The Absolute Best Ice Cream to Buy From the Grocery Store
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With so many brands and flavors of ice cream on the shelves, deciding what to pick up at the store can seem overwhelming. Plus, the options seem to get weirder by the day — remember mac and cheese ice cream? But if you're looking to shake things up, Cheapism has sampled some buzzy new flavors, can't-miss classics, and even some vegan desserts to bring you the best freezer finds.
Editor's note: This story was updated in March 2024. Prices and availability are subject to change.
Peanut Butter Brownie Honeycomb Ice Cream
Van Leeuwen
$12 per pint
Van Leeuwen started out making ice cream from scratch in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Today, they can be found in stores nationwide. Organic peanut butter and chewy brownies form the base of this truly tantalizing treat. It's wickedly amazing (and vegan).
Trio'politan
Turkey Hill
$5.50 per quart
Giving the traditional Neapolitan ice cream a bit of friendly competition, Turkey Hill introduces its Trio'politan lineup. These pints combine three new flavors — not just the standard trio of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. Among them: Mint Cookie, with vanilla ice cream, chocolate cookie swirls, dark chocolate ice cream, and mint ice cream with chocolate cookie pieces; and Triple Berry, featuring blueberry ice cream, black raspberry ice cream, and strawberry ice cream.
Caramel Brownie
Breyers Delights
$4.49 per quart
Breyers Delights are lower in calories and fat than other ice creams, have natural ingredients, and come in six flavors that allow you to indulge without the guilt. We tried the Caramel Brownie — just 360 calories in the pint. You can eat a container's full in one sitting and not feel like you've blown your diet.
Amaretto Black Cherry Almond Toffee
Haagen Dazs
$4 per pint
There are some things that are so wickedly delicious they seem made to go together. In the case of Haagen Dazs' Spirits Collection, that's booze and ice cream. These pints contain less than 0.5% alcohol by volume, so while you aren't likely to feel tipsy after eating it, it's probably best reserved for the older crowd. We opted for the non-dairy rush of Amaretto, rich black cherry jam, and sweet toffee pieces. Cheers. This one's a keeper.
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Maine Wild Blueberry
Gifford's Famous Ice Cream
$4 per quart
The official ice cream of the Boston Celtics, New England Patriots and Boston Bruins, Gifford's has been churning out quality ice cream since the late 1800s. The recipes all use a special blend of fresh milk and cream from local farms; Maine Wild Blueberry showcases wild blueberries sourced from Ellsworth, Maine. The result: an award-winning taste sensation. Gifford's can be found at major supermarkets and retailers from Maine to the Mid-Atlantic, as well as throughout the Midwest and as far west as Nevada.
Decidedly Chocolate
Lopez Island Creamery
$6 per pint
This Seattle creamery is only a little over 20 years in the making, but it's been able to perfect delicious ice cream flavors on par with larger, familiar brands. It even makes a seasonal licorice ice cream that's scrumptious. We tried Decidedly Chocolate lover's ice cream, which is melt-in-your-mouth creamy perfection. Look for Lopez Creamery pints and quarts throughout Washington, Oregon, and Alaska.
Slow Churned Classic Vanilla
Dreyer's/Edy's
$6.49 per quart
Vanilla is a classic, favorite flavor and Dreyer's Slow Churned Vanilla is no exception. It's a flavorful ice cream that is not too rich or too heavy. Using only fresh milk, cream, and natural ingredients — no rBST or artificial colors or flavors — and half the fat of its original line, it's a great value. If you live in the Midwest, East Coast or Southern states, you'll find it under the Edy's label, while in the western United States it's known as Dreyer's.
Cherry Garcia
Ben & Jerry's
$5.19 per pint
Cherry Garcia, with its smooth cherry vanilla ice cream, chunks of dark chocolate, and cherry pieces, is still one of the best flavors the duo from Vermont churn. Named after the legendary guitarist Jerry Garcia, one would expect this flavor to be nothing short of spectacular — and it is. Plus, it's non-GMO and hormone-free. It's available at Kroger, Target, and most supermarket chains.
Pralines & Cream
Baskin Robbins
$2.79 per pint
This one's a classic flavor with a vanilla base and crunchy pralines that add a salty component to the affair. Even better, it's topped off with swirls of delicious caramel. Find it at most major grocery stores nationwide.
Sicilian Pistachio
Van Leeuwen
$12 for 14 ounces
It's been said that the finest pistachios in the world grow on the slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily, where they acquire a unique emerald color and intense fragrance. It's these pistachios Van Leeuwen uses in its Sicilian Pistachio dessert, made with housemade cashew milk, organic coconut milk, organic extra virgin coconut oil, organic cane sugar, pure cocoa butter, and organic carob bean. We love it.
Marionberry Pie Ice Cream
Tillamook
$6.49 per 1.5 quart
Tillamook is a dairy co-op in Tillamook, Oregon, the state that's home to the marionberry — a sweet, juicy type of blackberry. Marionberry Pie ice cream features them in jelly swirls paired with chunks of pie crust in a vanilla base. It's just like having a slice of pie a la mode, and it's available at grocery stores and retailers nationwide.
Double Almond Brown Butter
Magnum
$6.49 per tub (14.8 ounces)
A base of vanilla ice cream is filled with velvety almond ice cream and a brown butter sauce and surrounded by a layer of decadent milk chocolate you can crack with your spoon. An independent reviewer says it best: "Perhaps the best bit is that the chocolate layer doesn't just cover the top like many other varieties; it is coated around the outside of the tub and throughout the ice cream. This means that every serving has a good mix of smooth, light ice cream and thin chocolate pieces." Magnum's Double Almond Brown Butter and other flavors can be found at Target, Walmart, and other grocery retailers.
Organic Gelato Chocolate Mousse
Talenti
$6.50 per pint
While technically a gelato, we're willing to make an exception in a roundup of ice creams for this frozen treat — and think you should, too. Talenti's sugar buzz comes in a bunch of flavors, including some organic and with less sugar. The organic and gluten-free Chocolate Mousse is rich chocolate ice cream swirled with fudge, then whipped to make it light enough to qualify as actual mousse. This gelato is ultra-smooth and creamy. Talenti can be found in most major grocery chains and retailers across the country.
Southern Blackberry Cobbler
Blue Bell
$7 per half-gallon
When you want a warm slice of pie in ice-cream form, this Southern Blackberry Cobbler ice cream should do the trick. Think blackberry ice cream with a blackberry sauce swirl with pie crust pieces to bring it all together. This flavor is brought back for summers. Best of all, you won't have to turn on an oven.
Turkish Coffee
McConnell's Fine Ice Creams
$11 per pint
Founded in Santa Barbara, California, in 1949, McConnell's has a dairy-free, gluten-free line that does not disappoint. Turkish Coffee has the consistency of real ice cream, but it's not quite as sweet. It's smooth and rich and has a full-bodied, complex coffee flavor. Made with pea protein, it has little flecks of espresso folded throughout. We went through a pint in about 10 minutes. McConnell's ice cream is available at retailers nationwide, and can be shipped.
This article was originally published on Cheapism
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