Cannoli are one of our favorite Italian desserts and we’ve never had one better than in its birthplace of Sicily. We’ve eaten them in Italy and NYC (Little Italy and the LES), but nothing compared to the ones in Palermo and Catania. So, I figured it was time to post a recipe that I made last New Year’s Eve for a small group of friends (including a couple of Sicilians). It was the perfect time to get feedback and an honest opinion from locals so I made two last-minute batches (one with goat’s milk ricotta cheese and one with cow’s milk ricotta cheese).

This cannoli recipe uses a genuine Sicilian recipe and I’m happy to say, it got a “two thumbs up” rating (for both taste and authenticity) by our Sicilian friends♡. I’ve included step-by-step photos at the end of the post in case this is your first time making cannoli at home.

A Few Cannoli From Sicily and Around Italy (below)

What are Sicilian Cannoli?

Sicilians are as serious about their cannoli as southerners are about bbq, and New Yorkers are about pizza. To them, it’s not a real cannolo unless you’re eating it in Sicily and unless it’s filled with sheep’s milk or goat’s milk ricotta cheese (although you’ll find them all throughout Italy and worldwide made using cow’s milk ricotta).

Cannoli are fried pastry dough filled with sweetened sheep’s milk ricotta cream and eaten cold. They come from Palermo, Sicily, and the surrounding area, and are thought to have been developed by the Muslim wives of the Emir during a couple of centuries under Arab domination. The best cannoli are the ones that get filled to order and haven’t been pre-filled and sitting in the refrigerator case for hours (which makes the once crispy shell soft). However, there’s a way around this too — often shops will “paint” the inside of the shells with melted chocolate and allow it to harden before filling the shells with ricotta cream saving the crispy exterior from ruin and saving time.

Here are the 3 parts that make up a cannolo.

Scorza (the “crust” or “peel” ). The scorza is the crispy outer pastry that’s been rolled thinly, cut into rounds, wrapped around a metal tube mold, and fried in the shape of a “bowtie” or “Turkish hat”. This flaky tender pastry gets its bubbly texture from the addition of lard and Marsala wine. It’s most often flavored with a little orange zest, cinnamon, and sometimes cocoa powder.
Ricotta Cream Filling. Traditionally, sheep’s milk ricotta is sweetened with granulated sugar or honey and used as the filling, but you’ll find lots of recipes that use powdered sugar which will change the texture because powdered sugar also contains a little cornstarch. cow’s milk ricotta is also very popular. Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of the filling because there are a couple of techniques that help ensure a velvety and delicious outcome besides buying the highest quality ricotta available — Always strain the ricotta properly so the filling is creamy and not runny or watery and always press the strained cheese through a fine-mesh strainer, sieve, or tami which ensures the cheese is light, fluffy and reaches its full creamy potential when combined with the sugar.
Topping. Toppings are what you’ll find on either end of a filled cannolo and traditionally only “candita” (candied orange peel) or candied cherries were used. But pretty much you can find any number of less traditional, but really tasty toppings like mini chocolate chips, candied lime, lemon, or pistachios which are all commonplace nowadays.

gingerbread colored cannoli dough round on a marble serving tray

Cannoli ingredients on a cutting board with cow's Milk Cheese

Cannoli ingredients on a cutting board with Goat's Milk Cheese

Sicilian Cannoli (Shells + Filling) Ingredients

Since this is an authentic Italian recipe, it was provided to me in gram measurements. If you have a scale, I suggest weighing everything using the gram measurements provided below (it’s easier and more precise). But using measuring spoons and cups will still yield excellent results. I’ve provided 3 filling recipes (strawberry, pistachio, and original).

Cannoli Shell Ingredients

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons 00 flour (or all-purpose flour) (100g)*
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon granulated sugar (20g)
1 teaspoon cocoa powder (3g)
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 tablespoon lard, cold (10g)
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons dry Marsala wine (25g)
freshly grated orange zest to taste (or 8 quick bursts on a Microplane)
1 egg beaten (for the egg wash to seal cannoli dough when wrapped around the metal tube)

Original Ricotta Filling

8.8 ounces sheep’s milk ricotta (or goat or cow’s milk ricotta), strained overnight (250g)
1/4 cup granulated sugar (50g)
pinch of salt

Pistachio Ricotta Filling

8.8 ounces sheep’s milk ricotta (or goat or cow’s milk ricotta), strained (250g)
1 tablespoon natural pistachio cream (15g)
1/4 cup granulated sugar (50g)
pinch of salt

Strawberry Ricotta Filling

8.8 ounces sheep’s milk ricotta (or goat or cow’s milk ricotta), strained (250g)
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon homemade strawberry sugar (60g)
pinch of salt

Topping Garnish Options

candied cherries
toasted pistachios
mini chocolate chips
candied orange zest

*I use 00 flour when I’m in Italy, and King Arthur all-purpose when I’m in the States. And the weight of these different flours varies based on the humidity content of the flour and also the environment you’re living in. No matter where you live, just be sure to use the ‘scoop and level’ method to measure your flour into measuring cups and spoons and the recipe works perfectly every time.

Pictured below is the cow’s milk ricotta on the left and the goat’s milk ricotta on the right.

Both cannoli fillings turn out to be super creamy and smooth despite the appearance of the goat’s milk ricotta seeming to be a little rougher-textured in the two photos on the right.

