Pick up a freshly filled cannolo and the shell should feel almost too delicate for what it is holding. Bite down and it cracks; the ricotta stays cool and thick behind it.
When homemade cannoli go wrong, that contrast usually disappears first. A thick shell becomes hard instead of brittle. Wet ricotta softens even a well-fried shell. And a shell that was perfect out of the oil can lose its crunch simply because it was filled too early.
This cannoli recipe makes both the shells and ricotta cream from scratch. Get the ricotta dry, roll the dough thinner than feels natural, keep the oil steady and leave the filling until the end; most of the recipe follows from those four things.
Cannoli are more of a weekend project than a quick dessert, but each stage is manageable once you know what the ricotta, dough and first fried shell should look like.
Best workflow: Drain the ricotta first. Make the filling and chill it. Mix the shell dough, then use its 1-hour rest to set out the cannoli forms, thermometer, cooling rack and toppings. Fry one test shell before shaping the batch, then cool everything completely before assembly.
Cannoli Recipe
That first shell is worth the extra minute. It tells you whether the dough is thin enough, the seam will hold and the oil is behaving while there is still time to correct the rest of the batch.
| Yield | About 20–24 shells using a 4-inch / 10-cm cutter and 1.5–2 mm dough |
| Active time | About 2 hours; allow longer for your first batch |
| Dough rest | About 1 hour |
| Plan for | About 2½–3 hours on serving day |
| Ricotta draining | Allow 12–24 hours beforehand when needed |
| Fry temperature | 350°F / 177°C target; roughly 345–355°F / 174–179°C while frying |
| Best served | Soon after filling |
Special Equipment
- 6–8 smooth metal cannoli forms, also sold as cannoli tubes or molds
- deep-fry/candy thermometer, or another thermometer designed for hot oil
- fine-mesh sieve
- cheesecloth or a clean lint-free kitchen towel, if your ricotta needs draining
- pasta machine or rolling pin
- 4-inch / 10-cm round cutter, or a small bowl of similar size
- piping bag with a wide round tip, or a bag you can cut to a generous opening
Metal cannoli forms are strongly recommended. You will also need a tall heavy pot, tongs, a wire rack and a folded kitchen towel or heatproof glove. If you do not have forms, the foil fallback is covered in the shell guide below.
Ricotta Filling
- 680 g / 1½ lb drained whole-milk ricotta — if starting with wet supermarket ricotta, buy roughly 900 g / 2 lb, possibly a little more if it is especially loose
- 125 g / about ½ cup + 2 tbsp superfine or caster sugar, plus up to 25 g more to taste
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp finely grated orange zest, optional but recommended
- up to ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon, optional
- 60 g / about ⅓ cup mini dark chocolate chips, optional
Cannoli Shells
- 250 g all-purpose flour / about 2 cups, preferably weighed, plus a little more for rolling
- 25 g / 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 g / about ⅓ tsp fine salt
- 40 g / about 3 tbsp lard; or 45 g / about 3 tbsp unsalted butter, cool and cut into small pieces
- 1 large egg / about 50 g without shell
- 55 ml / 3 tbsp + 2 tsp dry Marsala, plus another teaspoon or two only when the dough needs it
- 7.5 ml / 1½ tsp white wine vinegar
- 1 egg white from a second egg, lightly beaten, for sealing
- neutral high-heat oil, such as canola or vegetable oil, enough for about 2½–3 inches / 6.5–7.5 cm depth in your pot
For Finishing
- finely chopped unsalted pistachios
- mini dark chocolate chips
- small pieces of candied orange peel
- powdered sugar, for a light dusting
Instructions
Part 1 — Prepare the Ricotta
- Drain wet ricotta. Line a fine-mesh sieve with cheesecloth or a clean lint-free towel, set it over a bowl and add the ricotta. Cover and refrigerate for 12–24 hours when needed. A small plate can sit on top as a light weight for especially loose cheese. You need 680 g / 1½ lb after draining.
- Check the texture. Put a spoonful on a plate and leave it alone for a minute. The mound should keep its shape without a ring of watery whey spreading underneath. More liquid around the base means more draining time.
