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WHAT’S THE BEST VANILLA ICE CREAM? WE TRIED 13 POPULAR BRANDS.

Review by Emily Heil
June 28, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. EDT
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(Video: Cece Pascual/The Washington Post; Photo by Peggy Cormary for The
Washington Post; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky for The Washington Post)
Skip to main content
 1.  12. Breyers Natural Vanilla
 2.  11. Edy’s Vanilla Bean
 3.  10. Halo Top Vanilla Bean
 4.  9. Blue Bunny Vanilla Bean
 5.  8. Turkey Hill Vanilla Bean
 6.  7. (tie) Blue Bell Natural Vanilla Bean
 7.  7. (tie) Great Value Vanilla Bean (Walmart)
 8.  6. 365 Vanilla (Whole Foods)
 9.  5. Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Bean
 10. 4. Trader Joe’s French Vanilla
 11. 3. Tillamook Vanilla Bean
 12. 2. Kirkland Signature Super Premium Vanilla (Costco)
 13. 1. Ben & Jerry’s Vanilla


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Comment on this storyComment1982

Vanilla gets a bad rap. It’s boring, the haters say. It’s bland. The word is
even used as a synonym for a kind of drab ordinariness that’s definitely to be
avoided in our colorful times. And so why would you opt for plain old vanilla
ice cream when there’s an ever-expanding dairy case stuffed with so many zany
flavors and souped-up mix-ins?



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Well, because it’s about as versatile as you can get. It shines alongside pies
(or crumbles or buckles or slumps) bursting with summer farmers market bounty.
It’s also a perfectly great (even company-worthy) dessert on its own, topped
with whatever fruit you’ve got or a drizzle of syrup or honey — or nothing at
all. Dull? More like classic, and for good reason.

With something as pared-down as vanilla ice cream, though, quality matters, and
not all scoops are created equal. To help figure out which carton to grab from
the grocery freezer, we rounded up the top-selling ice cream brands, using
market data from Circana, a Chicago-based market research firm (its numbers came
from grocery, drug, mass-market, convenience, military and select club, and
dollar retailers, and covered the year that ended in May). Private label, or
store brands, make up the top slot, so we picked several popular ones from
national retail chains. Where we could, we opted for the “vanilla bean” flavor,
figuring we were shooting for the most vanilla-y of each brand’s respective
lineup.

In a blind test, our panel of eight grabbed their spoons and started tasting,
awarding each sample a score of 1 to 10 (meaning there’s a maximum overall score
of 80), taking into account the taste and texture of each. Here’s the scoop:




12. BREYERS NATURAL VANILLA

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Score: 25

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This was a personal heartbreaker for me: Growing up, we were Breyers People; it
was accepted as gospel that the brand was superior to all others. Alas, it seems
I have been living a lie all these years, as our tasters found this one to be
“boring” and “sad.” Several detected a slight aftertaste that they couldn’t put
a finger on, and the consistency was described as “glacial” and “icy.” (Price:
$5.99 / 48 ounces at Safeway / 12 cents per ounce)


11. EDY’S VANILLA BEAN

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Score: 29

Our tasters thought this was overwhipped. “Too much air,” complained one.
“Foamy,” said another. “#Staypuft, my friends,” concurred a third. “But don’t
buy this stuff.” And a pop fan invoked Ariana Grande with the ultimate
dismissal: “Thank u, next!” (Price: $4.99 / 48 ounces at Food Lion / 10 cents
per ounce)


10. HALO TOP VANILLA BEAN

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Score: 36

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This relatively young brand has made big strides by positioning itself as a
lower-calorie alternative that’s actually okay to consume by the pint.
Texture-adding ingredients like soluble corn fiber and vegetable glycerin are
meant to make up for the smaller amount of cream, but they ended up creating an
oil slick on tasters’ palates. “It’s a stick of unsalted frozen butter,” one
suggested. “It eats kind of fatty,” thought another. A couple of tasters dug the
creaminess, but many were turned off by the fake sugar vibes (there’s erythritol
and stevia leaf extract in there). One even sniffed out the impostor: “Halo Top,
you’ve been made!” (Price: $5.49 / 16 ounces at Target / 34 cents per ounce)

From the archives: ‘Healthy’ ice creams promise indulgence without guilt. Do
they deliver?


9. BLUE BUNNY VANILLA BEAN

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Score: 37

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This sample had the opposite problem as Halo Top — tasters found it to be
watery. “I want more dairy richness, TBH,” lamented one. “Not as creamy as the
others,” agreed another. And the vanilla wasn’t hitting the right notes, earning
it comments such as “oddly minty?” “a little bubble-gummy at the end” and “like
opening a bottle of vanilla extract — too strong and a bit astringent at the
end.” (Price: $4.48 / 48 ounces at Walmart / 9 cents per ounce)


