I Tried 6 Breyers Ice Cream Flavors And Ranked Them From Worst To Best

Breyers is a classic ice cream brand that offers quite a few products with very limited ingredients, which is something I always appreciate. For example, its classic chocolate flavor contains only seven ingredients, which isn't all that much more than the three ingredients the brand's recipe called for when it began in 1866. Thanks to a combination of these few ingredients and consistent product quality, Breyers has been my family's go-to ice cream brand since I was a child. But, like most people, I have a few flavors I like, and I tend to stick to those rather than branching out. I started to wonder, "Which Breyers ice cream flavors are really worth buying?"

I was given an opportunity to answer this question by trying six Breyers ice cream flavors side-by-side to see how they stacked up. To determine ranking, I primarily considered taste, but texture and scent were smaller factors. A lifelong love affair with Breyers, my food industry background, and prior work creating rankings for Daily Meal gave me the background needed to make confident decisions. You can find a more detailed methodology at the end of this article if you're interested. Ready to discover which tub of ice cream to grab next time you have a craving for something cold and sweet? Let's get into it.

I'm a simple woman, and chocolate ice cream has always been my favorite, so naturally, I thought I'd really enjoy this Breyers Extra Creamy Chocolate Ice Cream. Sadly, it turned out to be mediocre at best, and mildly disappointing at worst.

I noticed that the texture was softer than expected right off the bat, because it began melting a bit before I even had a proper taste. To me, it was less "extra creamy" and more runny or too soft. The flavor was surprising, too, with a light chocolate taste that was heavily marred by the taste of straight heavy whipping cream sans the added sugar. I would have strongly preferred if it was sweeter, to at least offset this whipping cream taste a bit, but as it is, this extra creamy chocolate was unbalanced across the board.

The final verdict? You're better off making delicious chocolate ice cream yourself at home instead of grabbing this rendition from Breyers. I certainly won't purchase it again, nor do I think I'd eat it if offered to me by someone else. There's a much better-ranked option at the top of this list you can choose instead.

I don't often eat vanilla ice cream, but when I do, I expect a rich vanilla taste that stands well on its own without artificial tones — there's almost nothing I dislike more than the taste of artificial vanilla. Unfortunately, that wasn't the experience the Breyers Natural Vanilla Ice Cream provided me at all.

The taste here is like someone stirred up some heavy cream, added only the smallest amounts of sugar, and then froze it. While cream is an important part of ice cream, it shouldn't stand alone at the forefront. After all, if I wanted to drink a container of heavy cream, I'd save money and just buy that. Texturally, this was a little off. It was a bit too ... sticky? I can't quite describe what I was feeling, but it just wasn't right, and that gave me a mild ick.

There's no chance I'd buy this natural vanilla ice cream again because I know for a fact there are significantly better options available. Even if Breyers is the only option available to you, there's a slightly better vanilla variation you could choose instead. Skip this and opt for something else.

The fact that this Breyers Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream didn't taste predominantly of unsweetened heavy whipping cream easily pulled it ahead of the bottom two options. However, that doesn't mean it was a ballpark hit, either, because I still wasn't left feeling overly impressed.

My primary issue with this vanilla ice cream variation is that everything about it is so mild that it becomes bland overall. There was no definitive smell, and while the light vanilla taste with creamy undertones was nice, it was also barely existent. Now, this issue can be fixed by pairing the vanilla with something else. Homemade chocolate topping with freshly sliced strawberries, for example, is an excellent choice. With toppings (or maybe even mix-ins), this ice cream is excellent and doesn't overpower the other flavors — but this ranking is based on the ice cream eaten alone, and this is dull by itself.

I might consider buying or eating this again if I specifically want something that allows my ice cream toppings to shine. If you want something light to mix with something, this might be fine.

Although the combination of ice cream with cookies or candy isn't my favorite, I do enjoy the rich indulgence once in a while. Usually, I'd turn to one of Dairy Queen's Blizzard flavors when I have this specific type of craving, but I had high hopes that this Breyers Cookies and Cream Ice Cream could be a more accessible option that I could keep in my refrigerator. As it is, it didn't turn out to be a terrible choice.

This is a perfectly decent cookies and cream ice cream that doesn't skimp on the cookies and offers a nice amount of textural interest. While the ice cream itself is a bit soft and watery compared to some other Breyers flavors, I could mostly look past it, since it didn't appear to affect the taste at all. The rich chocolatey cookies pair with real vanilla, to create a flavor profile not so different to dunking your cookies into milk.

I wouldn't buy this often, but I would definitely eat it again if offered to me. Since this was my kid's favorite flavor, I'll likely purchase it once in a while for them, and I imagine this type of flavor would generally appeal most to a younger demographic.

If chocolate ice cream isn't an option, strawberry is my preferred second choice above all other flavors — like I said earlier, I'm a fairly simple woman. That being said, I may dislike the taste of artificial strawberries even more than artificial vanilla, so I can be very picky. The good news is that this Breyers Natural Strawberry Ice Cream lived up to all of my expectations.

Not only do I really enjoy strawberry ice cream, but of all the versions of it I've come across recently, this is my favorite. There was a light berry and cream scent when I opened the tub, and the texture was appropriately creamy without being too soft. The rich strawberry taste felt very real without any notable artificial tones, paired with a light creamy whole milk taste rather than heavy whipping cream. Overall, I had no real complaints about this ice cream, and it was a close tie for first place. However, I personally prefer chocolate ice cream, which is why this ranked as second rather than first.

I'll definitely buy this strawberry ice cream again as a way to switch things up from the top option. If you're looking for a fruity, creamy ice cream that embodies the fresh flavors of summer, I think this is a great choice.

To be transparent, Breyers Chocolate Ice Cream has always been my favorite, and was my go-to before this ranking. I approached this taste test with an open mind and had every hope that a different flavor would replace this one as my favorite. But even when compared side by side with the other five flavors, this proved itself to be the best.

Since this ranked in last place in our ranking of the best and worst store-bought chocolate ice creams, placing it as first on this list might be a controversial choice. However, I confidently stand by this ranking choice, for several reasons. First, this has a moderate chocolate taste paired with mild creamy notes and faint icy tones, which I appreciate. Second, the texture is both creamy and firm, so it melts in your mouth but doesn't turn to liquid in your bowl before you can eat it. A faint chocolatey scent makes it further appealing.

Truthfully, I have zero complaints about this chocolate ice cream from Breyers, and strongly suggest you grab a tub for yourself. Once you do, you'll see exactly why it ranked as our top Breyers ice cream flavor.

I chose six Breyers ice cream flavors for inclusion in this list, which were available to me at my local ShopRite in Vineland, New Jersey. I judged each flavor based primarily on taste, with texture and scent playing smaller roles where these aspects were particularly notable. These additional aspects were especially important when two flavors tasted nearly equally good, and often worked as a way to break ties.

To confidently make my assessments, I relied on a great love of Breyer's ice cream, and an extensive food industry background. This background includes years of bakery experience, where I had a limited run (of about a year) of making homemade ice cream for a high-end restaurant. Prior work creating similar desert-based articles for Daily Meal also helped contribute, including a ranking of Chips Ahoy! Cookies, as well as one offering tips for making bakery-worthy sugar cookies. Although personal preference played a role in this ranking, I aimed to be as unbiased about product quality as possible.