Chocolate ice cream is the king of the ice cream world. Seriously, crack open a 1.5 quart container of Neapolitan, toss it on the counter in the break room, and see which flavor goes first. (Confession: I actually like strawberry best, but I keep quiet since I’m generally not in the mood to have people tell me all the reasons I’m wrong.) Chocolate ice cream is good! People love it!
Basically, chocolate ice cream is a beloved dessert that should be creamy, have a distinct chocolatey taste, and you should also be able to eat a lot of it. Personally, I have a hard time finding a pint of chocolate ice cream I can go to town on like I can with other flavors. Terence Deutsch, Mythical’s director of production and post, joined us at Sporked HQ as we dug our spoons into a ton of tubs to find the best chocolate ice cream. He told us he’d like to be buried alive in chocolate ice cream so he can eat his way out, so, hey, you’re in good hands.
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- Straus Family Creamery Organic Dutch Chocolate Ice Cream
I’ve never been to the Netherlands, but sitting at home and googling what makes Dutch chocolate different from regular chocolate has to be the next best thing, right? What I learned: Dutch chocolate contains alkali to neutralize the cocoa’s acidity, giving it a smoother flavor. This ice cream actually elicited a “wow” upon first bite from guest taster, Terence. “This is very creamy, very light,” he said. “I’d say there’s a hot chocolate vibe to this as well.” For Sporked editor-in-chief Justine Sterling, it sparked a Proustian sense memory. She was Anton Ego and this was her plate of ratatouille. “I’m back at the county fair and a man gives me an ice cream cone and I’m off to the races,” she said, praising its almost fluffy texture. “It tastes like childhood.” That seems like a pretty good endorsement.
Credit: Ryan Martin / Instacart
- Alden’s Organic Chocolate Ice Cream
This one packs a deep, rich cocoa flavor, but not enough to exhaust you after a couple of bites. Yes, it’s frozen (duh), but it manages to have a hot cocoa quality the team really liked. Weirdly, this container took a lot longer to soften than most of the others, so you’ll want to let this one hang out on the counter for a while before you plan to dig in.
Credit: Ryan Martin / Instacart
- Jeni’s Ice Cream Darkest Chocolate
Do you ever crave ice cream when it doesn’t make sense to eat ice cream? Not, like, at a funeral but when the weather is frigid or overcast and moody? Well, Terence suggested Jeni’s Darkest Chocolate would be a good option when it’s cold outside because of its nice, warm dark-chocolate flavor. He loved the creamy mouthfeel and the way the flavor evolves as you eat it. It’s very chocolatey. I’d like this one with some whipped cream to cut that dark chocolate bitterness just a bit.
Credit: Ryan Martin / Instacart
- Private Selection Chocolate Ganache
Chocolate ganache is elegant. I know that because I first learned about it from Ina Garten, and they don’t call her a contessa for nothing. This chocolate ice cream sent Sporked staff writer Jordan Myrick’s taste buds straight to a damn ball. “It feels like a velvet gown slipping over my tongue,” she said. “The flavor is nice and dark and deep.” We also loved the dreamy, silky texture.
Credit: Ryan Martin / Instacart
- Haagen-Dazs Chocolate Ice Cream
Haagen-Dazs angles for simplicity, and it truly works for them (except for the name—I’ve never been able to spell it correctly on first try and probably never will). Terence liked the lighter chocolate flavor and its “cocoa vibe” that doesn’t wear out your taste buds. It’s a classic that totally holds up against its chocolate ice cream brethren.
Credit: Ryan Martin / Instacart
- Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Therapy
If we’re doling out a superlative for an ice cream being, like, a lot, there’s a couple of zany guys from Vermont who have quite the contender. Their Chocolate Therapy ice cream is a lot and it’s really, really good. Terence liked the contrast of the traditional chocolate ice cream and the chocolate pudding ice cream swirl, but Jordan thought it under delivered a little because she couldn’t detect any chocolate cookie bits in her bite. Still, everyone agreed it was tasty.
Credit: Ryan Martin / Instacart
- Great Value Chocolate Ice Cream
“I like that it’s the Yoo-hoo of ice cream,” Jordan said when she tasted Great Value. If you like a basic, totally inoffensive, and highly affordable chocolate ice cream (seriously, they sell it by the gallon pail for less than six bucks), this is your jam. Staff writer Danny Palumbo likened it to the milk that’s left behind after you eat a bowl of Cocoa Pebbles. You might be dubious, but this one landed in Terence’s top three.
Credit: Ryan Martin / Instacart
- Turkey Hill All Natural Ice Cream Belgian Style Chocolate
Belgian chocolate is typically dark and bitter, but we got a nice nutty flavor from Turkey Hill’s chocolate ice cream, with just a little bit of the Belgian bite at the finish. A bowl of this solo might not wow you, but it would make a great accompaniment to another dessert component. Justine called it a “maybe-not-quite-enough-on-its-own-but-good-with-something ice cream.” We say try it with cake.
Credit: Ryan Martin / Instacart
Best of the Best
Best Cocoa Flavor
Best Splurge
Best Dark Chocolate
Best Classic Chocolate
Best Over-the-Top
Best Budget
Best with Cake
Rhett & Link’s Pick
Haagen-Dazs Chocolate Peanut Butter
The power of peanut butter was irresistible when Rhett & Link were sampling chocolate ice creams during their Ice Cream Taste Test Tournament on Good Mythical Morning. “I just love peanut butter,” Link said, calling Haagen-Dazs’ Chocolate Peanut Butter “a pairing like no other.”
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