Food & Drink

I Ranked 14 Ice Creams From Aldi From Worst to Best-and the Winner Won by a Landslide

By Kenn C. Bivins Parade - Food and Drink Stories

Updated June 6, 2026 5:28 AM

It's officially ice cream season (at least formally), and that means it's time to stock your freezer with all the sweet treats you can find. Whether you like yours in a waffle cone or bowl, or you just enjoy it by the spoonful straight from the carton, everyone's got a favorite flavor, and you probably don't usually deviate from your tried and true.

Fudge ripple, turtle, cookies and cream-the list is virtually endless. But if you're feeling a little more adventurous this season, you might find yourself wandering into Aldi's frozen treat section trying to find a new favorite. Once you're there, though, trying to sift through all the options and suss out which ones are worth the spend can be a bit overwhelming given just how many flavors the retailer keeps in stock. You could stick with your favorite brand or try one of Aldi's private-label brands, but are they really any good?

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To answer these questions for the ice cream curious, I tried all the Aldi ice cream flavors I could find and ranked them from worst to best. Spoiler alert: you should definitely give Aldi's ice cream a try.

Read on for more ice cream hot takes and to find out which Aldi ice cream took home the No. 1 spot in our taste test.

What Is Aldi's Brand of Ice Cream?

If you didn't already know, over 90 percent of the brands Aldi stocks are actually its own private label. That means if you've ever grabbed something and been super impressed by the quality, Aldi probably made it. Sure, you might find Ben & Jerry's or Blue Bell ice cream occasionally, but for the most part, you can expect to see Sundae Shoppe or Specially Selected ice creams in the low-priced retailers' frozen treat section. You might also still see Belmont lingering around, which is a classic Aldi brand that's being rebranded as part of Aldi's major packaging refresh that was announced last September.

How Does Aldi's Ice Cream Compare to Halo Top?

Although I didn't find it on my trip to Aldi, the budget-friendly retailer often stocks a high-protein, low-fat ice cream variety that could be considered an alternative to Halo Top. Usually, it comes in vanilla bean, chocolate and mint chip flavors, packing in a whopping 20 grams of protein per pint. Comparatively, the flavors I tried for the most part were full-fat ice creams with considerably less protein per scoop.

That being said, depending on the stock at your local store, you might luck up and find Protein Pints Chocolate and Cookie Dough flavors chilling in the freezer section. Each pint clocks in at a whopping 30 grams of protein.

How I Tested These Ice Creams

Like most people, I take my ice cream very seriously, so I went into this taste test with some pretty strong opinions about what actually makes an ice cream good. For me, consistency is probably the most important marker of a great ice cream because it sets the stage for everything else. After that is flavor, which determines whether or not I'd reach for it again anyway. To get the truest read of both, I opted to include a variety of treats in Aldi's frozen section, from gelato and sorbet to ice cream bars and sandwiches.

After gathering all of the candidates, I enlisted the help of my incredibly decisive partner to taste through them with me and rank each one based on how truly enjoyable we thought they were. Surprisingly, although there were some that didn't meet the mark, trying to pick a clear favorite was actually more difficult than I thought because Aldi's got some pretty heavy hitters. Here is my honest review of each one we tried.

14 Aldi Ice Creams Ranked from Worst To Best

Aldi has some truly great ice cream offerings. See which ones I loved-and which ones I'd skip-below.

14. Sundae Shoppe Pineapple Sorbet

Honestly, I had pretty high hopes for this one because I typically love pineapple anything, but I'd probably skip this one next time. Flavor-wise, it was OK, but as my partner pointed out, it tasted more like mango than pineapple. It was also much icier than I expected, which made it less enjoyable than some of the other sorbets we tried. Out of 10, I'd give this one a score of 3.5.

13. Sundae Shoppe Original Moose Tracks Ice Cream

As much as I've loved Moose Tracks in the past, I was also really excited about this one, but it ended up being kind of a letdown. The ice cream had a slightly grainy quality to it that was hard to get over, and it didn't really wow me flavor-wise. I'd say this one was pretty unremarkable.

12. Sundae Shoppe Lemon Blueberry Sorbet

You know how sometimes lemon-flavored things can kind of taste like cleaning products? Yeah, we're inching into lemon Pledge territory here. It wasn't necessarily bad, but the lemon flavor was intense and artificial tasting, which kind of dwarfed any trace of blueberry flavor. It was definitely a great palette cleanser in between some of the richer flavors we tried, but this one isn't something I'd reach for again.

11. Sundae Shoppe Chocolate Crunch Bars

My partner was super hyped about these because they were so close to the chocolate eclair dessert bars he used to get as a kid. Unfortunately, despite "crunch" being in the name, these were severely lacking in the texture department. They really weren't crunchy at all (which could have been a one-off), but the actual chocolate bar didn't impress me either. Although it wasn't a hit for me, my partner seemed to at least moderately enjoy them, so that's a win.

10. Sundae Shoppe Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream

I generally love cookie dough ice cream (mostly for the cookie chunks), but this one was just OK to me. My partner doesn't really like ice cream with mix-ins anyway, so I figured this one wouldn't rank high for him, but it really wasn't impressive. While the cookie dough pieces were great, the ice cream itself seemed like kind of an afterthought flavor-wise. It wasn't bad, and I'd maybe grab it if that's all they had, but honestly, it wasn't my favorite.

