18 Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream Flavors Ranked Worst To Best
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Haagen-Dazs' name is pretty much synonymous with quality ice cream. When you hear it, you immediately think of rich, smooth scoops of everything from ever-reliable Rocky Road to experimental flavors like white chocolate raspberry truffle. Haagen-Dazs is delicious on a hot day, a cold day, or really, any kind of day at all. No wonder the brand has been around for decades.
But even the most delicious ice cream brand has a few stumbles to its name. Ice cream can, after all, be a tricky and temperamental dessert. Certain ingredients suffer when frozen. Some flavors melt faster than they can be eaten. Combinations of taste and texture that seem irresistible in theory turn out to be unappetizing upon execution. Haagen-Dazs has produced very few stinkers over the years, but as any aficionado knows, its flavors are not created equal. We're here to take a look at this range in quality close-up, by ranking 18 Haagen-Dazs flavors, from the disappointing to the absolutely scrumptious.
18. Rum raisin
Raisins can be controversial. Some people love to happen upon them in their slices of cake, fresh-baked cookies, and bowls of ice cream, while others — who've often assumed they were chocolate chips — find them utterly objectionable. Haagen-Dazs' rum raisin ice cream is unlikely to convert any die-hard raisin haters. It's definitely not a bad flavor, mind you. The rum brings a pleasant note of spice to this ice cream, which keeps it from being overwhelmingly sweet. It also boasts a wonderfully rich texture. But the raisins aren't quite what they should be. Some are nicely plump, but others are hard little nubbins, or so flattened out they're barely there at all. Depending on your luck, you might get a pint without enough raisins to go around.
If you're a rum raisin devotee and your supermarket is having a Haagen-Dazs sale, consider checking this flavor out. Otherwise, go with a different flavor.
17. Rocky Road
Rocky Road is a complex flavor, combining marshmallow, almonds, and chocolate. Haagen-Dazs' rendition does it justice, for the most part.
The chocolate ice cream is perfectly sweet, lush in texture, and full of rich flavor. The almonds are also a highlight. They've been roasted, which brings the nut's distinctly mellow flavor to the fore and adds an ever-so-slightly salty note to the ice cream. But their irregular sizes and shapes present a problem. Some mouthfuls have too many almonds, while others have too few. The latter experience is especially problematic: The marshmallow swirls and chocolate ice cream are too much without the almonds counterbalancing their sweetness. Rocky Road demands, well, rockiness, and sometimes, this flavor is a little too smooth of a ride.
16. Strawberry
The best thing about Haagen-Dazs' strawberry ice cream is that it tastes like actual strawberries. That might seem a pretty faint compliment to bestow, but as strawberry aficionados know, the frozen food aisle is absolutely flooded with inferior competitors that taste more like cheap bubblegum than the beloved berry. This rendition, in welcome contrast, is bursting with real, fresh, distinct strawberry flavor. As if to prove its bonafides, these pink pints are even full of small pieces of actual strawberries.
Though this is a nice idea in theory, in practice, it falls a little short. Smaller pieces go down easily, but bigger pieces, being frozen, are a bit of a challenge to chew. The freezing process also seems to rob them of their flavor — the ice cream tastes more like strawberries than the strawberries themselves. Taken as a whole, these pints are a severely mixed bag: They're full of excellent ice cream and some seriously off-putting additions.
15. Pistachio
When you think of pistachio ice cream, you probably picture a bowl full of creamy green goodness. It's surprising, then, to crack open a pint of Haagen-Dazs' take on pistachio and encounter off-white ice cream. This isn't necessarily a bad thing — plenty of ice cream makers simply prefer to dispense with food dyes and let their creations' flavors speak for themselves. Sadly, this particular ice cream's pale hue is indicative of lacking pistachio potency.
As one reviewer put it, "This basically tasted like sugared cream with chopped nuts that could have been anything. It wasn't even green." Indeed, the pistachio pieces that stud each pint are weirdly flavorless — if someone blindfolded you and said they were almonds, you'd probably believe them without hesitation. They're well-distributed throughout each spoonful, at least, which isn't a given when it comes to Haagen-Dazs' nut-based ice creams. But given their lacking flavor, that's not necessarily a good thing.
