Last Updated on October 28, 2022 by Jim Edwards
Rita’s Italian Ice menu has items for everyone. Not a single person goes home disappointed or unsatisfied because they didn’t find their flavor. There’s a treat for everyone!
The quick-service restaurant chain has some of the best frozen custard and Italian ice flavors in the country. Established in 1984 by Bob Tumolo, a former firefighter, the first Rita’s Italian Ice restaurant in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, offered “Italian ice” or “water ice” recipe that Tumolo got from his elderly neighbor. He made some changes to the recipe to add fresh fruit flavors, eventually turning it into a franchise that still gets plenty of visitors per day.
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Must-Try Items on Rita’s Italian Ice Menu
Rita’s Italian Ice has more than 500 restaurants in 31 states, where they serve various flavors of frozen custard, Italian ice, and combos. There are classic flavors that have been on the menu for decades, and then we have newer ones, specially made to fix our sugar cravings. While we list out the best items on Rita’s Italian Ice menu, pick the one you’re most excited about!
Italian Ice
Water ice or Italian ice is gluten-free and trans-fat-free with all-natural flavors. You can enjoy standard fruit flavors or a combination of two. Some of the famous flavors are:
Blue Raspberry
A classic and one of the most popular Rita’s Italian Ice flavors is blue raspberry. With a sour taste, the flavor is special to those who love sour-sweet flavors. It may be a classic flavor, but Rita’s blue raspberry is nothing like the treat you would get from an ice cream truck!
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Cherry
The cherry Italian ice at Rita’s has been around for as long as the blue raspberry. If you love fruit treats, try the cherry flavor and enjoy the sweetness of this fruity Italian ice.
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Cotton Candy
Who doesn’t love cotton candy flavor?! It’s good for a carnival fan in any form or dessert. So, if you want to try Italian ice flavored with cotton candy, Rita’s is ready to serve you! It’s not a classic flavor at the restaurant chain but becoming popular among the patrons.
Lemon
A glass of lemonade sounds like the most delicious thing during summertime. What if we say that you can have a frozen glass of lemonade? Rita’s offers lemon Italian ice on the menu, a sweet and tart flavor, all frozen to improve your summertime experience!
Mango
Not having mango on the flavor list must be seen as a betrayal by the Italian ice fans! Maybe that’s why most quick-service restaurants have it to appease their customers. Mango is among the fan-favorite flavors for Rita’s Italian ice. It is also the flavor that’s available all the time!
Strawberry
Strawberry is a flavor among the classics that never fails a dessert business. Rita’s also introduced it knowing it would be a popular one, and we are glad they made a memorable Italian ice flavor for us. It’s not your standard strawberry flavor—the richness of fruit gives the bright red color that you are sure to enjoy.
Swedish Fish
Candy-flavored Italian ice is worth trying at Rita’s. The flavor is a fan favorite, coming close to mango and cherry. The Italian ice at Rita’s only features the red Swedish Fish, so if you are a fan of this flavor, don’t forget to try it.
Wild Black Cherry
If cherry-flavored Italian ice is not satisfying your palate, you can try Wild Black Cherry. The fruit is usually considered to be sweeter than regular cherries, and once you try Rita’s Wild Black Cherry Italian ice, you will understand why that is. This Italian ice is dark in color, with chunks of cherries to improve the texture.
Florida Orange
Florida oranges are sweeter and juicier than the regular oranges we are used to. Since Rita’s wants the best flavors for their customers, they have Florida orange on the menu. There’s the regular orange flavor too, but when the Florida oranges are here, why would you opt for the ordinary ones?
Guava
Now you want to try something other than strawberry and cherry-flavored Italian ice; Rita’s Italian Ice menu has guava available. The fruit is the sweet hybrid of strawberry and pear. Rita’s makes a perfect guava Italian ice that lets you taste the real goodness of the fruit.
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Frozen Custard
Frozen custard may just be like ice cream, but it’s creamier and totally worth forgetting about your favorite ice cream flavor! While you may have encountered some average frozen custard flavors at other places, Rita’s Italian Ice menu has some of the more wild and classic flavors for you to try. Here are a few that you may enjoy:
Chocolate
Chocolate custard for dessert is something no one can refuse to eat. For all chocolate lovers out there, Rita’s custard flavor is amazingly chocolaty! The richness of custard with the taste of chocolate is enough to fill you up if you have no appetite for a meal.