How to Make an Authentic Cannoli with Homemade Shells and Filling

Strain the ricotta cheese overnight. Place the ricotta cheese into a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight (and up to 24 hours).
Make the ricotta cream filling. Press the strained ricotta cheese through the fine mesh strainer and into a clean bowl. Repeat this process one more time, add sugar (and pistachio cream if using), and whip the mixture using a rubber spatula to combine well. Cover the ricotta cream and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 24 hours before placing it into a piping bag and filling the shells.
Make the cannoli shell dough. Add the marsala wine to the egg yolk and whisk it lightly to blend and set aside. Add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, orange zest, and lard to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment (or to a large mixing bowl if kneading by hand). Stir the ingredients together with your hands, or a fork to blend. With the mixer on low speed, add the egg mixture, increase the speed to medium-low and knead it just until you have a somewhat smooth and compact dough (or about 6 to 7 minutes or for about 10 minutes if kneading by hand). Cover the dough and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, and up to 1 hour. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
Roll out the cannoli dough. Pat the dough down into a disc and flatten it with a rolling pin and cut it in half. Cover any dough you’re not working with, to keep it from drying out. Working with one piece of dough at a time, fold it over onto itself like you’re folding a business letter. Dust it with flour and run it through the pasta machine starting on the widest setting “0”. Repeat the letter fold again and run it back through the pasta machine. Pass the dough through the pasta machine increasing the number each time (making the dough thinner and thinner) and doing the letter fold each time until you reach a thickness of about 1/8 inch (3mm) or thinner. If you do not have a pasta machine, simply roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface until you’ve reached the desired thickness. *I made my cannoli thinner than 1/8 inch (3mm) because I wanted it to be more of a plated style dessert.
Cut the cannoli dough rounds + seal them onto the metal tubes. Using a 3 1/2 inch (or smaller or larger) round pastry cutter, cut circles from the rolled-out dough. Wrap a piece of dough around the cannoli tube and seal it together by brushing one side with egg wash and lightly pressing down. Repeat with remaining tubes and fry in batches. Allow the tubes to cool before wrapping more dough and sealing. *Be sure to not get egg wash on the metal tube, or the shell may have a more difficult time releasing from the tube once it’s been fried.
Fry the cannoli shells. Preheat 1 to 2 inches of oil in a deep fryer, or other deep heavy-gauged pot to 320°F/160°C. Lower the cannolo one at a time into the hot oil with a spider strainer holding it there to support the cannolo for just about 5 to 10 seconds before releasing it into the oil. Allow it to cook for about 30 to 40 more seconds, or until perfectly golden brown being sure to turn the cannoli over halfway through cooking time to ensure even browning. Remove them from the hot oil to a paper towel-lined platter. When just cool enough, carefully remove the tube from the crispy cannoli using a spoon to tap on the top of one end while holding the cannolo to allow it to release. Allow the cannoli shells to completely cool before filling them.
Assemble the cannoli. Place the cannoli cream filling into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip (809 or 805 work just fine) and pipe the filling into each cannolo starting from one end and repeating on the other end, sprinkle with chocolate chips, pistachios, or desired topping, and Enjoy!

How to Make a Super Smooth Cannoli Cream Filling — According to Actual Sicilians

According to Sicilians, there are a couple of techniques and ways to ensure a smooth and luxurious cannoli cream filling that also keep you from having to use excessive amounts of sugar to get the right consistency.

Don’t be tempted to use an electric mixer to blend the ricotta and sugar which can make the filling watery or runny. A simple pass (or even two) of the ricotta cheese mixture through a fine-mesh sieve is a must for the smoothest filling.
Granulated sugar is traditionally used to sweeten cannoli cream (powdered sugar is not traditionally used) so it needs time to melt into the strained ricotta cheese. And you can do one of three things to achieve this:
- Add the sugar to the strained ricotta cheese, pass it through a fine-mesh sieve, blend well with a spatula, and cover and refrigerate overnight (and even better up to 24 hours) before using.
- Pass the strained ricotta cheese through a fine-mesh sieve, blend in the sugar using a spatula, and cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours) before using.

a beautiful golden brown cannoli with pink strawberry ricotta cream and pink white chocolate sprinkleeson one end and pale pistachio green ricotta cream on the other end with mini chocolate chips and pistachios

Can You Freeze Cannoli?

Yes, you can freeze a filled cannoli, but after defrosting them, the shell will become soft and lose its crispiness. You can still get decent results freezing cannoli if you’ve lined the inside of your cannoli shells with melted chocolate first. However, the best method is to make the filling ahead and freeze it (for up to a month or slightly more), then thaw it in the refrigerator overnight, give it a good stir, and use it to fill the just-fried and cooled cannoli shells.

Strawberry-rhubarb cream cheese pie on a half sheet pan.

crispy flaky golden brown strawberry-rhubarb fried pies sprinkled with homemade strawberry sugar

Whole key lime pie baked in a spring from cake pan.

my hand holding a cherry fried pie wonton with a bite taken out and it's gloriously cherry red filling exposed inside

Golden brown pecan pie on a half sheet pan.

a forkful of cherry crumb crunch pie with the slice in the background

slice of arkansas possum pie with cream cheese layer, scratch made chocolate pudding layer, pecan shortbread crust layer, and whipped cream layer

Looking for More Delicious Desserts to Make?

We’ve got a few other pie recipes we think you might like, from our favorite no-bake summer recipes to a few others worth heating up your kitchen for.

Let’s get started!