10 US Presidents And Their Favorite Ice Cream Flavors

Ice cream has been a weakness for many U.S. presidents. Early Commanders in Chief saw great potential in this chilled dessert, and took efforts to ensure their households could prepare and serve it. A lot of planning and effort went into the early days of ice cream preparation at the White House in the time before freezers, but this did not stop presidents from eating or serving ice cream regularly. Early White House ice cream recipes were improved by skilled and innovative chefs so that this dessert could be served in large quantities for important events, hand-in-hand with diplomacy. 

Formely an upper-class luxury that was labor-intensive to make, ice cream is now accessible everywhere, thanks to improvements in refrigeration technology. But ice cream's widespread accessibility has given presidents no less of a taste for it. For as long as there has been a freezer in the White House, ice cream has been kept on hand for many a president for whenever a craving strikes. 

From campaign trails to inauguration balls and diplomatic dinners, many presidents have made no secret of their hankering for ice cream throughout their political careers. Furthermore, each presidential ice cream lover has gone to great lengths to keep their favorite flavors on hand. From good old-fashioned vanilla to peach, butterscotch, and macadamia nut, here are 10 U.S. presidents' favorite ice cream flavors.

The first U.S. president was a big fan of ice cream, but this sweet, frozen treat was not something that could be kept on hand whenever he might have had a hankering. The requisite ice that went into the cream got cut from the frozen Potomac River bordering George Washington's Mount Vernon estate, a harvest which only took place in the winter. The ice would then be stored in an ice house, a designated covered building on the property used exclusively for ice storage throughout the year. In this way, ice could be kept cold until the spring, when dairy cows produced milk and cream. With these two base ingredients at the ready, ice cream could finally be prepared. 

In addition to sugar for sweetness, fruit was added to flavor Washington's ice cream. While the kind of fruit is not specified, Washington likely enjoyed numerous fruit varieties of this treat, savored all the more for the difficulty that went into making it. The consistency of ice cream back in Washington's day was considerably icier and runnier than the creaminess we're familiar with today. Nevertheless, Washington was so partial to this frozen delicacy that he purchased the necessary equipment to be able to make and serve it in style at the White House from 1789 to 1797, while he served as president. The 309-piece service of various pots and plates suggests that Washington's fruit ice cream was a regular and widely-enjoyed treat at the White House.

The name for ice cream has American colonial origins, and this dessert was known to Americans long before presidents started leading the country. But Thomas Jefferson's widely known love of ice cream came from his time as a diplomat in France, where it is likely that Jefferson found his go-to recipe for vanilla ice cream. Recorded in Jefferson's own handwriting, it is considered the oldest record of an ice cream recipe penned by an American. Nevertheless, Jefferson had nothing to do with the preparation of this dessert. Ice cream production was handled by James Hemings, the enslaved chef who traveled with Jefferson to France to learn French cooking techniques and later organized meals on Jefferson's Monticello estate, including regularly preparing ice cream. 

While we might think differently today, vanilla ice cream would have been quite a luxury in Jefferson's time. Vanilla has ancient origins, but back in the early 19th century, this flavor was still expensive to import and thus reserved mostly for an elite budget. During Jefferson's time in the White House, from 1801-1809, he had an ice house built on the White House property for the express purpose of being able to produce ice cream more often. Under Hemings skilled preparation, the dessert was frequently served on its own. But it was also sometimes served inside puffed pastry, a nod to the decadent cream-puffs, a feat of hot and cold all at once, that Hemings and Jefferson also discovered while in France.

The Madisons also loved ice cream. During James Madison's time as president, from 1809 to 1817, it was the first lady, Dolley, who helped to further popularize this treat. Dolley Madison served ice cream at the White House on a weekly basis, for formal receptions, diplomatic dinners, and especially her informal Wednesday evening "squeezes" designed to foster amicable conversation among all political perspectives. While many different ice cream flavors were served, Madison seemed to have had a simple preference. Classic cream with strawberries was the prized iced dessert during the festivities for his second inauguration.

