I love Wendy’s Classic Chocolate Frosty, but I have no idea how to explain the treat to the uninitiated. With its mild flavor and a texture that will make you doubt your choice of a spoon, try a straw, then realize that’s somehow even worse than the spoon, it almost seems intentionally ambiguous. So, when I saw someone tried to capture its essence in a cereal, I thought I may finally have some answers.
Kellogg’s Wendy’s Frosty Chocolatey Cereal is described on the box as a “chocolate flavored multi-grain cereal with marshmallows.” Hmm, none of Dave Thomas’ secrets revealed there. I opened it up and gave the cereal a whiff. It smelled like a packet of instant hot chocolate, but there was something indescribably Frosty-like about it. There’s that ambiguousness again.
I needed to crack this code, so it was time to try each component separately without milk. The cereal had a pleasant cocoa taste, but it was very light on the corn-forward puff. The marshmallow was where things started to get interesting. A bit more cocoa, but notably some vanilla and… some malty goodness? My mind began to race. Have Frostys been malted this whole time?! A quick check of the ingredients on the Wendy’s website showed no mention of malt. Wait, there was no malt in the marshmallow ingredients, either. What the heck was going on?
I poured a bowl, added some whole milk, and took a bite. It was exactly what you want from a chocolate cereal but was lacking in Frostyness. I finished the bowl and I took a sip of the leftover milk. I’ll be darned, the milk tasted like a Frosty! How? The marshmallows! I investigated the bag of remaining cereal and noticed many of the little mallows had fallen to the bottom, not making it into my bowl.
I tried again. Marshmallow by marshmallow, I made a more evenly distributed serving (the first time I’ve ever eaten what could be called a balanced breakfast) and followed the box’s advice I had previously ignored. I froze the bowl of cereal for five minutes and ate it with mittens. Well, gloves, because mittens are the worst. Sure enough, it started to taste a little like a Frosty!
Despite the exciting development, it didn’t taste enough like a Frosty and I was left with more questions than answers. If you’re less concerned about such things, it was a somewhat basic but extremely eatable cereal. Chocolatey, a little vanilla-y, a perfectly crunchy yet puffy textured cereal, and just the right amount of sweetness from the marshmallows.
If you’re more concerned about such things, well, I found that a quick internet search will give you the answers to your Frosty questions. But, having done both, I can say eating a whole bunch of Kellogg’s Wendy’s Frosty Chocolatey Cereal in the hopes of finding them is a lot more fun.
Purchased Price: $4.29 (on sale, originally $4.49)
Size: 8.3 oz box
Purchased at: Shaw’s
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 1/2 cups without milk) 150 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 200 milligrams of sodium, 36 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 17 grams of sugar, 17 grams of added sugar, and 2 grams of protein.
I nearly purchased a box of these last week but they were nearly $4 in my area so I cheapened out. Perhaps I will splurge a bit and give them a try after all.
Oh, I meant to add that the Frosty was inspired by a chocolate malt and is their nod to the malted milkshake. I feel like Hermione Granger here when saying that this is according to Wendy’s, a history…..i.e. their website. It’s nice that the cereal was able to replicate this.
It’s a great cereal, but not worth breaking the bank over! You can totally wait until it goes on sale. Or, you can consider the box’s coupon for a free Frosty with purchase a discount 🙂
And yeah, I had always assumed it was inspired by chocolate malted milkshakes but wasn’t sure! I eventually saw that in my research, too. I also learned that the light chocolate flavor was specifically designed to not overpower their burgers. Pretty clever!
They always take me back to being at the ballpark as a kid and the concession wanderers yelling/selling “Froooooosty maaaalts! Get your frosty malt!” I was more about those than hot dogs.
You’re right that the Frosty can’t really be described without having one. It’s personally one of my favorite frozen items anywhere so I’ll definitely give these a try!
Awesome! Frostys really are something special. And the Jr. Frosty is easily the most adorable fast food item of all time!
Thanks for the review, Alex! The gloved picture made my day, I can’t believe I’ve been eating cereal barehanded all these years like some kind of chump.
My pleasure 🙂 And I know, to think I’ve been letting the cold metal of a spoon touch my precious hand for so long. What am I, some commoner? Never again!
Alex! Oh my gosh! Thank you so much for this review. 1) for the product review itself and 2) for the brilliant writing that truly made my day for many reasons
This review is in contention for best all around review of the year based on being informative, descriptive, and hilariously fun while delivering on content!
Thank you!
Oh my goodness, thank you, that is incredibly sweet and flattering! Maybe a little too sweet and flattering…. is that you, mom?
Happy to be of service, I appreciate you reading!
I had never contemplated the ambiguity of the Wendy’s frosty viscerality, nor how it begs to be adequately described and understood, until I read this. You perfectly captured it with your spoon/straw/spoon experience. Bravo. That opening paragraph was the stuff young writers’ dreams are made of.
That is ridiculously kind, Melanie, thank you for reading! Here’s hoping someone can invent the perfect Frosty utensil someday.
Hi Alex,
What a fun and thought-provoking review! You got all of us contemplating the subtle distinctions of a Frosty – not an easy feat. I hope the cereal is as terrific as your review!
Thanks for all you do,
Tracey
Thank you so, so much, Tracey! I am very happy to do it, especially when I get rewarded with comments as kind as yours.
Your review made me crave a frosty in the middle of winter, great job! It makes my fast food loving heart happy to see so many people who love Wendy’s frosty. I bought this cereal at Grocery Outlet in California for $1.00 last month and hopefully those who crave it find it on sale soon.
This cereal reminded me of the way that Cocoa Puffs used to taste, before they went whole grain and cut down on the sugar. And I have no complaints. I also agree with the milk tasting strangely like a Frosty.
Wendys frosty cereal is disgusting, don’t waste u money.
I respectfully disagree. How do you know that someone else will have the exact same opinion as you?
Didya get the free small frosty?
It didn’t give me “chocolate Frosty” in terms of taste.
It gave me more of an instant hot cocoa packet flavor.