We Ranked 23 Kinds of Aldi Ice Cream

There’s a lot of Aldi ice cream. A lot. And there’s even more now than when we conducted this taste test. I tried 23 different Aldi ice cream varieties and I didn’t even touch the ice cream bars or cones or sandwiches. At first I was excited—it certainly seemed like it was going to be a better lunch than usual. But around pint number 11 I started to question my career path. 

But I emerged from this taste test a better person. Well, maybe not a better person, but a person who now knows for sure what to buy when it comes to Aldi’s ice cream selection. It’s good to be well-informed. Some people can recite Dante’s Inferno from memory, others can explain our legislative system, and I can tell you which pint of Aldi’s ice cream to buy and which to skip. 

Please, allow me to share my hard gotten knowledge with you. Here’s all the Aldi’s ice cream flavors ranked from icky cream to icy dream. 

Caramel Cookie

Sundae Shoppe Gelato Caramel Cookie Crunch

You can just go ahead and skip all the Sundae Shoppe gelatos. They look incredible. They look like fully plated desserts complete with drizzled sauce and swirled whipped cream. You won’t hear me complain about the aesthetics. But the ice cream is weirdly fluffy—it tastes more like something you’d put on ice cream than actual ice cream. And this one was oddly tangy and astringent—not what I typically think caramel should taste like.

Credit: Merc

Rating:

2/10

Sporks

Cookie Dough

Sundae Shoppe Cookie Dough

The base of this cookie dough ice cream is pretty flavorless and the dough balls are hard and bland. We have tasted much better cookie dough ice cream at Sporked.

Credit: Merc

Rating:

3/10

Sporks

Birthday Cake

Sundae Shoppe Gelato Birthday Cake

Another Sundae Shoppe gelato that looks lovely—complete with sprinkles and blue goo—but falls flat on flavor. If you want sweet fluff, I guess you’ll enjoy it. Would a kid love this? Probably. But, as a grown-up, I want more than just sugar.

Credit: Merc

Rating:

3.5/10

Sporks

Keto Cookie Dough

Sundae Shoppe Keto Ice Cream Cookie Dough

I tried two types of Aldi keto ice cream and this was the less impressive option. That said, the cookie dough is actually better than the cookie dough in the non-keto ice cream. But the ice cream itself is just strange. The flavor evaporates from your tongue and there’s no creaminess. If you’ve been eating keto for a while, you’ll probably like this keto ice cream from Aldi. But if you’re just looking to make the jump, there’s a better Aldi keto ice cream on this list.

Credit: Merc

Rating:

4/10

Sporks

Mocha Cookie Crumble

Sundae Shoppe Gelato Mocha Cookie Crumble

This was the best Sundae Shoppe gelato we tried but I wouldn’t go farther than saying it’s strictly fine. The coffee ice cream is decent. The cookie crumbles are soft and a little salty, which is nice. But the whole thing is just so soft and airy in a way that ice cream should not be.

Credit: Merc

Rating:

4/10

Sporks

Chocolate

Sundae Shoppe Chocolate

This chocolate ice cream doesn’t have enough sugar. It tastes like cocoa powder and that’s about it. And it isn’t creamy enough. It’s just a bit of a let down. Don’t worry, my little cocoa cuckoos, there’s better Aldi chocolate ice cream coming up.

Credit: Merc

Rating:

4.5/10

Sporks

Keto Mint Choco Chip

Sundae Shoppe Keto Ice Cream Mint Chocolate Chip

The chocolate chips are pleasantly bitter. The ice cream itself is creamy. It definitely doesn’t have a lot of sugar, but that’s to be expected since it’s keto. The mint flavor is forgettable. But if you’re keto and you’re used to eating keto, this Aldi keto ice cream will satisfy a mint chocolate chip ice cream craving. But if you’re not keto, skip it.

Credit: Merc

Rating:

5/10

Sporks

Sea Salt Caramel Lite

Sundae Shoppe Sea Salt Caramel Lite

According to the packaging, this Aldi ice cream has 65% less fat and 31% less calories than the “leading ice cream brands,” but it also has 65% less flavor. It’s very creamy but that’s it. There’s no sea salt. There’s no caramel. It’s just “light.” So, if you’re looking for something that tastes like a robot’s idea of ice cream on a diet, go for it.

Credit: Merc

Rating:

5.5/10

Sporks

Strawberry

Sundae Shoppe Strawberry

I wish there were more pops of bright strawberry flavor in this strawberry ice cream. It’s a bit bland. But it’s the only strawberry Aldi ice cream I found and if that’s what you need, this is totally unoffensive. Maybe consider topping it with some finely chopped strawberries for more fruity flavor.

Credit: Merc

Rating:

5.5/10

Sporks

Mint Chocolate Chip

Sundae Shoppe Mint Chocolate Chip

While the keto mint chocolate chip wasn’t very minty at all, this one is EXTREMELY minty. It’s so minty that the chocolate, which is a touch bland, gets lost in the mix. If they replaced the chocolate in this ice cream with the chocolate from the keto mint chip, they’d really have something.

