10 Freddy's Custard Flavors, Ranked

There are worse ways to spend a day than sitting in front of a table full of custard. As a lover of all things ice cream and frozen desserts, I can actually think of nothing better. It was like a wonderful dream to be able to walk into Freddy's and devour 10 of its curated frozen treats. It also took away the pressure (and pain) of having to choose just one thing, which is arguably the hardest part of any trip to an ice cream shop.

Freddy's really only makes two types of custard: vanilla and chocolate. But there's a lot you can do with those two flavors. You can turn them into a shake, a sundae, or a Concrete (think of it as Freddy's version of a Blizzard). The chain also offers ice cream sandwiches and root beer floats, plus more than 20 different toppings if you want to build your own creation. There's also a selection of preconfigured flavor combinations, and that's where I focused most of my attention. I tried eight different flavors — all as Concretes rather than sundaes, since that's one of Freddy's staples — along with two basic milkshakes: vanilla and chocolate. 

My goal was simple: to find out what's really the best custard order at this Midwestern chain. It's a tough job, but someone had to do it — and I was more than happy to take one for the team.

I'm fully expecting to get a lot of hate for the slander of this childhood favorite. I know it's a classic, and I know it's adorably whimsical — especially for those of us who will take any excuse to play with our food. But I am a firm believer that gummy candy has no business fraternizing with ice cream of any kind (it's the worst ice cream mix-in aside from hard candies). It doesn't matter how good Freddy's custard is, because the worms are always going to be nearly impossible to scoop out of the cup. And even worse, they're going to become so hard from the cold temperatures that they also become nearly impossible to chew. I can enjoy both custard and gummy worms separately. In fact, I consider both a very important food group. But combine them, and suddenly it's a catastrophe.

Strip away the worms, and what you're left with is essentially an Oreo Concrete, with Oreo cookie crumbles making up the dirt part of the equation. And that's fine — but there's already an Oreo Concrete on the menu, and I don't have to dodge slithery little pests to enjoy it.

I am fully aware that I'm probably not the target audience for this particular treat. That said, I still think there are better Freddy's flavors on the menu.

I had another texture-related gripe with the Strawberry Dreamcake Concrete. The problem can be seen sprinkled on top of its whipped cream puff. Those flakes are actually a cinnamon streusel, and it's also mixed right into the custard, along with strawberry puree. Unfortunately, the consistency is nothing like streusel. Instead, it's closer to a graham cracker dusting, and it leaves the entire Concrete feeling gritty and sand-like. To make matters worse, it also didn't taste like cinnamon to me.

This issue makes it difficult to enjoy the custard and strawberry puree combo — which is unfortunate, because on its own, it would have been tasty. It's the kind of strawberry flavor that tastes like real fruit rather than some kind of artificial concoction (probably because it's puree rather than syrup), and it blends nicely with the thick vanilla custard.

After taking a closer look at this Concrete's ingredients, I also realized cheesecake pieces are supposed to be mixed in here. I'm not sure if they were blended to the point that I couldn't identify them or if they just weren't added at all. But either way, they didn't add anything to the treat — another big bummer and another reason this Freddy's Concrete didn't make it far in my rankings.

I love a frozen Oreo dessert just as much as the next guy. I will never turn down an Oreo Blizzard, an Oreo McFlurry, an Oreo Sonic Blast ... you get the idea. I also enjoyed the Oreo Double Trouble Concrete from Freddy's. I just think it could be better.

It's called the Oreo Double Trouble, because it's supposed to be made with a double portion of chopped-up Oreo cookies blended into the vanilla custard. Even more cookies are then supposed to be crumbled on top. However, you can probably tell that it doesn't look doubly packed with Oreos. It's hardly a single-size portion, and they're pulverized, so you don't get any of those delicious chocolatey chunks. I wish I could just give Freddy's the benefit of the doubt and chalk this up to an isolated event. But I've had this exact Concrete before, and it was riddled with the same issues.

So, if you're someone who likes your Concrete less rich and lighter on the toppings, you might like this one. For others like me, though, it's a bit disappointing, especially given its name. Maybe asking for extra Oreos can help rectify the situation. Worth a shot.

