America's Best Fudge Pops Slideshow
These ice cream bars are touted as "the good-for-you ice cream," with only 70 calories and 2 grams of fat per bar, but nearly everything about them was off-putting to our panelists, who unanimously ranked them last. "It has the texture of space food," said one tester; "chalk-olate," said another. All agreed that there wasn't much in the way of taste (the monk fruit-based sweetener might have something to do with that), and that it was dry and had an off-putting texture.
Price: $6.49
4) Whole Foods
The flavor resembled hot chocolate or chocolate pudding, but the texture was a bit icy and the liquid it melted into was more watery than creamy. "It tastes like a put a cup of Swiss Miss into the freezer," said one panelist.
Price: $3.79
3) Fudgsicle
The original, this classic fell squarely in the middle of the pack. "Malty, not too fudgy, and not too sweet," said one panelist. "It tastes like frozen chocolate milk," said another, but most agreed that it was more icy and watery than creamy, and it had an "odd" after-taste. There was certainly something "classic" about the flavor, though.
Price: $4.79
2) Weight Watchers
Both the flavor and texture of this lower-calorie bar were almost universally praised, and it was light and airy without being chalky, with a classic chocolate flavor. "It tastes like chocolate ice cream, which is cool," said one panelist, and others agreed that it was very fudgy, with a pudding-like consistency as it melted. One even went as far as to deem it "what a Fudgsicle should be." With only 45 calories per bar, they're a much better, if more expensive, choice than Enlightened.
Price: $8.49
1) Tofutti
In a major upset, our panelists preferred the bar that had no dairy in it whatsoever. The richer chocolate flavor was overwhelmingly liked, and a few panelists noted that it tasted like a great brownie. It held its shape well, had a fudgy (if not very creamy) consistency, and had our tasters returning for more. It might be surprising, but Tofutti's chocolate fudge bar, with only 30 calories, no fat, and NutraSweet, was a clear winner.
Price: $5.09