- Sweeten and rest. Gently mix in 125 g superfine sugar and refrigerate for 20–30 minutes so the crystals can begin dissolving. Taste the ricotta, then add some or all of the optional extra 25 g if you want it sweeter. Give any added sugar another 10–15 minutes to dissolve before sieving.
- Sieve and flavor. Press the sweetened ricotta through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Fold in the vanilla, orange zest and cinnamon, when using.
- Finish and chill the filling. The cream should mound and hold its shape. Fold in mini chocolate chips only after the texture is right, then cover and refrigerate while you make the shells.
Part 2 — Make the Shell Dough
- Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Rub in the lard with your fingertips until the flour looks evenly sandy. Use the same motion with cool butter when making the substitution.
- Add the wet ingredients. Add the egg, 55 ml Marsala and vinegar. Mix until shaggy, then begin bringing the dough together by hand.
- Adjust by feel. The dough should resemble firm pasta dough and hold together when squeezed. Work it for a minute before deciding it is too dry. Stubborn loose crumbs can take Marsala 1 teaspoon at a time; tackiness needs only the lightest dusting of flour.
- Knead and rest. Knead until the surface becomes smoother and the dough feels elastic, usually about 5–8 minutes by hand. Wrap tightly and rest at room temperature for about 1 hour.
Dough that keeps shrinking as you roll it is still tight. Cover it for another 10–15 minutes and come back to it.
Part 3 — Roll, Wrap and Fry
Roll, Wrap and Fry the Test Shell
- Heat the oil. Pour oil into a tall, heavy pot to a depth of about 2½–3 inches / 6.5–7.5 cm. It should sit comfortably below halfway up the pot, leaving plenty of room for bubbling. Heat toward 350°F / 177°C.
- Roll one portion. Divide the rested dough into 4 pieces and keep the other 3 covered. Flatten the first piece and run it through the widest pasta-machine setting. Fold and pass it through once or twice more, then reduce the gap gradually until the sheet reaches about 1.5–2 mm / roughly 1/16 inch. With a rolling pin, aim for the same even thickness across the sheet.
- Cut and wrap one shell. Cut a 4-inch / 10-cm round and wrap it around a cannoli form with about ½ inch / 1.25 cm overlap. It should sit snugly without being stretched hard against the metal.
- Seal the seam. Brush a small amount of egg white between the overlapping pieces of dough and press them together. Keep the egg white away from the metal tube.
- Fry the test shell. Lower it carefully into oil around 350°F / 177°C with the seam facing downward so the overlap sets first. Let the shell move freely in the oil instead of pinning it against the bottom of the pot. Turn as needed and fry until deep golden and blistered, usually about 1–2 minutes for dough this thin.
Check the Test Shell and Finish the Batch
- Cool it, then break it. The wall should be thin, dry and crisp all the way through, with no leathery or doughy band inside. Dense pastry needs thinner rolling; pale and oily suggests cool oil; very fast browning suggests oil that is too hot.
- Shape the remaining shells. A test shell that cracks cleanly tells you the setup is working. Continue rolling and cutting while keeping unused dough covered. Re-roll scraps once; save the smallest leftovers for cannoli chips.
- Fry in small batches. Begin with 1–2 shells at a time. Add another only when the oil returns to temperature quickly. Aim to keep it roughly within 345–355°F / 174–179°C.
- Remove the shell from the form. Lift the shell and form from the oil with tongs and drain briefly. Set them on a heatproof surface until the metal is safe enough to handle with a folded towel or heatproof glove, then twist and slide the shell off gently.
- Cool the form before reusing it. Let the metal cool in air before wrapping more dough. Never rinse or dunk a hot cannoli form in water while frying; every form must be completely dry before it goes near hot oil again.
- Cool the shells completely. Set them on a wire rack before filling.
Part 4 — Fill and Finish
- Load the piping bag. Give the chilled ricotta one gentle stir and transfer it to a piping bag. Use a wide round tip or a generously cut opening, especially when mini chocolate chips are mixed through the filling.
- Fill from both ends. Pipe from one side toward the center, turn the shell, then fill from the other side. This fills the middle without forcing a long column of cream through from one end.
- Add the finish. Press the exposed ricotta into chopped pistachios or mini chocolate chips, or add a small piece of candied orange peel.
