Grocery Store Orange Creamsicle Bars Ranked

During the summer of 2024, the orange creamsicle flavor became a leading trend in fast food. Arguably, anyone could have predicted the orange creamsicle trend, given just how well a cold, refreshing, orange-vanilla treat suits the summertime heat. From the Dutch Bros Blended Orangesicle Rebel drink to the Wendy's Orange Dreamsicle Frosty, plenty of quick-service chains — including IHOP, Arby's, and more — all released their own unique takes on the orange creamsicle at some point during the summer season.

In a similar way to its fall cousin, pumpkin spice, it was the orange creamsicle flavor that seemed to dominate, rather than the classic frozen treat. Typically, the term refers to vanilla ice cream on a popsicle stick, encased in an orange sherbet shell. In light of the orange creamsicle-flavored resurgence, I rounded up every version of the original orange creamsicle available in my local grocery stores. You can read more about the methodology at the end, but for now, read on for my ranking of seven grocery store orange creamsicle brands from worst to best.

The worst performer in my orange creamsicle taste test was the Blue Ribbon Classics Orange Dream Bar — which may not come as a surprise, given that Blue Ribbon held this very same spot in a list of 13 store-bought ice cream bars ranked. The Blue Ribbon Classics company, for what it's worth, produces both traditional ice cream and ice cream bars. Its products are widely available in Walmart and Dollar General stores, in addition to a select number of additional stores depending on location.

Structurally, the Orange Dream Bar is a textbook execution of an orange creamsicle — that means an icier, orange-flavored outer layer enveloping a creamier vanilla interior. The Blue Ribbon bar's greatest strength is its taste, which foregrounds a sugary orange juice flavor, complemented by a relatively subtle vanilla accent. Altogether, its flavor is solid, but not quite as satisfying as other orange creamsicle products. 

That said, the biggest factor working against the Blue Ribbon bar is its texture. Its outer orange layer is the most brittle of all the orange creamsicles I tried, making for an unsatisfying bite. Furthermore, that exterior remains pretty rigid, rather than melting into something perhaps a bit creamier after biting into it. The Orange Dream Bar isn't bad and should satisfy an orange creamsicle craving in a pinch, but the merely serviceable flavor and disappointing consistency are enough to earn it a spot at the bottom of this list.

Creamies is the sole company on this list with particularly limited distribution. I thought it was worth including nevertheless for the sake of making my taste test as comprehensive as possible. The Creamies company is based in Utah and its products are available in 12 states. What makes Creamies bars unique is that they're all milk-based, meaning virtually all flavors are creamsicle-esque. In the case of the Orange Ice Cream Bar, a milk base means that its orange and vanilla components are not separate but incorporated together in a single mass. Any orange creamsicle fans in a state that lacks Creamies distribution need not worry, because its Orange Ice Cream Bar is altogether a mixed bag.

What stands out immediately about the Creamies offering is that it's far denser than a standard orange creamsicle. Even after taking a bite, it remains chewy rather than melting to any significant extent. While I found it enjoyable, its flavor wasn't my favorite. The orange component is pretty subtle, overpowered by a baseline vanilla. Even more prominent than that is a surprisingly bold whole milk flavor that almost tastes cheese-like ... and that's not what you want when you bite into an ice cream! While I found the bar's extreme density to be a major plus, it was that cheese-adjacent flavor note that colored my impression more than anything else, landing it the number-six spot.

Orange creamsicles became a popular treat thanks in part to Good Humor. While the company wasn't quite responsible for inventing the treat, its parent company — and overall top-selling ice cream company — Unilever owns the Creamsicle trademark, so only bars produced by Good Humor or Unilever's Popsicle brand bear the official Creamsicle logo. However, even if Good Humor's Creamsicle is an important benchmark for the style of treat it represents, it landed on the lower half of this list following my taste test.

Where the Good Humor Creamsicle shines is texturally. Both its orange sherbet shell and vanilla ice cream center are soft and gummy — though there's little textural variance between the two, in stark opposition to some creamsicles that encase a softer ice cream in a harder orange shell. I like a gummier creamsicle, so this worked for me, but anyone who prefers a textural contrast could find this to be a negative. The flavor of the Good Humor Creamsicle, meanwhile, is pretty unremarkable. Both its orange and vanilla components are relatively weak, with vanilla at the forefront. The result is a vaguely sweet, predominantly icy character with just a hint of orange. So, while it's pleasing to bite into, the Good Humor Creamsicle disappoints in the flavor department, keeping it just out of this list's upper ranks.

Kroger is a generic grocery store brand, proprietary to the collection of stores under the Kroger umbrella, like Ralphs and Smith's. While a generic grocery store product doesn't make for the most exciting prospect, the Kroger Orange Cream Bar is at least a little better than its boring branding suggests.

