Store-Bought Vanilla Ice Creams Made With The Highest And Lowest Quality Ingredients
If you're out there screaming for vanilla ice cream, you're one of many lovers who would pick this pristine classic over any other flavor. As a love letter to its biggest fans, we sourced the best vanilla ice cream in the store so you can indulge your sweet tooth in luxurious style.
Speaking of our favorite dessert, we pride ourselves on choosing premium brands and weeding out the posers. That means we're looking for whole food ingredients like premium dairy milk and cream; real sugar (with none of the high fructose corn syrupy stuff); a minimal amount of preservatives and stabilizers; transparent sourcing of ingredients (with bonus points for on-site creameries); and lots of luscious, velvety fats to help create a smooth, perfect scoop which melts in your mouth like a sweet, dreamy marshmallow.
Not to be too extra about it, but we also think vanilla ice cream should probably, you know, be made with good vanilla. Clear out the freezer and grab your favorite spoon. From big-box brands to artisan batches, we're revealing the store-bought vanilla ice creams that hit so right and the ones that don't make the mark, all based on the quality of the ingredients.
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Highest: Van Leeuwen Vanilla Bean French Ice Cream
It may land on the opposite side of the flavor spectrum when compared to the brand's sour cherry creamsicle collab, but Van Leeuwen's Vanilla Bean French Ice Cream has been a hit with fans ever since the cult favorite opened its (truck) doors in 2008. This OG flavor shakes off the ho-hum vibe of bland vanilla ice cream by sourcing Tahitian vanilla beans and "good-good" ingredients. Like, really, really good-good.
This French-style ice cream — or the kind that features a cooked custard — is sweetened with cane sugar and features vanilla extract and cold-ground Tahitian vanilla beans. The sophisticated fruit-and-floral vanilla profile comes from vanilla tahitensis, which is derived from a Tahitian orchid hybrid that produces a fleeting harvest of bountiful beans. The Van Leeuwen brand mission states an obsession with sourcing easy-to-pronounce ingredients for the most pleasurable eating — and you'll find all of this in a pint for about $7 or less.
Lowest: Thrifty Vanilla Ice Cream
It's the brand known for slinging cylindrical-shaped scoops since 1940, but California original Thrifty now sells nostalgia in its signature bright red carton beyond the Golden State. Still, despite keeping it cool with buzzy collabs like Kourtney Kardashian's Camp Poosh, and holding steady as its parent company Rite Aid battles bankruptcy, Thrifty Vanilla Ice Cream features a few old-school ingredients that land it lower on this list.
While skim milk and water appearing in the top three ingredients might seem like a red flag as far those who prefer a creamy, dreamy texture, it was the "natural and artificial flavor with vanilla extract" that raised our eyebrows. While you don't have to worry that this vanilla came from beaver butts, it's still a little unclear about where the brand does acquire it. Roughly 99% of vanilla extract comes from synthetic sources (manufactured vanillin can sometimes be made from crude oil) and even though it tastes like vanilla (maybe with a chemical aftertaste), it lacks the dimensional flavor of real vanilla beans. Elsewhere in the recipe, corn syrup can help prevent an icy texture from forming, but large amounts of the sweetener have been linked to diabetes and heart disease. Such a bummer for a brand with the cutest little mascot.
Highest: Tillamook Old-Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream
This is "Dairy Done Right" from a company that's been churning ice cream for 80 years of its century-plus in business. And with a deep roster of creameries and farms dedicated to supporting healthy, happy cows, Tillamook Old-Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream bursts with a classic vanilla flavor.
"You can expect it to be sweet, creamy, and a little bit marshmallow-y on the vanilla scale," explains Tillamook ice cream scientist Anna Ingoglia. Serving up smooth, chewy vibes, you'll find cream, milk, pasteurized egg yolks, tara gum, and guar gum adding texture along with big flavor. You'll also taste vanilla extract as part of the recipe. Without revealing exactly where its vanilla comes from, Tillamook states that when ingredients aren't produced on-site at its main factory in Tillamook, Oregon, its partnerships are closely monitored in order to maintain the highest standards. This Certified B Corporation gets personal about the craft of ice cream and proudly claims that "natural always beats artificial" for a business model where stellar ingredients get priority over profit.
Lowest: Breyers Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
Just a year after the Civil War ended in 1866, William A. Breyer got the idea to start hand-cranking ice cream, delivering it to locals via horse-drawn carriage. But while this idyllic American brand boasts top-quality ingredients, we couldn't get past the fact that the word vanilla doesn't appear on the back of the Breyers Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream container.
While we love the sentiment of the throwback hand-crank ice cream maker on the packaging, we feel a little uneasy about the lack of vanilla in, well, vanilla ice cream. While Breyers claims to source Rainforest Alliance Certified vanilla, it's less clear how it's worked into this recipe. Milk, cream, and sugar top the ingredients list, followed by corn syrup, whey, and egg yolks. With vegetable gums likely serving as emulsifiers, and mono and diglycerides probably helping smooth out the texture, that left "natural flavor" to impart this brand with anything tasting remotely like vanilla. The good part is, natural vanilla flavoring must be derived from a natural source. The bad part is, it doesn't have to be vanilla beans. Natural color from annato gives this mystery vanilla it's mostly-realistic hue.
