Ranking Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream From 13 Popular Brands
I scream, you scream, we all scream for chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. It's a flavor that's beloved by not only children, who arguably eat it just for the heavenly chunks of cookie dough studded within the folds of soft vanilla ice cream but also adults who are looking to get out of the traditional rut of vanilla without airing into something too exciting. Cookie dough is a flavor that can be served straight out of the container (our go-to) or used as a base for a delicious dessert sundae.
The grocery store aisle will yield many options for chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream in everything from pints to gallon containers. We've selected some of the top cookie dough frozen dessert brands to rank and review based on factors including the base flavor, prevalence of cookie dough pieces, and price relative to the quality of the ice cream. Here are some of our favorites from a self-proclaimed ice cream connoisseur.
13. N!ck's
Unsurprisingly, we ranked a "light" ice cream option at the bottom of our rankings. The brand's Chockladchip Dough is depicted on its website as having ribbons of sugar cookie dough and chocolate swirled throughout. And those photos were not only deceptive because it looked like there was a ton of chocolate and cookie dough in ice cream, but also hunks of what looked like caramel.
One look at the pint had us realize that this ice cream looked anything but appetizing. We had to dig for what seemed like ten minutes before we saw a single hunk of cookie dough. Although we get that cutting calories here and there is part of N!CK's game, it's come to the point where the brand is selling a product far from chocolate chip cookie dough. Moreover, when we did get to a hunk, we found that the dough was dry, not sweet, and tasted (and felt) like rubber. We were disappointed but not surprised by how the brand performed on our ranking.
12. Rebel
After trying the N!ck's light ice cream, we were a bit hesitant to try yet another diet-friendly version. Unlike N!ck's, Rebel's cookie dough ice cream has about the same amount of calories as a regular cookie dough, at 660 calories for the entire pint. However, it's made with sugar alcohols that keep the carbs low for folks on a keto-friendly diet.
Our biggest qualm with this ice cream was surely the lack of cookie dough pieces. There were chocolate chips, and there was a vanilla base. But was there cookie dough? Not that we could find. Moreover, the vanilla base wasn't particularly strongly vanilla-flavored, and the cookie dough chunks lacked any sort of depth. Moreover, the sugar alcohol aftertaste was apparent for both the base of this ice cream and its bready cookie dough pieces, which resulted in a weird aftertaste. At the first bite, the base just tastes like plain ice cream. But then, the aftertaste, which tastes like molten plastic smells, starts to emerge. It's clear that the composition of this ice cream doesn't just impact its taste; it also alters its consistency. The ice cream shattered into pieces when we scooped it with a spoon rather than staying in a single cohesive mass.
11. SoDelicious
With this ice cream, we didn't have to look at the label to tell you it's made of coconut milk. One bite of this ice cream, and you'll get transported to a tropical paradise — not the scoop shop where you should be. The coconut milk base on this Delicious cookie dough ice cream is downright distracting and does a disservice to the rest of the pint.
This was also the only brand we tasted that utilized chocolate flakes in its ice cream rather than cookie dough pieces — which we liked. There was no crunch or chocolate chips left in the back of your teeth, but rather a chocolate taste that guided over your tongue. The bits of cookie dough (when we could find them because the distribution was relatively poor) were perfectly flavored and sweet. Plus, this ice cream is non-dairy and gluten-free, which gives it some brownie points in our book. But, in order for this ice cream to be great, the brand has to reconsider its base.
10. Halo Top
Halo Top may have been through its heyday already, but the popular light ice cream is still on grocery store shelves. This pint of Halo Top contains 360 calories from top to bottom, making it a suitable option for those looking for a sweet treat but not looking to expend the calories. But when it comes to the product, you get what you pay for in terms of calories. This frozen dessert doesn't have any real flavor to it and has an overwhelming taste of sugar and alcohol. It has about 80% ice cream, with the remainder split between chips and cookie dough pieces, which makes it an imbalanced cookie dough ice cream. When we got a nibble of cookie dough, it was just as bland as the rest of the base.
We were astonished to see the price of this ice cream, too at $5.89 per pint. Unless you were on the hunt for a low-calorie brand and willing to sacrifice the flavor, we wouldn't recommend adding it to your cart.
