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If you love the taste of cannoli, this one's for you! This smooth and creamy gluten free cannoli pie can be made with a pastry crust, a cookie crust—or no crust at all.
I've always had a deep and abiding love for cannoli cream. There's just something about the lightly sweet mixture of creamy ricotta cheese and smooth, slightly tangy mascarpone cheese. It sends me.
I believe that cannoli cream should have either miniature chocolate chips—or no mix-ins at all. Little bits of candied fruit may be traditional. I'm afraid I simply find them to be an unwelcome surprise.
This gluten free cannoli pie is so super easy—way easier than traditional gluten free cannoli—especially since you can make it in a flaky pie crust, a cookie crust, or even no crust at all.
I've even baked just the filling in a 9-inch round cake pan, greased and lined with a round of parchment paper, and I was able simply to invert the pan onto a serving platter with ease. Basically, you must try this tonight.
This cannoli pie is not really a cheesecake, since cheesecake is cream cheese + egg + sugar. But since cannoli cream is mascarpone (a close cousin of cream cheese) + ricotta cheese (also similar in texture to cream cheese when blended), when you add egg + a bit of sugar and bake, you have a smooth, clean-slicing pie.
The taste is everything you remember from cannoli (how does one even begin to describe that taste?), and the texture is smooth, fresh and creamy, light and almost fluffy.
The crust is whatever you decide it is. This is your next baking project. Make it for your next holiday gathering, and it's sure to become your signature dessert. You take all the credit. I'm at your service. :)
How to make a cookie crust for this pie
To make this pie with a cookie crust, instead of a traditional pie crust, just combine 6 tablespoons of melted, unsalted butter with 1 1/2 cups of gluten free cookie crumbs.
Press into the bottom and halfway up the sides of the pie pan. Freeze while you prepare the pie filling. Pour the filling into the unbaked crust, and follow the baking instructions in the recipe.
Super Easy Gluten Free Cannoli Pie
Ingredients
For the crust
- 1 recipe gluten free pie crust, (See Recipe Notes for alternative)
For the filling
- 1 pound low-moisture whole milk ricotta cheese, (I really like Sorrento brand)
- 8 ounces mascarpone cheese, (can be replaced with cream cheese)
- 3 (150 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs, at room temperature, beaten
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 ounces miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Melted chocolate, for drizzling (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F.
- Grease a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate or springform pan (or even a simple round 9-inch cake pan with high sides), and set it aside.
- Prepare and parbake the crust according to the recipe instructions (or prepare the cookie crust according to the instructions in the ingredients list). Allow the crust to cool briefly while you prepare the filling.
- In a food processor or blender, place the ricotta cheese, mascarpone cheese, eggs, vanilla, sugar and salt, and pulse or blend until very smooth.
- Add the miniature chocolate chips, and mix by hand until evenly distributed throughout.
- Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust, and smooth into an even layer.
- Place the pie plate or pan in a larger, heat safe pan like a roasting pan. Pull out the bottom rack of the preheated oven and place the pan on the rack.
- Pour lukewarm water into the roasting pan until reaches about 1/2-way up the sides of the pie plate/pan. Push the rack carefully back into place, and close the oven.
- Allow the pie to bake for about 50 minutes, or until the filling is mostly set. The center of the filling should shake in a controlled (not loose) way when shaken gently.
- Remove the pie from the water bath and return just the pie to the oven. Turn off the oven and leave the oven door open about 2 inches.
- Allow the pie to sit in the oven for 10 minutes, then remove and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Cover and place in the refrigerator to chill until firm (at least an hour, and up to 3 days). Drizzle with melted chocolate before slicing and serving, chilled.
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Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe is super easy and the results are simple yet delicious. I can’t make a recipe without thinking of some modifications, and to this one I added just a hit of grated orange zest. It was a little less “cannoli-like” but I liked the added flavor. Thanks Nicole for all your recipes and GF cooking wisdom!
You’re so welcome, Robin. I’m so glad you enjoyed the pie, and that you liked the added orange zest. It’s your right to put your own flavor spin however you like! So glad it worked out, and thank you for the kind words. They mean so much to me.
This is the perfect combination of cannoli and cheesecake taste! I am thrilled to make it for a summertime family gathering and I won’t admit that it’s gf so no one will balk.
Cannot be frozen for a week or two?
Hi, Kim, so glad you love this pie. Hahah, definitely it’s no one else’s business that it’s GF. Hiding in plain sight is our best defense against the reputation of gf foods! Yes, you can definitely freeze it. As soon as it’s completely cooled, before the chocolate drizzle, wrap it tightly in freezer safe wrap (I really like Glad Press n Seal, but try to wrap it around the perimeter of the crust so it wrap doesn’t still to the filling. Freeze it for up to a month, and then defrost in the refrigerator. It should be just right!
This is AMAZING!!! Total hit at a family gathering, absolutely none left, someone even ate the crumbs. You seriously cannot tell it’s gluten free, it’s just GOOD! A+ Nicole, you did it again, oh and it’s easy!!!
I just made this last night and it tasted incredible this morning! I think I prefer it’s lighter texture over traditional cheesecake! I didn’t make a crust and it was perfectly satisfying without it. Thank you so much, Nicole!
I have been sick, so I didn’t see this until now. I will have to try it with a paleo crust or without crust!
This pie looks amazing Nicole! I’m just really hoping that you’ll do the Twix thumbprint cookies from your Pinterest page! :)
Thank you for all the wonderful recipes. On the subject of cannoli, my most favorite desert, do you have a way of making the shells. This is the desert I miss the most since being diagnosed with Celiac. Thanking you in advance.
Catherine.
Hi, Catherine,
Please follow the link above where it says “traditional gluten free cannoli,” or just use the search button. We’ve done that!
Time to make some ricotta I think… And then this yumminess
Salivating over this! Cannoli are a favorite guilty pleasure of mine. I need to invite people over when I make this so I won’t eat the entire thing. Once in New Jersey I had a Cannoli “Blizzard” type dessert. It was awesome!
That sounds stunning. I will be buying ricotta and mascarpone next week and making it next weekend. Thanks for the recipe x