- Dust and serve. Add a light veil of powdered sugar and bring the cannoli to the table.
Recipe Notes
- Ricotta: Fresh sheep’s-milk ricotta or ricotta impastata can replace well-drained whole-milk supermarket ricotta when available.
- Sugar: Regular granulated sugar works too. Give it an extra 10–15 minutes to dissolve before the final sieve.
- 00 flour: It can replace the all-purpose flour by weight. Because 00 flours vary, let the dough consistency determine any tiny liquid adjustment.
- Fat: Lard is the more traditional choice in this version; butter is the practical substitute. Because butter contributes a little water of its own, judge the dough before adding extra Marsala.
- No Marsala: Dry white wine can replace it directly. A fully alcohol-free dough needs a different hydration approach, covered in the shell guide below.
- Pasta-machine settings: Machine numbers vary. Stop when the sheet itself reaches the target thickness.
- Filling ahead: Keep the ricotta cream covered in the refrigerator and use it within about 1–2 days for best quality. A few drops of moisture after chilling can be stirred back in gently. If whey is pooling, chill the filling and use the troubleshooting steps below before piping.
At this point you can make the cannoli without reading another word. What follows is for the moments a recipe card cannot answer as neatly: dough that keeps shrinking, ricotta that still looks wet, a first shell that refuses to blister, or figuring out what can be done tomorrow instead of today.
Shell, Filling & Troubleshooting
Shell
Filling
Master the Cannoli Shell: Crisp, Thin and Blistered
Once cooled, a properly fried shell should feel light in the hand and break quickly under your teeth. Small bubbles and blisters roughen the surface; the wall stays thin enough to shatter instead of resist. Crisp and hard are not the same thing. A hard shell usually points to thickness, uneven rolling or a center that still held too much moisture when the outside had already browned.
The Dough Should Feel Like Firm Pasta Dough
Squeeze a piece after mixing. It should stay together even though it feels considerably firmer than cookie or bread dough. Loose dusty crumbs mean the flour still needs a little more liquid; kneading then smooths the surface and builds elasticity.
Spring-back means the dough is still tight. A covered rest relaxes it; adding more flour usually takes you in the wrong direction.
Roll the Shells Almost Translucent
Roll cannoli dough about 1.5–2 mm / roughly 1/16 inch thick—thin enough to look slightly translucent but still strong enough to wrap around the form. Evenness matters as much as the number; a thick band through the middle can stay dense while the thinner edges fry perfectly.
Both a pasta machine and rolling pin work. With a pasta machine, use the wide settings to smooth the dough first, then narrow the rollers gradually. If the sheet tears, buckles or fights the rollers, pause and correct the dough rather than forcing it through a tighter setting.
How Many Cannoli Forms Do You Need?
Six to eight metal forms keep the frying rhythm moving without long waits, and smooth metal gives the most reliable shape and release. If you have no forms, sturdy tightly rolled heavy-duty foil can get you through a batch, but it is less rigid and more awkward to remove.
Wrap the dough snugly without stretching it tight. A small overlap is enough, and the egg-white seal belongs between the two layers of dough, never on the tube.
Use the First Shell to Calibrate the Batch
Thin dough blisters more readily because moisture inside can expand before the shell sets hard. A thick sheet, a dried surface, too much bench flour, or oil that has dropped too cool or is swinging sharply in temperature can make those bubbles harder to form.
- Deep golden, blistered and crisp after cooling: keep going.
- Dark almost immediately: cool the oil before the next shell.
- Pale and oily: let the oil recover.
- Golden but dense: thin the next sheet.
- Almost smooth: check thickness, surface dryness and oil temperature.
- Open seam: use a slightly wider overlap and firmer seal.
If the first shell is dense, it has still done its job: adjust the next sheet before shaping the batch. When a cooled shell cracks cleanly and tastes light rather than hard, your thickness and frying setup are working.
Give the Oil Time to Recover
Keep the oil around 350°F / 177°C and let it recover before each batch. Aim for roughly 345–355°F / 174–179°C while frying. Every cold piece of dough and metal form pulls heat from the pot, so a thermometer reading before frying tells you only where the oil started.
