I Tried 10 Exciting New Ice Creams & the Winner Was a Sweet Nostalgic Throwback

The grocery store ice cream aisle is a wondrous place. In it, you'll find every color of the rainbow displayed in perfect order and every sweet or fruity ingredient you can think of making a guest appearance.

It's no wonder you often find yourself standing in front of the freezer for a while, starstruck by the selection and silently mulling over your choices. Should you stick with your comforting go-to? Or, maybe branch out into something a little more adventurous, jam-packed with nuts, cookies, brownies, or the like? It's a struggle. And, we hate to tell you this but the decision is just getting harder and harder as new flavors continue to pop up in 2024.

All of your favorite brands from Ben & Jerry's to Blue Bunny and Jeni's have been at the drawing board since January, mixing up imaginative combinations and churning out brand-new products to delight and cool us off this year. Summer is around the corner and I, an ice cream fiend, wanted to give a few of these creations a try. Let's dig into my assessment of 10 of the year's new ice cream flavors, ranked from my least to most favorite.

Breyers Star Spangled Scoops

Patriotism is trending early this year—months before the summer's red, white, and blue-filled holidays commence–thanks to the new Breyers Star Spangled Scoops ice cream. The twinkling tubs are packed with equal parts vanilla, strawberry, and blueberry flavors, much like an Americanized Neapolitan. I nabbed a 1.5-quart container of the frozen dairy dessert for $4.49 at my local Giant Eagle market.

The look: As advertised, but the vanilla is even more blindingly white and the blueberry is even more artificial-looking in person. Meanwhile, the strawberry portion comes in a somewhat standard peachy pink shade with real berry chunks sprinkled in.

The taste: Strawberry is the only flavor with any personality. But it's the kind of personality that's a bit fake and not agreeable due to the treat's gummy texture and chewy bits. On the opposite side of the tub, the blueberry ice cream has a faint likeness to its fruity inspiration that you have to dig deep to detect. The flavor of vanilla is also nearly nonexistent, especially when paired with the others in one big striped scoop. All this, coupled with the fact that the entire container is more icy than creamy, quickly sent Breyers' new mashup to the bottom of the ranks. I think it's safe to say I'll be looking for an alternative sweet treat when Memorial Day and Fourth of July roll around this year.

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Alec's Salted Dark Chocolate

The Alec's brand has been a busy bee this year, more than doubling its previous product inventory with the introduction of nine–yes, nine!–new adventurous flavors. These include Meyer Lemon Cookie, Triple Chocolate Blackout Cookie, Palm Springs Banana Chocolate Date Shake, Nutty Butter Brittle, Groundwork Toffee 'N' Coffee, Maple Cardamom Candied Pecan, Salted Dark Chocolate, Sea Salt Caramel, and Strawberry Oat Crumble. In true Alec's style, all are made using only regenerative organic ingredients and A2/A2 dairy for better digestion. I was able to score a pint of the Salted Dark Chocolate at a nearby Whole Foods priced at $8.39.

The look: Smooth in one uniform shade, landing somewhere between light brown and caramel.

The taste: When it comes to ice cream, it's strange to see the word "salted" outside of the context of caramel—and the strangeness carries over into this creation's flavor. It's pleasant at first, but as it dissipates on your tongue it starts to taste bitter, sour, and, in my opinion, not at all salty. It's an unusual sensation and one which made me furrow my brow in confusion. For dark chocolate superfans, this pint may just be a hit. For more traditional chocolate lovers like me, though, it's not something I would grab again.

Jeni's Super Moon

In light of this year's total solar eclipse, Jeni's launched a limited-time Punk Stargonaut collection featuring three brand-new flavors and one returning favorite. The three newbies included the creatively named Nebula Berry, Cosmic Bloom, and Purple Star Born, and the re-released shining star is known as Super Moon. Following the awe-inspiring phenomenon, I was worried I wouldn't be able to find these intergalactic pints still hanging around–even here in Jeni's hometown of Columbus, Ohio. In the end, I was able to score a straggling Super Moon for the astronomical price of $9.29.

The look: An even swirl of baby blue and pale yellow ice cream. No extraterrestrial beings or star-shaped add-ins disrupt the Super Moon's lustrous surface.

