What is a Cannoli?(plus Cannoli inspired recipes)

If you’re wondering “What is a Cannoli?”, you’re going to want to read about the history of this Italian pastry, some photos, as well as some cannoli inspired recipes that you’ll love!

(For your shopping convenience, this post contains affiliate links.)

Cannolis, one of my favorite desserts and pastries of all time. ALL TIME! If you’ve been following Snappy Gourmet for awhile, you probably already know that though.

I’m always amazed how many people have no idea what a cannoli is, so I thought I’d help some of you out.

What is a Cannoli?

If you’re just joining us and wondering “what’s a cannoli?”, it’s an Italian pastry, from the Sicility region. You may hear it referred to as an Italian Cannoli or Sicilian Cannoli.

It consists of a tube-shaped pastry shell that is a fried pastry dough. The tube is then filled with a creamy filling that generally consists of ricotta cheese and powdered sugar.

Along with the sweetened cheese filling, a cannoli may include other things such as candied fruit, chocolate chips, nuts, cinnamon, mascarpone cheese, or a wide variety of other things.

Cannolis were historically prepared during Carnevale season (before Lent). It’s rumored that they were used as a fertility symbol.

Now you can find the Italian treat year round and all over the place! You can generally find cannolis near you at local grocery stores and many bakeries. They are also very common at Italian grocery stores and markets, as well as Italian bakeries. You can even find them on Amazon sometimes.

So, I’ve always heard them referred to as “cannoli” and “cannolis”, but in Italian the singular is “cannolo” or “cannula” and plural is “cannoli”.