Grocery Store Strawberry Ice Cream, Ranked Worst To Best

Ah, strawberry ice cream: The bright pink ice cream flavor that rounds out a banana split or Neapolitan sundae. Not surprisingly, strawberry is the third most popular ice cream flavor in the U.S. behind chocolate and vanilla, according to Newsweek (although some of us would argue that mint chocolate chip should be more popular than it is). Nevertheless, strawberry ice cream is a staple that most of the popular ice cream brands produce, occasionally with their own special touches.

We took a look at 20 popular brands of strawberry ice cream to bring you the best possible selection (and a few that we thought fell a little flat which you might want to pass on). For this particular roundup, we've focused on traditional dairy-based ice cream, although some of the selections are appropriate for certain other dietary considerations. Not only have we considered the flavor (spoiler: they're all strawberry), but also the ingredients, inclusion of real strawberries, nutrition information, price, availability, and any other unique additions that set each ice cream apart. Here are the top grocery store strawberry ice creams, ranked worst to best.

What sets Blue Bunny apart on the freezer aisle is the translucent plastic containers it comes in, giving you a glimpse of the ice cream inside. Founded in Le Mars, Iowa, Blue Bunny can now be found nationwide and produces cartons of ice cream as well as frozen yogurt, ice cream sandwiches, a wide variety of packaged ice cream cones, and packaged sundaes. Blue Bunny's version of strawberry ice cream is the Double Strawberry Swirl. Interestingly, they don't call it "ice cream" but instead "strawberry flavored frozen dairy dessert" which leads us to believe that it's not technically ice cream. 

The first ingredients listed are buttermilk, dairy product solids, strawberries, cream, and a "strawberry swirl." While we like the flavor combination of buttermilk and strawberries, this is the only occurrence we've seen of buttermilk playing a starring role in a strawberry ice cream. The remaining 15 ingredients all seem to be flavorings or stabilizers, and frankly — it all seems unnecessarily complicated, giving us the impression that they were trying to make an ice cream with everything but actual ice cream ingredients. And it seems like we're not the only ones who think so. The majority of the reviews on Blue Bunny's own website are overwhelmingly negative, pointing out that the Double Strawberry Swirl has little to no strawberry flavor. Given that a ⅔-cup serving of the Double Strawberry Swirl will still set you back 180 calories, we'd suggest enjoying an actual ice cream instead.

In the wake of mainstream enthusiasm for the keto diet, Rebel ice cream was created in 2017 to fill the void of a full-fat, no sugar ice cream option. Cream actually has a lower glycemic index than skim milk, fits neatly into the keto diet regimen, and may even help those managing diabetes. Currently, Rebel has 27 flavors of ice cream and sorbet available in pints, including strawberry.

An entire pint of Rebel strawberry ice cream contains only 6 grams of carbohydrates. For comparison, a pint of Haagen-Dazs strawberry ice cream contains 77 grams, and a pint of Halo Top strawberry ice cream contains 62 grams. (For further comparison, Halo Top only has 5 grams of fat per pint, whereas Rebel has 47 grams — a reminder that not all diet foods are designed with the same goals.)

We think it's great that Rebel chose to stick with cream and eggs, traditional ice cream ingredients. But the addition of erythritol and monk fruit as sweeteners left us with a less than satisfying taste (and aftertaste) in our mouths. We understand that those following a keto diet may be comfortable with the flavor of synthetic and refined sugars. And if ice cream is one of your favorite foods, it can be hard to give it up when starting a new diet. But ultimately, we'd rather go with a bowl of fresh berries that average 11 grams of carbs per cup with a generous dollop of unsweetened whipped cream on top.

It's likely that you've heard of Kroger grocery stores, although the majority of the 2,800 stores are concentrated in California, Ohio, Texas, Georgia, and Tennessee, per ScrapeHero. Kroger's store brand of ice cream is called Kroger Deluxe Strawberry Surf ice cream, and it comes in both 1.5-quart and pint sizes, which currently cost $2.50 and $1.25 respectively. Kroger is able to keep prices low on its private label products by producing 40% of those products themselves, instead of buying them from other manufacturers.

