Cannoli Muffins, easy homemade Italian inspired recipe with ricotta cheese, orange, cinnamon, pistachios, vanilla, and mini chocolate chips. The best for breakfast, brunch, or even dessert! Quick and simple to make, these muffins are moist and delicious!
These Cannoli Muffins, are the perfect go-to treat for breakfast, brunch, or even dessert. I just can’t get enough cannoli recipes, so add this one to the list! These muffins are full of flavor including ricotta cheese, orange zest, cinnamon, pistachios, vanilla, and mini chocolate chips. A great combo for this Italian inspired breakfast treat.
Yes, I’m a little obsessed with Cannoli inspired recipes. My Cannoli Cake and Cannoli Cookies have been so popular I just can’t help but coming up with more.
So these muffins don’t taste exactly like a cannoli. Nothing tastes exactly like a cannoli, except a cannoli. BUT all the same flavors and a tasty from-scratch muffin.
Have no idea what a cannoli is? Check out this “What is a Cannoli” for all info about this popular Italian dessert.
These muffins have a lot of great flavors going on, but if it’s not quite your thing you might like these Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Muffins, Cranberry Orange Muffins, or this copycat Panera Pumpkin Muffins recipe.
(Full printable recipe card is at bottom of post.)
Cannoli Muffins Ingredients
- Flour
- Fresh orange zest
- Baking powder
- Cinnamon
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Vegetable oil (or canola oil, could also try melted butter)
- Granulated sugar
- Ricotta cheese (no need to drain)
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Milk
- Mini chocolate chips (or finely chopped chocolate and save some for tops of muffins)
- Pistachios (save some for tops of muffins)
- Powdered sugar (for dusting the top of muffins if you want)
How to Make Cannoli Muffins
- PREHEAT. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
- MIX DRY INGREDIENTS. Whisk together flour, orange zest, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in medium mixing bowl; set aside.
- MIX WET INGREDIENTS. Whisk together oil and sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in ricotta, egg, vanilla, then milk until well combined.
- COMBINE. Mix dry ingredients into the oil and sugar mixture until just combined. Reserve about 2 tablespoons each of chocolate chips and pistachios for tops of muffins, then mix the rest into the muffin batter.
- FILL LINERS. Scoop batter evenly into paper-lined pan filling cups about 2/3 full. Sprinkle reserved chocolate chips and pistachios on top of batter.
- BAKE. Bake muffins at 350 degrees F for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Cool slightly, then remove from pan and cool on a wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar.
Serving Suggestions
- Like most muffins, these bakery-style muffins are best the same day they are made but can be made ahead if you’d like.
- Great treat for a sweet breakfast, brunch, or even dessert with some coffee or Italian drink like espresso, cappuccino, or caffè latte.
- Dust with powdered sugar right before serving. Some kind of sugar shaker works great for this!
- I used large tulip paper liners, but you can use any type of paper liner you’d like. Depending on the size of your liner or muffin tin, you may get more or less muffins and need to adjust the baking time if the muffins are larger or smaller. Mini liners and a mini muffin tin would be a great option too.
Quick Tips for Best Results
- Be careful to not overmix your muffin batter. Mix until JUST combined.
- Fresh orange zest gives a great freshness to these muffins. Even if you’re not a huge orange fan, I still recommend it. It’s not a very STRONG amount of orange. You could use lemon, but I’m personally not a fan.
- Try not to over bake the muffins, or they may come out dry. They should be just golden brown around edges and a toothpick inserted into the middle should come out clean.
- I made this batter in individual muffin cups but if you’re looking for something more in one pan, you might like this Cannoli Bread.
Cannoli Muffins FAQ
How should I store these Cannoli Muffins?
Although these muffins are at their best the same day they are baked, you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature.
Can I freeze the Cannoli Muffins?
Yes! Again, I think they are best the same day they are baked, but you can freeze them.
How long will the muffins last?
The muffins will last a few days at room temperature or longer if frozen.
Substitutions?
Instead of vanilla or in addition to it, you can use Almond extract or Fiori di Sicilia. Instead of all or some of the chocolate chips and pistachios, you can substitute chopped nuts, toffee chips, or other baking chips.
Can I use low-fat ingredients?
You could try a low-fat butter substitute and low-fat ricotta cheese but I haven’t tried either so can’t say for sure how muffins will turn out. A low-fat milk should work ok.
What else can I add to this recipe?
You could add other flavor extracts or additional types of baking chips.
Didn’t turn out, what went wrong?
I would guess the muffin batter was overmixed or the muffins were over baked.
Can I make this vegan/vegetarian/low carb/gluten-free?
Here are some suggestions, but I can’t guarantee results. Be sure as always to check particular brands and ingredients if you’re following a specific diet or have diet restrictions or allergies.
Vegan – This would be a tough one to make vegan but you can try using vegan ingredients including a cheese, egg, and milk substitute. Be sure your chocolate is vegan as well.
Vegetarian – It’s vegetarian. Be sure to check individual brands/products just to be sure though.
Low-Carb – You can try a sugar substitute and lower sugar chocolate. The flour would be hard to substitute in this one.
Gluten-Free -Try a gluten-free flour substitute that you use substitute 1:1.
Other Italian Brunch Recipes You May Enjoy
- Cannoli Pancakes (Snappy Gourmet) – Delicious homemade pancakes with Cannoli flavors.
- Cannoli Overnight French Toast Casserole (Snappy Gourmet) – A great make-ahead breakfast or brunch recipe idea.