Begin with small batches and watch the recovery. Slow electric and ceramic burners often need more patience than gas, while large knob adjustments can overshoot in either direction. Smaller batches make oil temperature easier to control, just as they do when frying churros.
Making Cannoli Without Marsala
Dry white wine can replace Marsala in the same quantity. For a practical alcohol-free starting point, begin with about 35 ml water while keeping the vinegar already in the recipe, then add more water 1 teaspoon at a time until the dough becomes firm and cohesive.
Marsala isn’t just flavored water: its alcohol and dissolved solids change how the dough hydrates and fries. An alcohol-free version may feel more elastic and blister differently, so let the dough consistency and fried result guide the adjustment. Treat 35 ml water as a starting point, not a volume-for-volume replacement for Marsala.
For Classic Cannoli Texture, Fry the Shells
If the goal is the thin, brittle, blistered shell associated with classic cannoli, frying is the method to use. Baked or air-fried shells can still be crisp, but they won’t blister and shatter quite like dough immersed in hot oil.
Good Cannoli Filling Starts with the Ricotta
Fresh sheep’s-milk ricotta is the classic Sicilian choice when you can get a great one, and ricotta impastata gives you a drier, smoother bakery-style option. But you do not need specialty cheese to make good cannoli: well-drained whole-milk supermarket ricotta is the easiest reliable choice for most home cooks in the U.S.
Two tubs labeled whole-milk ricotta can contain very different amounts of whey, a moisture problem that matters in ricotta cheesecake too. Choose a full-fat ricotta with a fresh dairy flavor, then let its texture tell you when it is ready. Low-fat ricotta offers no useful advantage here.
The Mound Test Is More Useful Than the Clock
Draining times vary because ricotta brands carry different amounts of whey. Put a spoonful on a plate and leave it for a minute. It should stay where you put it without flattening or releasing watery liquid around the base.
Still seeing liquid? Give it longer. If no watery ring appears and the mound holds its shape, stop watching the clock and make the filling.
Smooth the Filling Through a Fine Sieve
Ricotta naturally has a curd structure. The short rest gives the sugar time to begin dissolving; pressing the mixture through a fine sieve then smooths the curds without overworking them.
How Thick Should Cannoli Filling Be?
After sieving and chilling, the filling should be thick enough to stay in the shell without becoming stiff or whipped. A small piping test is easier to read than the mixture sitting in a bowl.
Keep the Filling Lightly Sweet
The base filling uses 125 g sugar for 680 g drained ricotta. Chocolate, candied orange and powdered sugar add more sweetness later, so the cream itself can stay milky and lightly sweet. For a sweeter Italian-American bakery style, add some or all of the optional extra 25 g after the initial rest, give it time to dissolve, then pass the filling through the sieve.
For a richer variation, replace about 100–150 g of the drained ricotta with the same weight of mascarpone and taste before adding extra sugar. Heavy whipped cream is unnecessary; properly drained ricotta already has enough body.
Chocolate, Pistachio and Orange
Dark chocolate adds a little bitterness against the sweet ricotta, pistachio brings toasted crunch, and orange lifts the dairy without turning the filling into a citrus dessert. Use one or combine them lightly, and let the ricotta remain the center of the pastry.
- Mini chocolate chips: fold them through the cream or press them into the exposed ends. Their small size works better with a piping bag than large chunks.
- Pistachios: finely chopped unsalted nuts give the ends color and crunch without putting nuts through every bite.
- Orange: finely grated zest keeps the citrus subtle; candied peel gives a sweeter, more obvious orange note.
- Chocolate-dipped shells: dip one or both cooled ends in melted dark chocolate and let them set before filling. A thin chocolate lining inside the shell can slow softening, although moisture will eventually reach the pastry.
Make the Components Ahead, Then Fill at the End
Serving cannoli after dinner? Do the draining, dough work and frying earlier in the day. Then the only jobs left when dessert time arrives are piping, finishing and dusting.
Fill completely cooled cannoli shells as close to serving as practical; moisture from the ricotta starts softening the pastry as soon as the two touch. Cream puffs have a similar shell-and-filling problem: both components can be prepared earlier, while assembly is better left closer to serving.
The Day Before
- Drain wet ricotta.
