The 11 Best Ice Cream Flavors That Double As Delicious Coffee Creamers

A cup of coffee is one of the essential morning rituals for most Americans. It's not just the making of the coffee — it's all of the experiences associated with it. The feeling of grasping your hands around your fridge door, peering in and looking for your coffee creamer, listening to the sound of stirring a metal spoon against the bottom of a ceramic mug, and leaning your head back as the first sip touches your lips.

Most people use a standard coffee creamer in their cups, which is fine — especially considering how many delicious store-bought coffee creamer brands are out there. But there are plenty of other foods in your kitchen that can stand in for International Delight or Chobani, including melted ice cream. It already has cream and sugar, along with additional flavoring. So, all you need to do is strain out the bits of nuts, chocolate, or candy, and stir in the ice cream base. Here are some of the tastiest ice cream flavors you should try for upgraded lattes, cappuccinos, and more.

If you want to keep things simple, vanilla ice cream is the way to go. Its flavor is super agreeable, and it's easy to find a high-quality selection at your local grocery store. Plus, vanilla pairs with almost any coffee, whether your go-to is a simple hot drink or a fancy iced latte, and it can be used in tandem with other flavors on this list. 

If you prefer your coffee to taste more like a dessert, you'll want to try adding chocolate ice cream to it. Like vanilla, chocolate ice cream spans a range of flavors, with some brands coming in rich and fudgy, while others are milder, milkier, and more approachable. The coffee and chocolate flavor is simply irresistible.

Hazelnut is a common coffee creamer flavor, so it should be no surprise that hazelnut ice cream is on our list of tasty coffee additions. Hazelnut ice cream is not as easy to find as vanilla and chocolate ice cream, though you may be able to find hazelnut gelato (Hint: Talenti sells a Chocolate Hazelnut Crunch flavor that would be excellent with chocolate syrup in a dessert-adjacent coffee).

If you have ordered a Dunkin' iced coffee with butter pecan, you know how delicious this melted ice cream and coffee pairing could taste. Butter pecan is the perfect balance of nutty and sweet, complete with vanilla, butter, and pecan flavors. It would be hard not to love it swirled into a refreshing iced coffee, as the sweetness of the ice cream would cut any bitterness or acidity in the coffee. 

Coffee ice cream in a coffee drink ... who would have thought? While this pairing is by no means novel, it is bound to elevate almost any coffee drink, from an iced latte to a breve. You can even find coffee ice cream with different flavor additions; when our taster tried and ranked coffee ice creams, they found ones with fudge, almonds, chocolate, and more.

Toasted almond is a deeply under-appreciated ice cream flavor, especially when it's matched with other inclusions like fudge and chocolate. This is yet another ice cream-inspired flavor offered by Dunkin', so it makes sense that adding it to your coffee would infuse it with a nutty and delectable flavor.

Coconut ice cream is probably well-known among vegans, as the milk is a common base for plant-based ice creams. Whether that coconut essence is due to the non-dairy base or added coconut flavor, it's all delicious when paired with coffee. Classic coconut is a great option for hot or iced drinks, or you can up the ante by using an ice cream studded with nuts or chocolate chips if you prefer.

Pistachio is known for its nutty, grassy, and earthy flavors. Although you might not think it belongs in coffee, that almost-herbaceous flavor, combined with the creaminess and sweetness of the ice cream base, makes a good match for light-roast coffees, which have fruitier flavors than dark-roast coffee.

Caramel in coffee is a no-brainer, and when you pair it with salt, you get a delectable, ice cream-infused treat perfect for every occasion. The caramel swirls in most ice creams have a manageable sweetness that's not super overwhelming, meaning you can drink a salted caramel-infused coffee any time of day without fear of having your palate overtaken by sugar.

Cookies and cream-infused coffee is perfect for anyone who can't decide between vanilla or chocolate. Ideally, you'll want to use a cookies and cream that has an almost gritty texture, rather than one with chunks of cookie that you need to strain out. This is a more decadent addition than vanilla or chocolate, so use it for a mid-day pick-me-up.

Birthday cake ice cream is nothing short of a guilty pleasure for us. It's sweet, vanilla-flavored, and deeply nostalgic. While pairing it with coffee is a more adult twist, it's certainly a delicious one. Strain out any cake pieces or sprinkles and add sprinkles to your drink before sipping.