We Taste-Tested 12 Vanilla Ice Creams—The Shocking Winner Will Change How You Scoop Forever!

Vanilla ice cream — it sounds simple, right? Scoop a spoonful, and you’d expect mild sweetness and subtle flavor. But here’s the kicker: vanilla isn’t just vanilla. Ever paused mid-spoonful and wondered why some brands feel like a velvety custard, others punch you with sugary intensity, while a few simply dissolve in dreamy clouds of creaminess? Yeah, me too. This year, I rallied a squad of ice cream aficionados at Yahoo’s New York City office—ranging from a pro baker-turned-writer to a Food Network alum and a very honest pregnant colleague (who swears ice cream is basically her food group right now)—to taste-test a dozen popular vanilla ice creams that you can find nationwide. What we uncovered might surprise you: the finest vanilla ice cream doesn’t come from an artisanal boutique but a beloved grocery store chain. Curious which contender won the crown? Whether you’re chasing eggy richness, icy lightness, or those coveted vanilla bean specks, we’ve got you covered. Dive in and treat yourself to the real scoop. LEARN MORE

Spoon enough vanilla ice cream into your mouth, and you’ll realize that this flavor is far from, well, vanilla. Tons of nuances exist between different brands (to say nothing of homemade ice cream): Some taste indulgent and custardy, others hit you like an intense sugar bomb, and a few melt like clouds of whipped cream on your tongue. The best vanilla ice cream strikes a perfect balance of all three descriptions, with an authentic vanilla flavor that’s easy to recognize and tough to resist. And it comes from a popular grocery store chain!

How do I know? Earlier this year, I planned one very indulgent taste test at Yahoo’s New York City office, with a lineup of a dozen of the most popular, nationally available (sorry, no Blue Bell here), store-bought vanilla ice creams from the likes of Ben & Jerry’s, Breyer’s and Häagen-Dazs. I rounded up 16 ice cream enthusiasts from our staff, including a professional baker-turned-writer, a former producer at Food Network and a pregnant woman, who, and I quote, considers “ice cream a main food group right now.” In the end, one winner churned out a victory. But we also found a few that satisfied other vanilla ice cream cravings, whether you like yours eggy and rich, icy and light, or all you care about is seeing those flecks of vanilla bean.

Table of contents

Best vanilla ice creams of 2025

Trader Joe’s

Pros

• Rich and creamy
• Made with natural vanilla flavor
• Appealing yellow tint
• Affordable

Cons

• Some thought the flavor was too sweet/artificial
• Only available at Trader Joe’s

$5 at Trader Joe’s

Target

Pros

• Made with just five ingredients
• Rated highest with flavor (tied with ice cream below)
• Many testers liked the off-white color
• Available pretty much everywhere

Cons

• Most testers missed seeing flecks of vanilla bean
• Might be too icy for some

$5 at Target

Amazon

Pros

• Scored highest for flavor (tying with Häagen-Dazs above)
• Most well-rounded taste
• Looks yummy, with flecks of vanilla bean
• Available in lots of grocery stores

Cons

• Pricey
• A couple of testers thought it tasted too milky/buttery

$6 at Amazon

Walmart

Pros

• Extremely appealing look, with flecks of vanilla bean
• Lower in calories and fat than our other top picks
• Available pretty much everywhere
• Affordable

Cons

• Some testers found it lacking in flavor or thought it tasted artifical
• Contains 13 ingredients, including corn syrup

$3 at Walmart

How we tested vanilla ice cream

I gathered a group of 16 Yahoo staffers who are self-professed ice cream snobs, including a former pro baker and someone who worked as a producer for the Food Network. Yahoo’s kitchen writer (a culinary school grad) and I (a former food-magazine editor) ran the taste test. Using our go-to ice cream scoops, we dished out servings in bowls labeled only with a letter to prevent brand loyalty from coming into play.

Then came the fun part! The testers sampled each bowl in random order and filled out a rubric rating the flavor, texture/mouthfeel, appearance and their overall enjoyment from one to five. We also asked the testers to jot down any thoughts they had about the samples.

Ice cream preferences varied among our panelists. What some testers found too sweet, others found bland. But there were some obvious favorites, and when we averaged the scores, it was easy to see which vanilla ice creams were best. We also checked shopper comments and ratings, and availability of our picks to make sure they had fans all over the country.