9. Friendly's Premium
If you grew up in New England, chances are you've been to a Friendly's restaurant before. Although the restaurants are practically extinct at this point, Friendly's ice cream lovers can pick up a container of their favorite childhood flavors from their local Northeast grocery store.
We can't remember the last time we had Friendly's ice cream — if we're being honest. But we were excited for this container, which was said to be "super stuffed" with cookie pieces. Immediately when we opened the top of the ice cream, we found pieces of cookie dough submerged in the ice cream, which were more plentiful than other brands we sampled. The mouthfeel was very light and airy, and we were a bit turned off by how sweet the vanilla base was. The texture of the cookie dough on this ice cream was also softer than the other brands we sampled, which made the mouthfeel of Friendly's ice cream akin to mush. In short, the flavor of this dessert was a bit immature for us, and we would have liked something with a more balanced base.
8. Nestle Toll House
We had high hopes for Nestle Toll House cookie dough, considering that it's the brand we think of when it comes to containers of cookie dough. This was the first time we'd picked up a 1.5-quart container at our store, and we were excited to see what the popular brand had to offer.
Clearly, a lot of air was pumped into this ice cream. The mouthfeel was soft and light, while the cookie pieces intertwined in the ice cream were as ethereal as we remember them being as children. Overall, we found the vanilla flavor of the base to be a bit lacking and felt that its lightness made the ice cream seem cheaper and less high-quality than other brands we sampled. When it comes to the distribution of cookie dough in this ice cream, we found it to be average. The number of chocolate chips in the container was plentiful and not just reserved for the individual balls of dough. Could it be considered a chocolate chip ice cream instead? That's likely — and there always can be more cookie dough chunks, and we expected more from a brand that is at the forefront of cookie dough.
7. Planet Oat
For us, oat milk seems like the most logical non-dairy ingredient to add to a vegan frozen dessert to give it a texture similar to its dairy counterpart. And this cookie dough ice cream from Planet Oat doesn't disappoint. The vanilla base is creamy, soft, and not icy like other vegan ice cream brands can be. Plus, the cookie dough distribution of this pint is on par with other brands, and the flavor of each piece is average at best. The mouthfeel of this frozen dessert was perfectly smooth, creamy, and with minimal aftertaste.
When it came to the cookie pieces, we were a bit turned off. Each one melted in our mouths as we ate this ice cream, rather than having a distinct standout texture. When we look for a great cookie dough ice cream, we're looking for texture and contrast. This ice cream had an excellent base but needed to increase the hardness of its cookie dough. As for a vegan ice cream brand, though, Planet Oat is on the right track and one we would have repeatedly. Moreover, Planet Oat is one of the more reasonably priced vegan pints from our grocery store at $5.49, but often on sale for even less.
6. Stop & Shop
Our local Stop & Shop was the source of all of these samples, so we had to pick up a 1.5-quart of the cookie dough ice cream to try, too. This generic brand was the most budget-friendly of all of our ice creams, at $3.57 for a 1.5-quart container. Its base tasted cheap and airy and didn't splinter when it was scooped. There wasn't a prominent vanilla note here or there, either. We couldn't identify any particular flavor notes here, which was disappointing, but on par with our experiences with store-bought frozen desserts.
The cookie dough pieces in this ice cream were well spread out and had the perfect consistency. The balls were just the perfect level of cookie dough-gritty and were numbered about average. There wasn't enough chocolate in this ice cream to earn it the title of "chocolate chip" cookie dough, either. Store-brand ice cream would be our go-to pick if we needed the cheapest product that could appease a child, but it doesn't live up to any adult palates. Slap some chocolate sauce or sprinkles on, though, and you have a deal.
5. Turkey Hill
Turkey Hill chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream comes in several sizes, including a 1.44-quart container and a pint-sized container, although our store only offered the larger size option. When we opened the container, we were surprised to see that this ice cream had chocolate flakes — not chips — spread throughout it. If we hadn't checked the label twice, you would have fooled us for cookies and cream ice cream, instead. A few pieces of cookie dough were nestled in the top of the ice cream and had an average flavor, with lingering notes of brown sugar and browned butter. It was good when we could find them, but these pieces were few and far between in the ice cream.
Our biggest fault against Turkey Hill was the number of chocolate pieces in this ice cream. Although it made the ice cream a little more chocolate-forward, it meant that each mouthful of an otherwise normal vanilla base would be contaminated with gritty pieces of chocolate. If the company decreased its chocolate flakes (which are not "choco chips" as advertised on the label) and increased its cookie piece prevalence, it would have scored higher for us.