Highest: McConnell's (R.R. Lochhead) Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
We're surely splitting vanilla beans between the best brands on this list. But with TIME calling McConnell's "the best ice cream in the world, as anyone who has tried it will argue," you can bet that the industry-topping 18% milkfat that creates the scratch-made base for McConnell's (R.R. Lochhead) Vanilla Bean Ice Cream goes down like a spoonful of sugar from Mary Poppins herself. It's been "'nilla-licious" like that since 1949.
The creme de la creme of the vanilla bean scene, Madagascar vanilla from R.R. Lochhead Madagascar farms takes center stage as a partner with McConnell's for more than 50 years. Lochhead's been producing vanilla since the early 1900s, so that family totally gets it. As if you even needed to hear about McConnell's own dairy cows producing the finest grass-grazed cream and milk that ever Santa Barbara, California did see, you'll also be happy to find plenty of that luscious dairy included in this pint, plus other simple ingredients you could nail at a fifth-grade spelling bee.
Lowest: Walmart Great Value Homestyle Vanilla Flavored Ice Cream
We're not coming here to snub a good deal when we see one. But if you're looking for the highest quality vanilla ice cream on the shelves, you might want to mosey on by Walmart Great Value Homestyle Vanilla Flavored Ice Cream. Red flag number one? Vanilla "flavored" written in smaller print on the label.
There's nothing too shocking about this carton, but there's also nothing great happening inside of it, either. Milk, cream, sugar, and egg yolks sound good right out of the gate, but things take a turn at the revelation of less than 1% of natural flavors (with vanilla extract sequestered to parenthesis). Interestingly, in the U.S., vanilla flavoring sports multiple identities that must be clearly established on the label. According to FDA ice cream regulations, "If non-vanilla bean source vanillin were included in this product then it must be labeled as 'Vanilla Flavored Ice Cream.'" Okay, so it's probably not made of hand-to-heart vanilla beans. Maybe this one's best for a party when there's no chance it'll just be you and a tub of ice cream chilling on the couch.
Highest: Jeni's Honey Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Please allow us this one vanilla-plus entry: Jeni's Honey Vanilla Bean Ice Cream which will change your life through its ultra velvety texture — even without any egg yolks. Clearly, it would be a crime if we didn't tell you about this Certified B Corporation's fair-trade vanilla beans and sweet, fragrant Deer Creek Honey.
Sourcing milk and raw cream produced by grass-grazed cows from small farms near Jeni's Ohio headquarters, the company also keeps it local by sweetening things up with fourth-generation heritage farm Deer Creek Honey based in London, Ohio. Fair-trade vanilla extract rounds out the flavor profile, while flecks of vanilla bean make these scoops feel legit.
Even though Jeni's scoop shops are ever-expanding across the U.S. in tandem with the company's available nationwide shipping, we include this one because of its ever-growing presence in the freezers of major supermarkets and pharmacies. Got a hankering for ice cream that only Jeni's can satisfy? You'll probably find it at your nearest CVS, Publix, or Whole Foods Market.
Lowest: Lucerne Vanilla Frozen Dairy Dessert
If you were wondering why this brand isn't called "ice cream," so were we. While Lucerne Vanilla Frozen Dairy Dessert can certainly fill the vanilla ice cream-sized hole in our stomachs, it occupies this mystical freezer section designation due to its lack of, uh, ice-cream-y stuff.
While the brand boasts "fine ingredients" used in its ice cream, pictures of cows on its website seem to stand in where transparent dairy sourcing might be more informative. But even though the ingredients list features stabilizers, corn syrup, and added natural color, the "artificially flavored" label on the lid could mean that the vanilla-like flavor in this recipe comes from non-natural sources we might not typically eat. Also landing it on the lower end of this list, the reason this brand can't legally call this dessert ice cream is because it doesn't meet the USDA's ice cream standards (at least 20% milk solids per gallon, plus not too much air — or overrun — pumped into it during production which makes it lighter in weight per gallon). But if you're feeling like just give me a freakin' tub of vanilla and don't overthink it, freely pop the top off and dig right in.
Highest: Straus Family Creamery Organic Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Albert Straus wasn't messing around when he took his family farm all-organic in 1994 and launched Straus Family Creamery with a bunch of cows that were free to wander around 500 acres of all-you-can-eat sweet grass. If you think Sonoma wines are pretty dope, just wait until you taste ice cream made with the dairy of vegetarian, organic-fed, coastal California cows.
Certified-organic, Non-GMO Project verified, and kosher-certified Straus Family Creamery Organic Vanilla Bean Ice Cream is crafted with all-organic premium cream and milk, egg yolks, and cane sugar. Of course, the full-bodied vanilla extract and flecks of ground vanilla bean are organic, too. Back when the Non-GMO Project first launched certifications in 2010, Straus was the first creamery in America to be verified. This sustainable sourcing and unwavering dedication to animal welfare and the planet only elevates the rich, velvety vanilla flavor you'll taste in each of Straus Family Creamery's frosty pints.