14. Pineapple coconut
Fruit fans rejoice: Haagen-Dazs' pineapple coconut ice cream is full of in-your-face tropical flavor. The first few bites are a smooth symphony of coconut and pineapple, which play beautifully off each other. The former flavor is bold, sweet, and rich, with a delicately floral top note. The latter's bright tang shoots through it like a ray of sunshine. Golden chunks of pineapple sprinkled throughout each pint bring the tropics home even more vividly.
So why doesn't this fabulous flavor occupy a higher place on our list? It comes down to the coconut: After a few spoonfuls, it's impossible to ignore the way it overpowers the pineapple. This isn't a grievous mismatch, and some pints might be worse offenders than others. But such lopsidedness can't be ignored. If you're particularly partial to coconut, however, this might be your ideal ice cream.
13. Chocolate chocolate chip
Chocolate chocolate chip is an inherently decadent flavor, and Haagen-Dazs revels in it. The brand's classic chocolate ice cream is among its best flavors, and it shines here as brightly as ever. The rich, warm taste of genuine cocoa lingers on the tongue, with all the intensity of an expensive truffle. There's no chalky aftertaste or saccharine overtones, as is often the case with chocolate ice cream. Texture-wise, this isn't the absolute richest ice cream Haagen-Dazs has to offer, but that's hardly a fatal flaw, given the brand's baseline level of quality.
The chocolate chips are the only real problem here. Individually, they're delicious concentrations of pure flavor. Unfortunately, they're a little too small and thin to truly stand out. If you're not paying strict attention to each bite, it's easy to forget they're even there. What results is an excellent chocolate ice cream — but of course, this is meant to be chocolate chocolate chip ice cream. Eating it is a delight, just not the one Haagen-Dazs is aiming for.
12. White chocolate raspberry truffle
There is a lot going on in Haagen-Dazs' white chocolate raspberry truffle ice cream, and for the most part, that's a good thing. It all starts with the silky white chocolate ice cream base. White chocolate is often dismissed as blandly sweet, but this ice cream brings its true complexity to light. There's an almost fruity flavor to this take on white chocolate, which pairs excellently with the swirls of raspberry that ripple throughout each pint. Said raspberry is wonderfully tart and fresh tasting. The cocoa truffles are the real star here, however, as lush and dense as any chocoholic could dream of.
Taken together, this ice cream is a magnificently multifaceted delight. The trouble is, some pints lean a little too heavily on particular ingredients. The raspberry swirls are particularly prone to uneven distribution; it's easy to go multiple bites without encountering much of its tangy flavor. That said, no individual pint is a total disaster. If you're willing to roll with occasionally lopsided ingredient ratios, white chocolate raspberry truffle is a flavor worth trying.
11. Chocolate peanut butter
Chocolate and peanut butter is a classic combo, and Haagen-Dazs does right by it. The brand's chocolate ice cream is as good as ever: The flavor is intense without being overwhelming, and tastes of real, rich cocoa. Ribbons of peanut butter ripple throughout it, as warm and nutty as anyone could ask for. Haagen-Dazs' peanut butter is particularly distinguished by its delicate notes of salt: It's just enough to bring the peanuts' savory-sweet symphony into harmony with the chocolate's decadence. This ice cream is also among the brand's most luxuriously textured — every spoonful is so dense and smooth, you might think it's gelato.
Unfortunately, the ratio of chocolate to peanut butter is hugely inconsistent. Many recent reviews decry pints that go way too heavy on the chocolate and way too light on the peanut butter. Hopefully, this will end up being a temporary lapse. But until it's corrected, this flavor stays near the middle of our list.
10. Vanilla Swiss almond
Vanilla Swiss almond feels inherentlysophisticated. It starts with the ice cream itself, which is a cool, creamy vanilla. Haagen-Dazs' take on that most classic of ice cream flavors is incredibly strong: The fruity and almost floral top notes of the beloved vanilla bean shine dazzlingly through. It's sweet but never cloying, and rich without being heavy. The almonds, which are roasted and dipped in chocolate, are also divine.
At its best, this pint comes together into an elegant dessert — the sort of thing you might picture people eating in European sidewalk cafes on particularly lovely afternoons. But only some pints manage to nail this flavor's complex interplay of ingredients. Too many containers of vanilla Swiss almond are unevenly pocked with nuts: They tend to fall to the bottom, collect in clumps, or make their way to one side of the container. When you're lucky enough to get a good pint, you'll rejoice. But there are no guarantees on that front.