The ingredient list for Kroger's Deluxe Strawberry Surf ice cream is remarkably similar to ingredients in other ice creams and includes milk, cream, strawberries, sugar and high fructose corn syrup, and a palette of stabilizers and additional flavors. For a ⅔-cup serving, this strawberry ice cream packs a modest 160 calories, with 7 grams of fat and 22 grams of carbohydrates per serving (17 grams from sugars). While it's not a diet ice cream, the calorie count is low enough that we don't feel any particular guilt about enjoying a serving or two of this strawberry ice cream.

It's no surprise that Breyers is a household staple considering the brand has been around since 1866. 155 years is a pretty substantial amount of time for any company to have stuck around, ice cream or otherwise (for perspective, that's a year after the Civil War ended). There are currently 30 classic ice cream flavors available in 1.5-quart cartons, including Natural Strawberry. For this ice cream, Breyers has chosen 100% sustainably sourced California strawberries and claims to use non-GMO ingredients, as well as Grade A milk and cream from American cows. The Grade A milk claim is true, but don't read too much into it. According to Lincoln University, 90% of the milk produced in the U.S. is Grade A milk, and Grade B milk can only be used for making cheese, butter, and nonfat dry milk — so it's very likely that most ice creams are made with Grade A milk.

Otherwise, the ingredients list for the Natural Strawberry is short and sweet, containing only milk, strawberries, cream, sugar, whey, and vegetable gum as a stabilizer. We don't mean to be petty, but our largest problem with this strawberry ice cream isn't the ingredients — it's that it looks more like vanilla ice cream (with strawberry chunks in it) than vibrant strawberry ice cream. We miss that big pink color and big strawberry flavor. Of course, it could just be mental bias that tells our brains that it's not flavorful enough if it's not pink, but we want more.

Love it or hate it, the "light ice cream that actually tastes like ice cream" seems to have settled into its groove and found a permanent place on freezer aisle shelves. Halo Top stunned the ice cream world in 2017, outselling the big-name ice cream industry leaders in pint-size offerings, and for a little while, it seemed like Halo Top was all anyone could talk about. By offering ice creams that were only about 280-380 calories for the whole pint, people finally felt like they could indulge the way they wanted to without guilt or additional calories. Since then, the company has grown its ice cream line to include keto-friendly ice cream, ice cream bars, sorbets, and fruit pops.

There are currently 21 dairy-based Halo Top ice cream flavors available in pints, including strawberry, which will only run you 270 calories for the entire pint. Real strawberries are included, although the ice cream itself doesn't include strawberry chunks. Sugar is listed, in addition to Erythritol and Stevia Leaf Extract which knock down the carb count. The Halo Top ice cream recipe also features ultra-filtered skim milk which contributes to the higher protein content, lower sugar content, and is said to make the ice cream itself more creamy and less icy — which can be a problem for lower-fat ice creams. In our experience with Halo Top, the ice cream certainly has a slight synthetic-sweetener flavor to it, but as far as "diet" products go, it's not all that off-putting.

Walmart's store brand, Great Value, offers shoppers deeply discounted alternatives to name-brand groceries in a wide variety of grocery departments, including frozen foods and ice creams. So we decided to check out the Great Value strawberry ice cream, and we were somewhat surprised by what we found.

The first thing we noticed is that a 1.5-quart carton of strawberry ice cream costs $1.97 at our local Walmart. We're not even sure you can get ice cream from an ice cream truck for that little anymore. It's not an especially pink ice cream but it appears to have strawberry pieces in it to help boost the strawberry flavor. A typical ⅔-cup serving is 150 calories, and the ingredients are relatively straightforward. It really doesn't seem all that different from a carton of Breyers strawberry ice cream, except for the fact that reviewers seem to really enjoy it. Many noted that they bought the ice cream with lowered expectations, and were surprised when they actually enjoyed it. Positive reviews on the Walmart website outnumber the negative reviews almost four to one, and several of the negative reviews only appear to be negative based on delivery issues, not because of the ice cream itself.

So we'll concede that no, this is not the world's finest ice cream, nor is it even our favorite on this list. But for the truly great value and availability, it surpassed our expectations.

