This “Delicious” $10 Frozen Dessert Tastes Like a Trip to Disney World

I grew up in South Florida, where summertime meant more than just days off — it meant mangoes, and lots of them. The first sighting would send me running back home to my parents, exclaiming “the mangoes started to grow!” When the time was right, us neighborhood kids would scour the trees hanging just off someone’s yard and onto a public sidewalk or alleyway, strategically snatching the pretty pink and yellow abundance and disappearing with a plastic bag full (likely Publix) before anyone saw us. 

As an adult, mango season still brings nostalgia, but it also sprouts creativity: It has come to mean recipes and cocktails, festivals and fan fare. (This fresh mango salsa is so versatile!) And if I’m lucky, bumping into a coworker or chef drowning in fleshy fruit and ready to hand them off. 

This year, though, the harvest was anything but bountiful. South Florida’s mango season could be the region’s third worst since 1977, thanks to unseasonably wet weather, which triggers mildew and disease, ultimately stunting growth. Mango festivals were canceled. Restaurants adjusted their menus. And I was left trying to fill nature’s void. That is until I randomly came across Dole’s Mango Dole Whip through a colleague. 

I was skeptical at first (I tend to avoid anything with added sugar or dairy), but the Mango Dole Whip pleasantly surprised me. The coconut milk base is creamy, even custard-like, but with a lighter texture than I expected. Its hint of honey — the product’s only sweetener — enhances the mangoes’ natural sweetness without overpowering it. 

I also tried the pineapple flavor, but the mango edged it out in richness for me.

Its blend made it an ideal post-meal treat, which I occasionally topped with coconut flakes for texture or dark chocolate morsels for bitterness (or both for fun). I even did this with a pineapple-mango swirl. 

It also served me well for my post-workout smoothie when I’d blend the Dole Whip Mango with a frozen banana, water or nut milk, and my collagen powder. 

And while nothing brings more joy than a ripe mango’s messy magic, Dole’s Dole Whip Mango happily holds me over until the harvest becomes plentiful again. 

Buy: Dole Mango Dole Whip, $9.99 for 4 (3.6-ounce) cups at Instacart

What frozen desserts are you buying on repeat right now? Tell us about it in the comments below.