- Make the ricotta filling once the cheese passes the mound test; cover and refrigerate.
- Make the shell dough when that suits your schedule. Wrap it tightly and refrigerate, then let it sit until it is still cool but pliable enough to roll without cracking or fighting the rollers.
Earlier on Serving Day
- Roll and fry the shells.
- Cool them completely.
- Store the shells airtight at room temperature.
- Prepare pistachios, chocolate and orange garnish.
Cool the Fried Cannoli Shells Completely
Once the shells are off their forms, move them to a wire rack and let them cool fully before filling or storing.
When It’s Time to Serve
Fill the shells, finish the ends and dust with powdered sugar. How quickly they soften depends on shell thickness, filling moisture and humidity.
Keep the ricotta cream refrigerated until assembly. Filled cannoli that are not being served should stay chilled. USDA food-safety guidance recommends no more than 2 hours at room temperature for perishable food, or 1 hour when the temperature is above 90°F / 32°C.
Storing and Refreshing Empty Shells
Cool unfilled shells completely before sealing them in an airtight container at room temperature. They are at their best within about 3 days; humidity can shorten that window, and refrigeration usually works against the texture.
If they soften slightly, set them on a rack in a 250°F / 120°C oven for 5–10 minutes, then cool them completely before filling. Raw dough scraps can be fried until crisp and dusted with powdered sugar. Broken cooked shells are useful too: serve them with leftover ricotta cream for dipping.
Fix My Cannoli
Change the variable closest to the problem before changing the entire recipe.
Filling and Dough Problems
| What happened? | Likely cause | What to change |
|---|---|---|
| Ricotta filling is runny | Ricotta started too wet or the filling has separated | Chill and stir gently first. If it remains loose and no mix-ins are present, drain briefly and retaste; some dissolved sugar may leave with the whey. Once mix-ins are folded through, chilling may help but the texture may not fully recover. |
| Filling feels grainy or coarse | Large ricotta curds or sugar that has not fully dissolved | If it feels gritty from sugar, let the sweetened ricotta rest another 10–15 minutes. Then press it through a fine-mesh sieve before adding chips or other mix-ins. |
| Dough falls apart | Not enough liquid | Add Marsala 1 teaspoon at a time until the firm dough binds when squeezed. |
| Dough springs back | Needs more rest | Cover and rest another 10–15 minutes. |
The timing of a cannoli failure is often the fastest clue to its cause. Problems that show up before frying usually point toward filling or dough preparation; problems during frying point toward thickness, sealing or oil control; softening after assembly points toward moisture transfer.
Shell Frying and Assembly Problems
| What happened? | Likely cause | What to change |
|---|---|---|
| Hard or dense shell | Dough too thick or uneven | Roll the next sheet closer to 1.5–2 mm and fry another test shell. |
| Pale, greasy shell | Oil too cool | Reduce the batch size and let the oil recover toward 350°F / 177°C. |
| Shell darkens almost immediately | Oil too hot | Let the temperature fall before adding another shell. |
| Very few blisters form | Thick dough, dry surface, excess flour or unstable oil temperature | Check those variables before changing the formula itself. |
| Seam opens in the oil | Weak seal or too much tension | Use a wider overlap, a small amount of egg white and lower the seam facing downward. |
| Shell sticks to the tube | Egg white on metal, tight wrapping or rough form | Keep the seal between dough layers and slide the shell off gently once manageable. |
| Filled shells become soft | Moisture moving into pastry | The frying may be fine. Fill the next batch later. |
Why Traditional Cannoli Vary
Once the shell is crisp and the ricotta is right, many of the smaller details can vary. Cannoli are Sicilian, and the official Visit Sicily cannoli recipe uses sheep’s-milk ricotta, very thin fried shells and a sieve for the cream.
Family formulas are not identical. Fat, wine, cocoa, cinnamon, citrus and shaping details vary from one version to another.
A finished cannolo should crack cleanly and then give way to cool ricotta. Chocolate, pistachio or orange can arrive afterward; none needs to bury the cheese.
The first shell does not have to be pretty. Once it is thin, blistered and crisp, the rest is adjustment. Cool the shells, fill them late, dust one lightly and eat it while the shell still has something to say.