4. Hood
If we're getting Hood ice cream, plain cookie dough will probably not be the top product on our list. While yes, it is good ice cream from a reputable brand, there are just more exciting flavors out there that we would rather enjoy. Nonetheless, we still stuck our spoons into this iconic New England brand's selection.
This ice cream was almost unreal in airiness. It took us back to eating the Hoodsie cups of our childhood and was almost a cross between a soft serve and a hard serve ice cream. This makes the Hood ice cream seem cheap, though, and we really would have liked something that was denser and heartier. The cookie dough chunks were perfectly hard and carried a beautiful, buttery, brown sugar flavor. But, we had to dig for a few minutes to locate a chunk. Additionally, another one of the redeeming factors for this brand was that it was relatively inexpensive at $5.39 per 1.5-quart container. It was one of our favorite bulk ice creams but wasn't anywhere close to our top pick.
3. Breyers
Breyers is a widely-available ice cream that can likely be found in every grocery store. When we opened this ice cream container, we were surprised to see the top studded with several pieces of cookie dough, which was available throughout the entire container. After having to dig through so many pints to find a single piece of cookie dough, this was a welcomed change. The cookie dough itself was a bit bready and had a less than chewy mouthfeel to it, but the base of this ice cream had a solid vanilla flavor and texture that wasn't too blown out with air but also scooped really easily in our hands.
Its base was sweet but balanced, and all the elements worked well together. This container was slightly more expensive than the other brands at $6.39, but we think the number of cookie dough pieces and the ice cream's smoothness justify putting it into our shopping cart next time we're at the store.
2. Tillamook
Tillamook is an ice cream brand that we've heard everyone raving about, but this was the first time we had an opportunity to taste the product. The ice cream base is not only dense and creamy, but the hunks of cookie dough in this frozen dessert are well-distributed and spread out throughout the 1.5-quart container — making it a serious contender in our competition for the best cookie dough ice cream. The vanilla ice cream base was also less airy than other brands we had sampled but not so hard that it couldn't be easily scooped, and the cookie dough chunks had a perfect consistency and brown sugar flavor to them. Although we will always argue that this ice cream could have contained more chunks, it was our top-performing bulk container and tasted much more high-quality than the other brands we sampled.
The price for this container was higher than the other large bins at $6.99. But if you're looking for a high-quality ice cream that will appease eaters of all ages, this is unequivocally the one to go for.
1. Ben & Jerry's
Ben & Jerry's was our biased front-runner throughout this whole tasting experiment. The brand has a reputation for the chunk factor in its ice cream and a high butterfat base that results in a near-perfect mouthfeel. It didn't have the cheap airiness that we experienced with other brands. This ice cream is dense, sticks to your teeth and your ribs, and has one of the best distributions of cookie dough to base. The chunks are soft, and textured and have the perfect consistency for our dream cookie dough ice cream. While the chocolate chip cookie dough might not be our favorite Ben & Jerry's flavor (that's reserved for the now-retired Caramel Almond Brittle), it is a consistent option for Ben & Jerry's aficionados.
One of our favorite things about this ice cream is that it's also available in mini containers for when you're craving a sweet treat but don't want to tempt yourself with the entire pint. Or, stop by a scoop shop to get your hands on this perfect cookie dough ice cream. Vegans and dairy-free eaters can also get their hands on the non-dairy version at their local grocery store.
Our methodology
It's fair to say that we take our chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream seriously. To assemble our rankings of the top brands, we took into account several taste, texture, and price factors. First, we looked at the vanilla base of the ice cream. Was it creamy or icy? Was there a subtle vanilla flavor, or did it not taste like much of anything? Although the base isn't the star of the show, it should provide a good backdrop to the dough piece.
When examining the dough, we first poked around to ensure enough dough pieces were in the ice cream. After all, we're not looking for "vanilla that accidentally got contaminated with cookie dough." The pieces should be dispersed throughout the base and have a nostalgic mouthfeel that takes us back to stealing pieces of Toll House dough from the tub in the fridge.
Lastly, we examined the relative price of the product. Since we're ice cream snobs, we don't feel bad about spending upwards of $6 on a pint of ice cream — provided that it is, in fact, good ice cream.