Wendy's Pumpkin Spice Frosty Review: It Tastes Like A Candle Smells

Wendy's Pumpkin Spice Frosty is one of the latest pumpkin spice products to hit the scene. At this point, it feels like everything that can be made pumpkin has been made pumpkin whether anyone asked for it or not, which is why it is so surprising that Wendy's didn't participate in the fall flavors mania until now.

Wendy's opened in 1969 and has since become famous for its hamburgers and, to an extent, its Frosty. The Frosty follows in a long and noble line of fast food frozen desserts. While it is similar to a milkshake, it is not quite the same. Frosty treats do not technically contain any ice cream, but that hasn't stopped them from being a frozen dessert hit. We are glad to see that Wendy's is now trying its hand at some new flavors, but the jury is still out on whether the Pumpkin Spice Frosty can hold a candle to the classic Chocolate Frosty flavor.

At its core, the Pumpkin Spice Frosty is still a Frosty. It still offers the same ice cream-ish taste as the original. (To reiterate: If you've been calling Wendy's Frosty treats "ice cream," remember the FDA has specific standards for what counts as ice cream and the Wendy's Frosty falls short of the criteria.) While the full ingredient list for the Pumpkin Spice Frosty has not been released yet, we can assume its base is similar to the Chocolate Frosty, which includes water, powdered milk, sugar, whey, as well as some thickeners and emulsifiers.

What sets the Pumpkin Spice Frosty apart is its flavor. According to Wendy's, the Pumpkin Spice Frosty includes the flavors of pumpkin and classic fall spices including cinnamon and nutmeg. The exact spice blend used in this Pumpkin Spice Frosty is not entirely clear, but it does at least appear to include pumpkin flavor in the mix.

You may be wondering where and when you can get the Pumpkin Spice Frosty. While there had been rumors of a potential Pumpkin Spice Frosty for a while, Wendy's did not confirm its existence until September 6th. That means in a world where the pumpkin spice mafia is coming earlier and earlier every year, Wendy's waited until September to drop its new fall flavor.

The official release date for the Pumpkin Spice Frosty is September 12th, and it will only be available for a limited time while supplies last.

The Pumpkin Spice Frosty is the same price as the classic Chocolate Frosty. It depends a bit on location, but it should cost roughly $1.99 for a small, going up to $3.49 for a large.

Since it is the season, though, customers can also take advantage of the Wendy's Frosty Boo! Book, which costs just $1 and gives you five coupons for free junior Frosty treats, including the Pumpkin Spice Frosty. All proceeds from the sale of these go to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.

Not much has changed since the first Frosty was released more than 50 years ago. The original flavor, chocolate, still reigns supreme and is the only flavor that has been consistently available throughout the product's history.

Save for a few exceptions, Wendy's has not released seasonal flavors in the United States at all until relatively recently. In 2006, Wendy's added a plain vanilla flavor to the lineup. Then in 2010, Wendy's ran a limited run of a Strawberry Frosty. This flavor did not appear again until 2021. Then, in 2022, Wendy's came out with a Peppermint Frosty. It is amazing to think that in five decades, Wendy's only decided to mix things up during the last handful of years. Then again, why mess with a good thing? Still, we are glad to see the company has expanded, even if the only main difference between any of these flavors is some flavoring and food coloring.

While the Frosty has been around for decades, the Pumpkin Spice Frosty is an entirely modern creation. Wendy's also offers a Pumpkin Spice Frosty Cream Cold Brew, which blends Pumpkin Spice Frosty with coffee.

At the time of this article, Wendy's has not released the exact nutritional content of the Pumpkin Spice Frosty. That being said, we are not totally in the dark. According to Wendy's, a regular-sized Chocolate Frosty contains about 300 calories and goes up to roughly 400 calories for a large. Some estimates indicate that the Pumpkin Spice Frosty might have a higher calorie count than its chocolate counterpart, but we will know for sure once Wendy's releases additional nutrition information.

Still, a Frosty is not entirely devoid of nutrients. A regular size serving has been said to include almost 10 grams of protein. Of course, with that comes a whopping 40 grams of sugar. But as with everything in life, it is all about balance, and in the fall, that balance needs to be pumpkin spice evened out with more pumpkin spice. Furthermore, we're talking about an ice cream-adjacent dessert from a fast food franchise, here — we're not expecting it to qualify as health food, are we?

You know how it smells when you walk into a Yankee Candle store during the fall? It is full of miscellaneous spices and the scent of pumpkin. That is what this Frosty tasted like. The Pumpkin Spice Frosty tastes like quintessential fall. If that was Wendy's goal, then it definitely achieved it. The problem is that it doesn't necessarily mean it is good.

The initial bite of the Frosty offers the cool and creamy texture we have all come to know and love in Wendy's classic treat, but the pumpkin spice flavor truly hits you in the face. Part of the problem is the artificiality of the pumpkin flavor. It comes off as less pie and more candle. Once you get past that, you are hit with the spices, and even those are a bit off. We did not taste any of the promised cinnamon, only some nutmeg and clove that created a powerful aftertaste.

We feel that we should have liked the Pumpkin Spice Frosty more than we did, but the flavor was just not clicking. While it certainly isn't the most offensive pumpkin spice food we have had, it is also certainly not our favorite. We've even had better seasonal Frosty flavors. Maybe Wendy's should head back to the pumpkin spice drawing board and try again next year.