Cannoli Dip
An easy cannoli dip (that doesn’t taste like cream cheese!) mixed with delicious mini chocolate chips and served with broken waffle cones for dipping.
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Table of Contents
About Cannoli Dip
For as much as I claim to love desserts dips I’ve seriously been neglecting them as of late. I had to check my recipe archives to be sure, but my last dessert dip was posted all the way back at the beginning of March.
So, clearly, this easy cannoli dip was more than called for.
And if you’re like me and haven’t fully come to terms with the fact that we’re almost half way through the month of May (!!) that means it’s been two whole months since I whipped up something sweet and dippable.
Like, seriously.
Time, you need to slow your roll.
Wait, are the cool kids still saying “slow your roll”?
Yes?
Maybe no?
Guess I’ll just have to cross my fingers and hope for the best, cause I’m just not ready to upgrade my slang and use “on fleek” in a sentence.
Anywho, where was I?
Oh, right – DIP!
I have to admit that the recent lack of dessert dips is all due to the “parfait craze” I’ve been on lately. Once the Baileys Cookies and Cream Parfait post took off, it was hard not to make even more parfaits. I gotta give the masses what they want, right?
But, sadly, none of my other parfaits did anywhere near as good as the Baileys one, so aside from one more awesome parfait I have planned (seriously, it’s a doozy!) I’ll probably cool it with the parfaits for a while and go back to my tried and true dip recipes.
Although, at the end of the day, I’m game for any type of no bake dessert. I’m not the best baker (though I do try!) so anytime I don’t have to depend on whatever voodoo magic my oven casts on baked goods is fine by me.
Parfaits and dips are just the easiest route to all the sweet food I crave.
Now, the cool part about this dip is that it surprised me. I wanted to make a dip with the ingredients I had on hand, and it just so happens I always seem to have a lot of cream cheese in my fridge.
So cream cheese is definitely in this dip, and in 99.9% of cases that means you’re still going to taste at least a little bit of the cream cheese no matter how hard you try to dress it up…
But for this cannoli dip, that wasn’t the case, because you can’t taste the cream cheese in this. Like, at all.
And I would never have believed that if I had not made it myself and learned the truth.
So there you have it: a five-ingredient dip that’s easy to throw together and still has all the indulgent flavor of a true cannoli. I can’t wait to make this at our next party!
Do you have to use Cream Cheese?
Since I posted this recipe, many readers have said they wished it didn’t include cream cheese. And I totally understand that – cream cheese can be very overpowering and it’s not a flavor you normally think of with cannoli.
However, in this case, I promise that you can’t taste the cream cheese in this recipe. The only reason why cream cheese is used is to give the app a little thickness and consistency.
Do you have to use Ricotta Cheese?
Other readers have also asked for an alternative to the ricotta cheese, as they love cannolis but dislike ricotta… but I gotta be honest with you here:
Most traditional cannoli recipes are made with ricotta cheese.
You might find some variations, but from what I’ve read, ricotta cheese tends to be a cannoli staple. So if you love cannolis but are unsure about ricotta, invite a few friends over and give this dip a try as it’s written. I promise the taste will be very similar to the cannoli you already love. And if not? Your friends can help you eat what’s left.
How to make sure your cannoli dip is creamy
I’ve made this dip a few times without any issues, but some readers have said that their dip came out watery or grainy.
Thankfully, there are a few easy things you can do to help prevent this from happening to your dip.
- I would highly recommend splurging on a high-quality brand ricotta made with whole milk. I like to use Shamrock brand.
- Make sure the ricotta is very fresh and ideally from a container that’s just been opened. This will help lessen the chance of excess liquid in the ricotta.
- If you do notice that your ricotta has extra liquid or isn’t a firm, you can use cheesecloth to help drain any excess liquid from the ricotta. If you’re unsure how to do this, check out this tutorial on how to strain ricotta cheese.
Using any one (or all!) of these tips will help ensure your dip has a nice creamy consistency.
Notes & tips for this cannoli cream dip
- For this recipe, I highly recommend using a stand mixer or a hand mixer. This isn’t a recipe you can make by hand with a whisk.
- If making the dip in advance, refrigerate in a covered container overnight, then allow the dip to soften on your counter until it has a firmness you’d like for dipping.
More fun dessert dips
How to make cannoli dip
This next part is only a photo tutorial of the recipe steps. If you’re looking for the full recipe measurements and instructions, scroll down to Recipe Details.
Step 1 – Using a stand mixer (or hand mixer + large bowl), add ricotta, cream cheese, and powdered sugar. Whip them together on medium-high speed until ultra creamy.
Step 2 – Toss in the vanilla extract and mix until absorbed, about another 30 seconds or so.
Step 3 – Add chocolate chips and gently fold them into the cannoli mixture.
Step 4 – Serve dip and enjoy!
Cannoli Dip
Ingredients
- 1 cup ricotta
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- waffle cones, broken
Instructions
- Using a (or a + ), beat ricotta, cream cheese, and powdered sugar on medium-high speed until smooth, about 3-5 minutes. Add in vanilla extract and whip for another 30 seconds.
- Taste test the dip - if you'd like it sweeter, add more powdered sugar, about 2 tablespoons at a time. You can safely add up to another 1/2 cup of powdered sugar (8 tablespoons) without negatively impacting consistency.
- Fold in mini chocolate chips, reserving some to sprinkle on top for decoration, if desired.
- Serve dip immediately with broken waffle cones for dipping.
Nutrition
I do my best to provide nutrition information, but please keep in mind that I'm not a certified nutritionist. Any nutritional information discussed or disclosed in this post should only be seen as my best amateur estimates of the correct values.
