We tried 4 major brands' vanilla ice cream and the winner was clear

Posted by Jenniffer Sheldon on Tuesday, August 20, 2024
Updated
  • We tried four major ice cream brands to find out which one makes the best vanilla.
  • The brands we tried were: Haagen-Dazs, Ben & Jerry's, Edy's, and Breyers.
  • We liked Haagen-Dazs the best because it was the most creamy and smooth, plus it had the truest and richest vanilla flavor.
  • Ben & Jerry's was a very close second.

 

It's always a good idea to keep an emergency ice cream carton in the freezer for those times that you want a scoop — or a whole pint.

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But which brand is best?

As part of an ongoing INSIDER taste test series, we sampled four different brands of vanilla ice cream to find out which one is best. In the past we've tried everything from diet ice cream to vanilla milkshakes to fast food ice cream.

We set out to answer that question by trying four major brands commonly found at the grocery store:

  • Haagen-Dazs
  • Ben & Jerry's
  • Edy's (also known as Dreyer's)
  • Breyers

Keep scrolling to find out which was best.

For consistency's sake, we stuck with one basic flavor across all four brands: vanilla.

The four contenders. Sarah Schmalbruch / INSIDER

Breyers was the most expensive at $5.99 (but also the largest). Then came Häagen-Dazs at $5.49, then Ben and Jerry's at $4.47. The cheapest was Edy's at $3.99.

First up was Edy's slow churned classic vanilla.

Edy's. Sarah Schmalbruch / INSIDER

We had high hopes for this one because we figured that "slow churned" meant the ice cream would be extra creamy.

Edy's. Sarah Schmalbruch / INSIDER

We were right about the creaminess. But the texture of the ice cream was just slightly off. It was a little more icy than smooth.

Edy's. Sarah Schmalbruch / INSIDER

Next up was Häagen-Dazs vanilla bean.

The final ranking. Sarah Schmalbruch / INSIDER

After one bite we realized Häagen-Dazs was everything that we wanted in ice cream.

Häagen-Dazs. Sarah Schmalbruch / INSIDER

It was extremely creamy, the vanilla flavor was both strong and authentic, and the ice cream itself had a smooth texture.

Häagen-Dazs. Sarah Schmalbruch / INSIDER

We then moved on to Ben and Jerry's vanilla.

Ben & Jerry's vanilla. Sarah Schmalbruch / INSIDER

Ben & Jerry's is known for their somewhat wacky flavors, so we figured they could manage to make a good vanilla.

Ben & Jerry's. Sarah Schmalbruch / INSIDER

And they can. Although the ice cream wasn't on par with Häagen-Dazs, it was still creamy, and we loved the vanilla flavor.

Ben & Jerry's. Sarah Schmalbruch / INSIDER

Our last contender was Breyers natural vanilla.

Breyers. Sarah Schmalbruch / INSIDER

Breyers' carton highlighted the fact that the ice cream was all natural and made without hormones.

Breyers. Sarah Schmalbruch / INSIDER

Unfortunately, the taste just didn't live up to the other brands. It wasn't bad, but it was relatively bland and lacked the creaminess that the other ice creams boasted.

Breyers. Sarah Schmalbruch / INSIDER

Häagen-Dazs was our top choice because of its creaminess and rich flavor, with Ben & Jerry's coming in a close second.

The final ranking. Sarah Schmalbruch / INSIDER
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