Pineapple Dole Whip Copycat
This soft serve pineapple dessert is refreshing and light and tastes like the popular Dole Pineapple Whip served at Disneyland.
I hope everyone is having a good start of the week. I’m unusually energetic for a Monday and pretty proud of myself for accomplishing so many tasks on my daily “to-do” list. Usually, on Mondays, I’m exhausted and feel like I’m barely functioning in a sleepy haze. But this Monday, I’ve been pretty productive. Hopefully, this will continue. Last time I was productive on a Monday and then I completely crashed on Tuesday.
I realize it’s already mid-November, but this past weekend it was in the high 80’s in San Diego, which had me craving ice cream and sorbets. One of my favorite cold treats is pineapple dole whip. It’s become quite a famous dessert at Disneyland and at the Dole Plantation in Hawaii and I’m lucky enough that we have an ice cream store in San Diego that offers it year-round. For those unfamiliar, Dole Whip is a creamy soft serve made from pineapples.Â
I got these adorable Zululand Queen baby pineapples sent to me from Frieda’s Specialty Produce, a produce wholesaler in Southern California that specializes in exotic fruits. (You can check out their website for what they are currently carrying and ask your local market produce manager or email Frieda’s to find out which stores near you carry the products your interested in.) Longtime readers know my obsession with exotic fruits. I was admiring their display at an expo and they offered to send me some ingredients to play with, like these pineapples. I’ve never seen ones so small! I love how cute they are, though you have to be careful! If you thought regular pineapples could be a bit prickly, the tops of these have a ton of tiny sharp thorns. So definitely don’t grab them from the top. I’m speaking from experience.
Taste-wise, they are pretty similar to a regular pineapple, though the inner core is less firm and fibrous, and easier to eat. I know freezing pineapples is probably not the best way to showcase fresh fruit, but these miniatures were just begging to be individual serving dishes.
I’ve been wanting to try making pineapple dole whip for a long time. I’ve yet to find the exact recipe, and when I once inquired how they made it at Lappert’s (the ice cream store in San Diego that serves it), they said they used dehydrated pineapples. Even though this isn’t the same recipe, it does taste remarkably similar. It’s sweet, a little tart, and creamy with the addition of a little milk. I didn’t add any extra sugar to it, making it healthier than other frozen treats. Next time, I might try using coconut milk. I really love how these came out.
Once I finished, I piped it back into the shell. I’ve never piped something so cold before!
Looking for more ice cream recipes? My Banana Ice Cream is so easy to make with just one ingredient.
Pineapple Dole Whip
Ingredients
- 2 cups frozen pineapple cubes
- 6 tbsp whole milk
Instructions
- Add pineapple and milk to a blender (you want something powerful like a Blentec or Vitamix) and blend on high speed until pineapple mixture is smooth. If your pineapple isn't sweet enough, you may need to add 1-2 tbsp sugar.
- Scoop out and eat immediately. You can also put in through an ice cream maker for a firmer texture.
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I believe this is just as good with Coconut “cream”. It has a pina colada vibe. So good.
Thanks for letting us know!
So when you say pineapple cubes, is it just cut up cubes of the pineapple that have been frozen? I’m dying to try this cuz I too, have been to the Dole Plantation and have never been able to forget the Pineapple Whip I got there! I told my husband we have to go there and get some and figure it out!! I absolutely love it! Living in the Ft. Lauderdale,Florida area, I have access to a lot of exotic fruits, including a mango tree in my yard! I’m going to try to figure it out with mangoes!)
Thanks for your easy peasy, yummy recipes! ??
For the pineapple cubes, we recommend using frozen pineapple chunks. So glad you get to treat yourself to this fun treat at home!
Will it work with low fat milk you think?
It will probably work but it won’t be as creamy as using whole milk.
Do you think that I could replace the pineapple with frozen mango cubes? Mango is like my favorite fruit and pineapples arent really my thing.
Perhaps you should do a search for a mango recipe? I’m sure you can get it to work, but it might not be the same measurements.
Wow. So simple. The hardest part is making those pineapple cups! =D
seriously! Mr. K helped me with that. haha
Love the way these look!! So adorable and perfect for a healthy guilt free treat!
Yes! I love that it is just pineapples and a little milk. no extra sugar or other additives.
Yum!  Great idea, love the presentation.  I would probably not pipe all of it–scoop it in to fill the shells and then just pipe the top to make it pretty 😉
oh that’s a good idea!
I’ve been itching to find an exact recipe for Dole Whip since I first had it in 2005. I’ll let you know if I find one! By the way, those little pineapples are adorable!
yes let me know! I’ve been searching for a few years too. I thought this tasted pretty good but I’d love to find the exact recipe.
simple and looks so cute! love it!
thank you! i do love how simple the recipe is!