If you live on the East Coast, you may be acquainted with the Friendly's restaurant chain, which is perhaps most famous for its ice creams which include scoops, sundaes, floats, and "Friend-z" which are more like blended ice cream with tasty mix-ins, like a Blizzard or McFlurry. Since ice cream is such a substantial portion of Friendly's business model, it's little surprise that many of its ice cream flavors are available at the grocery store too. At the time of this writing, Friendly's offered over 50 flavors of ice cream and sherbet in cartons.

Friendly's strawberry ice cream is a stand-alone flavor that is typically vibrant pink and appears to be studded with actual strawberry bits. Strawberries are the third ingredient listed on the label, which is very reassuring. We also like that buttermilk is included in this ice cream since strawberries and buttermilk are a great pairing. Additionally, this ice cream is made without eggs, which means that it's stabilized with a handful of other typical ingredients like guar gum and carrageenan, which is pretty normal. One serving of this strawberry ice cream is considered to be half a cup, and will only cost you about 140 calories, which is on the lower end of the spectrum. The list price for a 1.5-quart of strawberry ice cream is about $6.60, but we were able to find it for less than that at most stores, ranging anywhere from $3.33 to $5.99.

Whether you know it as Edy's or Dreyer's, the company has been churning out ice creams since 1928. Founded in California, William Dreyer was the man behind the ice cream and Joseph Edy was a candy maker, and their collaboration to create never-before-tasted ice creams was the start of something big. We can thank this brand for the creation of Rocky Road and Cookies n' Cream flavors. In 1977, the company expanded all the way east, naming the ice creams sold east of the Rocky Mountains "Edy's" and west of the Rockies "Dreyer's." At this point, it can be found nearly everywhere and is what we'd consider a standard "lawful neutral" ice cream choice.

The strawberry ice cream is part of the collection of 15 "Classic Ice Creams" the company currently produces. For a ⅔-cup serving, the ice cream contains only 150 calories, which isn't too bad in the grand scheme of things. Strawberries are the 4th ingredient listed, after skim milk, cream, and sugar, as well as a strawberry syrup which is likely added to intensify the strawberry flavor. The ice cream is made without eggs, and we like that the coloring that's added comes from beet juice. The ice cream also has chunks of actual strawberries in it for those who prefer that style. A 1.5-quart carton can cost up to $9.69, but we found it available for just $5.99, which is comparable to other grocery store ice creams of this size.

Publix has an incredibly loyal customer base, which can be said for a few other grocery stores, but none are quite as large as Publix and none do it quite as well (in our humble opinion). Originating in Florida, this grocery chain spread across the Southeast to seven states, settling in 417 cities, per ScrapeHero.

Like any major grocery store, Publix has its own store brand products, and sells its own Premium Classic Strawberry ice cream in half-gallon cartons — just like they used to before shrinkflation hit the freezer aisle, which genuinely impresses us in today's market. A ⅔-cup serving is 180 calories, and the ingredients list has nearly identical ingredients as the Edy's strawberry ice cream. We suppose there are only so many ways to make ice cream. We plopped in the zip code "33434" for a Publix in Boca Raton, Florida, and the website listed the price of the half-gallon at $6.81. Different locations have different prices, but it's fair to assume they'll all fall into the six to seven dollar range, and maybe even be on sale from time to time. 

Ultimately, there's nothing exceptional about this strawberry ice cream that sets it apart from the other established grocery store ice cream brands. But if you're a Publix fan, you'll probably naturally gravitate to it, and we're still so impressed that it's sold in an actual half-gallon size that we're willing to award it with a higher ranking for the value alone.

Turkey Hill will be especially familiar to you if you've spent any amount of time in Pennsylvania, with substantial influence in New Jersey, Delaware, and New York as well. What began as a dairy company during the Great Depression in Pennsylvania Dutch Country has expanded to include ice creams and beverages that can be found in grocery stores and convenience stores in many areas, predominately on the east coast.

Turkey Hill currently makes two strawberry ice creams, both named Strawberries and Cream, one in the premium ice cream collection and the other in the Simply Natural ice cream collection. The ingredients list and calorie count for the premium strawberry ice cream are nearly identical to others we've looked at so far, especially Edy's strawberry ice cream. But the Simply Natural strawberry ice cream's ingredients list is a clear departure, with a step toward some of the more high-end ice creams on the market. It's made with milk, cream, sugar, and strawberries like many of the others before it, but additionally contains only strawberry puree and natural flavors. It's not stabilized with eggs or additional stabilizers, and the calorie count is only slightly higher than the competition's, at 190 calories per ⅔-cup serving. We found the premium strawberry ice cream for $3.99 per 1.5-quart carton, which is a great price, although the natural version appears to be selling for about $6.50, which still falls into the typical price range for grocery store ice creams of this size.

