Cannoli Ice Cream with Pistachios and Chocolate
With all the flavors of the delicious cannoli, this Cannoli Ice Cream with Pistachios and Chocolate has rich flavors laced with sweet honey, creamy ricotta and salty pistachios.
Michelle over at A Dish of Daily Life talked me into joining this group of bloggers that participate in an event called #FreakyFriday. It’s hosted by Michaela from An Affair of the Heart. There are 19 bloggers participating in the event this month. I think this is the second month she has hosted this event. It’s kind of like SRC, if you’re not new to my blog. If you are, well, here’s the 411.
Each blogger who signs up is assigned a blog from another participant. Like me, for instance. I was assigned Full Belly Sisters. More about them in a minute. Once you receive your assigned blog, you get to go through their recipes and pick something you want to cook. For me, it was this delicious Cannoli Ice Cream with Pistachios and Dark Chocolate. I mean, who could resist that?? Then, once you cooked up their recipe, you post about on the #FreakyFriday; telling everyone about their wonderful blog, what you found out, and how delicious their recipe was!
Let me tall you all about Full Belly Sisters.
They’re blog is chock full of recipes, tips, tricks, and information about maintaining a healthy pregnancy, breastfeeding, and just an all around well being. Justine and Flannery concentrate on heath before, during, and after pregnancy. They also have excellent tips on striving for balance in your life, no matter if you’re pregnant or not. I thoroughly enjoyed reading their blog and going through their recipes. Though, I was a little intimidated with the Berry Nutty Lactation Granola, even though it sounded good.
It was really difficult for me to select a recipe from Full Belly Sisters or FBS as they say on their sidebar. They have some seriously delicious goodness like Buffalo Cauliflower Bites with Yogurt Gorgonzola Dip, Roasted Cranberries, Ricotta & Honey Crostini, and their Banh Mi Inspired Crockpot Steak Sandwiches. Then I stumbled onto these Zucchini Potato Pancakes and they were definitely in the running for the #FreakyFriday post. And then I found it; the recipe that totally screamed, “MAKE me now!!”
If you’re like me, you’re addicted to cannolis.
If you’re not, try this ice cream and you might just be looking for those little cones of dessert heaven to see what all the fuss is about. Cannolis are crispy, fried dough tubes that are filled with whipped, sweet cheese (ricotta and/or marscapone). Sometimes there’s chocolate chips sometimes not. Sometimes the ends are dipped in pistachios, sometimes not. Either way you serve them up, cannolis are heaven to me and I could probably eat my weight in them.
So, it’s only natural that I stumbled on this recipe and seriously want to faceplant in it. It tastes like a cannoli. I could have gotten a little adventurous and popped in some crumbled cannoli shells, but I didn’t. However, I wanted to stick true to the recipe as much as possible. I did lower the fat content in the dairy for our diets using a part-skim ricotta cheese and fat free half and half instead of the milk. Those are the only deviations from the original recipe that I made.
I loved this ice cream. And I mean that, honestly. I will definitely be making this again. I loved the texture of the ricotta. I’m not sure if it was supposed to have texture but I used the food processor since we don’t have a blender. Funny that you should ask, “Why not?” You see, when we were cleaning up at the old apartment and getting ready for some visitors to pass through, S was putting something way up high and the blender just fell out, bounced on his head, and crashed to the floor in a bazillion pieces.
He’s fine…for the most part.
I loved the honey flavor that is in prominent in the batch that I made. It reminded me of a honey froyo I made once that was delicious. Honey has such a delicate flavor and it truly did add the lightness of this easy dessert.
Seriously easy
You pour the cheese and dairy in the blender (food processor) and puree until smooth, add in the honey and vanilla, process again, and then freeze. Then stir in the pistachios and chocolate. How easy is that? In just about 30 minutes (give or take according to your ice cream maker) you can have this delicious dessert on the table and ready to eat.
And with delicious goodness like that, how can this NOT be your next favorite recipe to throw together? It’s elegant enough for a dinner party and simple enough for every day dessert.

Cannoli Ice Cream with Pistachios and Chocolate
With all the flavors of the delicious cannoli, this Cannoli Ice Cream with Pistachios and Chocolate has rich flavors laced with sweet honey, creamy ricotta and salty pistachios.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup fat free half and half
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup local honey
- 1/2 teaspoon vanila bean paste
- 1 3/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
- 1/4 cup pistachios
- 2 ounces dark chocolate
Instructions
- Combine the first five ingredients (half and half through ricotta) in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth.
- Pour into a prepare ice cream maker and freeze according to package directions.
- For the last 3 to 5 minutes allow the maker to stir in the pistachios and chocolate.
- Serve immediately or freeze, in a airtight container, until ready to serve.
- Apple & Pork Breakfast Bites by Big Rigs ‘n Lil Cookies
- Bacon Cheeeseburger Mini Meatloaf Patties by Aunt Bee’s Recipes
- Cannoli Ice Cream with Pistachios and Chocolate by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Cherry Vanilla Bean Donuts by The Devilish Dish
- Dulce de Leche Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches by Who Needs a Cape?
- Ginger & Basil Fried Rice by An Affair From the Heart
- Oatmeal Lemon Cream Bars by Belle of the Kitchen
- Oreo Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cookie Bars by A Dish of Daily Life
I love Full Belly Sisters! And this has been on my “must make” list for a LONG time! Now I really need to try it. It looks great!
It was delicious, Debi. I can’t wait to make it again.
Wow, could there be a tastier ice cream?! I really don’t think so! LOVE this!
Thank you, Ashlyn! It was definitely lick the bowl good!
I will be making this!! I love cannoli and love ice cream! So excited about this recipe 🙂 It’s absolutely perfect for Summer!
It really was delicious! I honestly can’t wait to make it again.
Oh WOW! I want some now! 😛
Thank you, Christine!
I would love a bowl of this! You chose a great recipe!
Thank you, Sarah. It was delicious!
Ricotta cheese in this ice cream?! Wow, I need to try this! I love that there are pistachios AND dark chocolate added. Looks delicious!
Thank you. I was surprised with the cheese in there, too. It’s actually quite delicious.
Well isn’t this positively droolworthy??!! I love all of the flavors going on here!! Perfect summertime recipe! Thanks for joining us, Christie!
Thank you for the invite, Michaela! I had a blast and hope to get to participate again, soon!
I love that you picked this recipe! It sounds like the perfect ice cream to have as my perfect stash in the freezer!
It definitely is. I will be whipping up another batch soon.
What a lovely dessert! Just love the flavors and the yum factor is HUGE!
For sure, Lori! I thought it was fabulous. The hubs? Not so much. I will definitely be making it again….FOR MYSELF! 🙂
Oh my goodness Christie, this ice cream looks (and sounds) out of this world! I need to make it — like TODAY! Ok, I don’t have time today, but really soon! I love that you had the Full Belly Sisters…I had them last time.:) Anyway, I cannot wait to try this! Happy Friday!
Thank you, Michelle. Your bars look amazing, too!! I am definitely putting them #onthemenu!!
Oh my! This looks amazing!
Thank you, Candi!
YUM!!! I love cannoli and ice cream apart, why not combine them?
I know, right? That’s what I thought, Jenny!
This is genius!!!! Everything about this sounds spectacular!!
That’s why I had to make it Angela! It was spectacular!
Thank you so much for the beautiful write-up and gorgeous photos! So glad you enjoyed my ice cream—it’s one that my friends always request I make for dinner parties!
Well, I can see why! It tasted amazing. I truly enjoyed reading your blog. Being a non-spawn person, some of it was a little intimidating, but I enjoyed reading the recipes and non-pregnancy based posts.