The Difference Between Blue Bell And Blue Bunny Ice Cream

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Blue Bell and Blue Bunny have both found themselves on our list of 23 best ice cream brands, but despite their similar names, the two "Blue" brands aren't connected in any way — they're separate companies that make two very different products. By far the biggest difference, however, is that Blue Bunny is classified as a frozen dairy dessert, not ice cream.

The USDA has strict standards for what can actually be sold as ice cream. One of the parameters is that the product has to consist of at least 10% milk fat. Blue Bunny admits to using less dairy fat in order to have more wiggle room when it comes to the frozen dessert's texture, especially its soft serve line. Because of the lower milk fat percentage, Blue Bunny's desserts lead with a sweet flavor and a much lighter texture than you'd find in traditional ice cream.

In contrast, Blue Bell was once a butter company, so the origin of the company essentially started with making milk fat. It has been exclusively focused on ice cream since 1958, and its products are known for being noticeably rich, creamy, and dairy-forward. "Blue bell taste[s] more like homemade ice cream to me, blue bunny is good, but there's a difference in taste and price. In this instance...it's quality over quantity," voiced one Facebook commenter.

We took a peek at each brand's Homemade Vanilla flavor to see how the ingredient lists compare. While both ice creams feature milk, cream, and sugar as their main ingredients, Blue Bell is the only one that uses high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavoring — in fact, Blue Bunny announced in 2026 that it reformulated two of its popular lines to only include natural flavors and no corn syrup, potentially because Americans are favoring real sugar over corn syrup.

Blue Bunny's lineup largely pays attention to texture innovation with its softer ice cream. Blue Bell, on the other hand, offers a wider lineup of creative flavors (like cotton candy), with some even being limited-edition, regional specialties. The brands also have different availability: Blue Bunny is available nationwide, but Blue Bell is only sold in 24 states and was exclusively available in Texas for the first few decades of its existence. The company does offer nationwide shipping, but that adds to the cost.

Speaking of which, the Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream costs  around 15 cents per fluid ounce at Walmart (depending on location), while the Blue Bunny Homemade Vanilla Premium Frozen Dessert is noticeably cheaper at almost half that per ounce at the supermarket. Not that the higher price would ever deter the true loyalists of the Blue Bell brand — when its ice cream once temporarily disappeared due to a recall, some customers formed a black market.