough fries into crisp shells.
Seal the edges well: Proper sealing keeps the shells from opening during frying.
Cool before filling: Filling hot shells can soften the pastry.
Italian Homemade Cannoli FAQs
This dough isn’t a pie crust or pizza dough, it’s a pastry dough that has elasticity to it. Rolling out the dough to the necessary ⅛ inch thickness to form the shells takes time, and trying to do so with the entire amount of dough is a workout! Separating the dough before chilling helps streamline the rolling process, which makes cutting the pieces easier.
The ricotta likely contained too much moisture or was not drained enough before mixing.
The shell may still have been too hot or the dough may have been rolled unevenly. You should find the pastry shell slides free when the fried cannoli shells have cooled down.
Possibly. Each pastry bag usually fills about 5 or 6 shells with enough extra to add a little more filling at the ends before dipping in chocolate chips or pistachios. If you still have some left, you can fry another batch of shells or use the filling as a sweet ricotta dessert. It works well as a dip with cookies or fruit, piped into strawberries, layered with crushed biscotti for parfaits, or spooned over pancakes or waffles.
Homemade Cannoli Recipe
Homemade Cannoli
Equipment
- Cheesecloth or Cheesecloth Mesh Bag
- Pot Large or Dutch Oven
- Round Cookie Cutter 3-Inch
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 2 ⅓ Cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ Teaspoon salt
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, diced
- 2 eggs, separated
- ¼ Cup marsala wine
- 2 Tablespoons water
- vegetable oil, or canola oil, for frying, enough for 2 to 3 Inches depth
For the Filling
- 2 Pounds whole milk ricotta cheese, 32 Ounces, dried by cheesecloth or ricotta bag
- 2 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 1 Cup powdered sugar
- ½ Teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ Cup mini chocolate chips
- ¼ Teaspoon orange zest, optional
For Garnish
- ¼ Cup pistachios, chopped
- powdered sugar
Instructions
Make the Dough
- In a food processor place the flour, sugar and salt, pulse a few times to combine. Add the cold cubed butter and pulse a few times until the mixture looks like coarse sand.
- Add the egg and marsala wine and 1 Tablespoon of the water, then pulse again until a dough begins to form, 1 to 2 minutes. It will start to form and come together the longer it’s pulsed.
- Place the dough onto a lightly floured silicone mat and press together.
- Knead the dough a few times until smooth, then separate into 2 large rounds, pressing to a 1-inch thickness.
- Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Make the Filling
- Place the ricotta cheese in the center of a piece of cheesecloth or ricotta strainer bag and squeeze it to remove as much moisture as possible.
- Put the drained ricotta cheese in a large mixing bowl, add the heavy cream, powdered sugar, vanilla, ground cinnamon and orange zest.
- Mix until everything is combined and smooth.
- Fold in ½ Cup of the mini chocolate chips.
- Divide the filling into 2 disposable frosting bags and seal each at the top.
- Refrigerate the filling until the shells are ready to fill.
Prepare the Shells
- In a small bowl, beat one egg mixed with the remaining 1 Tablespoon of water to use for sealing the cannoli shell. Set aside.
- Heat 2 to 3 inches of oil in a large pan or Dutch oven until 325°F, while you roll out and form the cannoli shells.
- Working on one disk at a time, place the dough on a work surface or silicone mat. Roll the dough out with a rolling pin until it is very thin, about ⅛-inch thick.
- Using a 3 ½ inch round cutter, cut the dough into disks. You should get 5 or 6 pieces cut from each half of the dough.
- Repeat with the other half of dough.
- Discard any scraps. Although dough scraps can be re-rolled once, additional rolling can make the shells tougher so I recommend not using them.
- Tip: If you can’t roll the dough into ⅛-inch thickness, get it at least to ½-inch then press out with a cutter, you can then roll that single cut piece to the thinness required, but not too much so the dough doesn’t hang over the sides of the cannoli form.
- Wrap each dough circle around a cannoli form and brush both ends with the beaten egg wash.
- Fold over and set aside to wrap the remaining shells.
Cook the Cannoli Shells
- Add the vegetable or canola oil to a heavy bottomed pot or cast iron pot and heat to 325°F.
- Carefully add each shell with the form into the preheated oil, 2 or 3 at a time, and fry until golden brown, 2 or 3 minutes. Adjust the burner temperature if needed, so the outside doesn’t cook faster than the inside of the shell.
- Using tongs, carefully remove the cooked shells from the oil and set on a paper towel lined tray or plate.
- Once slightly cooled, carefully slide the shell off the mold using a towel or another pair of tongs.
- Set the form aside to cool completely and repeat with all the remaining dough circles. Note: the recommended cannoli form pieces are cut down their center, making it easy to press in that cut area to help twist and release each cooked shell. Just make sure they’ve cooled before handling.
- Once the shells have cooled to room temperature (15 to 20 minutes), they’re ready to be filled. Note: Don’t fill the cannoli shells until you’re close to eating them, otherwise they may get too soft. The cooked shells can be refrigerated at this point until ready to fill.
- Trim off a large piece of the end of the first filling bag and squeeze the filling a shell – don’t be afraid to fill the entire shell, pulling the bag out once the shell is filled in the center.
- Turn the shell around and press a little more filling to seal the end.
- Continue filling each shell until all are filled.
- Dip the ends of each cannoli in the remaining mini chocolate chips or chopped pistachios.
- Dust with powdered sugar and serve.
Notes
Roll dough thin: Thin dough fries into crisp shells.
Seal the edges well: Proper sealing keeps the shells from opening during frying.
Cool before filling: Filling hot shells can soften the pastry.
Nutrition
Homemade cannoli is a classic Italian dessert that takes a little patience to make. The reward for your effort is a delicious sweet treat that captures the familiar flavor many people recognize from Italian bakeries. The crispy cannoli shells bring that light crunch while the ricotta filling adds creamy sweetness with vanilla and a hint of citrus. Chocolate chips or pistachios on the ends add a final touch that makes each cannoli look and taste like the classic pastry it is. You’ll love them!
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Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