Those in the South might recognize the bright yellow cartons of Mayfield ice cream (or the egg yolk-colored gallons of milk that could easily be mistaken for orange juice if you aren't careful). You have to be of a certain age ("geriatric" millennials and up — cringe) to remember birthdays and ice cream socials with different flavors of ice cream in boxes, trying to awkwardly scoop the ice cream out of the corners before it inevitably melts and leaves ice cream puddles on the counter. Rectangular and round ice cream cartons were definitely a positive evolution in ice cream packaging, but we appreciate the nostalgia.

The strawberry ice cream itself is undeniably pink, with ribbons of visible strawberry pieces. The main ingredients include milkfat and nonfat milk, strawberries processed into a syrup, sugar, corn syrup, and sweet cream buttermilk. The sugar content is on par with many of the other ice creams on this list, but the fat content (8 grams per serving) is about half of the fat of the more premium ice creams. That's not uncommon, as more inexpensive ice cream options tend to forego using actual cream, but without the additional fat, the ice cream can taste a little sweeter. There's nothing artisanal about it, and we're fine with that. It hits all of the sweet-pink-strawberry-flavor-of-our-youth-nostalgia notes, which is just what we need sometimes.

Admittedly, Talenti makes gelato, not ice cream. While there are important differences between the two, it still falls into the category of dairy-based frozen pints you can buy on the ice cream aisle. And if you haven't explored gelato, here's a great place to start. Talenti was launched in 2003 with the intention of bringing the tradition of fine gelato and sorbet-making to a mainstream American audience. That it did, and Talenti's desserts, in their sleek clear pints showcasing the richly-colored gelatos within, have been popular ever since.

Unfortunately, Talenti's Simply Strawberry gelato was unfathomably retired. But you haven't been left entirely high and dry. In addition to pints of gelato and sorbet, Taleti has created a line of gelato "layers" which are essentially fancy gelato sundaes that include sauces, crunchy bits, and gelato. The Strawberry Shortcake Layers pint includes strawberry gelato flecked with strawberry pieces, a brightly-colored layer of strawberry rhubarb sauce, and buttery chunks of shortbread cookie. Full disclosure — this one's more of a nutritional doozy than some of the ice creams we've looked at up to this point. It runs 250 calories per ⅔-cup serving, and may not be quite enough gelato for someone looking primarily for an ice cream experience. We love this pint when we're in the mood for a more complex dessert without any of the work, and we think pretty highly of Talenti in general, but understand you might be looking for something with fewer bells and whistles.

If it wasn't clear from our Publix pick, we appreciate an ice cream company that still sells its product by the half-gallon. Blue Bell clearly feels the same way and has even pointed this out with a small red banner on the front of the carton that says "Still a ½ Gal" — we see you and appreciate you, Blue Bell. Coincidentally, Blue Bell ice creams are available in some Publix grocery stores as well.

You won't be able to miss the completely pink label for the strawberry Blue Bell ice cream. It's made with milk, cream, strawberries, and sugar, which we like. Instead of eggs, this ice cream is stabilized with several gums, additional sweetness comes from corn syrup, and natural and artificial flavors are added, which we're not so crazy about. Much like the bright pink container it comes in, the ice cream is so vividly pink (thanks to the added annatto and caramel color) that we'd be able to pick it out of a lineup. We know we said we wanted our strawberry ice cream to have some color to it, but this one leans maybe a little too far in the opposite direction.

All of that to say, Blue Bell strawberry ice cream tastes like strawberries and we wouldn't turn it down if we were handed a bowl. It's 190 calories per serving and also available in pint-size. If you're looking for something a little more subtle, consider trying the Strawberries & Homemade Vanilla.

Whole Foods has long sold its own store brand of popular grocery items under the 365 label, including ice creams and other dairy products. Many of the 365 products are either completely organic or contain organic ingredients, without the high price tag that often comes with name-brand organic products (although we've never had an especially cheap shopping trip at Whole Foods — that's on us). As part of the collection of ice creams in the 365 lineup, Whole Foods makes a mostly organic strawberry ice cream available in a 1.5-quart carton, and a completely organic strawberry ice cream in pint format.