9. Chocolate chip cookie dough
There are few ice cream flavors more purely fun than chocolate chip cookie dough. Every iteration brings back that childlike thrill of being allowed a few bites of unbaked deliciousness, fears of salmonella be darned. But taking this flavor to the heights of tastiness takes some work. For the most part, Haagen-Dazs manages to achieve this. Their ever-enjoyable vanilla ice cream forms the base, as sweet and luscious as ever. The cookie dough is pleasantly dense and richly flavored, its warm notes of butterscotch perfectly offset by a faint hit of salt. Finally, sprinkled fudge chips bring concentrated flavor and enjoyable textural contrast.
Essentially, every element of this ice cream works. There's just one problem: There simply isn't enough cookie dough to go around. Reviews below four stars on the flavor's page reveal multiple customers frustrated by lacking dough deposits. Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream demands total indulgence. Skimping on the good stuff keeps this flavor near the middle of the pack, despite its strengths.
8. Caramel cone
Haagen-Dazs' caramel cone ice cream is a seriously indulgent treat. The ice cream itself is caramel-flavored, absolutely bursting with all the golden-brown goodness that implies. It's shot through with ripples of actual caramel, which takes things to an even more delicious place. Somehow, this caramel-on-caramel approach avoids seeming one-note or becoming overpoweringly sugary. It simply allows all the unique flavors and textures that make caramel what it is — roastiness, chewiness, mellow sweetness — shine.
Chocolate-covered pieces of ice cream cone break up this caramel lovefest. Herein lies the flavor's one flaw: These cone chunks have a tendency to get soggy, especially if they're near the bottom of the pint. This isn't a huge issue, nor are you certain to encounter it — some pints' cone pieces stay flawlessly crunchy. Moreover, a degree of cone softening can even be pleasant, bringing to mind the chunks of brownie or cookie dough that pepper other ice cream flavors. But if you're a crunch enthusiast, this is worth bearing in mind before you pick up a pint.
7. Cookies and cream
If cookies and cream ice cream is all about balance, then Haagen-Dazs' rendition of the classic combo is an Olympic gymnast. The ice cream base is the brand's signature vanilla, while the cookies are crumbled chocolate disks. The contrast between these two ingredients is pitch-perfect: The ice cream is full of milky sweetness, while the cookies are intensely flavored and delightfully irregular. Somehow, these chocolate morsels manage to stay crisp, which makes every spoonful a scrumptious textural experience.
Though there are only two ingredients in play, these pints somehow manage to taste as complex as more baroque flavors like white chocolate raspberry truffle. Some reviews complain about a lack of cookies, which does hamstring its unique complexity. But honestly, even a bowl of slightly-lighter-on-the-cookies cookies and cream is worth anyone's time.
6. Mint chip
Mint-flavored ice cream is among the most refreshing things you can eat, especially once summertime hits its sweaty apex. Haagen-Dazs' take on this invigorating treat is a memorable one. The mint flavor is clear, strong, and pleasantly floral. It mixes marvelously with the sweet cream base: Such dairy-centric richness highlights the mint's delicate taste and cooling properties. There's also a wealth of chocolate chips mixed in. They're somewhat irregular — you'll stumble upon big, square chunks and itty-bitty shavings alike — which makes every spoonful unique. Some people might find this annoying, but others will enjoy the way it keeps the eater on their toes.
The mint is definitely the star here, which could leave some diehard chocoholics disappointed. But if you're a mint chip fan who's okay with some level of variance, you owe it to yourself to give this flavor a shot.
5. Coffee
Of all the coffee-flavored ice cream available in most supermarkets' frozen food aisles, Haagen-Dazs' is one of the most dependably delicious. Getting this flavor right is all about balance: The warm, roasted, and intriguingly bitter taste of freshly-brewed coffee must be tempered by the rich sweetness of cream and sugar, but not to the point of losing its essential character. Plenty of other brands go too far, drowning coffee's darker notes in a saccharine deluge.
But Haagen-Dazs' isn't afraid of what makes coffee, well, coffee. This ice cream is as complex as the finest cup of java, rich with notes of smoke and chocolate. Its bitterness is treated as an asset, rather than something to hide, and it cuts deliciously through all the dairy and sugar. Texture-wise, this is also one of Haagen-Dazs' best flavors: Every spoonful is incredibly robust, rich, and dense. This is delectable on its own, but it also makes this flavor a great choice for sundaes or milkshakes. Chocolate syrup and maraschino cherries play especially well with this luscious ice cream.