9. Sundae Shoppe Caramel Cookie Crunch Gelato

To be honest, I was pretty psyched to try this one solely off of how it looked, and although it didn't end up being the best flavor we tried, I'd at least grab it again. It was super light and creamy, and the caramel and chocolate cookies added a nice depth of flavor to the otherwise simple vanilla base. That being said, the cookies weren't crunchy at all and the caramel kind of got lost. This one was a solid 6.5.

8. Specially Selected Super Premium Vanilla Ice Cream

Vanilla ice cream is one of those flavors that's so simple, it either turns out transcendent or ends up tasting like artificially flavored milk froth. Its simplicity is what makes it difficult to master flavor-wise, but I had high hopes for this one from Aldi. I will admit that the promise of super premium vanilla ice cream was intriguing, but in the end, this one was pretty, well, vanilla.

For whatever reason, I was expecting it to have flecks of vanilla bean running throughout, but it was more like a French vanilla instead. It was also denser than the other ice creams we tried, which made it almost impossible to scoop without leaving it out for more than 10 minutes. If I'm being honest, there are better vanilla ice creams out there. That being said, my partner and I did have it again as a topper for a cherry plum clafoutis I made, and it actually tasted much better that way.

7. Sundae Shoppe Birthday Cake Gelato

Birthday cake is one of those flavors you either love or hate, and if you're always first in line to get a slice, then you'll absolutely devour this gelato. It quite literally tasted like birthday cake, frosting and all, in the most nostalgic way possible, which was pleasantly surprising to be honest. It was also super creamy, which made it even more enjoyable to eat. My partner really enjoyed this one, but personally, I found it to be a bit overwhelming. To me, it tasted like when you get a supermarket birthday cake and you can only tolerate eating one slice.

6. Sundae Shoppe Mocha Cookie Crumble Gelato

Whether or not I have a slight caffeine addiction is besides the point, but I knew this one would be a tough contender based on the name alone, and I'm happy to say it delivered. Both my partner and I really enjoyed the depth of flavor this one had, and the consistency was perfect. You could really taste the coffee as well as the chocolate, and the cookies mixed in added a surprising bite that made this one even more interesting. It would be perfect as an affogato or blended into a milkshake.

5. Sundae Shoppe Strawberry Ice Cream

To be honest, I've never really been a strawberry ice cream person, but I can understand the appeal. For me, it's never been amazing in a way that makes me want more of it, and this one kind of fits in the same lane to me. It wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination, but it didn't wow me. It tasted like strawberry shortcake, which I liked, but overall it wasn't mindblowing. Maybe if it had cake pieces mixed into it or was dressed up with balsamic glaze, it would've been a bit more interesting.

4. Sundae Shoppe Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

My love of cookies and cream runs deep, so it was no surprise when this one ended up ranking higher on the list. It's quite literally the most textbook example of cookies and cream ice cream I've ever had. The ratio of cookies to ice cream is near perfect, and the consistency made it almost impossible to stop eating. Even the flavor of the ice cream was spot on. It tasted like the best of an Oreo cookie, and yes, I had a double scoop.

3. Sundae Shoppe Strawberry Lemonade Sorbet

Trying to round out the top three was more difficult than I thought it would be, which is a testament to just how good Aldi's frozen dessert section actually is. And while I was pretty unimpressed with some of the other sorbets we tried, this Strawberry Lemonade flavor has earned a permanent spot in my freezer.

Unlike the Pineapple Sorbet, this one was smooth and creamy, which made it almost melt in your mouth. It also tasted exactly like biting into a fresh strawberry, perfectly juxtaposed with the tart ribbon of lemon curd running through it. Even my partner, who isn't big on sorbet, loved this one, and that's saying a lot.

2. Sundae Shoppe Sea Salt Caramel Light Ice Cream

Despite this being the very first ice cream we tried, it stood out as a favorite among everything we tasted. Admittedly, I was a little skeptical it would be enjoyable because it's a light ice cream, but I'm happy to say I was completely wrong. Without looking at the label, you'd probably never guess that this would be considered a lighter ice cream based on the rich velvety consistency and mouthfeel. It eats like a full-fat ice cream, and the salted caramel flavor is perfect. The only thing that would make this one better would be an extra flourish of flaky salt on top, but otherwise, no notes. Still, my No. 1 pick edged this one out ever so slightly.

1. Sundae Shoppe Stroopwafel Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwiches

Coming in at No. 1 is the Sundae Shoppe Stroopwafel Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwich. Honestly, it's hard to put this one into words. Truly, it knocked my socks off. Even my partner, who doesn't usually love ice cream sandwiches, really liked this one. It has smooth vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two perfectly soft caramel stroopwafels-in a word, it was perfection. Not only is it insanely delicious, but it's the perfect size. While I loved it in the ice cream sandwich format, both my partner and I felt like it would also be great turned into a full pint of ice cream. We'll be keeping the freezer stocked with this one for sure.

Final Takeaways

Although it isn't a surprise at all, Aldi's ice cream section is definitely worth taking a look through on your next trip. From sorbet to ice cream sandwiches, Aldi's got something for whatever you're craving, and it doesn't hurt that the prices are pretty great too. With ice cream season heating up, now's the perfect time to treat yourself. Just make sure to save a scoop or two for us!

This story was originally published June 6, 2026 at 4:11 AM.