Lowest: Kroger Deluxe Vividly Vanilla Ice Cream
We might not have gone with "vividly" if we were naming this one. Still, Kroger Deluxe Vividly Vanilla Ice Cream aims to inspire a clear picture in your mind which, unfortunately, is not that of a spectacular vanilla ice cream. At least it's called "ice cream" though, right?
The Kroger lineup of vanillas also features Artisan Vanilla Bean and French Vanilla Magnifique. Except, like a few other lower-quality brands on this list, there's no mention of actual vanilla on the label. We can chalk up the vanilla taste to the noted natural and artificial flavors, and we'll let the corn syrup slide since top-tier ice cream brands like Salt & Straw use it, but we can't completely gloss over the use of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). While sugar is key in ice cream making for its textural, sweetening, and freezing properties — and HFCS can also contribute to those qualities — Kroger adds HFCS along with sugar and corn syrup making it a triple-sweetened scoop that we never wanted to eat.
Highest: Ben & Jerry's Vanilla Ice Cream
We could name all of the discontinued Ben & Jerry's flavors we wish would return, but one thing's for sure, Ben & Jerry's Vanilla Ice Cream — dubbed by the brand as "more vanilla-tasting than any Vanilla you've ever tasted" — isn't going anywhere. Like tucking into cage-free eggs, Fairtrade vanilla, and milk from happy cows? Grab a spoon. The packaging is so responsible, it's almost pure enough to eat (but don't eat it).
The robust vanilla in here comes from a Western Ugandan farm where Kule Zephanus heads a team dedicated to growing vanilla, bananas, coffee, and cocoa; and providing for the earth, supporting employees, and supplying ingredients for the righteous Ben & Jerry's pint. This "cow to cone" brand also initiated the Caring Dairy program to support farmers and cows, plus the Milk With Dignity program protecting farm-worker rights. Collaboration with the Global Animal Partnership ensures that cows are living their best lives, and outposts to buy Ben & Jerry's ice cream all around the world keep true vanilla fans happy wherever they may be.
Lowest: Target Favorite Day Homemade Vanilla Flavored Ice Cream
Target's Favorite Day house brand has garnered high praise for some of its flavors (think tiramisu), but when it comes to vanilla — a flavor that will always be unencumbered by (delicious, taste-boosting) caramel swirls, chocolate-covered pretzels, or cookie dough — the vanilla vibe has got to be on point. Sadly, Target Favorite Day Homemade Vanilla Flavored Ice Cream isn't quite up to snuff on the vanilla sourcing — or the added sweeteners.
By now you'll recognize the "artificial flavor" labeling as a clue that the flavor might not come from luscious vanilla beans grown on an island dotting the Indian Ocean. But this brand loses points on the quality of flavor as well as the use of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). While it might be an economical way to sweeten the recipe and prevent ice crystal formation, corn syrups are artificial and not that authentic vanilla we're looking for. Listed third after milk and liquid sugar (and considering ingredients are listed in order of weight) HFCS plays a starring role in this mix along with many other Favorite Day flavors.
Highest: Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
For discerning tastes, and zero having to hand-pollinate your own vanilla orchid, Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Bean Ice Cream serves up a rich vanilla flavor that can only be found in one place: Madagascar(and your local grocery store). And about those vanilla beans, you know we're gonna flex with the flecks.
Featuring just six ingredients (cream, milk, sugar, eggs, vanilla beans, and vanilla extract), a version of this vanilla flavor initially debuted with the brand's OG trio, along with chocolate and coffee, when the Polish-Jewish immigrant-founded Haagen-Dazs company launched in the 1960s. Crafted with dairy from rBST hormone-free cows, non-GMO ingredients, and using only pasteurized eggs to stabilize the recipe, it's the brand that started the super-premium ice cream trend that we can't get enough of today. Real talk, just because it's Ina Garten's favorite ice cream doesn't mean you have to like it -- promise. But, to quote Matthew McConaughey's character in "Dazed and Confused," "It'd be a lot cooler if you did."
Lowest: Target Market Pantry Light Vanilla Flavored Ice Cream
Nobody's leaving Target without a few extra things finding their way into the cart. But hopefully Target Market Pantry Light Vanilla Flavored Ice Cream isn't one of them. While we're all about the rizz around world-class vanilla ice creams crafted with high-end ingredients, this particular carton proves that some vanilla ice creams can be a little (yawn) boring.
With no vanilla mentioned in the ingredients, and artificial flavoring noted on the front of the tub, we regret to inform you that this probably won't taste like you're licking a Madagascar vanilla bean. Still, we're not left hanging out to dry thanks to the winning milk, sugar, and corn syrup ice cream-making trifecta. With reportedly less fat and calories than regular ice cream, though, this variety may feel light on the depth of flavor and buttery texture, as well. With shoppers reviewing it as "average," "lacks vanilla," and tasting "like cold," there's probably an equally affordable upgrade out there that would happily find its forever home in your favorite ice cream bowl.
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