Discontinued Frosty Flavors That Deserve A Comeback And 2 That Should Stay In The Past

What goes better with a Dave's Double and fries than a Frosty? In our estimation, not much. A Wendy's Frosty is the perfect texture, riding that line between a soft serve dessert and sip-able milkshake, and we're here for it. The original Frosty flavor was a mixture of chocolate and vanilla to achieve a chocolatey-but-not-too-chocolatey treat. Frosted malts from the Thistledown racetrack in Cleveland were the unexpected inspiration behind Wendy's iconic Frosty. From this local favorite treat, Fred Kappus developed the recipe, and Dave Thomas fell in love.

Since then, many more flavors have made their way to restaurants. Some of these have been absolute hits and right in line with what customers crave (lookin' at you Pumpkin Spice), and others are drinks no one seemed to really ask for (cough, Triple Berry, cough). In any case, at the time of writing, a new salted caramel flavor has hit Frosty machines. Only time will tell whether salted caramel joins the esteemed flavors that should return from retirement or those that can stay in the past (like, sadly, Wendy's itself).

Perhaps it comes as no surprise that Wendy's came out with a pumpkin spice version of its Frosty. Nearly every coffee shop has its own take on the fall phenomenon, and since Wendy's serves coffee too, it was really just a matter of time.

With all the flavors of the best that pumpkin spice flavors offer, this Frosty is similar to a pumpkin spice ice cream. The pumpkin aspect tastes a little on the artificial side, but the spices help bring it closer to a family of flavors PSL (Pumpkin Spice Latte) lovers know well. The color is a not-quite-bright orange, making it feel a little off from a slice of pumpkin pie, but convincingly fall themed all the same. Since its release in 2023, it didn't return for the 2024 fall season to leave room for a not so very fall-like flavor: pineapple mango.

Most know that the chocolate Frosty is basically available year round, but that doesn't necessarily mean vanilla is, too. As one of the most basic of all flavors, it feels obvious that Wendy's would offer the vanilla flavor, but this space is often used as seasonal offerings in which vanilla is the base. As a result, vanilla is irritatingly difficult to come by.

Although fans enjoy trying a novel flavor, it seems that many long for the comforting flavor of vanilla. It may not be the most exciting of all options, but when it comes to an odd dip to use with French fries, we find it makes an even better accompaniment than the classic chocolate. Surely, customers' love for vanilla has everything to do with simplicity and nostalgia. Sure, a pumpkin spice Frosty is great, but every now and again, you just want a flavor that's more basic. In any case, Wendy's promises to bring back the vanilla Frosty, even claiming that this absence will just make us long for it even more. We're doubtful, but we look forward to vanilla's return.

When we think of peppermint, a bright, almost over the top, possibly even toothpaste flavor comes to mind. Wendy's version of a peppermint Frosty definitely fell into that category, but it also had something a little extra going on: It was pink. Between the pale pink color and the festive flavor, this feels like an easy flavor to miss, especially during the winter holiday season.

In tasting the peppermint Frosty, we found that it had a flavor you'd recognize. In fact, it tasted remarkably similar to Wendy's famous Shamrock Shake. With the Shamrock Shake coming in green, and the peppermint Frosty from Wendy's coming in pink, it very much gives us an Elphaba and Galinda feel, à la "Wicked." So, naturally, we miss this flavor more today than ever. We can only hope the peppermint won't be gone for good.

Another Frosty flavor we would love to see make a return is strawberry. This flavor was so popular that in its testing phase, locations actually ran out of the necessary ingredients before the pilot even concluded. With such a promising narrative hanging about, it's easy to imagine that the rest of the country would feel the same way.

Wendy's strawberry Frosty, like many of the other flavors, has an obvious flavor, but it isn't ultra overpowering. Thanks to TikTok, we know that the strawberry Frosty is made with a vanilla Frosty base with syrup added right in, so it would make sense that the strawberry flavor isn't overpowering. Interestingly enough, the strawberry flavor is also pink, like peppermint.

Similar to the strawberry Frosty which isn't over the top in its berry flavor, the Orange Dreamsicle flavor wasn't overwhelming, either. It does have some artificial flavor to it, but it's still an enjoyable enough mix of vanilla and orange, really ringing true a Dreamsicle-like offering.

Originally appearing in March 2024, the Orange Dreamsicle lasted for a short spring season before making way for other seasonal offerings. Orange Dreamsicle felt like the perfect flavor to break the mold of the winter chill for bright summer flavors. Unfortunately for vanilla lovers, it also meant that the creamy white Frosty would need to step back in order to welcome the Orange Dreamsicle.

While the Orange Dreamsicle had a little bit of a phony flavor (and not enough to put us off it), the triple berry Frosty had a whole lot more. The color was a pale pinkish purple, and promised to offer flavors of raspberry, blackberry, and strawberry. Immediately, we were a little skeptical because flavors that have many berries in them tend to taste oddly generic. It's as though the flavor is a mash of too many pieces, leading to something of a bit of an ambiguous taste. It's discerning when you can't necessarily identify a specific flavor, and mixed berry-like things often run into this issue.

Wendy's introduced triple berry in summer 2024, and since the strawberry flavor was such a hit, it is confusing why Wendy's would offer an over-complicated drink. Customers seemed pretty thrilled with a simple strawberry; it seems Wendy's could have stopped there. Sometimes, less is simply more, and in the case of a triple berry Frosty, perhaps it's better to leave two berries out of the equation.

We admit that we have gotten used to Frosty flavors matching up with the seasons, but in the case of Wendy's Krabby Patty Kollab between the "Spongebob Squarepants" franchise and Wendy's, The Pineapple Under the Sea Frosty certainly didn't match the season it arrived in. Setting up shop near the beginning of October 2024, the Pineapple Under the Sea Frosty seemed a far cry from the traditional fall flavors that hit franchises around this time.

Instead of pumpkin spice, Wendy's offered its favorite vanilla Frosty with a swirl of pineapple and mango purée. Many flavors new to the Wendy's menu have a syrup added to the base coming out one homogeneous color, but the Pineapple Under the Sea Frosty included a yellowish orange swirl in the drink. In some ways, it reminded us of the flavor swirls you'll sometimes get in Starbucks drinks around the rim of your cup, and it felt off base for a Frosty to be emulating the sort of style. While the flavor itself wasn't necessarily a big problem, the sauce was concerning and odd. We struggled to imagine how Wendy's would bring back this flavor without a future collab, and that's just fine with us.