These amazing vegan cannoli taste just like the classic Sicilian pastry! With a super flaky pastry formed into tubes and filled with a creamy dairy free ricotta filling, no one will know these cannoli are entirely vegan, eggless, and dairy free! Based on my great grandpa’s recipe!
What are cannoli?
Cannoli are a wonderfully sweet and delicious Sicilian pastry. They’re made from pastry dough that’s shaped into a tub (cannoli literally translates to “little tubes”), and filled with a sweet ricotta filling that often contains chocolate chips or pistachios, and is dusted with a little powdered sugar.
In America, you might often hear people refer to these pastry tubes as “cannolis” but that’s actually incorrect. “Cannoli” is already the plural form of the Italian dessert, and “un cannolo” is the singular. So if you see me refer throughout the blog post to either “cannoli” or “cannolo” now you know I mean one or more!
My great grandpa, Andrea (or “Sonny” as everyone in the family called him), was “famous” in our family for making his cannoli. He was from Palermo, and was quite a chef. While his cannoli were not vegan, I have missed having his famous dessert since he passed about 15 years ago, and I actually don’t think I’ve had a cannolo since. That’s why I decided to make his recipe entirely vegan, eggless, and dairy free. Even the filling!
Trust me, you won’t even know these cannoli are vegan! The pastry shell is so flaky and just lightly sweet (think like an unglazed doughnut) and the vegan ricotta filling is perfectly sweet!
What is cannoli filling made from?
Cannoli are actually filled with a ricotta cream that’s been mixed together with sugar. It’s super fluffy, and just sweet enough. Typically, the filling is mixed and topped with either chocolate chips or pistachios. But here are a few other fun ideas for your cannoli fillings:
- Chopped almonds
- Crushed hazelnuts + chocolate shavings
- Sprinkles
- Crushed candy canes (for a more winter theme)
- Powdered freeze dried raspberries or strawberries
Special equipment needed:
For these cannoli, you’ll need:
- Food processor
- Large bowl OR a stand mixer
- Hand mixer (or a stand mixer- see above!)
- Round 3″ or 4″ cookie cutter
- Cannoli forms (molding shells for the cannoli shells
- Piping bag + piping tip
How to make vegan cannoli from scratch (overview)
For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe.
For ingredients, here’s what you’ll need to make this vegan cannoli recipe:
- Flour
- Vegan butter
- White wine: I used non-alcoholic white wine, as I’m alcohol free, but you can use regular wine or use 40 mL of water + 10 mL apple cider vinegar!
- Sugar
- Dairy free yogurt: I used a pretty soft yogurt, Forager Project. I wouldn’t recommend a thick creamy yogurt, like coconut. This is our egg replacement.
- Vegan ricotta filling: This is a mixture of vegan butter, powdered sugar, and a touch of dairy free yogurt.
- Chocolate chips
- Pistachios
Now to make the cannoli, you can do this all in one day or space it out over two days. You can make the cannoli shells the first day and fill them the next if that’s easiest. Since these are baked cannoli shells rather than fried, there’s little to clean up afterwards, and not as much hands-on time!
Here’s an overview of the steps to make these easy vegan cannoli:
How to make vegan cannoli:
- Make the dough:
Pulse the flour and vegan butter together in a food processor. Then add in the remaining ingredients and pulse again until you reach a thick dough. This is a very similar process to making pie dough! Then you’ll chill the dough for about 30 minutes or longer.
- Form the cannoli shells:
Make sure to grease all of the cannoli forms before beginning. Then roll out your dough super thin, nearly 1/8″ thick. Then use your cookie cutters and cut out as many shells as possible. You can re-roll the dough. Form the shells over the cannoli forms and seal the edges together. This ensures that they don’t fall apart when baking!
- Bake the cannoli shells:
Brush the vegan cannoli shells with our vegan “egg wash” (a combination of soy milk and maple syrup), and place the cannoli into the freezer to chill while the oven preheats. Then place the baking sheet into the oven to bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and allow the cannoli shells to cool on the forms before filling.
- Make the ricotta filling:
In a large bowl, cream together the vegan butter until light and fluffy. Then add in the remaining ingredients, and mix again until fluffy again. I stir in my chocolate chips instead of adding them on top, but you can do either!
- Fill your cannoli!
Spoon the vegan ricotta filling into a piping bag and fill each cannolo on both sides.
Then you can sprinkle with powdered sugar and top with more chocolate chips! Keep these cannoli in the fridge until you’re ready to serve. Then enjoy!
