Easy Cannoli Dip
Cannoli Dip comes together in 5 minutes with just 5 ingredients. It’s super easy to halve the recipe for a small group, or double it for a large party.
This Recipe For Cannoli Dip Is Perfect For Your Sweet Tooth!
A perfect cannoli is one of my favorite desserts, and also one of the most hard-to-find. It’s not exactly easy finding a great cannoli in the Detroit area. So unless I’m boarding a flight to Boston, it’s a dessert that lives largely in my dreams.
Sure, I could make them at home. But, making them from scratch is pretty labor intensive and not something I usually have time for.
So, I created this Cannoli Dip recipe as a simple way to enjoy some of the *flavors* of cannoli with minimal effort.
The mascarpone, ricotta and lightly sweet vanilla flavor are all there. The crunchy mini chocolate chips are bountiful (and, you can add chopped pistachios if you want). Truly, it’s like 98% as satisfying as a cannoli, and well, that’s good enough for me!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe For Cannoli Dip
- A chance to have fun with all kinds of cookies, crackers and fruits for dipping. Go to the store and let your imagination run wild.
- Enjoy some of the classic flavors and creamy texture of cannoli without the hassle of making and filling the shells.
- Very easy to adapt to whatever size you need. Halve the recipe to feed a small group of 2 or 3, or double or triple it for a big party.
Sweet Cannoli Dip Ingredients
A full recipe card, including exact ingredient amounts, appears at the bottom of this post.
- mascarpone cheese – this fresh, soft cow’s milk cheese is the rich, buttery base of this dip. Make sure it’s at room temperature before starting.
- ricotta cheese – adds a gentle tanginess to the dip. Make sure to use full fat ricotta, otherwise your dip may turn out runny. This one also needs to be at room temp.
- powdered sugar – sweetens the dip to perfection.
- vanilla extract – infuses the dip with warm, aromatic flavor.
- mini chocolate chips – adds some texture and chocolatey goodness!
How To Make Easy Cannoli Dip
1. BEAT MASCARPONE. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the mascarpone a few minutes until it is light and fluffy.
2. ADD. Beat in the powdered sugar, ricotta and vanilla.
3. STIR AND CHILL. Use a spatula to fold in the chocolate chips, and then transfer the dip to the refrigerator to chill at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.
4. SERVE. Transfer the dip to a serving bowl and top it with an additional sprinkle of chocolate chips.
Sweet Cannoli Dip Recipe Home Chef Tips
- Temperature matters! Allowing the mascarpone and ricotta to come to room temperature before mixing the cannoli filling dip is crucial to creating a smooth, velvety dip.
- Experiment with adding different flavorings to the dip, like a few drops of almond extract or orange extract, or a bit of orange zest or pinch of cinnamon. You can also add a sprinkle of chopped pistachios to the finished dip!
- Allowing the dip to chill for an hour (or ideally, overnight) really allows the ingredients to harmonize.
What To Serve With Cannoli Dip
Let your imagination run wild here. Wander through the grocery store and buy whatever you think would be great dipped into a creamy, sweet dip.
Cookies and sweet crackers like cinnamon graham crackers are classic for dessert dips. Pepperidge Farm Pirouette cookies are one of my favorites here. Almost any type of fruit that you can dunk into something is a great choice. You can’t go wrong with whole or halved strawberries.
Broken pieces of waffle ice cream cones or pizzelle cookies kind of mimic that cannoli shell flavor and texture. If you use waffle cones, we had the best luck getting larger chunks of waffle cone by squeezing the cone, rather than pinching it and breaking off pieces.
And then, there’s potato chips. I know, it’s not what you’d expect. But when I made this dip, I just happened to have an open bag of potato chips in the cabinet.
I LOVE the combo of salty and sweet, so of course I had to try it. And those darn potato chips became my very favorite dipper for this easy cannoli dip. Trust me. Just try it.
How To Store Easy Cannoli Dip
This sweet cannoli dip recipe can be covered and kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Stir before serving.
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Easy Cannoli Dip Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 ounces mascarpone cheese at room temperature
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ cup whole milk ricotta cheese at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips plus additional for topping
Instructions
- In bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat mascarpone cheese 2 to 3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Add powdered sugar, ricotta and vanilla and beat until well combined.
- Stir in chocolate chips. Transfer to refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.
- To serve, transfer to serving bowl and top with an additional sprinkle of chocolate chips.
I like this recipe.