- Ultimate Frittata (Epicurious) – A perfect egg brunch recipe.
- Ciambella Romagnola (Savoring Italy) – An Italian breakfast cake, yum!
Hope you enjoy this simple from scratch Cannoli Muffins recipe. Tell me in the comments if you made any flavoring changes.
You might also like these tasty Cannoli Ricotta Fritters or Cannoli Cinnamon Rolls! Both are great breakfast or brunch options too.
Cannoli Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons fresh orange zest
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup ricotta cheese (not drained)
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips divided
- 1 cup pistachios shells removed and chopped, divided
- powdered sugar (optional for dusting tops)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
- Whisk together flour, orange zest, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in medium mixing bowl; set aside.
- Whisk together oil and sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in ricotta, egg, vanilla, then milk until well combined.
- Mix dry ingredients into the oil and sugar mixture until just combined. Reserve about 2 tablespoons each of chocolate chips and pistachios for tops of muffins, then mix the rest into the muffin batter.
- Scoop batter evenly into paper-lined pan filling cups about 2/3 full. Sprinkle reserved chocolate chips and pistachios on top of batter.
- Bake muffins at 350 degrees F for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Cool slightly, then remove from pan and cool on a wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar.
Notes
Nutrition:
(Nutrition data is provided when available for informational purposes only and calculated using an online nutritional calculator. For the most accurate information please calculate based on specific ingredients and brands you use as well as any changes you made to the recipe. I am not a certified nutritionist or registered dietician and any nutritional information provided should only be used as a general guideline and estimate.)
Sylvia says
They were delicious and so easy to make. This is definitely a muffin recipe that has made it to my favorites!
Lisa Huff says
Thank you so much! :)
Dawn says
OMG! These were the best muffins I have ever made! I found your site almost by accident and I will be following you from now on! I made a couple of minor tweaks to the recipe that shouldn’t have made much of a difference to the overall taste and texture. Instead of the vanilla and baking powder, I substituted one packet of
Paneangeli Lievito Pane Degli Angeli which is an Italian flavoring with baking powder and vanilla flavoring. I also added a 1/4 tsp of orange extract because I had only 2 small clementines to zest and it wasn’t enough.
Lisa Huff says
Thank you so much Dawn!
Elizabeth says
Cannoli in a muffin. Genius! They smell wonderful, and taste even better. I didn’t have an orange to zest, but always keep orange oil on hand. Added a couple drops to the batter. Thanks for sharing this one!
Lisa Huff says
thank you! :)
Heidi Spangler says
I made this today and used a lot of substitutions based on what I had in the house and they came out great.
I weighed the flour instead of using a cup measure and used a mix of regular and whole wheat flour since I didn’t have enough regular. I used part-skim ricotta and 2% milk and only 1/3 cup sugar. I added a couple of tablespoons of orange juice instead of the orange zest, and also only used 2/3 cup of chocolate chips since that was all I had. They came out great. Very moist and sweet. I skipped the pistachios because I’m lazy and didn’t feel like shelling and chopping them. They would have added a nice crunch and flavor.
Lisa Huff says
Thank you Heidi!
Jan says
Can I make this into a cake instead of muffins? What size pan would I need?
Lisa Huff says
Ummm probably but I haven’t tried it so can’t give you specific directions. If you’re looking for a cannoli cake I have several recipes for those on the site.
Janine says
Excellent recipe! It has all the taste points of cannoli.
Lisa Huff says
Thank you so much! :)
Tracey says
Can you use regular large size muffin liners? Instead of the ones that you used?
Lisa Huff says
Yes definitely! You can use any size muffin liners but may need to adjust the baking time a bit.
KM says
Cannoli lover here — and giant fan of your cannoli cake. Looking for a simple treat, and I love the idea of this! To move it squarely into the dessert category, what would you think about adding traditional cannoli filling on top, or inside? Kind of a cupcake version of your cake.
Thanks for any ideas or thoughts you might have!
Lisa Huff says
Hi! Happy to hear you’re a cannoli lover and like the cake. :) I think that would be delicious (and FYI I do have a cannoli cupcake recipe on the site as well as many other cannoli-inspired recipes if one of those may work better for you right now).
KM says
Thank you so much!
Shelley says
Oh, Lisa, you have such great recipe ideas, and this is a truly brilliant one! How wonderful to be able to enjoy the flavor profile of a cannoli in a portable, perfect-anytime muffin! (Although I loved your point that nothing tastes EXACTLY like a cannoli … except a cannoli lol!) It’s got me thinking … what other favorite desserts are just begging to be reinvented as muffins, transformed from decadent desserts into breakfasts and snackies? I think you’re really onto something here! ;)
Saif says
I love muffin but cannoli muffin is new to me. I love that you added ricotta cheese in this recipe. I think I should go the gorcery and buy the ingredients to make this wonderful dish. Thanks
Beth says
Yum! These look so delicious and out of this world! Can’t wait to make these! My family is going to love them!
Kristin says
Love this recipe. The orange zest is genius…zest done right has a way of politely and subtly brightening up the flavor profile without overwhelming the other flavors. Yum! Can’t wait to try these!
Sue says
OMG Lisa, these muffins look like they belong in the window of a fabulous bakery, love the creative idea!
Michael Gallucci says
They look delicious and wha5 a neat new twist on an old fashioned Italian favorite.
Kudos to Lisa!👍❤️
Lisa Huff says
Thank you!