Brian Nagele
As we set out on a delicious voyage across the world of chocolate ice cream, indulge your sweet craving. Certain brands take the field of frozen treats to a whole new level of perfectly cocoa-infused perfection. These chocolate ice cream companies are the finest of the best when it comes to frozen sweets, with their rich, complex flavors and velvety textures. Whether you prefer bold, inventive blends or the ageless classics, our investigation reveals the best options that turn a straightforward scoop into an exhilarating journey. As we reveal the alluring world of the greatest chocolate ice cream brands, where every bite is a celebration of seductive decadence, get ready to relish every moment.
Tillamook Chocolate Ice Cream
A longstanding Oregonian dairy farm and purveyor, Tillamook has been a trusted brand for cheese, butter, yogurt, and ice cream for over a century. They continue to uphold their high standards for the freshest dairy by partnering with local dairy farmers to create their ever-expanding line of ice creams.Tillamook Chocolate Ice Cream is a simple blend of milk, cream, egg yolks, and cocoa that results in a rich and decadent classic ice cream flavor. This creamy, milk chocolate ice cream has a rich and creamy mouthfeel and a gentle, sweet chocolate flavor. It needs no embellishment in my opinion.
Haagen-Dazs Chocolate Ice Cream
Despite its Danish-sounding name, founders Reuben and Rose Mattus conjured up the name for their Bronx, New York-based ice cream brand in an attempt to exoticize their product. False advertisement aside, Haagen-Dazs remains one of the most luxurious and high-quality ice cream brands in the world. Whether you frequent their thousands of shops or regularly grab a pint from your local grocers, Haagen-Dazs Chocolate Ice Cream is among their top sellers. Their chocolate ice cream is a five-ingredient recipe that’s stood the test of time. I think the use of real cane sugar with the cocoa powder is what sets this ice cream a cut above the rest.
Breyer’s Chocolate Ice Cream
One of the oldest continually operating ice cream producers, Breyer’s got its start the year after the Civil War ended. Founder William A. Breyer sold hand-cranked ice cream in his native Philadelphia, using a few fine ingredients. The same simple yet high-quality recipes characterize Breyer’s ice cream over 150 years later. Breyer’s Chocolate Ice Cream uses the finest quality dairy sourced from Grade A, hormone-free milk and cream to blend with dutched cocoa. Dutched cocoa is cocoa powder that’s undergone a process to remove cocoa butter, instilling a more delicate chocolate flavor than natural cocoa. Breyer’s Chocolate ice cream is a fan favorite, almost outselling vanilla.
Edy’s Classic Chocolate Ice Cream
If you’ve never seen Edy’s at your local grocery store, you might know it by its alternative name, Dreyer’s. Edy’s and Dreyer’s is an iconic collaboration between candymaker Joseph Edy and ice cream giant William Dreyer who partnered in 1928. The two single-handedly created Rocky Road ice cream, which is now one of America’s favorite flavors. Edy’s Classic Chocolate Ice Cream is one of the original 1920s recipes, blending whole and skim milk with cream, sugar, and dutched cocoa. It is this same recipe that is the base for their famous Rocky Road. I love to sprinkle crushed nuts and shredded coconut over a scoop of Edy’s chocolate ice cream.
Jeni’s Darkest Chocolate Ice Cream
Dark chocolate lovers rejoice! Jeni’s Darkest Chocolate Ice Cream is the height of modern and gourmet culinary craft. From James Beard Award winner Jenni Britton, Jeni’s Ice Cream offers flavors and ice cream-making methods you won’t find anywhere else. Jeni’s Darkest Chocolate Ice Cream is one of their top-selling ice creams, containing the highest ratio of cocoa powder of any ice cream on my list. The texture is as dense and rich as truffle filling. The extra chocolate gives it a bitter chocolate finish that you experience with dark chocolate bars. This ice cream is so intense, you only need a small scoop to savor lick by lick.
Blue Bell Dutch Chocolate
Blue Bell originated as a butter creamery in Brenham, Texas that a team of businessmen created to make use of extra milk from the surrounding dairy farms. When the company decided to change course in the 1950s to sell ice cream, butter became a product of the past. Blue Bell gets its name from a famous Texas wildflower and is the most popular brand in Texas. Blue Bell Dutch Chocolate uses imported chocolate to elaborate their proprietary blend of milk, cream, and sugar. Dutch Chocolate has a distinct flavor that is decadent and luxurious. If you’re in one of the select 20 states outside of Texas that carry Blue Bell in the frozen section of the grocery store, I highly recommend giving it a try.
Trader Joe’s Ultra Chocolate
Trader Joe’s is a fashionable grocery chain offering high-quality products from a proprietary brand using whole ingredients and unique recipes for an affordable price. Trader Joe’s makes everything from frozen meals to pickled vegetables, neatly packaged into ready-to-eat portions. Trader Joe’s Ultra Chocolate ice cream is the creamiest, thickest chocolate ice cream I’ve tried. It’s also one of the sweetest as there’s sugar in the recipe along with sugared egg yolks. To offset the sweetness, I like to use this ultra chocolate ice cream with a shot of espresso. If you don’t have an espresso machine, sprinkling ground espresso beans would be equally delicious.
Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Ice Cream
A quirky and whimsical Vermont creamery, Ben & Jerry’s is famous for its over-the-top pints that blend a barrage of ingredients. While their most popular pints contain dozens of nuts, sprinkles, fruit, candy, cookies, and batter, they still honor the classics. Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Ice Cream uses fair trade cocoa to create a luscious pint of ice cream you can feel good about buying. It may be a more expensive product, but the quality is worth the expense. The super chocolatey flavor has a nice balance of sweetness and creaminess. I think the smoothness of the ice cream comes from using simple syrup instead of granulated sugar alone.
Blue Bunny Chocolate Ice Cream
Founded by the Wells family in 1913, Blue Bunny was originally a raw milk delivery service. When the family decided to sell ice cream around 40 years later, they put up a 25$ prize for a city-wide competition to come up with a name for the brand. Blue Bunny was the winning name and has been a staple household product ever since. Blue Bunny Chocolate Ice Cream is a budget-friendly brand that still manages to be one of America’s favorite flavors. It uses natural flavors and high-quality dairy for a fluffy and light texture that bursts with chocolate flavor.
Halo Top Chocolate Pint
If you’re on a diet, you can still indulge thanks to Halo Top’s low-calorie, high-protein line of ice creams. The owners at Halo Top set out to create a healthy version of ice cream that doesn’t sacrifice flavor or texture. It’s uncanny how delicious a pint of Halo Top ice cream is, and at a mere 230-310 calories per pint, you can enjoy a few scoops guilt-free. Halo Top Chocolate Pint has 300 calories and 18 grams of protein per pint, thanks to its blend of skim and ultrafiltered skim milk with cocoa, low sugar, and stevia. Its high protein content makes this ice cream especially filling and satisfying.