When it comes to ice cream, there’s something out there for everyone. No matter what you’re craving, you can get yours in a cone, sandwich, bar, or scoop in any flavor you can imagine–even if you are lactose intolerant or on a vegan diet. If you love ice cream, you’ll love our list of 14 of the most popular ice cream brands on the market.
1. Blue Bunny
Owned by Wells Enterprises, the largest ice cream manufacturer in the United States, Blue Bunny ice cream uses the best ingredients, and it is produced with fresh and local milk. Not only does the company sell more than 70 flavors that you can buy in tubs, but it also sells products like Bunny Snacks, Big Swirls, and Load’d Sundaes.
Blue Bunny flavors include Caramel Butter Pecan Praline, Chocopolitan, Bunny Tracks, and Peanut Butter Party. The company’s plain vanilla bean ice cream and Cookies N’ Cream Bunny Snacks are also popular.
You can easily find a tub of Blue Bunny or a bag of Bunny Snacks in your grocer’s freezer for around $4.
2. Ben & Jerry’s
Back in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield took a $5 correspondence course in making ice cream at Penn State, and then they spent $12,000 to open their first scoop shop in a renovated gas station.
By the early ’80s, the brand was growing in popularity, and the pair rented a space in an old spool and bobbin mill so they could start packing their ice cream into pints and distributing it to grocery stores.
The rest is history, and now flavors like Cherry Garcia, Wavy Gravy, Chunky Monkey, and Phish Food fill freezers around the world.
In 2016, the company introduced a new line of vegan ice cream made with almond milk, and it also started offering vegan versions of its most popular flavors. You can find Ben & Jerry’s pints at your local grocery store, and they will cost around $4.99 each.
3. Häagen-Dazs
One of the most recognized ice cream brands on the planet, Häagen-Dazs, has been around for more than 50 years. Its creamy texture and premium ingredients set it apart from the competition. You can find simple flavors like vanilla, chocolate, and coffee at your local grocery store, or you can opt for a unique flavor like green tea, mango, or peppermint bark.
Häagen-Dazs also sells vegan ice cream in flavors like salted fudge, peanut butter, and mocha chocolate cookie. The ice cream costs between $4.99 and $7.49 per container.
4. Breyers
Another brand with a rich history, Breyers began in 1866 when William A. Breyers hand-cranked his first gallon in Philadelphia. He used the finest ingredients–rich cream, pure cane sugar, and fresh fruit and nuts–and sold the ice cream to his neighbors.
It wasn’t long before Breyers was the most famous ice cream in Philadelphia, and the company’s first retail shop opened in 1882. Then the Breyers family opened four more stores, and Breyers himself delivered all of his products in a horse-drawn wagon.
Over the next century, the brand expanded across the United States, offering flavors like chocolate mint, vanilla chocolate strawberry, and butter pecan.
Unilever acquired Breyers in 1993, and now the company offers lactose-free, dairy-free, low-carb, and gluten-free products. Most tubs cost around $5.
5. Tillamook
Tillamook is not just about cheese. This farmer-owned dairy co-op based in Tillamook, Oregon, also sells ice cream made with artisan ingredients like California pistachios and peaches and Oregon berries and hazelnuts. This decadent dessert is made with extra butterfat and cream and comes in 14 unique flavors of ice cream, gelato, and frozen custard.
Some of the most popular Tillamook flavors include Stumptown Cold Brew Coffee, Double Nutty Peanut Butter, Speculoos Cookie Caramel, and Frosted Carrot Cake.
Prices vary for Tillamook ice cream products, depending on the store and your location. But you will most likely find a carton around the $5 price point.
6. Edy’s/Dreyer’s
Back in 1928, candy maker Joseph Edy and ice cream maker William Dreyer came together to form Edy’s Grand Ice Cream. The following year, they created a flavor called Rocky Road, and the brand’s popularity skyrocketed. In 1953, William Dreyer Jr. took over and changed the company’s name to Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream.
