I love pumpkin ice cream. I know we’re all about apple crisp and maple flavored stuff this year, but I am still all in on pumpkin when it comes to fall flavored ice cream. I’ll forever be chasing this one particular pumpkin ice cream I would get after swim practice from a local parlor back in my hometown. It was creamy and so perfectly spiced and just dense enough. (I’m a slow ice cream eater; I need my ice cream to maintain its structural integrity while I deliberately scrape away at it.)
So, with that ideal in mind, I tasted 14 different types of pumpkin ice cream—including Trader Joe’s pumpkin ice cream, LIttle Debbie Pumpkin Delights ice cream, and even pumpkin ice cream sandwiches. I didn’t find a dupe for the pumpkin ice cream of my past, but I did find six totally delicious pumpkin ice creams and ice cream creations you need to try before the seasons change and peppermint ice cream takes pumpkin’s place in the freezer aisle. Here’s the best pumpkin ice cream to buy ASAP.
Note: The original version of this ranking included Little Debbie Pumpkin Delights Ice Cream. We really enjoyed this cookie-inspired ice cream when we tried it last year, but we were unable to find it this year. And we can’t recommend something we can’t find! But if your Walmart happens to stock it, you should definitely grab a pint.
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- My Mochi Pumpkin Spice
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These bite-sized little pumpkin ice cream mochi are a perfect treat to snag out of the freezer. If you’re a fan of mochi ice cream, then you already know what you’re in for. The mochi pocket is stretchy and a vibrant orange. I love the texture of mochi and this one is no different—it’s chewy and just a little bit sweet. The pumpkin ice cream itself is creamy and spiced and definitely not too sweet. If you’re an ice cream mochi lover, then this is the best fall flavored ice cream treat for you.
Credit: Merc / Target
- 365 Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream Sandwiches
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Some of you live in places where fall is a legitimate season where the leaves change and temperature drops. But some of us don’t experience that reality. Our “fall” is just more summer. Sometimes it’s even hotter than the peak summer months. When it’s October and the temperature is in the triple digits? That’s when this pumpkin pie ice cream sandwich saves the day. You can experience some classic fall flavors like cinnamony cookies and pumpkiny ice cream in one handheld dessert. The cookies are perfectly soft (and I love that they aren’t chocolate). The ice cream is spiced and sweet. And the real clincher is that there’s just a touch of salt to keep you coming back for more.
Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon
- Ben & Jerry’s Pumpkin Cheesecake
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The best part of Ben & Jerry’s Pumpkin Cheesecake ice cream is the graham cracker swirl. I love it. I love it so much. It’s all the warm, spiced, malty flavors of a graham cracker in one scoopable swirl, which contrasts against the lightly tangy and sweet pumpkin cheesecake ice cream. There are also flavors of brown butter in the mix. It all comes together to create a cozy fall flavor that I am super into.
Credit: Merc / Target
- Signature Select Pumpkin Pie
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This is not just pumpkin ice cream. It’s pumpkin pie ice cream. There are chunks of buttery, tender pie crust in this pumpkin ice cream! The pumpkin ice cream itself is super creamy and not too sweet and very scoopable. You do not need to leave this out to thaw. It’s airy and fluffy and ready to eat. But the pie crust chunks are really what make it some of the best pumpkin ice cream on the market.
Credit: Merc / Vons
- Trader Joe’s Mini Hold the Cone Pumpkin Ginger
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I tried Trader Joe’s pumpkin ice cream—the stuff you get in a container—but it’s just way too sweet. It’s almost painful to eat. These little cones, however, are the greatest thing to happen to pumpkin spice ice cream. Here’s what you get: a tiny ice cream cone (about as long as a standard index finger), filled with creamy pumpkin ice cream that actually tastes like pumpkin. The ice cream is covered in a crackly coating. And the cone itself is like cinnamon-heavy graham cracker. Everyone here at Sporked really loved the cones themselves. When was the last time you had an ice cream cone and you even noticed the flavor of the cone? If you’re ever in a TJ’s this fall, do yourself a big favor and get a box of these. Then try not to eat them all on the way home.
Credit: Merc
- McConnell’s Pumpkin Spiced Latte
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I understand that you might be a little pumpkin spiced latte’d out. But you have to make an exception for this pumpkin ice cream from McConnell’s. It’s so intensely flavor, with lots of nutmeg and a gingerbread-y quality. And then the coffee flavor adds some bitter depth that takes this pumpkin spice ice cream from good to godly. And then there’s a swirl of pumpkin—almost like a pumpkin caramel—that gives you a burst of squashy sweetness. It tastes like what I wish all pumpkin spice lattes actually tasted like. This is a new addition to this list after our most recent pumpkin ice cream taste test, but it’s an instant classic. This is the best pumpkin ice cream you can buy.
Credit: Liv Averett / McConnell’s
Best Mochi Ice Cream
Best Ice Cream Sandwich
Best Fall-ish
Best Pumpkin Pie Flavor
Best Ice Cream Cone
Best of the Best
Other pumpkin ice creams we tried: Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Ice Cream, Alden’s Pumpkin Ice Cream Sandwich, Favorite Day Pumpkin Cheesecake Ice Cream, Favorite Day Non-Dairy Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream, Sundae Shoppe Pumpkin Spice, Sprouts Pumpkin Pie Gelato
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!