Air Fryer Churro Cannoli is everything you love about traditional cannoli, but easier when air fried! These are coated in cinnamon and sugar, making them similar to a cartocci, but they keep their small cannoli size. Positively delicious!
Do you love cannoli? Who could resist that tender shell piped full of sweet cream filling? It’s so delicious.
So one day my friend came over and we decided to change up my traditional cannoli recipe that we made in the air fryer. We made this version churro-style for Cinco de Mayo and I have to say – they were AH-MAZ-ING! (Don’t miss my traditional Churro Recipe too!)
We didn’t just add the usual cinnamon and sugar to the outside shell. While that in and of itself is scrumptious – we wanted to add a little something to the filling too.
In that filling you’ll also find cinnamon – because we have some serious cinnamon lovers in this house.
I blame the fact that I enjoyed a cinnamon roll from Sweetie Pies every single day when I was expecting my son. I’m pretty sure that fueled his cinnamon obsession today.
But that aside – the addition of cinnamon and blending traditional Italian and Mexican flavors was a great idea. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to go back to a traditional cannoli again.
homemade cannoli
Here are some commonly asked questions
Can these be made without the 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 try using apple cider vinegar which doesn’t contain any alcohol for this recipe.
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.
cannoli shell
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.
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.
Be sure to add the cinnamon and sugar coating after they are thawed during the assembly process. The coating won’t freeze well.
cannoli recipe
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.
mexican cannoli
HOW DO YOU MAKE AIR FRYER CHURRO CANNOLI?
Cannoli Dough
- Pulse the flour, sugar, and butter in a food processor until the mixture forms small pea-sized bits.
- Pulse in the egg yolk and marsala wine until the dough forms a large ball.
- Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 10 minutes or up to 4 hours.
- Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it is about ⅛” thick. Cut out 3” circles with a round cookie cutter. Be sure to reroll and recut any leftover dough to get as many cannolis as possible.
- Lightly spray a cannoli tube with nonstick spray and loosely wrap the dough around it, sealing it together on one side. Place them in the fryer and cook them at 400F for 5-7 minutes until the shells are firm and crisp.
- Remove the cannolis from the molds and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack.
Filling
- Using a hand or stand mixer, whisk the heavy whipping cream at high speed until stiff peaks form– 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the ricotta, vanilla, ground cinnamon, and chocolate chips, and fold the ingredients together until fully incorporated.
- Transfer the mixture to a piping bag and set aside in the fridge until ready to use.
Coat & Assemble
- Just before serving, melt the butter in a large bowl. Combine the cinnamon and sugar in another large bowl.
- Brush the outside of the cannolis with melted butter and then dip them in the cinnamon-sugar.
- Fill the cannolis with the ricotta mixture and serve immediately.
mexican dessert recipes
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.
What other cannoli recipes can I make?
- No-Bake Cannoli Cream Pie (so easy)
- Cannoli Sugar Cookie Cups
- Cannoli Pancakes
mexican desserts
Ingredients for Air Fryer Churro Cannoli
Shell
- all-purpose flour
- granulated sugar
- butter
- egg yolk
- marsala wine
Filling
- heavy whipping cream
- ricotta cheese
- pure vanilla extract
- ground cinnamon
- mini chocolate chips
To Coat
- butter
- granulated sugar
- ground cinnamon
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.
cannoli pastry
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!
handmade cannoli
Products I love when making churro cannoli…
This air fryer churro-style 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 this tasty little treat. I have made a list below of the things I absolutely can’t live without when it comes to making this 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
- cookie cutters – round
- cannoli pastry tubes
If you love this Easy Air Fryer Churro Cannoli recipe, you’re going to love these other treats too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
churros in air fryer
If you love this recipe for Churro-Style Cannoli as much as I do, please write a five-star review, and be sure to help me share on Facebook and Pinterest!
easy churros
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Air Fryer Churro Cannoli
Ingredients
Shell
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 large egg yolk
- ¼ cup marsala wine
Filling
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp mini chocolate chips
To Coat
- 4 tbsp butter
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
Cannoli Dough
- Pulse the flour, sugar, and butter in a food processor until the mixture forms small pea-sized bits.
- Pulse in the egg yolk and marsala wine until the dough forms a large ball.
- Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 10 minutes or up to 4 hours.
- Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it is about ⅛” thick. Cut out 3” circles with a round cookie cutter. Be sure to reroll and recut any leftover dough to get as many cannolis as possible.
- Lightly spray a cannoli tube with nonstick spray and loosely wrap the dough around it, sealing it together on one side. Place them in the fryer and cook them at 400F for 5-7 minutes until the shells are firm and crisp.
- Remove the cannolis from the molds and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack.
Filling
- Using a hand or stand mixer, whisk the heavy whipping cream at high speed until stiff peaks form– 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the ricotta, vanilla, ground cinnamon, and chocolate chips, and fold the ingredients together until fully incorporated.
- Transfer the mixture to a piping bag and set aside in the fridge until ready to use.
Coat & Assemble
- Just before serving, melt the butter in a large bowl. Combine the cinnamon and sugar in another large bowl.
- Brush the outside of the cannolis with melted butter and then dip them in the cinnamon-sugar.
- Fill the cannolis with the ricotta mixture and serve immediately.
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.
Matt says
These look delicious my cannoli tubes are made out of wood can I put them in the air fryer I’m so confused I have the Kalorik airfryer Max and I don’t even know what kind of utensils do you use they just told me glass so I haven’t used it I am can you help me out on this I’d love to make these thanks
Gina Kleinworth says
Hi there – I’m not sure if the wood would be a good option for the air fryer. I have never tried it.
I would recommend using either metal or rolling up some foil in the same size and shape & using that instead of wood.