4. Chocolate
Though chocolate is one of the most popular ice cream flavors in the world, many companies fail to capture its true deliciousness. Not so with Haagen-Dazs: Its chocolate ice cream is pretty much the zenith of what this quintessential frozen dessert can be. The brand accomplishes this by keeping things incredibly simple. Five ingredients go into each pint: cream, skim milk, cane sugar, cocoa, and egg yolks. This tried and true approach leads to incredible purity of flavor.
Rich, strong cocoa sings through each bite, both delicately sweet and intriguingly dark. There is no chalkiness or odd aftertaste, as is the case with so many lesser chocolate ice creams. Texturally, this treat is incredibly smooth and pleasantly heavy on the tongue. Aficionados who appreciate chocolate's darker side and those who prefer it with a spoonful of sugar will both be satisfied by its fine-tuned flavor. Haagen-Dazs' chocolate ice cream isn't just one of the company's best flavors — it's one of the best ice creams available in your standard supermarket.
3. Vanilla bean
It might seem silly to assert that vanilla ice cream is underappreciated. It's pretty much the go-to ice cream flavor, enjoyed in classic concoctions like hot fudge sundaes and ice cream sandwiches as well as on its own. Vanilla is so ubiquitous, in fact, that it's become a synonym for basic. And yet, this ubiquity means that vanilla gets watered down, literally and figuratively. Haagen-Dazs' vanilla bean ice cream is the solution to this problem.
This is vanilla with a capital V, bursting with complex flavor. Each bean-flecked spoonful contains notes of fruit, flowers, and even a suggestion of caramel, with an almost smoky edge. It's utterly divine when eaten on its own, but this multifaceted flavor also acts as a superb base for milkshakes and sundaes, as well as a fabulous accompaniment to fresh-out-of-the-oven baked goods. This is also one of Haagen-Dazs' smoothest flavors; it comes impressively close to the density and richness of frozen custard. Vanilla might mean basic when it's been put out by other brands, but Haagen-Dazs' vanilla bean is anything but.
2. Butter pecan
Many great desserts earn their fame through a careful balance of saltiness and sweetness. Haagen-Dazs' butter pecan ice cream is the epitome of this toothsome marriage of flavors. How good is it? As one Amazon reviewer put it in a review titled "Best butter pecan ice cream on the market," "Not one other brand comes close ... not one." This fabulous flavor consists of simply sweet ice cream and buttery roasted pecans. The ice cream base is among the brand's most sumptuous, full of mellow sweetness and the slightest hint of vanilla. Texture-wise, it's dense, smooth, and rich, melting luxuriously on the tongue.
But of course, the real stars here are the roasted pecans. While lesser butter brands reduce them to itty-bitty nibbles and flecks, Haagen-Dazs presents these formidable nuts in all their craggy glory. Their woodsily sweet flavor is brought to brilliant life by the roasting process, while the butter brings a flawless note of savory salt to the proceedings. Each individual pecan is bursting with texture, being neither too soft nor too crunchy, no matter where they've come to rest in the pint. They're also absolutely bursting with all the complex flavors of the entire pint. This adds up to an ice cream that is not merely good, or even great, but truly superb.
1. Dulce de leche
Haagen-Dazs' dulce de leche ice cream keeps things simple, with a caramel-flavored ice cream base striped with rich ribbons of pure dulce de leche. But within that apparent simplicity lies a world of rich, complex, and multilayered flavor. The contrast between the ice cream and the veins of dulce de leche is the first level of deliciousness, evident from the very first bite. Haagen-Dazs' ever-silky ice cream is a cool, smooth complement to the decadent rivers of caramelized goodness; the former keeps the latter from overwhelming the palate with sticky sweetness, while the latter gives the former a lavishly rich, candy-esque edge.
Then there's the multifaceted nature of dulce de leche itself. Haagen-Dazs doesn't settle for bland, flat caramel flavor, here — it showcases dulce de leche in its finest form, allowing its notes of mellow milkiness, faint smokiness, and deep sweetness to come to the fore. What results isn't just the finest dulce de leche ice cream on the market — it's one of the best ice creams you can buy, period.