In this life, there are so many questions to ponder. What is my purpose? Is there an afterlife? What is the best and most peanut buttery peanut butter ice cream? Well, we may not be philosophers, but we can now give you a concrete answer to one of those questions. On a recent episode of Good Mythical Morning, Rhett & Link put eight peanut butter ice creams to the test as part of their Peanut Butter Madness Tournament. They had a lot of good pints to work with—we know because we chose them—but only one had could be named the best peanut butter ice cream of them all. Taking into account the quality of the ice cream overall as well as the intensity of peanut butter flavor, here’s how their peanut butter ice cream taste test shook out. (Oh and if peanut butter isn’t your jam, check out Sporked‘s list of all the best ice cream we’ve tried in our taste tests.)
- Little Debbie Nutty Bars Ice Cream
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While Little Debbie treats have wowed Rhett & Link in the past, this Nutty Bars ice cream just did not do it for the dudes. This peanut butter ice cream—which contains crispy wafer bits and a fudge swirl—only lasted one round because the peanut butter flavor was just so weak. Rhett said he “wouldn’t even know it was peanut butter ice cream unless you told me.” A second bite had a stronger peanut butter flavor than the ice cream it was competing against, but, unfortunately, R&L thought that flavor was worse overall.
- Breyers Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Frozen Dairy Dessert
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As a Reese’s lover, I couldn’t help but wish this flavor would’ve been stronger, but three frightful words spelled its demise in this taste test: frozen. dairy. dessert. While the combo of peanut butter cups in peanut butter ice cream would seem like no-brainer, Rhett & Link thought the ice cream itself was just too light (in fact, its low milk fat content is what prevents it from being “ice cream”). It just couldn’t compare to the fattier, creamier ice creams they tried.
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Light Ice Cream
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Another Reese’s product, another dang light ice cream. Yup, just rip my Reese’s-loving heart out. While Rhett actively disliked the flavor of the peanut butter ice cream base in this pint, the dudes agreed that the peanut butter swirl put this “light years ahead of” the Breyers-Reese’s collab.
- Ben & Jerry’s Peanut Butter Half Baked
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This half chocolate, half peanut butter Frankenstein’s monster of an ice cream had a lot of yummy goodness going on. The pint was chock-full of yummy gobs of peanut butter, chunks of peanut butter cookie dough, and fudge brownies. It was missing peanut butter ribbons, much to Rhett’s disappointment, but it still made an impression. Ultimately, R&L decided that it’s a great ice cream, but it just isn’t a great peanut butter ice cream.
- Ben & Jerry’s Peanut Butter World
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Ben & Jerry’s Peanut Butter World, winner of R&L’s Ben & Jerry’s gut check, was good enough to make it to the second round of the peanut butter ice cream tournament, but it just couldn’t make it to the finish line. While the milk chocolate ice cream with peanut butter and chocolate cookie swirls made for an “exquisite ice cream,” the chocolate cookie swirls and milk chocolate base clashed too much with the peanut butter swirls, making it an ice cream with peanut butter, not a peanut butter ice cream. “Peanut Butter World” title: revoked.
- Ben & Jerry’s Netflix & Chill’d
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This was another great ice cream. It’s nicely balanced and has sweet fudge brownies and salty pretzel swirls in a yummy peanut butter base, but even though Rhett & Link loved it, Netfliz & Chill’d just didn’t have a strong enough peanut butter flavor to make it into top two. The fudge brownies just overpowered the PB. Hey, there are certainly worse problems you could have.
- Ben & Jerry’s Peanut Butter Cup
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Okay, the final battle got verryyy contentious, because, frankly, the top two ice creams were too good. Ben & Jerry’s Peanut Butter Cup was yummy with a well-done peanut butter ice cream and peanut butter cups that really pack a peanut butter-forward flavor. While this ice cream would’ve taken the crown if Link had his way, the tie breaker went the way of another contender…
- Häagen-Dazs Chocolate Peanut Butter
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Häagen-Dazs Chocolate Peanut Butter ice cream, FTW! While it might be surprising (and somewhat wrong, according to Link) for a chocolate-peanut butter ice cream to be named best peanut butter ice cream, the thick peanut butter ribbons made this ice cream the ultimate peanut butter experience. Other ice creams may bring the peanut flavor, but Rhett was adamant that the unadulterated dose of peanut butter in this pint made it the best. It may be chocolate ice cream, but it’s like eating peanut butter straight off the spoon.
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