We Tried TikTok’s Fruit Roll-Up and Ice Cream Snack Hack—and You Should, Too

TikTok has brought us some unexpected snacks: Think the pickle in a blanket, whipped coffee, watermelon tuna, and sweet potato toast (not to mention the rise of mug cakes, charcuterie
boards, and butter boards). Now, a new snack is going viral on the platform—and this one is tailor-made for anyone with a sweet tooth. The latest trend blowing up on social media is fruit roll-ups and ice cream. You read that right: fruit roll-ups, the wildly popular snack from the ’90s (sometimes with sticky tattoos), and ice cream.

Where the Ice Cream Fruit Roll-Up Snack Comes From

The person who started it all goes by golisdream on TikTok, and the original snack video now has more than 9 million views and counting. Golisdream starts by unrolling a strawberry-flavored fruit roll-up (which she buys in bulk, she says in the video) and then scoops a bit of Breyer’s mango ice cream in the middle. She then folds the snack into a little burrito and bites into it with a satisfying crunch. Suddenly, a new snack favorite is born. The beauty of her hack is that the ice cream instantly freezes the roll-up, giving it a wafer-thin, hard-candy crunch that contrasts nicely with the softness of the ice cream.

This isn’t the first time frozen fruit roll-ups have gone viral on TikTok. In 2021, millennials and Gen Z alike were falling back in love with the fruity snack—this time after it had spent a few hours in the freezer. The frozen fruit roll-up trend racked up millions of videos, with users trying the trend, riffing on the idea with additions like Tajin and chamoy, and taking it to the next level by stacking 50 frozen roll-ups into one over-the-top snack.   

What the Ice Cream Fruit Roll-Up Tastes Like

In the name of journalistic curiosity, we put golisdream’s recipe to the test. We stuck to the original combination of strawberry fruit roll-ups with mango ice cream (although we used Talenti Alphonso Mango sorbet). Some creators suggest placing the rolled treat into the freezer for 2 to 3 minutes before eating, but we didn’t find that it made a noticeable difference.

The ice cream makes the roll-up instantly crunchy, but it quickly becomes gummy and soft when chewed, giving the whole bite a mochi-like feel. The combination of tart mango and super-sweet strawberry makes the snack feel refreshingly pleasant (and decidedly messy). Original maker golisdream suggested that curious eaters try other combinations of flavors, so we also sampled the tropical-flavored roll-ups with vanilla ice cream and found that it also makes a delightful (albeit much sweeter) treat.

If you can’t find fruit roll-ups in stock, or if you want to give the recipe a DIY twist, try making your own fruit leather from pureed fruit and then filling it with a scoop of homemade ice cream. It’s not even autumn, but with a whole suite of new potential flavor combinations unlocked, we’re already imagining spicy applesauce fruit leather filled with fresh-churned pumpkin ice cream.