The taste: Jeni's says this flavor "tastes like candied violet and marshmallows. Almost like cereal milk!" I concur…kind of. It does remind me of cereal milk. But, more like if you dropped just one single blue Lucky Charm marshmallow into the bowl and let it sit. There are extremely subtle hints of vanilla throughout, otherwise, it's rather lusterless and nothing out of this world. Perhaps the other three flavors offer more in terms of celestial bliss.

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Blue Bunny Twist Cookies & Cream

Blue Bunny took ice cream to the next level in 2023 when it released its lineup of store-bought soft serve. Just a year later, the brand has already one-upped itself with the invention of new Twist soft serve pints and cones–hopping onto our radar once again. For now, The Twist pints come in seven dual flavors including Blu's Birthday Cake, Candy Bar, Cherry Chocolate, Chocolate Vanilla, Mint Chocolate, Strawberries & Cream, and Cookies & Cream. I selected a pint of the latter for $5.49.

The look: White ice cream speckled with brown cookie bits and chocolate ice cream lined with chocolate fudge, both spun into a perfect spiral. I have to admit I was quite impressed with this presentation and would love to watch one of those "Unwrapped" episodes of how it's made.

The taste: Fluffy as a cloud–even straight out of the freezer–but overpowered by chocolate sauce. In my first couple of bites, that's all I could taste. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, I was just hoping for more balance and diversity in flavor. Plus, even when the cookies and cream portion is isolated it still doesn't give off that chocolate sandwich cookie essence. That being said, I did still find it tasty and it's so dangerously light with its almost whipped consistency that I could easily guzzle down the entire pint in the blink of an eye.

Tillamook Chocolate Collection Brownie Batter

The Oregon-based dairy brand Tillamook has been slowly making its way into all corners of the country. I've certainly noticed its growing presence in grocery stores around Ohio and we've even been blessed with its new decadent Chocolate Collection, launched this February. According to Tillamook, this new line is made with 45% more cocoa than the brand's original chocolate and includes flavors of German Chocolate Cake, Brownie Batter, Dark Chocolate Cookies & Cream, and Chocolate Hazelnut. After much internal debate, I ended up with a $6.99 1.5-quart tub of the Brownie Batter iteration in my cart.

The look: Similar to Alec's Salted Dark Chocolate pint, but in a warmer, less yellow shade of brown. Though none are visible from the top, the container does let you know that brownie dough pieces are mixed throughout.

The taste: I can't say that I've tried Tillamook's OG take on chocolate. However, compared to the assemblage of other chocolate ice creams I have tasted in my lifetime, this one doesn't seem to be monumentally more chocolatey or blasted with cocoa as the brand would lead you to believe. It's rich and unquestionably creamy, just nothing over the top. The brownie bits, on the other hand, certainly are. They taste like they could have come from a freshly mixed batch of batter ready to be folded into a pan and slipped into the oven. The only problem is there isn't nearly enough of them to go around.

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Breyers Pistachio Almond

Not everything has been red, white, and blue at Breyers this year. The brand has also gone green with the launch of Pistachio Almond. The double nutty flavor is said to be the "perfect combination of fresh cream, rich pistachio flavor and roasted almonds for a delicious treat you can share with friends and loved ones," according to Breyers. A 1.5-quart container of the ice cream cost me $4.99.

The look: An aesthetically pleasing shade of minty green with almond slivers lodged into nearly every crevice.

The taste: Smooth and refreshing. The green ice cream is rich with a clear nutty flavor that doesn't taste like it was cooked up in a lab. Plentiful and cut into perfectly thin slices, the almonds provide a soft crunch and break up the monotony of the rest. It's a quality bowl full of pistachio ice cream if I've ever had one and a layer I would be happy to see nestled into a pastel-colored spumoni.

Ben & Jerry's Impretzively Fudged

Wacky flavor combinations are Ben & Jerry's forte. And, the brand has been at it again in 2024, unveiling new ingredient pairings the world has never seen before. One such innovation that just hit shelves at the start of the year is the Impretzively Fudged pint. It is described as "Chocolate ice cream with fudge-covered pretzel pieces & pretzel swirls" and rings up for $5.99.

