Wendy’s falls into autumn with new Salted Caramel Frosty

Back in my day, there was only one Frosty flavor: Chocolate.

In fact, I never even considered that a Frosty was chocolate flavored. A Frosty wasn’t chocolate flavored. It was Frosty flavored.

But Wendy’s has spent the past decade or so trying to change that perception. In addition to the classic chocolate Frosty, the fast-food chain introduced a vanilla frosty. (Look, if I want vanilla soft serve from a fast-food restaurant, that’s McDonald’s wheelhouse.) Then there was strawberry. Orange dreamsicle. Pumpkin spice. Mixed berry. We even got a pineapple mix-in last month for the Krabby Patty Kollab.

The chocolate Frosty remains unparalleled, though. Could Wendy’s new Salted Caramel Frosty change that?

Where I found it

Wendy’s. Please stop buying your Frostys at other stores. I don’t think you’re getting the real deal.

What I paid

I got my Salted Caramel Frosty as part of a 10-piece nugget meal, which came in at $9.99. It looks like a medium Salted Caramel Frosty runs $3.19 at my Wendy’s.

My thoughts

The Salted Caramel Frosty is no chocolate Frosty. But that’s a high bar to clear.

This new Frosty flavor, though, did force me to reconsider my stance on different Frosty flavors. It’s very good.

As I mentioned before, I got a medium Frosty as part of my 10-piece nugget meal. (Classic not spicy.) Before eating my lunch, I dove into the new Frosty. Would the salted caramel flavor shine through? It’s one thing to make a caramel Frosty. It’s another thing to make a salted caramel one. Could the food wizards over at Wendy’s make the salted element pop?

At first glance, I was pleased with what I saw. Unlike the pineapple Frosty from Wendy’s SpongeBob Squarepants collaboration, this is a fully mixed Frosty. None of that “we squirted some pineapple syrup at the bottom of the cup and then pour a vanilla Frosty into it” nonsense.

The Salted Caramel Frosty definitely smelled like caramel. Since the Frostys in America are mixed flavors and don’t actually have physical toppings spun into them, the dream of seeing actual salt crystals in the Frosty was dead before I even looked. But in addition to the richness of the caramel flavor, the Salted Caramel Frosty does manage to convey the “salted” part of its name. It’s subtle. But it’s there.

So what makes me hold the Salted Caramel Frosty in such high esteem? I think unlike some of the previous new Frosty flavors, they managed to perfectly balance these flavors as a Frosty. It’s not too sweet like the mixed berry flavor. It’s not too rich like the pumpkin spice flavor.

If I hadn’t gotten a pretty mediocre batch of fries with my lunch, I would’ve tried dipping them into my Salted Caramel Frosty. A perfectly cooked batch of Wendy’s fries would probably be a fantastic vehicle for a dip into this flavor of Frosty.

Final verdict: BUY

I’m never going to tell you to buy a non-chocolate Frosty over the original Frosty. But if you’re willing to skip the classic to try something new, you can’t go wrong with the Salted Caramel Frosty.