Between the White House and the Madisons' Virginia estate known as Montpellier, households serving the couple were well-equipped with everything necessary to make labor-intensive ice cream. Records of purchases for ice cream spoons and tubs, as well as repairs for the latter, still exist among Montpellier's archives. But while the Madisons were transitioning out of the White House, a new chef began a career in the kitchens there, where he would make a revolutionary ice cream discovery. 

Augustus Jackson, a free black man who worked as a White House chef from 1817 to 1837, was particularly skilled in the art of ice cream preparation. After 20 years on Capitol Hill, he would return to his hometown of Philadelphia to make a fortune in ice cream with the discovery that adding salt to the ice could keep ice cream colder for longer, which has remained the go-to method for making ice cream ever since. 

Abraham Lincoln's love of almond-flavored desserts was renowned well before he served in office from 1861 to 1865. While he and Mary Todd Lincoln were still courting, he was allegedly won over by her white almond cake. Whether or not this is true, Mary Todd continued to serve this delicate almond cake throughout their marriage, as well as during their time in the White House. It was a classic dessert from Kentucky, where they both came from, and perhaps the source of Lincoln's nostalgic allegiance towards all things almond-flavored.

What else would explain the unusual flavor of "burnt almond" ice cream, which featured on the menu for his second inauguration ball? This event went down in the history books as a food fight, with the buffet being served at midnight. Considered an unreasonably late hour for the thousands of hungry guests in attendance, they all went into a frenzy once the food was served, resulting in a mess of food dropped everywhere in their hurry to appease their appetites. 

The surviving menu details a selection of ice creams for the occasion (via Smithsonian Magazine). Listed alongside more conventional flavors — chocolate, vanilla, coffee, maraschino— is Lincoln's nutty choice, burnt almond. Sounding both subtle and luxurious, it seems like an apropos presidential choice. After the ice cream course was an additional "desserts" course, which included more almonds served alongside raisins, chocolate, and coffee.

Hailing from Texas Hill Country, Lyndon B. Johnson grew up in a part of the state known for its peaches. This may have been what gave him a lifelong love of peach-flavored things, for which ice cream was no exception. The sizeable list of desserts that LBJ enjoyed with gusto as the Commander in Chief ranges from coconut cream pie to peach cobbler, but there is only one kind of frozen dessert that makes the list — peach ice cream. 

After his time in office (from 1963 to 1969), LBJ and First Lady Lady Bird Johnson moved onto the family ranch in Texas, which became known as LBJ Ranch. The land on this 250-acre property was prime peach country, which may have further enhanced LBJ's fondness for sweet things made from peaches. While LBJ's peach-preference might stem in part from a loyalty to his Texas roots and Hill Country ties, Lady Bird Johnson also had a homemade peach ice cream recipe that sounds good enough to make anyone's mouth water. With half a gallon of fresh peaches mixed into the cream, it was sure to be refreshingly cold and sweet for any occasion, though especially on a hot Texas afternoon.

Gerald Ford, serving as president from 1974 to 1977, had one go-to dessert during his time in office — ice cream. Ford's favorite ice cream was no secret: he loved butter pecan. Fortunately for him, ice cream had come a long way by the time Ford was in office. There was always some on supply in the White House freezer, a stock much more accessible than the river ice and spring cream confection the earliest presidents enjoyed from the ice house. Simply scooped and served by one of the White House staff members, Ford's unlimited supply of butter pecan ice cream was something he enjoyed every night after a long day in the Oval Office.

Butter pecan was also kept on hand in the freezer anytime Ford travelled somewhere else. Sometimes, the president's favorite ice cream flavor was even kept at the ready when Ford was en route to another destination. Secret Service agents recalled one instance when they stopped someone running after the president as he was about to board a plane. The alleged intruder was simply carrying a paper bag containing butter pecan ice cream so that Ford could enjoy some during his flight. 

Serving as president from 1969 to 1974, Richard Nixon was passing through Hawaii when he first tasted macadamia nut ice cream. The flavor won him over instantly, and he liked it so much that he requested three gallons be sent back to the White House. The ice cream was consequently shipped by air across the country more than once.