One characteristic unique to the Kroger bar is that its orange sherbet shell takes up the entirety of the bar's upper area, whereas competing brands typically distribute orange and vanilla evenly. This isn't really a plus or a minus, but a unique flourish that stands out nevertheless. The Orange Cream Bar's texture is essentially a net neutral, starting out somewhat icy before turning softer and creamier after biting into it — or even after sitting at room temperature for a little bit. Its flavor is solid, starting out predominantly orangey before concluding with a vanilla-forward aftertaste. That orange is just slightly sour like a real orange fruit, but satisfyingly so, remaining sweet overall. Altogether, this was the most normal orange creamsicle I tried, neither excelling nor falling short in any key category.

Like Kroger, Signature Select is a grocery store brand, proprietary to the Albertsons chain — this includes stores like Safeway, Vons, Acme, and more. That said, while Signature Select Creamy Orange Ice Cream Bars may be just one spot above Kroger's bars, there's something of a tier break between the two. While the Kroger bar is serviceable, all of the bars in the top three spots on this list are pretty genuinely great.

Of all entries so far — and falling short of only the bar in the list's number one spot — the Signature Select creamsicle is the closest in consistency to straight up ice cream. It's just a little icier, but softer and creamier than most other orange creamsicles all the same. Its flavor, meanwhile, accents a syrupy orange juice component with a subtle but perceptible vanilla. The overall effect is close to an Orange Julius drink, deftly combining sweet orange and milky vanilla into a single, cohesive flavor. Whereas the bars in the following two spots each do something special, the Signature Select bar approaches the Platonic ideal of a creamsicle bar, adhering closely to a classic style but excelling in its execution.

GoodPop produces popsicles, ice cream treats, and sodas that straddle the line between indulgent dessert and healthful treat. Informing the company's approach are some sustainability and charity initiatives. The GoodPop Orange n' Cream Bar is particularly unique in the creamsicle space for its dairy free recipe. Rather than cow's milk, GoodPop crafts its vanilla ice cream component with a coconut cream.

Accordingly, the flavor of the GoodPop Orange n' Cream Bar was the most distinct of the lot. While orange juice is prominent, so too is coconut. The result is a decidedly tropical and less milky character. Both the orange and coconut are of a perceptibly higher quality than the flavors in many competing brands too, seemingly resulting from GoodPop making popsicles with some of the highest quality ingredients. If, say, the Good Humor bar is like Taco Bell, then this bar is Chipotle — still indulgent, but arguably in a slightly upper league. Where this one falters a bit is its consistency. Lacking real dairy, the bar is decidedly icy, without the satisfying softness of its creamier cousins.

Altogether, it's hard to compare the GoodPop bar to Signature Select's creamsicle, just like comparing Taco Bell to Chipotle — for what it's worth, I prefer Taco Bell. But, in this case, the GoodPop bar checks plenty of boxes the Signature Select bar does not, satisfying a range of diets, containing clean ingredients, and tasting pleasantly unique. Therefore, GoodPop sits just barely in the number-two spot.

Similar to Blue Ribbon Classics, Alden's Organic is not just an ice cream bar company but a producer of traditional ice cream, ice cream sandwiches, fruit bars, and greek yogurt bars too. While that might suggest a lack of focus, the Alden's Organic Orange Cream Bar turned out to be the best orange creamsicle I tried during my taste test.

Visually, it's apparent right off the bat that the Alden's creamsicle recipe is different from the industry standard. Rather than house a vanilla center within an orange exterior, the Alden's Organic Orange Cream Bar combines swirls of vanilla and orange ice cream into a singular entity. So, whereas some bars mix an orange sherbet with a vanilla ice cream, Alden's uses ice cream for both components. This is key to one the bar's foremost strengths, since ice cream is more pleasing texturally than an icy sherbet shell. Furthermore, its flavor matches a sharp, zesty orange with a sweet, creamy vanilla. Both taste great. Alden's indicates that its products incorporate organic ingredients in its full company name, and a lower level of artificiality than normal is apparent in its overall flavor as well. Between a standout, all-ice-cream body and a delectable taste, the Alden's Organic Orange Cream Bar is simply the best execution of an orange creamsicle I could find at a grocery store.

Altogether, the seven different kinds of orange creamsicle I tried came from five sources. First, in order to determine every orange creamsicle brand that was available to me, I checked the online inventories of every major grocery store near me in Las Vegas. The Creamies and Kroger creamsicles came from a Smith's store; the Good Humor and Signature Select bars came from an Albertsons store; the Blue Ribbon Classics creamsicles came from a Walmart; and the Alden's bars came from a Sprout's store. Finally, a representative for the GoodPop brand sent me a box of Orange n' Cream Bars, with no expectation that I would review them or mention them in an article. All opinions about the GoodPop bars and every other creamsicle are entirely my own.

Comparing each of these orange creamsicles meant trying all of them in a single tasting session. Rather than proceed popsicle by popsicle, I ate roughly half of each popsicle for my first pass, then regularly switched to popsicles from earlier in the tasting so I could directly compare them to one another. Once I had tasted all seven creamsicles, I opened a second one from each brand. Trying them a second time allowed me to solidify my rankings through some additional head-to-head comparisons. As is indicated in my individual reviews, taste and texture were far and away the most important metrics in this ranking. When relevant, other factors like quality of ingredients impacted certain assessments as is noted.