In a side-by-side comparison, we noticed that both ice creams have the same ingredients listed. The only differences are that one set of ingredients is completely organic whereas the other is only partially organic, and the ingredients appear in a different order on each ice cream. Both are gluten-free and kosher, although curiously, only the organic version is listed as vegetarian. Nutritionally, you're getting the same 170 calories per ⅔-cup serving, with the same fat and carbohydrate counts. At our local Whole Foods, the 1.5-quart carton retails for a reasonable $6.39, and the organic pint for $4.19. Ultimately, we'd choose either option. If you don't plan on blazing through much ice cream, reach for the pint. But if you have to share or want to get a little more bang for your buck, the carton is going to treat you just as well.

When you think of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, you probably think of its original and fantastic ice cream flavors, like Half-Baked, Cherry Garcia, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (which they invented), and Chocolate Fudge Brownie. Sure, Ben & Jerry's makes a Vanilla ice cream, because it would somehow be weird if they didn't — but that's the only completely normal flavor in the lineup. When it comes to strawberry ice cream, the progressive hippie ice cream company founded in Vermont just had to put their own special twist on that too. Of the 60+ available flavors, the sixth best-selling ice cream is the Strawberry Cheesecake. It's got strawberries and strawberry puree. It's made with real cream and cream cheese. It's got actual graham crackers in it (and a few other ingredients that we're not really sure what they do). It's genuinely a New York-style cheesecake lover's dream.

We love this ice cream just the way it is, but if you're looking for a strictly strawberry ice cream, this might have too much going on. Ben & Jerry's does make a "normal" strawberry ice cream, but it's only available in scoop shops. We also recommend just enjoying this particular ice cream without paying too much attention to the nutrition information. For a ⅔-cup serving, you're looking at 340 calories, but keep in mind that this is an ice cream made with traditional full-flavored ice cream ingredients, which is why it tastes so good.

Once Haagen-Dazs enters the chat, you know we're looking exclusively at premium ice creams from here on out. Even though it's sold absolutely everywhere from grocery stores to gas stations, Haagen-Dazs continues to be seen as a luxury ice cream choice, and we can't really argue with that belief. Like many of the other high-end ice creams on this list, Haagen-Dazs continues to make its ice cream with traditional ingredients. A pint of Haagen-Dazs strawberry ice cream is made with cream, skim milk, strawberries, cane sugar, and egg yolks. A ⅔-cup serving runs a slightly higher calorie count than some of the other premium ice creams, clocking in at 310 calories.

We like that this strawberry ice cream has chunks of strawberries in it, although the overall strawberry flavor is subtle and smooth. What sets this particular ice cream apart from the strawberry ice creams that have come before it is the creamy texture — which is next to impossible to duplicate with ingredients meant to cut corners. A pint of this ice cream (which actually isn't a full pint, but 14 ounces) retails for $7.99, although we found it in several places for less than that, typically between four to seven dollars. While that's certainly a jump of a few dollars from many of the previous ice creams, we'd still consider it an attainable luxury, which is perhaps how Haagen-Dazs has managed to hit that sweet spot between ubiquitous brand recognition and distinctive reputation.

Van Leeuwen is a relative newcomer to the ice cream world, founded in 2008 and first selling ice cream out of an adorable buttery yellow ice cream truck in Brooklyn. Now there are scoop shops and pints in grocery stores across the country, but the company has stayed true to the original mission of creating straightforward ice cream with simple ingredients. Most recently, the company has made headlines collaborating with Kraft to create a Kraft Macaroni & Cheese ice cream.

Where other ice cream companies use lower-fat, non-fat, or highly processed dairy products, stabilizers, natural and artificial flavors, and a variety of sugars and syrups, Van Leeuwen makes ice cream the truly old fashioned way. The strawberry ice cream ingredient list includes cream, strawberries, cane sugar, organic egg yolks, and salt. It doesn't get much simpler than that, and it's refreshing when so much of our food seems to have fewer recognizable ingredients. A ⅔-cup serving is a respectable 280 calories, and the strawberries are fresh from Oregon, which many people believe are the best strawberries in the country. Van Leeuwen calls its dairy-based ice cream "French Ice Cream" because it's a full-fat cream-based ice cream, unlike American ice cream that uses both cream and milk, or Italian gelato that's made predominantly with milk.