If you’re making these cannoli the day of and realize that you don’t have the cannoli forms, don’t panic. There is a way to make homemade cannoli forms! However, I do recommend you purchase the forms, as they’re much easier to work with and will yield a much more uniform look.
If you’re really pressed for time, though, you can follow the instructions of this video for making your own cannoli molds.
Can I fry these cannoli shells instead of baking?
I personally have not tried making these particular vegan cannoli shells fried instead of baked. That being said, it is based off of my great grandpa’s recipe, and he always fried the shells.
If you were to fry them, you need a large pot and neutral oil. Heat the oil to 350F, and use a slotted spoon to carefully place the cannoli into the oil. Cook until lightly golden brown, then remove and place back onto a baking sheet.
Please note that you’ll also have to ensure that the cannoli shells are entirely sealed!
Can I make the dough without a food processor?
Yes, you can definitely make the cannoli dough without a food processor! Instead of a food processor, you can use a pastry cutter or fork, and cut the vegan butter into the flour. Then continue to use the pastry cutter or fork as you add in the other ingredients. It will be a bit more work than using a food processor, but it’s completely doable.
Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!
If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!
Amazing Vegan Cannoli Recipe (Baked)
5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star5 from 4 reviews
- Author: Britt Berlin
- Prep Time: 20
- Chilling Time: 30
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These amazing vegan cannoli taste just like the classic Sicilian pastry! With a super flaky pastry formed into tubes and filled with a creamy dairy free ricotta filling, no one will know these cannoli are entirely vegan, eggless, and dairy free! Based on my great grandpa’s recipe!
Ingredients
Scale
Cannoli Shell:
- 2 cups (250 grams) all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (67 grams) salted vegan butter, cubed and chilled
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (50 mL) vegan non-alcoholic white wine (or marsala wine if you’d like to use the classic version)
- 1/3 cup (65 grams) dairy free unsweetened yogurt
- Vegan “egg wash” ( 1 tbsp soy milk + 1 tbsp maple syrup)
Vegan Ricotta Filling:
- 1 cup (226 grams) vegan butter, room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 3 ounces vegan dairy free yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional 1/2 tsp vanilla powder)
- Dash of cinnamon
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- Optional: 1 cup chopped pistachios
Instructions
- Please read through all instructions before beginning.
- Prep: You’ll make the cannoli shells first, followed by the filling. Make sure that you have the cannoli forms and cookie cutter. If you can’t find them in stores or online, here is a way to make DIY cannoli forms.
- Make the cannoli shell dough: In a food processor, process together the flour and vegan butter until you reach a slightly sandy mixture. Add in the granulated sugar, non-alcoholic wine, and dairy free yogurt. Blend again until a smooth dough forms, about 2 minutes. Form the dough into a flat disk, and wrap the dough in parchment paper or plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- While the dough is chilling: lightly grease each cannoli form with coconut oil or melted vegan butter. Be careful not to grease them too much though, as you don’t want the shells to slide while baking. Whisk together the vegan “egg wash” and set aside.
- Roll and shape the cannoli shells: Once the dough is chilled, flour a clean surface and rolling pin. Place the dough onto the floured surface, and roll the dough out to be about 1/8″ thick. Try to get the dough as thin as possible without breaking it. Use a 3″ or 4″ cookie cutter, and cut as many shells as you can from the dough. You can re-roll the scraps for remaining shells. Take one cut out shell and wrap it tightly around a cannoli form. Press the edges together enough for them to seal, then brush with the vegan “egg wash”. Place the cannoli shell onto the baking sheet and repeat for the remaining shells.
- Bake the shells: Place the baking sheets into the freezer to chill while the oven preheats to 400F.When the oven is preheated, place the baking sheets into the oven. Carefully watch the shells with the oven light on to make sure they’re not sliding down. If they are, you can remove the baking sheet quickly and carefully with oven mitts push the shells back up and sealed. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly golden.
- Remove the shells from the oven: Allow the shells to cool on the cannoli forms and rest on the baking sheet. Once fully cooled, begin to make the filling.
- Make the veganricotta filling: In a large bowl with a hand mixer or using a stand mixer with whisk attachment, cream the butter until light in color, about 3 minutes. Add in the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time while you continue to mix, stopping to scrape down the sides every so often. Then add in the dairy free yogurt, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Cream together until fluffy. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and add in the chocolate chips. Fold together until even distributed.
- Pipe the ricotta filling into the shells: Remove the shells from the molds. Spoon the filling into a piping bag with star tip or open tip attached. Pipe the filling into each side of the cannoli and sprinkle with chocolate chips if desired.
- Serve and enjoy!Dust with powdered sugar, serve and enjoy! Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
