A twist on Sicilian cuisine, this Air Fryer Cannoli recipe is easily made with air-fried shells & a sweet & creamy filling made from scratch.
If you know me, then you know that I’m all about the treats. Especially if they have a special flair to them like Cannoli.
Cannoli used to be something that I had to go to the bakery to get. Now we can easily make them in the air fryer in short time and they are SO GOOD!
Who could resist these crisp little tubes of pastry dough that are filled with a creamy cinnamon filling and topped with mini chocolate chips and confectioner’s sugar?
I’m such a sucker for those mini chocolate chips – I find them positively irresistible. Just look how cute these little cannoli are – you won’t believe how quick and easy they are to make.
cannoli
Here are some commonly asked questions
How to store cannoli
Once the cannoli shells are filled they will become soggy when left for any length of time. I don’t recommend storing filled cannoli.
You can place the unfilled shells on a paper towel in an airtight container and keep them at room temperature for several days. Just add the filling before serving.
Can cannoli be frozen?
So the problem with that idea is that the filling penetrates the pastry and makes it soggy. If you want to freeze them, I recommend freezing the filling and the shells separately in airtight containers for up to 3 months. Then thaw them overnight and fill them before serving.
What other cannoli recipes can I make?
- No-Bake Cannoli Cream Pie (so easy)
- Cannoli Sugar Cookie Cups
- Cannoli Pancakes
homemade cannoli
How Air Frying Works
While air fryers are relatively new to the market, the technology isn’t really a new concept. They basically work like tiny convection ovens that you can use on your countertop.
Similar to a convection oven, it circulates the hot air within the cooking area using a high-powered fan. This helps evenly distribute the heat around the food which not only creates more evenly cooked food but also reduced cooking times.
By circulating the hot air, which contains the fine oil droplets from adding a light mist layer before cooking, and allows you to remove the need for submerging our foods in heavy oils to create the deliciously crunchy foods we all love.
What are the benefits of air frying?
Healthier
It’s no secret that fried foods are more fattening – but did you know that there are 9 calories in every gram of fat? With air frying, we can reduce the fat by removing most of the oils usually needed to create crunchy foods. This helps to drastically reduce fat intake and calories.
Convenience
I love being able to cook with my air fryer and eliminate the need for large baking sheets and lots of pots and pans. Most of my air fryer recipes can be made with just a mixing bowl or two or a small saucepan in addition to my air fryer.
Energy Efficient
Someone said to me once, “why make this in the air fryer if you can do it the conventional way in the same amount of time?” Well, air frying helps eliminate the need for a conventional oven.
Not only can you keep your home cooler in the summer by not using the oven, but you are saving money with reduced energy consumption costs as well.
Time Saver
I don’t know about you, but if I can avoid turning on the oven and having to wait 20 minutes for it to preheat, I’m happy about that. Most air fryer recipes either don’t require that you preheat the fryer – or the preheat time is 5 minutes or less. That is a huge time saver over using the oven.
Take it on the go
I love that the air fryer is compact and easy to take along on trips. We pack ours in our RV and find that air fryer cooking while camping is so much easier than trying to deep fry foods on a small RV stove or camping burner.
best cannoli
I have a bake option and other special features on my air fryer, is that the setting? Or do you put it on “air fry” setting?
All of my recipes were created with an air fryer that had only a temperature & timer setting – since not all air fryers have all the additional settings.
You can use the bake setting when making recipes that you would traditionally bake – but if possible, please just set the temperature & time for this recipe.
Can these be made without wine?
Yes – if you don’t want to use marsala (cooking wine) you can replace it with red wine vinegar that has a trace amount of alcohol or use apple cider vinegar which doesn’t contain any alcohol for this recipe.
cannoli pastry
Air Frying Doneness Tip
Every air fryer is a bit different and they all cook at different rates – so in general, all cooking times are approximate based on the pan and temperature.
You can always cook the recipe longer if needed and reduce the heat a bit. If needed, you can tent the top if it is browning too much.
Can I use a vanilla substitute instead of vanilla extract?
Yes. Vanilla essence does not provide quite the same flavor as regular vanilla extract. However, it is a good alternative.
cannolis
What air fryer do you use?
We actually have 3 air fryers. I have a smaller one from Phillips that we started with. I have since given that to my son since he’s only cooking for 1.