Although the strawberry ice cream has mysteriously disappeared from Van Leeuwen's website, we found it available at plenty of grocery stores, as well as Van Leeuwen scoop shops where pints are available.

After tasting Graeter's Madagascar Vanilla Bean ice cream and falling completely in love, we had high expectations for the Oregon Strawberry ice cream. Graeter's ice cream is churned two and a half gallons at a time in traditional French Pots, and is the last ice cream producer in the U.S. to still do so. We don't know the exact science behind it, but many of their ice creams have something special about them. No wonder Bobby Flay is such a fan of Graeter's.

Once again, Oregon strawberries have been tapped to make a vibrantly-flavored strawberry ice cream. The ingredients in this strawberry ice cream are relatively simple and include cream, milk, cane sugar, strawberries, skim milk, eggs, and two gums as stabilizers. The richness of this ice cream is apparent when you're enjoying it, which will run you about 280 calories per ⅔-cup serving.

The biggest problem with Graeter's ice cream is that it can be difficult to find the further away you are from Ohio, and most grocery stores we found only stock a handful of Graeter's flavors — rarely including strawberry. It's understandable that they simply can't stock freezers in the same large quantities that other brands can, given the specialized method used to create the ice cream. We'd never want Graeter's to change, so really grab whichever flavor you can find and if you happen to find the strawberry, taste it while you can.

Like a few ice creams looked at before this, Jeni's strawberry ice cream is made with buttermilk, but this is the first to market it as a featured flavor. It's our favorite strawberry buttermilk ice cream because of its ultra creamy texture, bolder strawberry taste, and straightforward ingredient list. Aside from strawberries and buttermilk, this ice cream includes cream, nonfat milk, cane sugar, citric acid, tapioca syrup, and radish, whole apple, and black currant extracts for color. There are 220 calories in a ½-cup serving, which is comparable to other premium ice creams. A pint of Jeni's Strawberry Buttermilk ice cream also comes at a premium price, at $12 a pint, which is admittedly a lot — but worth it knowing you're getting an ice cream made with high quality ingredients.

Jeni's sources strawberries for this ice cream exclusively from Ohio-based Hirsch Fruit Farm, a relationship that began early in Jeni's ice cream production. Supporting local businesses was a core value when Jeni Britton-Bauer started her company over two decades ago. Jeni's doesn't just puree the strawberries or toss chunks into the ice cream, but first roasts the strawberries to concentrate the flavor and reduce the water content in the berries for a stronger strawberry-flavored ice cream. At one point, the Strawberry Buttermilk flavor was only available seasonally, but it appears that Hirsch Fruit Farm has been able to scale up production alongside Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, and this ice cream is now available nearly year-round.

Tillamook doesn't just make ice cream. It's actually a farmer-owned dairy cooperative that produces ice cream, cheese, yogurt, cream cheese, butter, and sour cream. Perhaps obviously, the co-op is based in Tillamook, Oregon, and has been operating since 1909. What that means for the co-op dairy farmers is that they have a guaranteed outlet to sell their dairy, and directly benefit from the products Tillamook makes. What that means for Tillamook is that they're getting fresh dairy straight from the source to make their ice creams. Very few other ice cream companies are built on such mutually beneficial relationships.

The co-op's business model is inspiring, but what about the ice cream? The Oregon Strawberry ice cream is a staple in Tillamook's premium ice cream collection, which currently includes 28 flavors. The ingredients include cream, skim milk, sugar, milk, strawberries, water, pasteurized egg yolks, natural flavor, cornstarch, citric acid, red beet concentrate for color, pectin, and gums to stabilize it. Like the Van Leeuwen and Graeter's ice creams, Tillamook uses strawberries sourced from Oregon, which leads us to believe that Oregon strawberries may very well be as amazing as people say they are. A ⅔-cup portion is 200 calories, which is a bit lighter than the other premium ice creams on this list, and clears our conscience for eating as much of it as we want. All of the ingredients come together to bring us what we think is the best grocery store strawberry ice cream currently available.