In the 1970s, T. Gary Rogers and William F. Cronk bought the Dreyer’s brand and headed east. Now those on the East Coast know Dreyer’s, while those in the West are familiar with Edy’s, but the brands are basically one and the same.
The company’s official ice cream tester (best job ever!), John Harrison, created the Cookies N’ Cream flavor in 1982. You can find Edy’s or Dreyer’s at your local grocery store, and a carton will cost around $5.79.
7. Magnum
This luxury ice cream started in bar form but now has a variety of products from tubs to mini bars. Made from high quality ingredients and coated with Belgian chocolate, Magnum products taste every bit as good as they look.
The double caramel ice cream bar is their most popular flavor, but they have a whopping 28 flavors to choose from. You can find a tub for $4.29 in different grocery stores around the country.
8. Blue Bell
Blue Bell began in the small town of Brenham, Texas, back in 1907, and now it is one of the top-selling ice cream companies in the world, even though it is only available in a limited number of states in the U.S. and recently had to recall all of its products due to a listeria outbreak.
The company’s most popular year-round flavors include Dutch chocolate, mint chocolate chip, and homemade vanilla. It also sells delicious rotational flavors like sea salt caramel and king cake.
Blue Bell is available in grocery stores in select states throughout the U.S., and you will find pints for around $3.50 and half-gallons for $6.50.
9. Skinny Cow
This low-fat ice cream comes in sandwiches, bars, cones, and 14-ounce tubs. Skinny Cow’s tub flavors include Chocolate Cake Me Away, Rock On! Rocky Road, Oh Fudge Cookie, Oh My! Vanilla, and Mint Chip Mashup. A tub of Skinny Cow costs around $3.99.
10. Halo Top
This popular health-conscious brand is one of the tastiest low-calorie ice creams out there. An entire pint contains no more than 360 calories, not to mention a ton of protein.
Popular vegan flavors include sea salt caramel, birthday cake, and cinnamon roll, but not every flavor of Halo Top is vegan. The company also sells dairy flavors like pistachio, pancakes and waffles, and oatmeal cookie, but the calorie count is still low.
You can find a pint of Halo Top in just about every grocery store for around $4.
11. So Delicious
This ice cream is dairy-free but still delicious. So Delicious makes its frozen desserts from almond milk, coconut milk, soy milk, or cashew milk. It sells traditional flavors like vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry, but it also gets creative with flavors like chocolate-drizzled bananas Foster, blueberry cardamom, and cold-brew coffee.
This brand offers the widest variety of dairy-free, vegan, sugar-free, and gluten-free ice cream products on the market, and you can buy a pint for $5.99.
12. Rebel
If you are on the keto diet and looking for a frozen treat that is low in carbs, high in fat, and has no added sugar, then you definitely need Rebel ice cream in your life. This brand is still making its way into stores, but you can order it online by the pint or by the case.
Rebel offers all of the traditional flavors, but it also sells mint chip, peanut butter fudge, cookie dough, and coffee chip ice cream. A pint costs $5.99, or you can opt for eight pints for $47.99.
13. Dream
Another plant-based ice cream company, Dream features Almond Dream, Rice Dream, Soy Dream, and Coconut Dream flavors. But, be aware that the company does use milk in some of its frozen treats. Dream mostly offers traditional options like vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. In addition to pints, the company also sells bars and sandwiches.
14. Humphry Slocombe
One of the newer brands on this list, Humphry Slocombe opened in 2008 and is located in the San Francisco Bay area, but you can also order the ice cream online. The name of the company was inspired by the owners’ love of British comedy, and the company offers unusual flavors like Secret Breakfast, Blue Bottle Vietnamese Coffee, and Blueberry Boy Bait.
A four-pack of this small-batch brand costs around $50 online, so it is a bit pricey. But, considering your only other option to taste it is to travel to San Francisco, this ice cream is totally worth it.
Whatever kind of ice cream you are craving–high-end, vegan, decadent, adventurous–you’ll find something for you on this list. So pick up a pint at your local grocery store, or, better yet, have it shipped straight to your front door. Just get your spoon ready!