Dole Whip
During our recent road trip, I finally got to try so famous Disney dole whip. It tasted OK, nothing “wow”. However, was very satisfying in 115 degrees F heat.
I was determined to come home and come up with my own version that tastes better. So I have embarked on what ended up a very long research trail…
What Is Dole Whip?
Dole whip is pineapple flavored soft serve ice cream sold at Disney World, Disneyland and Dole plantation in Hawaii. Everyone seems to think and it makes only sense it is made with pineapples.
Assume nothing. It is not! Imagine my shock when I googled pineapple dole whip ingredients while still eating one on a bench in front of Tiki room. And found 0% pineapple on the list. All it takes is to Google these days!
So What Is In Disney Pineapple Dole Whip?
Are you ready?
I honestly don’t understand all the praise dole whip gets from online articles: “magical”, “amazing”, “secret”. It is pure concoction of sugar and chemicals. That’s it.
Disney pineapple dole whip ingredients are:
Sugar, Dextrose, Stabilizers (Cellulose Gum, Xanthan Gum, Locust Bean Gum, Guar Gum, Karaya Gum, Pectin), Coconut Oil, Contains 2% Or Less Of Each Of The Following: Maltodextrin, Citric Acid, Natural & Artificial Flavor (contains Pineapple Juice Powder), Modified Food Starch, Malic Acid, Beta Carotene (Color), Mono & Diglycerides, Silicon Dioxide (Anticaking).
I took this list straight from Dole soft serve webpage where Dole company markets its dry powder mix to vendors (I won’t even link to it not to give the company any SEO benefit but just Google “dole whip hawaii ingredients”). Oh, you didn’t know your favourite “magical” dole whip comes in a powder form in bags and then mixed in a giant bucket with water?! Now you do.
It is frankly disgusting that a company that grows pineapples produces its most popular product with none of it, or maybe just a tiny bit in a dried form mixed with a chemical.
So, “the secret” to melt in your mouth dole whip – stabilizers, a bunch of chemicals for which you get charged US$5.
My Homemade Dole Whip Ingredients:
The name of this soft serve “whipped pineapple” makes only logical to assume its ingredients – pineapple. Yet all the recipes I looked at online include coconut milk, honey or even vanilla ice cream. I’m sorry but that’s not a copycat dole whip. Coconut milk + pineapple = pina colada? Sure, sounds right. But how do you even make a copycat at home of pure sugar + chemicals? You can’t.
We tried homemade dole whip recipe 3 ways and stuck with the most simple one – just pineapple. Yep, you whip semi-frozen pineapple chunks and enjoy the most delicious melt in your mouth real pineapple whip. Coconut oil or even half a banana overpowered the pineapple so much and our entire family of 4 agreed unanimously – just pineapples!
Enjoy!
How to Make Dole Whip
- Thaw frozen pineapple on a counter for 15 minutes in summer (if your house doesn’t have AC) or 20 minutes in colder months. You are looking for defrosted semi-soft outer layer but still frozen inside fruit.
- In a food processor, add pineapple and process on high speed.
- Pause and scrape the walls with spatula and add 2 tbsp of cold water at a time to help pineapple pieces move around. As long as fruit is blending do not rush to add more water.
- Eventually frozen pineapple pieces will turn into a pineapple whip because we whipped them.:)
- Serve immediately or freeze leftovers for a few hours but not longer.
Will Blender Work?
Unfortunately even high speed blender like Blendtec or Vitamix cannot make pineapple whip. Maybe Vitamix but I can’t vouch. Blender’s blades are not big enough to process frozen fruit without liquid. But even small cheap food processor should work.
More Healthy Ice Cream Recipes to Try:
- Mango coconut ice cream – so easy and good!
- Vegan vanilla ice cream – 3 ingredients and it’s vegan.
- Healthy chocolate ice cream that is sugar free, not even honey!
