What’s the best vanilla ice cream? We taste-tested 12 to find out – ryan

The beloved grocery store chain ran away with this competition, earning 14.9 points out of 20, the highest score, for its luscious French vanilla ice cream. Three-quarters of our testing panel praised its “creamy” texture, with one pointing out that it reminded them of gelato. They also liked the pale yellow color, common among French vanilla ice creams, which are made with egg yolks. “It even looks creamy,” proclaimed one panelist.

Speaking of ingredients, Trader Joe’s French Vanilla Ice Cream is made with eight. Including the yolks, the brand uses cream, milk, cane sugar, natural vanilla flavor and a stabilizer blend (carob bean gum, guar gum and sugar), which may explain why one tester said, “Didn’t melt quickly. Photo-quality.”

As for flavor, our testers were a bit torn: Some said it was just the right amount of sweetness, while others claimed the opposite. This ice cream actually didn’t beat our runners-up in the flavor category, which both earned a scant 0.1 point more. What nabbed this ice cream the crown was its rich creaminess. Looking for something to sandwich between cookies or scoop over a brownie? This is it.

Having worked at a food magazine for six years (I’ve been lucky enough to have written about — and sampled! — a lot of ice cream), I’m not at all surprised this supermarket standby made it to the top of our tasting. It’s a classic for a reason, and although Häagen-Dazs also makes a Vanilla Bean flavor, which we tested, this one won out thanks to its authentic, slightly floral vanilla flavor and soft, melt-in-your-mouth scoops. Our panel gave it 14.1 points out of 20.

Noted one taste-tester, “Really nice homemade taste, just a little unbalanced.” Some described this one as “icy,” which may explain why the first tester felt things were slightly off. On the other hand, a few testers found the frosty quality enjoyable. “Great combo of icy and creamy,” commented one fan.

This ice cream contains just cream, skim milk, cane sugar, egg yolks and vanilla extract. And our testers could tell: “Very kid-friendly. Tastes like it’s made with real ingredients,” praised one.

Long gone are the days when you could only buy Van Leeuwen ice cream from a truck roaming the streets of New York City. The luxe ice cream brand now lines the freezer case of many grocery stores, plus Target and Walmart. And it’s a satisfying scoop, according to our testing panel.

“Best of the bunch,” proclaimed the former pro baker, who also detected a hint of salt, which she said made this ice cream taste “more well-rounded.” And in fact, it’s our only top pick to include this ingredient, which adds to its sophisticated flavor. 

“Almost a little savory,” added another fan, who’d pair it with fruit or chocolate. Our testers also appreciated the creamy, slightly yellow color (derived, as with the other ice creams above, from egg yolks) and specks of vanilla bean. Not everyone was a fan, though. A couple of our panelists gave it middling marks, saying it tasted too milky/buttery.

Turkey Hill makes a mystifying four varieties of vanilla that all taste quite different if you believe the customer reviews: French Vanilla, Homemade Vanilla, Original Vanilla and Vanilla Bean. Of the two we tested (Vanilla Bean and French Vanilla), this took the top spot, and it also made an impressive showing against many other brands, earning 13.9 points out of 20.

Tasters loved the way it looked, with its smattering of vanilla bean flecks. “10/10 — perfectly white with some specks,” noted one fan. It didn’t fare as well on flavor. Some thought it tasted just the right amount of sweet, while others found it artificial. This panelist summed it up best: “Good, not great. A little fro-yo vibe, a bit artificial.”

This might be partially due to the lower fat content. Turkey Hill’s Vanilla Bean contains 170 calories and 9 grams of fat per serving, about half the amount of our top Trader Joe’s pick!

This aluminum ice cream scoop has been around since 1935 and is a favorite of many pros, including Tyler Malek, co-founder of 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.

A Yahoo reader favorite, these stainless steel bowls get a pretty impressive 4.7 stars from more than 1,200 Amazon reviews. I’ve personally put these to the test, and while their insulating capabilities won’t change your life, they do prevent ice cream from melting longer than a paper bowl. I put two scoops of ice cream in each, and after 15ish minutes, you could still see most of one of the scoops in the insulated bowl, whereas it was almost entirely melted in the paper one.

To me, what makes these bowls, ahem, cool is that they’re extremely lightweight and shatter-resistant. Plus, they’re the perfect size for three or so scoops of your fave flavor — and who’d want anything less?! 

Prefer a paddle-shaped scoop? Live out your Cold Stone Creamery dreams with this Norpro spade, another of our top picks for 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. 

These pretty glass bowls will make any ice cream feel like a special treat, with emphasis on the special. Schweitzer used them when she was 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.

Did you know there’s such a thing as ice cream spoons? I admit they’re by no means an essential kitchen tool, but they’re certainly fun to have! Like our favorite ice cream paddle, these utensils have a blunt edge that helps you dig into frozen scoops. 

The colorful handles scream “ice cream party” and make it easy to keep track of who’s eating what.

Don’t let your go-to pint melt on the go. Just like 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. 

Take it from me, the best bowl for ice cream is one that you never need to wash or throw away. Sculpted from actual milk chocolate, these 2.25-inch-diameter cuties make toppings totally optional. 

Though they’re sold on Amazon, they come from Lang’s Chocolate Shop, a family-owned business in Williamsport, Penn.

Make every day a sundae (heh heh)! Anthropologie’s glassware is always the cream of the crop, and these elegant vessels are no exception. They perfectly fit a scoop or two, along with toppings. 

Designed to look like sugar cones, they’re made from borosilicate glass, so they can withstand extreme temps. So go ahead and drizzle on that hot fudge — no shattering here.