Freddy's shakes can get just as wild as its Concretes. Every customer is entitled to one free topping blended in, with the option to add up to five more for an additional charge, for a six-topping max. I think we can all agree that was a smart decision on Freddy's part. Can you imagine the monstrosities kids would try to create with no cap in place? Even six toppings sounds egregious. I actually went the complete opposite route by trying the chain's vanilla and chocolate shakes sans any mix-ins. There's a half-and-half option, too, which is peculiar to me. I feel that chocolate would just take over in that case, so I didn't feel the need to try it.

When it comes to the chocolate option, it's a solid milkshake — far better than the majority of other fast food chocolate shakes. It's essentially just a drinkable version of the chain's chocolate scoops, which is good, because Freddy's produces high-quality chocolate custard. There's a deep cocoa flavor to it and a velvety consistency that carries over even after a trip through the blender. I would absolutely drink it again. There are just a handful of other Freddy's indulgences that I would sooner return to.

Typically, I'm averse to piling more chocolate onto more chocolate onto more chocolate. I like chocolate, love it even, but desserts can go from scrumptious to overkill real fast when you do this.

That said, Freddy's handles the triple cocoa threat fairly well. The Chocolate Brownie Delight starts with chocolate custard and then layers in both brownie and hot fudge. There's definitely a brownie flavor throughout that elevates it above the simple chocolate shake. It's almost like brownie batter, with those deep, fudgy notes coming through, but some spoonfuls also have a bit of maltiness to them. The rich fudge tends to sink to the bottom, though, so you'll want to give it a good swirl to make sure you get that extra sweetness throughout. The brownie pieces are another story. Like the Oreos in the Oreo Concrete, they're blended nearly to a pulp, so you can feel little bits floating around, but I never actually sank my teeth into a chewy brownie morsel. That's the experience I want from any kind of brownie treat, and I just didn't get it here.

It's still good, don't get me wrong. But with some large brownie chunks and a trade of chocolate custard for vanilla, this could have been my favorite Concrete.

Another popular fusion of candy and custard — just like the Oreo Concrete. If you like peanut butter, any kind of Reese's confection is bound to hit the spot. And I like that this one from Freddy's takes it a step further than just crushing up cups into vanilla custard. The chain also throws a Reese's Peanut Butter Sauce into its Reese's Royale Concrete, thus amping up the richness and flavor. It actually ends up tasting like a true peanut butter custard was used as the base. It's extra thick but still smooth, and that combo of sweet and salty is almost always going to beat out a dessert that's more one note — at least in my book.

My only small qualm is that it could use more Reese's bits. Like the Oreo and Chocolate Brownie Delight Concretes, it's a bit light on this main ingredient. I don't know if Freddy's was rationing toppings the day I visited or what, but the chain needs to give the people what they want and start packing these Concretes! In something called a Reese's Royale, I expect a king-like serving of peanut butter and chocolate goodness.

Like the Oreo Concrete, I've also ordered the Signature Turtle in the past. I've even compared it against a similar kind of Concrete creation from Culver's, and I'm sad to say it lost that battle, mostly because it was stingier with the toppings — go figure, since that seems to be a recurring theme amongst Freddy's custard orders.

That doesn't mean this is a bad choice, though. Far from it. It's still a top-tier group of ingredients, and when pitted against the other Freddy's flavors, it remains one of my top picks. There's just something about the combination of hot fudge, hot caramel, and toasted pecans that works so well together. The fudge is blended pretty well, so the custard almost tastes like chocolate rather than vanilla. You get rich, buttery notes from the ribbons of caramel. And, in my opinion, the best part is stumbling upon a pecan half or even just a pecan fragment. You won't find them in every spoonful, but I love their sweet nuttiness and gentle crunch.

It's the kind of Concrete you can't go wrong with, even if there is a chain down the street that makes a slightly better one. As the saying goes, "Comparison is the thief of joy." So, maybe it's best to just stop comparing and enjoy the darn Concrete.

This is one treat that really surprised me. Even as a devout coffee drinker, I expected it to be more of a middle-of-the-road option. Instead, it ended up being one of my favorites. Even my husband, who doesn't like coffee at all, enjoyed this one, which says a lot about how well these flavors come together.