Dole Whip Recipe
Make Dole Whip at home with one simple ingredient. And Disney ingredients will blow your mind.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Food Processor
- Cuisine: North American
Ingredients
- 4 cups frozen pineapple chunks
- Cold water
Instructions
- Thaw frozen pineapple on a counter for 15 minutes in summer (if your house doesn’t have AC) or 20 minutes in colder months. You are looking for defrosted semi-soft outer layer but still frozen inside fruit.
- In a food processor, add pineapple and process on High, pausing and scraping the walls with spatula and adding 2 tbsp of cold water at a time to help pineapple pieces move around. As long as fruit is blending do not rush to add more water.
- Serve immediately or freeze leftovers for a few hours but not longer.
Notes
Blender will not work for this recipe because its blades are not long enough to process thick liquid. You can buy very affordable food processor, it is essential when cooking healthy.
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating in the comments.
This is my absolute favorite “dessert” recipe! I use the frozen pineapple chunks from Costco, and sometimes add in a little of their frozen mango as well. I have found that microwaving the frozen fruit for 30-45 seconds works about the same as thawing it on the counter. I love how fresh it tastes and how easy it is to make! Thank you for this recipe!
★★★★★
Great tips, Veronica! We buy same frozen fruit.
Works in a vitamix.
Good to know. Never tried a Vitamix.
Thank you Olena for this awesome recipe. I’ve made ice cream the same exact way using bananas and a little water. I had no idea pineapple could do the same thing. Do you think using pineapple and banana at the same time would work?
Yes, totally would.
Looks great, I’ll try with pineapple juice instead of water! Thanks!
Great idea!
Tried this recipe, loved it! But my Dole Whip came out VERY cold, with chunks of pineapple still in it. Should I have let it thaw more? I gave it 20 minutes and didn’t want to over-pulse it and end up with liquid.
★★★★
Depending on the temperature in your kitchen, you might have to thaw pineapple a bit more. It was super hot July day in my kitchen then. You can always add tablespoon of water at a time when processing to bring to desired consistency. Bit by bit. Or pulse a bit longer…It’s ok as long as you do not walk away. Glad you enjoyed.:)
The Disney recipe has pineapple juice in it.
Brilliant! Just perfect. My pineapple wasn’t as sweet as usual so I added a few drops of stevia but it was so easy and healthy. I’m going to experiment w/combining with some strawberry puree, probably a 3 pineapple to 1 strawberry ratio to see how that works.
Of course. Do what suits your personal taste. 🙂
This is SO delcious! I’m going to make it all the time.
Btw I added a small splash of coconut cream to my second batch and yep, pina colada. AHHMAZZZINNGGG.
Thank you!
★★★★★
You are welcome, Georgina! It’s too cold to think about it for me right now, so I will enjoy it through you.:)
I am so happy you posted this!
Like you, I didn’t understand all the hype about Dole Whip. I hadn’t even heard of it until Stella Parks posted a recipe for Pineapple Ice Cream at Serious Eats and mentioned it’s a Dole Whip clone – but better.
That’s what prompted me to find out what the ingredients are in Dole Whip, and like you, I was shocked.
What really irks me is most people know Dole is a grower of pineapples, and so one would assume the Dole Whip product is made from the pineapples they grow. Ha! It is, as you said, mostly just a bunch of artificial stuff.
If you have an ice cream maker and are willing to make the time commitment, Stella Parks Pineapple Ice Cream is divine – but a bit more work than your version. I’m able to make about 3 batches of Stella’s recipe from one pineapple; after cutting up and pureeing the pineapple, I freeze the excess puree to be used whenever the mood to make another batch strikes.
Yes, sadly Dole Whip represents what our food is in North America right now. Everyone assumes and no one questions. If it’s on a shelf, I am going to buy it. BUT things are changing. More and more people are eating healthy and it is slowly becoming a new movement. Thanks goodness!
Your dole whip is so-so good and simple. I would never think to make it this way!
★★★★★
Love your investigative streak! Thank you and once again you’ve proven that homemade with real food ingredients is best.
Hate BS so had to expose this non-sense.