6 Store-Bought Ice Creams Made With 100% Real Milk And Cream

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Walking down the ice cream aisle at the grocery store can be a little overwhelming with the plethora of choices available, especially if you're looking for frozen desserts with as few ingredients as possible. While many brands of ice cream contain real cream and milk, they might also contain emulsifiers and stabilizers to reduce costs while maintaining texture. You don't have to go to a local dairy farm or learn tips for making homemade ice cream to avoid such ingredients, though. At least a handful of brands make ice cream with traditional ingredients, and you can buy them at the store.

Among the store-bought ice creams made with 100% real milk and cream, the brands that made this list include Ice Cream for Bears, Specially Selected, Häagen-Dazs, Van Leeuwen, Straus Family Creamery, and Adirondack Creamery. Daily Meal focused on brands that use a classic dairy-and-sugar base rather than fat-replacing ingredients, such as guar gum, palm and sunflower oil, pectin, starches, and whey. We even avoided ice creams that contained corn syrups and similar processed sweeteners.

While some of these store-bought brands only make a select few flavors that follow this methodology, others produce a wide variety of flavors. We've investigated each and narrowed them down for you. Also, keep in mind that all product availability and prices provided may vary from one grocery store to another, as well as from one location to another. Without further ado, check out these store-bought ice creams that are made with 100% real milk and cream.

Ice Cream for Bears is one of the ice cream brands made with the highest quality ingredients. All 15 of its products, including the sundaes, start with a natural base of milk from grass-fed cows, honey instead of sugar as the sweetener, and eggs rather than gums or other stabilizers. From the Queen & Bean or Strawbeary to the Bearista, Chocturnal, and Salted Caramaul, you can find a flavor near you by using the brand's store locator.

A 14-ounce tub of Ice Cream for Bears Mint to Bee is $9.19 at Lowes Foods (via Instacart).

Despite being a discount grocery chain, Aldi is known for not skimping on the quality in many of its products. Its Specially Selected Super Premium Ice Cream stands out among store-brand products. Containing just cream, skim milk, sugar, pasteurized egg yolks, and vanilla extract, the vanilla is the ice cream Aldi shoppers love for its short ingredient list. However, the chocolate is no slouch either with the same ingredient list, except that cocoa replaces the vanilla extract.

You can order 48-ounce tubs of Specially Selected Super Premium Ice Cream for $5.49 at Aldi (delivered via Instacart).

Known for making indulgent frozen treats, Häagen-Dazs makes nearly 40 flavors of ice cream. All of them are made with real milk and cream, but some also contain ingredients like corn syrup and soy lecithin. You can avoid those ingredients by sticking to the tried-and-true vanilla, chocolate, chocolate chocolate chip, and strawberry, or grab the coffee, matcha green tea, and rum raisin. Not sure where to start? Check out Daily Meal's ranking of Häagen-Dazs flavors.

Häagen-Dazs ice creams are available at major grocery chains, like its 14-ounce tub of strawberry at Walmart for $4.36.

Van Leeuwen is another brand that uses cream, milk, eggs, and cane sugar for its ice cream base, but it's actually French ice cream because it contains twice as many eggs as normal. However, some of its flavors contain gums and wheat, while the vegan options are made with cashew, coconut, and oat milks. For a 100%-cream-and-milk experience, stick with vanilla bean, strawberry, strawberry matcha, chocolate, mint chip, or Sicilian pistachio.

Van Leeuwen ice cream is available at major grocery stores, such as this 14-ounce tub of Sicilian pistachio at Harris Teeter (via Instacart) for $7.99.

Founded in the early 1940s in California, Straus Family Creamery is one of the best milk brands. Its line of ice creams is all about the milk and using pure flavors, but some of them contain a stabilizer, like soy lecithin or tapioca starch. You can avoid those by choosing the organic vanilla bean, organic dutch chocolate, organic strawberry, organic coffee, or organic maple swirl.

Mostly sold at organic grocers, you may be able to order a 16-ounce tub of Straus Family Creamery organic coffee at your local Whole Foods (with an Amazon Prime subscription) for $7.39.

Adirondack Creamery believes that ice cream should be made simple and natural — without artificial ingredients, emulsifiers, stabilizers, and other additives. While more than half of its flavors adhere to Daily Meal's 100% milk and cream methodology, some contain fat-replacing ingredients like canola oil and pectin. You don't have to worry about those with the Kashmiri Kahwa, Kulfi Pistachio Cardamom, Earl's Chocolate Peanut Butter, High Peak Perk, Syrian Date and Walnut, chocolate, and vanilla.

If you live along the East Coast, look for Adirondack Creamery Kashmiri Kahwa in 14-ounce tubs at stores like Wegmans (via Instacart) for $8.09.