Orange Cream
Orange cream is a fan-favorite flavor of custard that most people combine with a topping of their choice. Since the flavor of fruit is not artificial, you can enjoy the creamy orange taste with each bite.
Strawberry
Just like the Italian ice from Rita’s, the strawberry flavor of frozen custard is rich and creamy. You can eat it without any toppings to balance the sweetness. If you do not mind the extra sweet flavor, go on and order a regular-size strawberry custard at Rita’s.
Strawberry Banana
Strawberry Banana is a combination that balances the two fruit flavors perfectly. People who are not fans of strawberry’s extra sweet flavor can order strawberry banana custard from Rita’s and enjoy this flavorful treat!
Vanilla
A classic flavor that goes well with anything! Vanilla custard is the favorite flavor that most patrons use in combination with Italian ice. It’s creamy and sweet but not overwhelming for the tastebuds.
Gelati
Another combination of Italian ice and custard, but with alternate layers. Rita’s calls it “Gelati.” They also call it “five layers of pure happiness!” If you ask other customers who have ordered Gelati, they will agree with the tagline. It is pure happiness with an extra layer of custard that no one should miss.
As for the most popular gelati flavors, you can try some or all of the following:
- Mango & Vanilla (most popular!)
- Strawberries ‘N’ Cream
- Chocolate Chip & Mint Vanilla
- Root Beer & Vanilla
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Blendini
A combination of Italian ice and frozen custard, which they call “Blendini.” People who want to be adventurous in their choice of Rita’s available items on the menu often go for a Blendini. It combines the two best things the restaurant has to offer, so no one will be disappointed.
Customers have the option to choose any two flavors and toppings for their Rita’s treat. While some would go crazing with their choice, others prefer to stick with the popular option like
- Cookies & Cream
- S’mores Ice, Chocolate custard & Oreos
- Chocolate Ice, Chocolate custard & Oreos
The Gelati – Layers of Happiness
Rita’s Italian Ice is introducing the Gelati in this video! It is their #1 favorite frozen treat of all time! See how they make this delicious treat and why it’s called Layers of Happiness.
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Rita’s Italian Ice Menu: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What Flavor Is Rita’s Carnival Italian Ice?
Rita’s Carnival Italian Ice is a relatively new flavor of Rita’s that combines watermelon with cotton candy. Separately, these two are among the most famous Italian ice flavors. Imagine how great they’d be served together!
What Is a Misto Shake?
Rita’s Misto shake is a blended version of Italian ice and frozen custard. It is as popular as their other combination offerings, Gelati and Blendini. They call it more than a drink because it’s refreshing with the taste of natural fruit.
What Is a Concrete at Rita’s?
Concrete is Rita’s frozen custard decorated with delicious toppings. If you do not like your frozen custard to be a single flavor, you can choose a contracting topping and enjoy a delightful Rita’s treat!
What Is Ocean Splash at Rita’s?
Ocean Splash is one of Rita’s gelati items on the menu. It’s a combination of Dragon Fruit, Watermelon, and Vanilla. The ocean splash is offered as Mermaid Gelati and Shark Gelati, both having different toppings.
What Is a Rita’s Blendini?
Rita’s Blendini is a mixture of Italian ice, topping, and frozen custard. Do not confuse this with the Misto shake because Blendini is not entirely liquid.
Rita Italian Ice Menu Summary
Rita’s Italian Ice menu has so much to offer that you can enjoy a new flavor every day for a month or more! Adding in the combos, Blendini and Gelati, you will be set for the entire summer. In this article, we have mentioned the best items on the menu that many customers like. If you think you can create a better combination of Italian ice and frozen custard, visit your neared branch and share your creation with other Rita’s fans!
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Image credit
“Rita’s Italian Ice” by rutt is marked with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
I’m Jim Edwards and I started this website to share my love of Junk Food. We cover new junk food, desserts, snack foods, fast food secret menus, candy (of course!) and other related news. We love trying “secret menus” at restaurants. And we love trying new products too. So, we are trying to have some fun with our hobby and share some useful information with you, our community. Please feel to send us your suggestions and feedback through the contact form. And if you have products you would like us to try, let us know…!