DIY Disneyland Dining: The Magical Recipes You Can Make at Home

The fresh scent of churros wafts towards you, the “Grey Stuff” looks just intriguing enough to devour, and the vibrant Dole Whips make you reminisce about your childhood—that’s right, we’re talking about our most beloved (and missed) Disney recipes. While we’re jumping for joy over the news that Disneyland’s gates are reopening on July 17, the park’s 65th anniversary, we can't wait to dine at all the best Disneyland restaurants. So instead, we’re making a few of our favorite treats at home. 

The Best Disneyland Dining Recipes to Make at Home

Like many of you, we’ve been wondering how Disney’s Dole Whip recipe tastes so magical and what exactly is in a non-alcoholic mint julep, and luckily for us, the quandaries have come to an end. Thanks to the Disney Parks Blog and our foodie imaginations, we’re able to recreate some of the best foods at Disneyland (while conveniently skipping out on Disneyland’s food prices). Here’s what to cook up next.

The “Grey Stuff”

Where you’d find it: Red Rose Taverne, Fantasyland, Disneyland

If you’ve ever watched Beauty and the Beast, you probably know that the infamous “Grey Stuff” is mentioned in the song “Be Our Guest,” when Lumière warmly welcomes Belle with a feast, saying, "Try the grey stuff; it's delicious!" Now, you don’t have to take his word for it—you can try it yourself. 

Serves 12

Ingredients

1 ½ cups cold whole milk

1  package instant vanilla pudding mix (3.4 ounces)

15 Oreos or other chocolate sandwich cookies

1 container whipped topping (8 ounces)

3 tablespoons instant chocolate pudding mix

12 scalloped sugar cookies

1 container edible sugar pearls

Directions

• Add milk to a large mixing bowl and whisk in the instant vanilla pudding mix until smooth. Refrigerate for one to two hours (or until firm).
• Pour Oreos into a food processor and pulse to purée.
• Add puréed cookies to the chilled pudding, and combine until fully mixed.
• Incorporate the whipped topping and chocolate pudding into the mixture.
• Refrigerate for one hour.
• Fill a piping bag (or a plastic bag with one corner cut off) the “Grey Stuff,” and swirl onto sugar cookies.
• Sprinkle with sugar pearls.

Pro tip: Place a small, raspberry preserves–filled red velvet cake atop the scalloped sugar cookie, then swirl the “Grey Stuff” around the cake for your own version of the Red Rose Taverne’s Grey Stuff Gâteau.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Rolls

Where you’d find them: Lamplight Lounge, Pixar Pier, Disney California Adventure Park

There’s something about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that brings you back to your childhood, and now, you can enjoy it in a new form: Pair the beloved combo with the finger-friendly fun of sushi rolls, and you’ve got the PB and J rolls from the Lamplight Lounge. 

Serves 4

Ingredients

8 slices of wheat bread

¾ cup creamy peanut butter, divided

¾ cup strawberry jelly

Directions

• Cut the crust off the bread slices, and flatten them with a rolling pin.
• Evenly coat flattened slices with peanut butter, leaving some space around all four edges.
• Roll the bread slices starting on the long side, and cut each roll into four equal pieces.
• Place eight pieces onto each plate (seam-side down).
• Drizzle jelly over each roll (spoon jelly into a piping bag if you don’t have a squeeze bottle).

Dole Whip

Where you’d find it: Outside the Enchanted Tiki Room, Adventureland, Disneyland

This frozen treat is not only one of the best things to eat at Disneyland, but also the perfect way to welcome summer, celebrate a birthday, or make any day special. While Dole Whip is always packed full of flavor, this recipe is surprisingly easy to make at home. 

Serves 2

Ingredients

8 ounces of pineapple juice

4 cups of frozen pineapple

2 scoops of vanilla ice cream

Dairy-free alternative

2 cups pineapple juice concentrate

2 frozen bananas, peeled

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk

5 teaspoons powdered sugar

Directions

• Combine all ingredients in a blender, and mix until thick and smooth.
• Transfer mixture into a piping bag, and swirl into a cup or bowl using a large piping tip.

Pro tip: Make it a Dole Whip float by adding pineapple juice to a cup and topping it with your pineapple whip.

Mint Julep

Where you’d find it: Mint Julep Bar, New Orleans Square, Disneyland

There’s nothing quite as refreshing on a warm day as a mint julep. Evoking memories of horse races and, of course, Mary Poppins, this beverage is as whimsical as it is delicious. 

Serves 5

Ingredients

1 ½ cups simple syrup (make your own by combining one cup granulated sugar with one cup water in a saucepan and simmering over medium heat until sugar dissolves)

4 tablespoons crème de menthe syrup (make your own by simmering ½ cup water,  ½ cup sugar, and ½ tablespoon peppermint extract together)

⅔ cup lime juice concentrate (thawed)

6 ounces lemonade concentrate (thawed)

3 cups club soda

Water

Ice (optional)

Lemon slices (for garnish)

Maraschino cherries (for garnish)

Mint leaves (for garnish)

Directions

• Combine simple syrup, crème de menthe syrup, lime juice concentrate, lemonade concentrate, and club soda to create the mint julep mix.
• In a pint glass, combine one part mint julep mix with four parts cold water.
• Stir and add ice (if desired).
• Garnish with a skewer of lemon slices and maraschino cherries.
• Finish with mint leaves.

*Note: If making your own syrups, allow them plenty of time to cool before combining with other ingredients.

Mickey Mouse Beignets

Where you’d find them: Mint Julep Bar, New Orleans Square, Disneyland

When it comes to Disney’s recipes, we have to admit the Mickey Mouse beignets rank pretty high on our list of goodies to make—maybe because they’re one of the cutest Mickey-shaped foods in the park (or because we recently watched The Princess and the Frog on Netflix). 

Serves 5

Ingredients

¼ cup warm water (approximately 105°F)

½ teaspoon dry yeast

½ cup boiling water

½ cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

1 egg

¼ cup sugar

½ teaspoon salt

4 cups all-purpose flour

Vegetable oil (for frying)

Powdered sugar (to taste)

Directions

• Pour warm water into a small bowl, and sprinkle in the yeast. Stir, then leave for five minutes.
• Combine boiling water, heavy cream, shortening, egg, sugar, salt, and flour in a large bowl. Stir in yeast mixture.
• Pour the mixture into a stand mixer, and combine using a dough hook attachment (or thoroughly combine by hand).
• Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
• Roll out the dough until it is ¼-inch thick.
• Using a Mickey Mouse–shaped cookie cutter, separate dough into individual beignets. (If you don’t have a cookie cutter, cut dough into three-inch squares.)
• Lay each beignet flat on a cutting board or cookie sheet, cover with a kitchen towel, and let the dough rise in a warm, dark place for about one hour (or until the dough doubles in size).
• Add three inches of vegetable oil to a deep pot. Carefully heat on medium-high until the oil reaches 350°F.
• Fry beignets for two to three minutes (or until golden brown), flipping them once the bottom has browned.
• Using tongs or a slotted spoon, remove beignets from the oil and drain them on a paper towel–lined plate.
• Dust the warm beignets with powdered sugar.

Which Disney recipe will you make first? Let us know how your treats turn out in the comments below!