8. TURKEY HILL VANILLA BEAN

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Score: 39

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Of all the contestants, this was the most polarizing. Two tasters declared it to
be their very favorite of the bunch, with one praising how strongly it tasted of
milk and cream and another finding it to be “marshmallow-y but in a good way.”
But it got a lot of other pans, including from two people who gave it a 1, the
lowest score possible. Chief among the complaints was the distinct taste.
“Noticeably different taste than the others — cotton candy?” asked one. “It’s
like birthday-cake ice cream,” suggested another. “Cloying,” one sniffed. Note:
We sampled Turkey Hill’s Vanilla Bean flavor; the photo accompanying this story
mistakenly depicts the company’s Original Vanilla variety. (Price: $6.39 / 46
ounces at Wegmans / 14 cents per ounce)


7. (TIE) BLUE BELL NATURAL VANILLA BEAN

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Score: 40

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More texture woes doomed this brand, with some people calling out a “chalky,”
“gritty” consistency. “Like an Oreo filling,” noted one. Many found the flavor
fainter than they prefer, despite the presence of bean flecks. “No taste — it’s
like whipped cream before you add the sugar and vanilla,” in the words of one.
(Price: $8.32 / 64 ounces at Walmart / 13 cents per ounce)




7. (TIE) GREAT VALUE VANILLA BEAN (WALMART)

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Score: 40

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Oh hey, another brand that tasters thought needed to turn up the vanilla dial
more than a few notches. No fewer than five tasters used the word “subtle” to
describe its wan, whisper-not-a-shout flavor. One noted that it “held up” and
didn’t melt as fast as the other samples, which could be a plus for warm-weather
alfresco dining, and a few liked the velvety mouthfeel. (Price: $2.67 / 48
ounces at Walmart / 6 cents per ounce)


6. 365 VANILLA (WHOLE FOODS)

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Score: 42

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In a sea of white, the daffodil hue made this sample stand out. Our panel agreed
that it had a more custard-like or French vanilla energy than its more
bean-forward brethren, with a few saying the yellow color was off-putting. They
praised the buttery, creamy character and Goldilocks level of sugar (“sweet but
not too sweet”). But a couple of tasters dinged it for (again) excessive
subtlety. “I’d put it on a flavorful cobbler or crumble, maybe,” said one.
(Price: $5.99 / 48 ounces at Whole Foods / 12 cents per ounce)

Who makes the best cookies-and-cream ice cream in the U.S.? We scooped up 15 top
brands to find out.


5. HÄAGEN-DAZS VANILLA BEAN

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Score: 44

A knock against this one was that it seemed to melt more quickly than the others
(a scan of the ingredients confirmed that there are no stabilizers in the mix),
and so it seemed thin. One taster detected more ice crystals than in others,
too. But on the plus side, they liked the preponderance of vanilla flecks (“very
beany!”). (Price: $5.99 / 14 ounces at Target / 43 cents per ounce)




4. TRADER JOE’S FRENCH VANILLA

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Score: 46

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Tasters pegged this butter-yellow sample as a French vanilla, and many liked its
straightforward appeal that hit some nostalgia buttons. “It’s what I think of as
vanilla,” said one. “Tastes like a Midwestern Fourth of July parade.” A couple
thought the flavor was more an imitation than the real deal and one wondered if
it had been the victim of freezer burn, but this comment seemed to sum up the
consensus: “acceptable in a middle-of-the road kind of way.” (Price: $4.49/ 32
ounces at Trader Joe’s / 14 cents per ounce)


3. TILLAMOOK VANILLA BEAN

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Score: 48

Several tasters agreed that this ice cream was more airy than rich, and a couple
wished it packed more of a flavor punch. But it inched toward the top of the
list by generally not offending anyone. “Could be a crowd pleaser,” mused one.
“Would be an easy milkshake foundation,” suggested another. (Price: $7.29 / 48
ounces at Safeway / 15 cents per ounce)


2. KIRKLAND SIGNATURE SUPER PREMIUM VANILLA (COSTCO)

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Score: 50

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Finally, a scoop that got multiple thumbs up on both the taste and texture
fronts. The panelists could have been describing luxury bedding with the
adjectives they trotted out, like “luscious” and “satiny.” And despite bearing
no visible evidence of vanilla bean, unlike many of its competitors, this sample
offered a depth of flavor that tasters appreciated. A few found the vanilla to
have some complexity, with one saying it reminded them of rum and another
caramel, though a couple found it a touch too sweet. (Price: $18.65 / 2 64-ounce
tubs at Costco / 15 cents per ounce)


1. BEN & JERRY’S VANILLA

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Score: 54

The Vermont brand might be best known for its outré flavors (I’m a lifelong
Chunky Monkey devotee), but it turns out we shouldn’t be sleeping on its quieter
offerings. Tasters found that it checked all the right boxes, earning comments
like “sweet but not saccharine. Just the right amount of vanilla” and “nicely
balanced.” It moved one taster to wax philosophical, dubbing it “a Platonic
vanilla,” while another catalogued a more visceral reaction: “The sweet
dissolves into vanilla and makes me smile.” (Price: $6.99 / 16 ounces at Giant /
44 cents per ounce)

Of course, if you’re feeling a bit more ambitious, we’ve got recipes and tips to
help you churn your own batch of homemade vanilla. Check out Post recipes editor
Ann Maloney’s Vanilla Ice Cream recipe, and my colleague Becky Krystal’s guide:
“How to create the ice cream of your dreams.”


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