Dairy Queen's Caramel Apple Cheesecake Blizzard Review: Delicious To The Core

Believe it or not, summer is winding down. No matter where you are — at the beach, a lake, or just hanging around the neighborhood — you're probably having some sweaty summer fun, while trying to stay cool. Beyond a dip in water, one of the most enjoyable ways to bring the temperature down a notch is ice cream. This is prime time for Dairy Queen — one of America's favorite chain restaurants, according to YouGov data – and for these upcoming hot August nights, it is already shifting eaters' minds to the breezy flavors of autumn. Before you scream "pumpkin spice," pump those brakes, because DQ is delivering something else: the Caramel Apple Cheesecake Blizzard. This one mixes in cheesecake pieces and a caramel apple topping with DQ's good old vanilla soft serve.

It's hard to believe this flavor is just now making its debut, but that's the cold soft truth. There have been several cheesecake-inspired Blizzards before, and in 2020, caramel apple joined pie pieces in one. Now, the twain shall finally meet.

So, is this fall fruity, cheesy, cakey Blizzard one treat to truly fall for, or should you just 'leaf' it alone? The Takeout took out plenty of spoonfuls of the Caramel Apple Cheesecake Blizzard to see where the truth lies, and now all can be revealed in this smooth chew and review.

On the first day of its release, I popped on over to the bustling Dairy Queen in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware to try the new Caramel Apple Cheesecake Blizzard. I ordered a pair in-store – the Blizzards were of course handed to me flipped – and they were consumed on site by me and three other DQ fans.

While I took the feedback of my taste testing crew under consideration, this chew and review is a summation of my own personal tastes and opinions. I also took into consideration my previous experiences with Dairy Queen, its Blizzards, cheesecake, caramel apples, and my overall impressions of this new item that brings them all together. The ultimate criteria considered for this review were flavor, presentation, familiarity, originality, uniqueness, autumness, and ultimately whether this Blizzard is worthy of your time and dime.

At first glance, nothing stood out about the Caramel Apple Cheesecake Blizzard. It was mainly a quickly melting pile of DQ vanilla soft serve, decorated with some brown textured chunks and an array of brown specks. A quick whiff to the nostrils revealed no real flavor profile.

Without further ado, and with a trusty elongated red spoon in hand, I dug right in. Each spoonful brought to the mouth one aspect of the Blizzard at a time, but rarely all flavors came unified at once. There were small nibbles of cinnamon and sugar tinted apple pieces, traces of ground graham crackers, and in some corners, little flourishes of sticky caramel, but not a heavy dose of any of the three.

What really shined through were the cheesecake pieces, which seemed to make their presence known in alternating bites. The pieces were surprisingly chunky, and my teeth loved every squishy bite. They tasted as they should — dense and sweetened cream cheese — and it balanced really well with the softer vanilla soft serve, which did its usual great job of keeping this mixed up flavor fiesta in check. One of my fellow taste testers, who doesn't like super sugary desserts, noted it reminded them in a good way of an apple cider donut. To me, this was essentially a cheesecake Blizzard, with little dabbles of spiced apples here and there.

I was wondering if maybe the one Caramel Apple Cheesecake Blizzard I received was perhaps crafted from an imbalance of its core ingredients. Well, thanks to DQ's awesome deal where you get a second Blizzard for just 99 cents, I ordered a second, and the second one confirmed the focus remained squarely on the cheesecake pieces. The Caramel Apple Cheesecake Blizzard turned out to be surprisingly light on its first two titular ingredients, but in turn, that ultimately served this treat well. What you get is a taste of fall, not a deluge of it, and I think eaters should be thankful for this measured approach.

Without any chocolate, candy, or anything really dense, this Blizzard was a light and airy delight that was a perfect cool-down treat for these super hot dog days of summer. Even when the race was on to chow down on this before it turned into a puddle of white liquid, the cheesecake held firm in texture and deliciousness. I then had the sad realization that I had never had a Blizzard with pieces of cheesecake in it before. I once was lost, but now I'm found, and I found out that cheesecake pieces in a Blizzard is awesome — in summer, fall, or in any season for that matter. And don't forget to take advantage of that 99 cents deal for a second Blizzard, which should totally be used to order the trophy-worthy Biscoff Cookie Blizzard.

The Caramel Apple Cheesecake Blizzard is available at participating nationwide locations of Dairy Queen beginning August 3, 2026. It will remain on menus, while supplies last, through the end of the month. It can be ordered anytime Dairy Queen is open for business. Orders can be placed in-store at the counter or drive-thru where available. Advanced orders for pick-up or delivery can be placed through Dairy Queen's website or app.

This Blizzard, like all Blizzards, is available in four sizes: mini, small, medium, and large. Prices will vary by location, but at the one I enjoyed mine at in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, their respective prices were $5.25, $6.50, $7.75, and $9. The good news: If you need two Blizzards in one order, DQ reward members can buy one Blizzard Treat and get a second for just 99 cents through the Dairy Queen app. This offer is available once a day, and every day throughout the end of August.

The base ingredients of Dairy Queen's Caramel Apple Cheesecake Blizzard are artificially flavored vanilla reduced fat ice cream, apple topping, cheesecake pieces, and caramel fudge topping. The vanilla soft serve consists of milk, nonfat milk, sugar, and corn syrup. The apple base not surprisingly uses apples, as well as sugar, brown sugar, apple juice concentrate, corn syrup, lemon juice concentrate, cinnamon, and natural flavor. The cheesecake pieces tap the magic of a cream cheese spread, cream, sugar, brown sugar, honey, graham cracker crumbs, liquid whole eggs, icing sugar, key lime powder, butter, vanilla powder, and lemon juice from concentrate. The caramel fudge topping makes sweet music out of corn syrup, sweetened condensed skim milk, high fructose corn syrup, butter, sugar, water, salt, pectin, and artificial flavor. 

A small Caramel Apple Cheesecake Blizzard contains 600 calories, 20 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 75 milligrams of cholesterol, 410 milligrams of sodium, 92 grams of carbohydrates, 75 grams of sugar, and 13 grams of protein. It contains the allergens egg, milk, soy, and wheat. It may also contain peanuts and tree nuts.