But the more I used the air fryer I realized I really wanted a digital screen. It wasn’t any more expensive, in fact- our XL air fryer from GoWISE was less expensive than the Phillips and I love its ease & extra functions.
Plus it comes with a lot of the extra accessories I like to use when cooking with my fryer.
But I when I started working on my second air fryer book, I wanted to change things up. I picked up this LARGE air fryer that has been wonderful. It has Touch Screen Presets plus it is XL Family Size, which is great!
Can I use a gluten-free flour?
I’m not sure just yet. I have been meaning to give this a try but haven’t had a chance. If you do try this, I would recommend using a 1:1 flour like this one as I don’t believe it would require additional ingredients that are typically called for when trying to make baked recipes in a gluten-free version. Please come back & tell me how it turned out.
Italian Cannoli
How to make cannoli shells
- Add the flour and butter to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the butter is the size of small peas.
- Add the egg yolk and Marsala wine and pulse until the dough comes together in a large ball.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator until ready to use.
How to make cannoli filling
- Add the heavy whipping cream to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
- Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form.
- Add the ricotta, vanilla, and ground cinnamon and fold the ingredients together until they’re fully mixed.
- Transfer the mixture to a piping bag and set aside until ready to use.
homemade cannoli shells
How to air fry cannoli and fill
- Roll the cannoli dough out on a lightly floured surface until it’s ⅛-¼” thick.
- Cut out 3” circles from the dough and reroll and recut any scraps of dough.
- Roll the dough around a cannoli tube and place them in the air fryer.
- Cook at 400F for 5-7 minutes, or until the shells are crisp.
- Carefully remove the cannolis from the tube and set them on a wire rack to cool.
- Allow the cannoli tubes to cool fully before cooking the next batch.
- Fill the fried cannolis with the ricotta mixture and then dip the ends in the mini chocolate chips, if desired.
Do I need to spray the dough with oil before cooking?
It really depends on how you want the shells to be once they are cooked. If you don’t spray them with oil, you are basically baking them (as you see here). They will be crisp, but will not have that fried texture.
You can give a light spritz of oil before cooking if you prefer the shells to have a crispier, fried texture.
Ingredients for Air Fryer Cannoli
For the Shell
- all-purpose flour
- granulated sugar (optional– if you like a sweeter cannoli)
- butter
- egg yolk
- marsala wine
For the Filling
- heavy whipping cream
- ricotta cheese
- pure vanilla extract
- ground cinnamon
- mini chocolate chips optional
chocolate chip cannoli
Products I love when making cannoli…
This air fryer cannoli recipe is SUPER EASY and delicious – and if you’re like me, then you maybe already have some of these items on hand OR maybe you are new to air frying & you might be a bit nervous – but you’re going to love it. I have made a list below of the things I absolutely can’t live without when it comes to making this treat recipe.
- all-purpose flour
- granulated sugar (optional– if you like a sweeter cannoli)
- marsala wine
- pure vanilla extract
- ground cinnamon
- mini chocolate chips
- food processor
- plastic wrap
- mixing bowl
- mixer
- piping bag
- large piping tip
- confectioner’s sugar
- air fryer
- cannoli pastry tubes
mini cannoli
If you love this Easy Cannoli recipe, you’re going to love these other treats too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
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Air Fryer Cannoli
Ingredients
For the Shell
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar (optional– if you like a sweeter cannoli)
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 egg yolk
- ¼ cup marsala wine
For the Filling
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips optional
Instructions
Make the Cannoli Dough
- Add the flour and butter to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the butter is the size of small peas.
- Add the egg yolk and Marsala wine and pulse until the dough comes together in a large ball.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Make the Filling
- Add the heavy whipping cream to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
- Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form.
- Add the ricotta, vanilla, and ground cinnamon and fold the ingredients together until they’re fully mixed.
- Transfer the mixture to a piping bag and set aside until ready to use.
Air Fry the Dough and Assemble
- Roll the cannoli dough out on a lightly floured surface until it’s ⅛-¼” thick.
- Cut out 3” circles from the dough and reroll and recut any scraps of dough.
- Roll the dough around a cannoli tube and place them in the air fryer.
- Cook at 400F for 5-7 minutes, or until the shells are crisp.
- Carefully remove the cannolis from the tube and set them on a wire rack to cool.
- Allow the cannoli tubes to cool fully before cooking the next batch.
- Fill the fried cannolis with the ricotta mixture and then dip the ends in the mini chocolate chips, if desired.
Notes
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
