This simple dessert dip makes it easy to enjoy the flavor of cannoli anytime the craving hits. Mix up these simple ingredients for a treat everyone will love!
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It’s no secret that I love Italian food, and Italian desserts (like this Easy Tiramisu Recipe) are truly the top of the pyramid. They are light, fluffy, and rich all at the same time.
Authentic cannolis are all of that wrapped in a beautifully crunchy shell.
As much as I love a good Italian dessert, it’s not always feasible to make cannolis from scratch. There are several steps involved in an authentic, homemade cannoli, and if you are feeding a crowd, it adds a whole new level of calculations to consider.
This sweet dip makes enjoying a creamy, delicious cannoli easy and it may just be the next best thing. It’s essentially deconstructing a cannoli and enjoying that light, sweet ricotta filling in a new way–in dip form.
This recipe is the perfect dessert dip to serve at a party. You can fill a tray with waffle cones, cookies, and even fresh fruit and let your guests decide which flavors they prefer.
Sometimes a dessert just tastes better when you know it only takes a few minutes to put together!
Why Make This Recipe
- Easy Dessert: When you are craving something delicious but short on time, this is the recipe to try. It comes together in about 10 minutes but has all the amazing flavor of an Italian cannoli.
- Simple Ingredients: It doesn’t take anything fancy to put this dip together. Ricotta cheese provides amazing flavor, and cream cheese makes the texture perfect for dipping. You can find both easily in grocery stores.
- Feed a Crowd: This cannoli dip recipe makes it easy to feed a crowd without worrying about catering to different preferences. The flavor of the dip is simple and can be dressed up with a wide variety of dippers.
What Do I Need to Make This Recipe
Ingredients
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
- Whipping Cream: Use heavy whipping cream. I do not recommend substituting milk or half and half.
- Ricotta Cheese: Buy it from the store or try making your own Homemade Ricotta Cheese. Be sure to squeeze out as much moisture as possible.
- Cream Cheese: For a more authentic flavor, you can use mascarpone cheese (usually found at Trader Joe’s or an Italian grocery store!) but cream cheese is simple and provides a beautifully creamy texture. My grocery store was out of mascarpone, and the cream cheese addition tasted delicious.
- Powdered Sugar: Sifting your powdered sugar will help prevent any lumps.
- Chocolate Chips: I use mini semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Tools
- Mixing Bowl(s)
- Electric Hand Mixer
- Rubber Spatula
How to Make This Recipe
Step One: Beat the Cream
In a medium mixing bowl, add the heavy whipping cream. Use an electric hand mixer to beat the heavy cream for about 3-5 minutes or until whipped cream is formed.
Step Two: Add the Cheese and Powdered Sugar
Add the ricotta cheese and cream cheese and beat again until combined.
Add ½ cup of the powdered sugar along with the vanilla, salt, and cinnamon and beat until combined. Then add the next ½ cup of powdered sugar and beat to combine. If you like the texture of the dish, you can stop at 1 cup.
If you want a sweeter and thicker cannoli dip, add the final ½ cup of powdered sugar and beat to combine one more time. I used 1½ cups total in my recipe.
Step Three: Finish and Serve
Finally, add the mini chocolate chips and use a rubber spatula to mix by hand until fully incorporated.
Serve with waffle cones, graham crackers, cookies, fruit, or anything else you desire. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Better quality ricotta cheese will produce a better-tasting dip. Look for ricotta that is made from whole milk or full fat and be sure and drain it well. You can drain the whole milk ricotta by placing spoonfuls on a paper towel or using a cheesecloth to squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
- It’s helpful to make this dip in a stand mixer to whip the cream well and incorporate the cheese fully.
- The whipped cream is optional but it’s what makes this dip truly light and fluffy.
- Using room-temperature cream cheese makes it much easier to mix.
- Enjoy this dip within 5 days. You may notice it begins to separate after that. If you are making this dip ahead of time I recommend waiting to add the chocolate chips until the last second to keep them hard and fresh.
What to Serve With Cannoli Dip
The options for what to serve with this easy cannoli dip are endless. It’s great with anything you might use for chocolate fondue. Some of my favorite dippers are:
- Graham crackers (the best in my opinion!)
- Waffle cone pieces
- Waffles
- Vanilla Wafers
- Fresh fruit
- Chocolate chip cookies
- Cannoli shells/cannoli chips
- Cookies
- Oreos
- Pretzels
- Pizzelle cookies
Variations
Walk into any Italian bakery and you will see shelves lined with cannolis in all kinds of different flavors. Just like authentic cannolis, you can mix up the flavors in this dip recipe too.
