10 Minute Cannoli Dip Recipe

Last Updated on January 3, 2024 by Michele Tripple

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Get the authentic flavor of Cannolis without all the hassle with this amazing Cannoli Dip Recipe. Cannoli Dip is the perfect treat for parties or just hanging out at home. With just a few ingredients, you’ll have your guests impressed with barely any preparation.

10 Minute Cannoli Dip Recipe

cannoli dip with cookies on tray

If you love Cannolis as much as I do, you need to drop everything and try this Cannoli Dip recipe right now! 

You can have all the creamy flavor of Italy’s most popular dessert without having to leave your own kitchen. Plus it only takes 10 minutes to prepare. You can’t beat that!

I am always looking for the perfect party treat that is simple to prepare and leave my guests begging for the recipe. This easy dip is perfect! Your guest will be asking how to make this after just one delicious bite!

Or you can have this as a teat at home with your family too.

We love having themed nights in our house, and how fun would it be to have an Italian night celebrating Italy’s foods and culture? You could make some delicious homemade pepperoni pizza for dinner, and show your kids how to make this Italian dessert for dessert. Yum!

Cannoli Dip Recipe

cannoli dip with pizzelle piece

Serves: 8-10

Prep time: 10 minutes

Chill time: 15-30 minutes

Total time: 30-45 minutes

Ingredients

cannoli dip ingredients on counter
  • 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
  • 1 15 oz container ricotta cheese
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
  • ½ cup mini chocolate chips, and extra for serving

Dipping Ideas

  • Waffle cone, broken into pieces
  • Pizzelle cookies
  • Cannoli shells, broken into pieces
  • Your favorite berries

Electric mixer

Mixing bowls

Sifter

How to Make Cannoli Dip 

  • The first thing you want to do to make this Cannoli Dip recipe is to prepare your ricotta cheese. You will want to strain out the moisture by placing a paper towel in a small bowl, adding your ricotta, and putting another paper towel on top. Push on the towel until the excess moisture is removed from the cheese.
  • Place your ricotta cheese into a large bowl and add the softened cream cheese and vanilla. 
  • Use an electric mixer to beat the mixture until smooth.
  • Use a sifter to slowly add the powdered sugar into the mixture as you mix to combine. 
  • When the powdered sugar is all added and the mixture is smooth and creamy, stir in ½ cup of mini chocolate chips.
  • Let the mixture chill for at least 15 minutes in the fridge before serving. 
  • Serve with waffle cone pieces, pizzelle cookies, fresh fruit, or any other toppings you love!
overhead shot of cannoli dip on tray

Tips Tricks and FAQs

  • Make sure that you take your cream cheese out of the fridge a half hour to an hour early so that it’s room temperature when you are ready to make this dip. The softer the cream cheese is, the easier it is to beat it into a perfectly smooth dip. 
  • If you have a stand mixer you can use that to whip this recipe up instead of an electric mixer. I love putting all the ingredients in my stand mixer for a few minutes on medium speed to make this extra fluffy and smooth!

Can I substitute anything for ricotta in Cannolis? 

Traditional cannolis are always made with ricotta. However, if you want to skip the straining, you can also use mascarpone cheese. 

The mascarpone will produce a dip that’s extra creamy because it’s essentially a really thick cream. Some people actually prefer cannolis made with mascarpone rather than ricotta, but I personally always stick with the classic!

Why is my cannoli dip runny?

Learning how to make cannoli dip can be a bit of a learning curve because of the ricotta cheese! If you don’t strain it enough, you might end up with some runny dip. 

Ricotta has quite a bit of moisture so you’ve got to make sure to get as much out of it as you can. Using this recipe’s method with the paper towels should get out plenty of that liquid to get you the perfect texture for your cannoli dip.

Storage

Fridge

This dip should be kept in your fridge if you have any leftovers. Transfer it into an airtight container and in your fridge, it should keep for about 3-4 days. 

Check out these other great sweet recipes:

Love what you see? Leave a comment and don’t forget to rate it below! We always love knowing how your recipe turns out! Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @micheletripple to show me your finished product!

Yield: Serves 8-10

Cannoli Dip

cannoli dip with cookies on tray

Get the authentic flavor of Cannolis without all the hassle with this amazing Cannoli Dip Recipe. Cannoli Dip is the perfect treat for parties or just hanging out at home. With just a few ingredients, you’ll have your guest’s impressed with barely any preparation.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Additional Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
  • 1 15 oz container ricotta cheese
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
  • ½ cup mini chocolate chips, and extra for serving
  • Waffle cone, broken into pieces
  • Pizzelle cookies
  • Cannoli shells, broken into pieces
  • Your favorite berries

Instructions

  1. The first thing you want to do to make this Cannoli Dip recipe is to prepare your ricotta cheese. You will want to strain out the moisture by placing a paper towel in a small bowl, adding your ricotta, and putting another paper towel on top. Push on the towel until the excess moisture is removed from the cheese.
  2. Place your ricotta cheese into a large bowl and add the softened cream cheese and vanilla. 
  3. Use an electric mixer to beat the mixture until smooth.
  4. Use a sifter to slowly add the powdered sugar into the mixture as you mix to combine. 
  5. When the powdered sugar is all added and the mixture is smooth and creamy, stir in ½ cup of mini chocolate chips.
  6. Let the mixture chill for at least 15 minutes in the fridge before serving. 
  7. Serve with waffle cone pieces, pizzelle cookies, fresh fruit, or any other toppings you love!

7 thoughts on “10 Minute Cannoli Dip Recipe”

  1. This sounds like a great party dip! I had my first cannoli experience in Italy a few years ago. They are sooooo good! I can’t wait to try this.

    Reply
  2. This looks DELISH! I need to make this for dessert when we have Italian one night – we could do a whole theme night! Thanks so much for sharing!

    Reply
  3. This looks go good! I have celiac disease and diabetes but I think I can modify this recipe to be gluten free and sugar free and still be yummy!

    Reply

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