There's much to be said about macadamia nuts, but unfortunately for Nixon's taste buds, macadamia ice cream, at the time, was only available on the West Coast of the contiguous United States. Shipping gallons from Hawaii by plane whenever he had a hankering was not a sustainable source of supplying the demand, so during his time as President, Nixon was relegated to enjoying this flavor whenever he was on the West Coast. 

Conveniently, Nixon's private estate was in San Clemente, California, and became a western extension of the White House during Nixon's time as Commander in Chief. A local grocery store manager would receive word any time Nixon was on his way to the Western White House, so that he could order a shipment of this ice cream from Hawaii and keep a surplus in stock while Nixon was in town. With the Watergate scandal prompting Nixon to resign from office shortly after being elected to his second term, he permanently settled in San Clemente, where there was sure to be no shortage of his favorite ice cream.

Jimmy Carter, who served as president from 1977 to 1981, was another ice cream aficionado turned Commander in Chief, with a distinct preference for nutty flavors. Hailing from Georgia, Carter had a long-standing connection to an ice cream parlor in Savannah, known as Leopold's Ice Cream. He was friends with the owner, who sent him tubs of butter pecan and peanut butter ice cream, both of which he considered favorites. While butter pecan's tastiness might speak for itself, Carter had his own personal nostalgia for peanut butter as a flavor. Having grown up on a peanut farm and even managed it for a time, peanuts were an important aspect of his family legacy.

Perhaps Carter's taste for peanut butter things came as much from a nostalgic pride for his roots as it did a genuine preference for the flavor. Even though the Carter family couldn't keep their peanut business, Jimmy Carter's peanut preference persisted. He certainly continued to eat a lot of peanut butter ice cream after his time as president, a hankering which only increased towards the end of his life. In his later days, Carter's daily intake of peanut butter ice cream led to jokes that this might have contributed to his longevity. Whether or not the peanut-flavored treat played any part, Carter lived to the age of 100, making him the longest-living US president in the country's history.

George Bush has been known to be a bit of a foodie, and made no secret of enjoying dessert as the cherry on top of a hearty meal. Serving as Commander in Chief from 2001 to 2009, Bush's go-to presidential dessert was well-known to be ice cream. This was served often during his time at the White House, including during important meals and diplomatic occasions. 

Though numerous flavors were served at these various events, Bush was known to prefer the flavor of butterscotch. While butterscotch might sound similar to the butter pecan ice cream preferred by previous presidents, what makes this flavor profile distinct is the harmonious melding of brown sugar and butter. It's no surprise that something so tasty might have appealed to a presidential palate, but it may have been an inherited favorite. Bush's father, George H.W. Bush, whose presidential term ended eight years before his son was elected, was also an ice cream lover. His favorite flavor was coffee ice cream, but he preferred to have this served with butterscotch sauce drizzled over the top.

Joe Biden is a little obsessed with ice cream, which he has admitted to eating a lot of. While serving as president from 2021-2025, Biden made appearances at ice cream parlors across the country and was frequently sighted with an ice cream cone in his hand. His go-to flavor is classic chocolate chip, and his standing order is a double scoop in a waffle cone. During his prior role as vice president, Biden's love of chocolate chip ice cream inspired Cornell University's on-site dairy processing center to mix its own take on the chocolate chip flavor. It was called "Big Red, White, and Biden" in honor of Biden's planned 2017 visit to the university to deliver a convocation address, and enough was prepared to serve at least 4,000 scoops for all attendees.

A few years later, after Biden's presidential inauguration, an Ohio-based company, Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream, decided to honor Biden's unwavering love of the chocolate chip flavor. Knowing he was a fan of Jeni's ice cream (the president even made a habit of gifting pints of this ice cream brand on a regular basis), Jeni's released a new flavor in 2021. "White House Chocolate Chip" took Biden's typical order very seriously, melding chocolate chip ice cream with pieces of waffle cone into one scoopable pint of goodness with a little extra chocolate drizzled in for good measure.