Credit: Merc

Rating:

6/10

Sporks

Premium Chocolate

Specially Selected Chocolate

This is the best plain chocolate ice cream at Aldi. It has a great, creamy texture, and nice cocoa flavor. It’s a solid chocolate ice cream, it would be particularly good as a base for a chocolate ice cream sundae with toppings like caramel sauce.

Credit: Merc

Rating:

6.5/10

Sporks

Chocolate Fudge

Sundae Shoppe Make Fudge Not War!

This is one of Aldi’s Ben & Jerry dupes—note the cutesy name. It is seriously fudgy. It’s packed with little bits of gooey brownie batter and the ice cream itself is a very dark, cocoa-rich chocolate. The finish almost has something carob-y about it, though, which is why it’s not higher on this list.

Credit: Merc

Rating:

6.5/10

Sporks

Vanilla Bean

Sundae Shoppe Vanilla Bean

You have a couple of good options when it comes to Aldi vanilla ice cream. If you’re looking for birthday party vanilla ice cream—the fluffy stuff that’s easy to scoop and great on cake—then this is the best Aldi vanilla ice cream for you. It has a shockingly good vanilla bean flavor on top of that nostalgic texture. Grab a big tub for your next party. 

Credit: Merc

Rating:

7/10

Sporks

Brookie Dough

Sundae Shoppe Brookie Dough

The brownie in this Aldi ice cream is dark and chewy and really tastes like a fresh brownie. The base chocolate ice cream is not too sweet—a perfect base for the mix-ins. Alas, the cookie dough is crumbly and bland. But it’s still worth a try, just for the brownie bits.

Credit: Merc

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Butter Pecan

Sundae Shoppe Butter Pecan

The pecans in this butter pecan ice cream are great—crunchy but not too hard. The base ice cream is nice and creamy but those nuts are the star. If you’re a nut for nuts, this is the best Aldi ice cream by a mile.

Credit: Merc

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Vanilla Chocolate Almond

Specially Selected Vanilla Chocolate Almond

I love that the little bits of almonds are fully covered in chocolate—they aren’t just crushed up chocolate covered almonds. And I love that there are lots of them. If you’re gonna have mix-ins, you need to have lots of mix-ins. If your usual pint is Ben & Jerry’s because you are a mix-in freak, this is a great Aldi ice cream pick for you.

Credit: Merc

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Cookies & Cream

Sundae Shoppe Cookies & Cream

This Aldi ice cream really does taste like Oreos! The base ice cream tastes like “stuf” and the little cookie bits taste like the Oreo chocolate wafers. It’s an extremely impressive feat. It’s soft and scoopable birthday party ice cream at its best.  

Credit: Merc

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Moose Tracks

Sundae Shoppe Moose Tracks

When it comes to ice cream, I pick the one with peanut butter every time. And this blend of vanilla ice cream, fudge swirls, and mini peanut butter cups checks that box. The little PB cups are, as I so professionally wrote in my tasting notes, “yummy yummy.” And the fudge swirl makes it taste like an ice cream sundae in a pint.

Credit: Merc

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Premium Vanilla

Specially Selected Super Premium Vanilla

For me, this is the best Aldi vanilla ice cream. It’s thick and dense and luxurious. And there’s a lot of deep, rich vanilla bean flavor. This is decadent vanilla ice cream that can stand alone—no toppings needed. For vanilla purists, this is the best Aldi ice cream. 

Credit: Merc

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Cherry Chocolate

Sundae Shoppe Thank You Cherry Much!

Aldi’s Cherry Garcia dupe is almost as good as Ben & Jerry’s signature cherry ice cream (and it’s cheaper). It has a dark cherry flavor and crunchy little bits of chocolate. It’s not quite as creamy as I would like—it leans slightly icy—but the cherry bits are so good they almost make up for it.

Credit: Merc

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Strawberry Cheesecake

Specially Selected Strawberry Cheesecake

I cannot believe how good this cheesecake ice cream is. The base ice cream tastes like tangy cheesecake. The strawberry is fruity without being cloying. And the swirl of graham cracker crust? Inspired. It adds crunch and sweetness and really puts this Aldi ice cream over the top. Some food scientist somewhere really put a lot of love into this pint.

Credit: Merc

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Chocolate Peanut Butter

Specially Selected Chocolate Peanut Butter

The chocolate ice cream base is balanced between bitter chocolate and sweetness—it tastes like real cocoa. But the peanut butter ribbon is awesome. It’s thick and tastes like real JIF or Skippy, depending on your upbringing. It’s also soft enough that the peanut butter doesn’t separate from the ice cream when you try to take a spoonful like some other chocolate-peanut butter ice creams.

Credit: Merc

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

Specially Selected Dulce de Leche

This over-the-top ice cream is the absolute best Aldi ice cream we tasted. Yes, there’s a swirl of caramel but the ice cream is also caramel! It has that cooked sugar flavor that lasts and lasts. It is downright decadent (I censored myself there—I didn’t write “downright” in my notes). One spoonful will totally satisfy you, but you’ll probably end up finishing the pint.

Credit: Merc

Rating:

10/10

Sporks