Other vanilla ice creams we tested

Breyer’s Natural Vanilla: Breyer’s nabbed fourth, thanks mostly to its appearance. “I like the vanilla bean specks. Felt authentic,” noted one tester.

Ben & Jerry’s Vanilla: This pick has earned high marks in other stories about the best vanilla ice creams, so I was surprised that it didn’t do better in our taste test. Though some loved the very vanilla flavor, others thought it had a strange aftertaste.

Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Bean: Considering how well the brand’s plain vanilla ice cream did, this version was an unexpected dud. It scored lowest in flavor, likely because the majority of our testers thought it was too sweet. A few said it reminded them of other foods entirely, including bubblegum, a root beer float and … flavored oatmeal!

Tillamook Old-Fashioned Vanilla: This ice cream, from a century-old Oregon dairy company, landed in the middle of our testing pool. Several testers described it as “icy,” whereas others appreciated the subtle vanilla flavoring.

365 Whole Foods Vanilla: Whole Foods’ house brand ice cream was almost orange in color, which threw off a lot of our testers and led to some pretty odd comparisons. “Not appealing! Looks like a Creamsicle,” noted one. Another said the color was reminiscent of a hard-boiled egg yolk.

Favorite Day Vanilla Bean: Another middle-of-the-pack ice cream, this one, from Target’s house brand, scored high for flavor but did just so-so in all other categories. Almost every tester called it “fluffy” or “icy,” which proved polarizing.

Edy’s Vanilla: (FYI, if you live in the western U.S., you’ll know this brand as Dreyer’s.) The flavor scores for this pick were all over the place. “Subtle but sweet,” enthused a fan who awarded it four points; “Has a weird, chalky aftertaste,” wrote a far less happy tester, who gave it zero.

Turkey Hill French Vanilla: Most testers thought this vanilla ice cream was too sweet and artificial-tasting. It also struck out on appearance: “Good scoop but weird khaki yellow color,” as one panelist put it.

Vanilla ice cream FAQs

What brand is the best vanilla ice cream?

If you believe our taste-test — and you should! — the best vanilla ice cream comes from Trader Joe’s. But if you don’t live near one of these cult-favorite grocery stores, the best vanilla ice creams from the supermarket are Häagen-Dazs Vanilla and Van Leeuwen Vanilla Bean.

What type of vanilla ice cream has the most vanilla flavor?

Look for ice cream that includes natural vanilla flavor and/or real vanilla extract in its ingredients list. For vanilla ice cream that’s rich and custardy, make sure it also includes egg yolks, which is a hallmark of French vanilla.

Editor-approved scoops, bowls and more

Amazon

Salt & Straw ice cream, and Christina Seid, owner of Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. The handle is filled with liquid that captures the warmth of your hand and flows down to the scoop to ensure easy scooping and releasing. It works so well, we named it one of the best ice cream scoops of 2025.

Our resident kitchenware tester, Lisa Schweitzer, found it comfortable to hold and effective, especially when you’re dealing with near-frozen pints. It creates “near-perfect orbs,” she noted.

$24 at Amazon

Amazon

$23 at Amazon

Amazon

best ice cream scoop. Its simple and sleek design works best for cartons larger than a pint. “This tool is built for speed as opposed to creating uniform orbs of ice cream,” explained Schweitzer.

She also added that it’s easy to hold, and like the Zeroll, it has defrosting fluid in the handle to help make scooping hard ice cream easier. 

$8 at Amazon

Crate & Barrel

trying out the Swirl by Ninja Creami soft serve maker and found them utterly delightful. 

The scalloped design looks like something straight out of a 1950s soda shop, doesn’t it? These babies are also dishwasher- and freezer-safe, and at $5 a pop, you can’t beat the price.

$5 at Crate & Barrel

Amazon

$29 at Macy’s

Amazon

S’well’s excellent water bottles, this triple-layered, vacuum-insulated canister will keep contents cold for hours (up to four, if you want to get specific).

Though it’s pricey, you can’t really put a value on an ice-cold pint of the good stuff when you’re out at the beach or park. 

$30 at Amazon

Amazon

$24 at Amazon

Anthropologie

$10 at Anthropologie