I Asked 5 Chefs to Pick the Best Vanilla Ice Cream and This Is Their Top Pick

Nearly every dessert lover has their own definition of the perfect ice cream. From the flavor to the consistency to the mix-ins, toppings, and even the vessel it’s served in, there are a lot of hot takes on this cool topic, including store-bought frozen desserts vs. homemade. 

“I love to make ice cream at home, and think that it's pretty hard to beat. Freshness counts! But big-brand ice creams are sort of a category of product unto themselves. They’re great in a pinch,” says Jacob Schroeder, chef and owner of Crafted Food Services and co-owner of Moxie Kitchen + Events in Des Moines, Iowa.

Chefs, they are just like us: eating and enjoying fast food, store-bought pasta sauce, and yes, pints of ice cream.

We’ve hosted official taste tests of both chocolate and vanilla ice creams, and found that a few brands consistently came out on top: Häagen-Dazs, Ben & Jerry’s, Tillamook, and Breyer’s. 

But we were also curious about where chefs stand, so we interviewed five food pros from coast to coast, and only two of those four brands made their ultimate vanilla ice cream list. Read on to get the scoop about the vanilla ice cream that came out on top, plus three other store-bought brands that the chefs are sweet on.

Our Panel of Vanilla Ice Cream-Judging Chefs

• Dane Baldwin, chef-owner of The Diplomat in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Tania Cienfuegos Harris, pastry chef at Hotel Hartness in Greenville, South Carolina
• Meggan Hill, the Valencia, California-based executive chef and CEO of Culinary Hill
• Yumna Jawad, the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based CEO and founder of Feel Good Foodie and the author of "The Feel Good Foodie Cookbook: 125 Recipes Enhanced with Mediterranean Flavors" 
• Jacob Schroeder, chef/owner of Crafted Food Services and co-owner of Moxie Kitchen + Events in Des Moines, Iowa

The Qualities of the Best Store-Bought Vanilla Ice Cream

Our expert panel of pint raters looks for the following details when deciding whether to buy a specific store-bought vanilla ice cream (or not).

• The correct order of ingredients. “Food manufacturers have to list the ingredients of their product in descending order by weight,” Schroeder says. So when he flips around the package to peek at the ingredient list, Schroeder is looking for this starting line-up: Cream, milk, sugar, eggs. Don’t trust the head fake of those vanilla pod seeds, he adds: “I'm not willing to pay extra for the little black specs that are in ‘vanilla bean’ ice cream. A very reliable source once informed me that those specs are a completely flavorless by-product of the vanilla extract manufacturing process. Are the specs visually compelling? Yes. Am I willing to pay extra for them? No.” Regardless of what’s in the rest of the list, our experts say the first ingredient should always be cream or milk.
• A fairly short ingredient list. Those need not be the only ingredients in the recipe, but the list shouldn’t span the entire height of the pint. Jawad admits that she avoids ice cream with natural flavors (which are actually artificial) as well as any ice cream that lists “water” as an ingredient. “This dilutes the overall taste and suggests less value for the price,” she says. However, there’s no need to fear a stabilizer or two, Schroeder adds. “Ice creams are much more complicated and unstable than we might think, and freshness or proximity to the producer really matters,” he explains. “If it has to travel across a few state lines to get to my grocery store then the inclusion of some stabilizers means that I'll be able to pull that ice cream straight out of the freezer and start dishing. It's a lose-lose to wait for grainy or icy ice cream to temper!”
• Real sugar. As for Hill, she avoids all ice creams made with high fructose corn syrup. “I prefer cane sugar whenever possible because I think regular sugar simply tastes better,” she says.
• Sweet cream flavor with vanilla essence. “I want to taste the vanilla in a subtle way. Whenever it’s too strong, it just tastes fake,” says Harris.
• A “Goldilocks” texture. It should be rich, creamy, smooth, and not too airy, Harris says. Yet at the same time, Hill believes that shouldn’t be too dense to scoop.
• Variety of package sizes. One major deal-breaker for Baldwin has nothing to do with the ice cream itself, but what it’s sold in. “I typically steer clear of sizes larger than a half gallon,” he says. Unless you hustle or have a large family or party, “they tend to sit in the freezer a little too long, by the time you get to the end it's really not the best.”