The look: A deep shade of brown, almost like dark chocolate. An abundance of chocolate-covered pretzel chunks and tan-colored ripples are also packed tightly into the container.

The taste: I was apprehensive about this one because I've had ice cream with pretzels in the past where the crispy texture of the sticks or pieces becomes compromised by the surrounding substance. But Ben & Jerry's was thinking one step ahead, and thanks to the pretzels' fudge coating they maintain their shape and crunch inside this frozen treat. The fudge all on its own is also delectable with a melt-in-your-mouth character. Then, the pretzel "swirls" are their own kind of tasty. The best I can describe them is like a deconstructed pretzel, available in nearly every bite and delivering an extra touch of saltiness to the mix.

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Ben & Jerry's PB S'more

Along with Impretzively Fudged, Ben & Jerry's also introduced consumers to a groundbreaking PB S'more flavor earlier this year. The pints include everything you love about the campfire treat including toasted marshmallow ice cream, graham cracker pieces, and marshmallow swirls. Then, it raises the stakes even higher with the addition of peanut butter cups. I found this blast of sweet and salty flavors at my neighborhood Kroger priced at $5.99–same as its previous pretzel-inspired pint.

The look: Lightly tan–not nearly as dark as the packaging displays–with pockets of white marshmallow fluff. Sizeable half peanut butter cups stick out like a sore thumb, as do graham cracker pockets.

The taste: The marriage of rich peanut butter and sugary marshmallow is a flavor revelation–and one I wish I had thought of sooner. It makes for the sweetest and most sumptuous base that just gets better and better with each spoonful. The soft graham cracker strips elevate the mix further with an almost buttery crust-like presence. On top of it all, the chocolate and peanut butter cups are quality in their own right. My only critique is that I wish they were broken up into smaller and more manageable pieces so you don't end up with an entire mouthful all at once.

Häagen-Dazs New York Strawberry Cheesecake

New flavors have also been taking over this year in the world of luxury ice cream. Two fresh flavors have emerged in the Häagen-Dazs lineup including New York Strawberry Cheesecake and Vanilla Caramel Pecan. As an avid cheesecake lover, I had to give the first a whirl. For the price of $5.99, the pint comes chock full of strawberry sauce atop cheesecake ice cream and soft spiced graham cracker crust pieces.

The look: White ice cream with consistent ribbons of pink strawberry puree. The graham cracker comes in all different shapes and sizes from tiny morsels all the way up to colossal masses that you have to dig out.

The taste: It really is like cheesecake, just bundled into a frozen dessert. The strawberry sauce isn't too jelly- or coulis-like as it sometimes can be in ice cream. Instead, it's mixed in well for a balanced fruity flavor that pairs phenomenally with the thick cheesecake base that is creamy and tangy without being tart. Despite being a bit dominant in some areas, the crust adds layers of buttery saltiness that break up the sweetness and round out the entire pint. This one was an immediate yes in my book.

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Jeni's Fluffernutter Pie

If you're familiar with the fluffernutter and grew up eating the iconic fusion of peanut butter and marshmallow fluff smothered in between two slices of bread, then you had to have been just as excited as I was to see this Jeni's Fluffernutter Pie ice cream surface earlier this year. I searched far and wide to get my hands on a frosty pint and finally found one on a trip back home to my parent's house—it's only fitting. The flavor takes a page out of the PB S'more playbook by combining roasted peanut butter and marshmallow ice creams. But instead of peanut butter cups and graham crackers, it features oat pie crust pieces, satisfying the "pie" part of the equation. A Jeni's pint once again cost me $9.29.

The look: Cream-colored with scattered divots of pie crust. As you dig in further, you can see the stripes of white marshmallow ice cream intermixed with the peanut butter.

The taste: At its core, it's sneakily similar to Ben and Jerry's PB S'more. But, it's somehow even creamier with a deliciously simplified peanut butter nature. Jumbo-sized add-ins don't detract from the overall experience. Instead, the crust chunks are more sparing but pop up frequently enough as a chewy and pleasant surprise. They almost remind me of a cinnamon sugar donut or something similar. Maybe it's the nostalgia factor that has me awe-struck. But, for me, this will certainly go down as one of the best new flavors of the year.