I think it's appealing to a wider range of taste buds, because it doesn't go all in on the cold brew. Yes, I could still pick out some of those java notes, but they're well balanced by the vanilla custard and swirls of caramel sauce. So, all of that coffee bitterness is neutralized, and what you're left with is a mellow, almost mocha-like taste. Then, there's the crunch part of the Concrete: the bits of Heath toffee bar. This is one scenario where I'm glad the candy is crushed up more finely. The pieces still give you a delicate crunch, but they're not so hard that you feel like you're going to crack a tooth. Instead, they taste like little bits of caramelized sugar and almonds, adding a nice nutty sweetness to the otherwise smooth and creamy Concrete.

The Cold Brew Caramel Crunch did get beat out by two other Freddy's confections, and two very different confections at that. But this one is worth a try — whether you typically like coffee or not.

It sounds so simple and boring — vanilla, if you will. But this is a heavenly milkshake. I couldn't stop drinking it. Even with a table full of candy-packed Concretes, this is the first cup I wanted to return to after giving everything a try.

My only small issue with Freddy's vanilla custard in the past has been that the texture isn't quite as creamy as I think it should be. But we don't have that problem with the vanilla shake. This is blended to the perfect milkshake consistency: thick but still easy to drink through a straw, with an incredibly smooth mouthfeel. There were absolutely no ice chunks or other granules to disrupt that ideal texture. What's even better, though, is the flavor. Along with the warm tastes of vanilla, there's a butteriness to it that makes it feel like a one-to-one mixture of homemade whipped cream and custard. Yes, some of that is thanks to the whipped cream itself, which was squirted on top. But that creamy, buttery flavor doesn't disappear once you get past the topping.

It's easily one of the best vanilla milkshakes I've had in a while. It proves that desserts don't always need to be extravagant or over-the-top to be delectable.

I can't be the only one that didn't pick up on the play on words in this Concrete's name. Right? I thought I was looking at a repeat of the Reese's Royale, until my husband lovingly pointed out that there was probably banana in it. Only then did my spelling skills come back to me, and I remembered that it's typically "bonanza" with an "O".

This Concrete still features both vanilla custard and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, similar to the Reese's Royale, but it leaves out the Reese's Peanut Butter Sauce and replaces it with banana. This change-up gives it a completely different flavor profile — and a winning one at that. It's essentially a more indulgent version of your classic peanut butter banana smoothie. The custard makes it exponentially more creamy, and the bits of chocolatey cups turn it into a full-on dessert rather than an after-workout snack. The banana itself is blended right into the Concrete, so its flavor is fairly subdued. Honestly, I wouldn't have minded a little more banana flavor here. I also wouldn't have been mad about finding some actual banana chunks to bite into.

Still, I think Freddy's executed this combination really well. I like that it's a little different from the same ingredient combinations that pop up over and over again in the ice cream world, like Oreo or plain Reese's. And of all the Freddy's Concretes and shakes I tried, the Peanut Butter Bananza flavor ended up being the best.

Since Freddy's only makes two types of custard — vanilla and chocolate — ranking its flavors really came down to the topping combinations. I focused on the premade options the chain provides rather than building my own, though that's also an option with nearly endless possibilities. I opted to try eight different flavor combinations as Concretes rather than shakes or sundaes, since that's what Freddy's is best known for. I also tried a classic vanilla shake and chocolate shake, since those are staples. Any joint slinging custard as one of its main attractions should know how to blend up a good shake, right? I skipped over a limited-time seasonal Concrete and stuck with the permanent, year-round options.

Ranking each treat was easy but difficult at the same time. It's all delicious custard, so I can't say that any one of them was bad. That made it hard to put anything at the bottom of the barrel. At the same time, it was pretty obvious after my first spoonful or sip which desserts stuck out more than others. Throughout the tasting, I looked for really smooth consistencies and paid close attention to the amount of toppings. Freddy's can be a little stingy in this area, but some Concretes have richer flavors that make up for the smaller portion of mix-ins. 

Overall, I just wanted a really tasty group of ingredients while the integrity of the custard was still maintained. The vanilla shake proves that a treat doesn't have to be overloaded to be good, while something like the Peanut Butter Bananza Concrete takes the cake for being uniquely packed with flavor.