The Best Store-Bought Vanilla Ice Cream, According to Chefs

It was a close match, but after garnering two votes (compared to three brands that each earned one), Tillamook came out on top. Both Hill and Schroeder selected the Tillamook Old Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream as their favorite vanilla ice cream. The pronounced sweet cream flavor is something that Schroeder says won him over at first bite, since it wasn’t overwhelmingly “vanilla-y” as some brands can be.

“I absolutely love the flavor. Beyond their superior product, the history of the company and their focus on cow happiness and farm sustainability are important to me,” Hill says. 

They both agree that the texture seals the deal: “It’s smoother and creamier compared to other brands,” Hill says, and Schroeder adds that “the texture is always spot-on, thanks to the inclusion of some stabilizers.”

The other three vanilla ice cream brands that earned a nod from the panel:

• Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream. The winner of the Allrecipes taste test is also Jawad’s number one since “it delivers value for the price without any unnecessary ingredients. It’s made with just cream, skim milk, egg yolk, cane sugar, and vanilla,” she says, and nothing else. Jawad also likes the creamy texture and pure vanilla flavor.
• Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams Honey Vanilla Bean. Harris confirms that this “melts in your mouth. You can taste the honey and the notes of vanilla in the back of your tongue, and it's never too sweet.” Since that’s the case, “you can eat gallons and gallons of it!”
• Hudsonville Creamery Blend Vanilla Ice Cream. It was a tough choice for Baldwin to select just one, since “honestly, there are many great vanilla ice creams available in the freezer aisle,” he says. But lately, his favorite scoop has been from this Midwestern brand that has crafted a vanilla that “has a soft and smooth texture, and well-balanced, not too sweet vanilla flavor.”

How to Chef Up Store-Bought Vanilla Ice Cream

Whether you’re swayed to shift to Team Tillamook (or were already a fan) or prefer to stick with Ben & Jerry, these chef tricks for serving ice cream can help make your next scoop your best scoop. 

• Enjoy it in its all-natural glory. “I love vanilla ice cream in a waffle cone mostly with no toppings or anything added. That way, I can enjoy the pure vanilla flavor,” Jawad says. 
• Top it with fruit. If we add a serving of produce, ice cream can count as breakfast, right? When they’re in season, Harris swoons over a bowl that’s topped with chopped fresh strawberries. In the cooler months, Schroeder likes to warm up chunky homemade applesauce, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and finish with a drizzle of salted caramel and a handful of granola.
• Visit the candy shop. Don’t knock this ‘til you try it, Schroeder says: “I really enjoy vanilla ice cream topped with either gummy bears or Nerds candy. The textures are really fun, and I love the contrast of the tart fruity flavors with the rich and sweet ice cream.”
• Go gourmet. Vanilla is a beautiful base for a variety of savory, tangy, salty, and spicy toppings—especially when the sugar in the ice cream base is there to balance things out. Try Schroeder’s favorite, aged balsamic vinegar, or give one of the recent TikTok trends a go and shower your scoop in a bit of olive oil, soy sauce, hot honey, chili crisp, or tahini. Add a pinch of flaky sea salt on top, if you like.
• Make a turtle sundae. For what Hill describes as “happiness in a bowl,” top two scoops of vanilla ice cream with hot fudge, caramel sauce, and toasted salted pecans. “Whipped cream and a cherry on top are optional but recommended,” she says.
• Assemble a sandwich. When asked to name his favorite sandwich, Ryan Gosling said, “Ice cream.” Baldwin agrees: “Smashing a scoop between two freshly baked chocolate chip cookies never gets old!”
• Add a glorious garnish. A scoop of vanilla ice cream “is a must for me when making warm desserts like apple crisp, chocolate soufflé, and grilled peaches,” Jawad says. Hill adds that she “also loves vanilla ice cream with any seasonal fruit dessert. Peach cobbler is my all-time favorite!”