Best Ice Cream of 2022, According to Sporked Writers

Hey, look at you. You’ve almost made it through another year—we say a sweet, creamy treat is in order. Here at Sporked, we tasted and ranked a lot of ice cream in 2022. We dug our spoons into tubs of chocolate ice cream, devoured pints of cookies and cream ice cream, and wrapped our mitts around some tasty ice cream sandwiches. But the best ice cream we had this year isn’t a tried-and-true childhood staple—in fact, it isn’t even an ice cream. And the winner is …

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Winner!

Trader Joe’s Black Tea & Boba Frozen Dessert

Trader Joe’s

Yep, the best ice cream we tried all year was a coconut-based frozen dessert. Please, ice cream purists, don’t throw your phone across the room just yet. Sporked editorial assistant Naajia Shukri, who reviewed TJ’s Black Tea & Boba Frozen Dessert when it had just hit the frozen aisle back in May, described it as “unforgettably creamy,” with none of the chalky weirdness that accompanies some non-dairy ice creams. The flavor is outrageous too—I’m not sure how they packed so much genuine, floral sweet black tea flavor into this little pint, but it’s a real feat. The best part? The boba, naturally. They’re bouncy (somehow they don’t freeze!), bursting with honey flavor, and there’s a lot of them in the mix. “The pearls are perfectly distributed throughout the pint, making it easy to get one in almost every bite without having to dig,” Naajia wrote. “After tasting this, I believe all ice cream should contain boba.”

Credit: Liv Averett / Trader Joe’s

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Runner Up!

Van Leeuwen Honeycomb French Ice Cream

Instacart

Vons

This was one of six new Van Leeuwen ice creams Sporked editor-in-chief Justine Sterling tried when they were released this fall, but it was the only one that made her utter the words “oh, mama” aloud. This ice cream is outrageously good and totally unique. In addition to being super creamy as all get out—Van Leeuwen rarely disappoints on that front—this pint of Honeycomb is sweet and has bits of honeycomb scattered throughout. Justine had no notes. And she’s an editor!

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

About the Author

Howdy! I’m Gwynedd, Sporked’s managing editor. I live in Los Angeles and have access to the best tacos the U.S. has to offer—but I’m a sucker for a crunchy Old El Paso taco night every now and then. I’ve been at Sporked since 2022 and I’m still searching frozen mozzarella sticks that can hold a candle to restaurant sticks. Why you should trust me: I’ve been a journalist for 20 years (yikes), a consumer of food for 40-plus years, and I’m truly hard pressed to think of foods I don’t like (or that I can’t tolerate at the very least). Oh and one time I cooked my way through Guy Fieri’s cookbook and wrote about the journey through Flavortown. What I buy every week: Trader Joe’s Original Savory Thins. Fat free plain yogurt (usually Fage or Nancy’s). Honeycrisp apples. Sweet cream coffee creamer for my at-home Americanos. A frozen cauliflower crust pizza and some jarred mushrooms to top it with. Old El Paso Stand ‘N Stuff taco shells and Gardein Ground Be’f, even though I think “be’f” is a nightmarish contraction. Favorite ranking: Stouffer’s frozen dinners. I don’t own a microwave (I get my cancers the old fashioned way!), so I love taste testing things that I don’t really buy to eat at home. Least favorite ranking: Soy sauce. Don’t get me wrong, I love soy sauce—but consuming that much sodium in one sitting is probably illegal in some countries. Our frozen enchilada taste test was a close second; the smell of microwaved corn tortillas still haunts me.