Making Dole Whip in the Ninja Creami

You don’t have to travel to Disney to enjoy this enticing tropical treat at home! This copycat Dole Whip recipe is super creamy and full of tropical pineapple flavor.  And it’s amazingly easy to make! Whether you’re a Disney-going Dole Whip fanatic … or if you’re wondering what Dole Whip even is, read on for the secrets to making this amazingly creamy pineapple-y delicacy at home with your Ninja Creami.

With no added sugars, it’s only 127 calories per serving and surprisingly dairy free. Coconut milk and a little banana provide the creamy factor, with a little help from the Ninja Creami.

What is a Ninja Creami?

If you don’t have a Ninja Creami (affiliate link) or don’t even know what it is, it’s an ice cream machine that reverses the way you make frozen treats. Basically, instead of trying to freeze liquids by surrounding them with cold and using a paddle to move things around, the Creami reverses the whole process. First you freeze the liquid until it’s completely solid. The Creami has a powerful spinning blade that descends into the solid block of ice and “creami-fies” it. You can use a Creami to make everything from ice cream to sorbets to smoothies and slushies.

My son wanted a Creami for his birthday last year, so, since the man pretty much buys everything else he wants, I decided to get him a Creami. The first thing we tried was his favorite Italian Lemon Sorbet, which absolutely works great in the Creami. It’s even easier than my original recipe because once you’ve made the mix, all you do is pre-freeze it and then whip it up in the Creami whenever you want to enjoy your frozen treat.

The downside of the Ninja Creami is it’s insanely LOUD when it’s operating. Now, given, it’s only running for maybe 5 – 10 minutes max. But those few minutes can be really painful on your eardrums. We’ve relegated our Creami to the garage where we can press the button, close the door, and come back when it’s done.

The other downside to using a Creami is you absolutely have to plan ahead. You need to pre-freeze your mixture for most recipes. That takes time. However, the Creami opens up a whole new world of satisfying treat ideas that are also healthy.

We’re still settling into how we want to use the Creami, but one of my work friends has a Creami and he and his family use it CONSTANTLY. In fact, they bought a container for every member of the family so that each person can make whatever they want whenever they want it. He mentioned he’s been trying to perfect Dole Whip, but hasn’t quite figured out the perfect recipe for it yet. My mind grabbed onto that challenge. And I vowed at that moment that I WILL create the perfect Dole Whip recipe for the Creami. After several attempts, I am happy to say THIS IS IT!

What is Dole Whip?

Dole Whip is a creation of Dole Corporation and they advertise it as “A Creamy Dessert made with Real Fruit”. I think that’s a little understatement of what Dole Whip really is. Because it’s got almost a cult following from people that have enjoyed Dole Whip at Disney theme parks.

People are seriously hooked on Dole Whip. And I do not blame them. Dole Whip really is the bomb. The first time I tasted my homemade Dole Whip, I was hooked! I ate it for three days in a row, but I felt that my initial recipe needed some adjusting to really let the pineapple flavor shine. I started with a recipe from The Tasty Travelers.

I’ve adjusted this recipe to amp up the pineapple flavor using pineapple juice concentrate instead of adding sugar or honey. You know the frozen canned juice stuff your mom used to buy? (I might be that mom!) Juice concentrate is basically juice with most of the liquid removed. Which makes it absolutely perfect for adding flavor without adding processed sugars. The only sugars you’re adding are the sugars that happen naturally in the fruit. I’ve used juice concentrate in smoothies and mixed drinks for years. So once I thought of it, I realized that using juice concentrate is the BEST way to intensify the pineapple flavor for your homemade Dole Whip.

This recipe also includes a small banana. I know some people are put off by that, but it’s necessary here. First, because according to The Tasty Travelers, authentic Dole Whip does actually include banana. But also because bananas when frozen do add amazing creaminess to anything you blend them into. I couldn’t really detect the banana flavor at all in this. Perhaps some can, but pineapple is really dominates this recipe, with creamy coconut milk and a hint of lime. It’s a beautiful celebration of tropical flavors!

What can go wrong making Dole Whip in the Ninja Creami?

There’s not much that can go wrong, but if you forget to add a little liquid when you’re blending up your frozen mixture, you might end up with something that looks like this:

Unless you’re going for a mini Dippin’ Dots kind of texture, this probably isn’t what you want. All you need to do to rectify the situation is add a little extra coconut milk and pineapple juice concentrate and put the Creami on Re-Spin. Once you do that, it turns lusciously creamy and wonderful, more like this:

If you want it even softer, add a little more coconut milk. I do recommend blending the core ingredients ahead of time before you freeze it.

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