The biggest difference would be to use mascarpone cheese instead of cream cheese. This will give you a more authentic flavor to this creamy dip and if you can get your hands on some mascarpone it’s definitely worth a try.
You could also add some lemon zest, orange zest, chopped-up nuts (especially pistachios!), or replace the chocolate chips with other pieces of candy.
FAQs
Ricotta cheese is a must in an authentic cannoli and it’s really what gives this dip the cannoli flavor.
If you have only ever seen ricotta as a powdery, wet, flavorless cheese then you’ve been trying the wrong ricotta. It is sweet, creamy, light and delicious when it is prepared the right way.
For this recipe, seek out a high-quality ricotta and you will not be disappointed.
If you’re not a fan of the flavor of cream cheese or feel like it’s too overpowering, give it a chance in this easy recipe. Cream cheese is what gives this recipe its texture and body. It helps hold the dip together and also makes it sturdy enough to dip in.
One option you may try is replacing the cream cheese with mascarpone cheese.
This cannoli dip is meant to be creamy and silky, but there is a chance if it is made incorrectly it could separate and look grainy.
The biggest way to help prevent this is by reducing the amount of liquid in your ricotta cheese.
You want whole-fat ricotta cheese and it helps if it’s from a container that you have just opened.
Be sure and strain out any excess liquid from the cheese using a cheesecloth or paper towel.
If you strain your ricotta before using it there’s no reason your dip should turn out grainy.
This is a great make-ahead recipe but you should not try to make it too far ahead.
This recipe is generally good in the fridge for 3-5 days in an airtight container.
Any more than that and it may begin to separate or lose the fluffiness of the cream.
To serve, take the cannoli dip out of the fridge, give it a good mix, and add the chocolate chips if you have not already.
As far as lasting on the countertop during a party, I would suggest leaving this delicious dip at room temperature no longer than two hours before refrigerating. It would be a good idea to place the medium bowl of dip inside a large bowl with some ice cubes to prolong the amount of time it spends on the counter safely.
This easy dessert dip is not good for the freezer. The different creams and cheese involved will not freeze and thaw well and may separate and look unappealing. It’s best to enjoy this dip fresh!
Did you enjoy this Cannoli Dip recipe? If so, make sure to check out these other recipes I picked out just for you:
Cannoli Dip
Ingredients
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 7 oz Ricotta cheese, ½ container of Ricotta
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened (you can also use mascarpone cheese), room temperature
- 1 – 1 ½ cups Powdered sugar, depending on desired consistency
- ¾ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- Sprinkle of cinnamon, less than ⅛ tsp
- ¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, add ¼ cup heavy whipping cream. Use an electric hand mixer to beat the heavy cream for about 3-5 minutes or until whipped cream is formed.
- Add 7 oz ricotta cheese and 4 oz cream cheese and beat again until combined.
- Add ½ cup of the powdered sugar along with the ¾ tsp vanilla, ¼ tsp salt, and a sprinkle of cinnamon and beat until combined. Then add the next ½ cup of powdered sugar and beat to combine. If you like the texture of the dish, you can stop at 1 cup. If you want a sweeter and thicker cannoli dip, add the final ½ cup of powdered sugar and beat to combine one more time.
- Finally, add ¼ cup mini chocolate chips and use a rubber spatula to mix by hand until fully incorporated.
- Serve with waffle cones, cookies, fruit, or anything else you desire. Enjoy!
Notes
- Whipping Cream: Use heavy whipping cream. I do not recommend substituting milk or half and half.
- Ricotta Cheese: Buy it from the store or try making your own Homemade Ricotta Cheese. Be sure to squeeze out as much moisture as possible.
- Cream Cheese: For a more authentic flavor, you can use mascarpone cheese (usually found at Trader Joe’s or an Italian grocery store!) but cream cheese is simple and provides a beautifully creamy texture. My grocery store was out of mascarpone, and the cream cheese addition tasted delicious.
- Powdered Sugar: Sifting your powdered sugar will help prevent any lumps.
- Chocolate Chips: I use mini semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Better quality ricotta cheese will produce a better-tasting dip. Look for ricotta that is made from whole milk or full fat and be sure and drain it well. You can drain the whole milk ricotta by placing spoonfuls on a paper towel or using a cheese cloth to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. - It’s helpful to make this dip in a stand mixer to whip the cream well and incorporate the cheese fully.
- The whipped cream is optional but it’s what makes this dip truly light and fluffy.
- Using room-temperature cream cheese makes it much easier to mix.
- Enjoy this dip within 5 days. You may notice it begins to separate after that. If you are making this dip ahead of time I recommend waiting to add the chocolate chips until the last second to keep them hard and fresh.
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