Consumer Reports' Top Pick For Best Store-Brand Chocolate Ice Cream Might Surprise You

When Consumers Reports set out to name its favorite regular chocolate ice cream, its evaluation was just as calculated (if not more) as when the publication selected the highest-rated ice cream overall. Is it creamy, dense, and rich-tasting? Are there additives included that give a false impression of being made with high-quality ingredients? Does it taste like premium ice cream while remaining reasonably priced?

The expert evaluators at Consumer Reports got to the bottom of it and discovered that 365 Whole Foods Market Chocolate Ice Cream outperformed other store brands and even beat Breyers — Consumer Reports' pick for the top name-brand regular chocolate ice cream — while also costing less. (Interestingly, both Breyers and 365 Whole Foods Market ranked the second- and third-lowest respectively in our chocolate ice cream ranking.)

Consumer Reports' statement on 365 Whole Foods Chocolate Ice Cream was, "Good, bittersweet chocolate taste, with notes of caramel. It has a nice thick texture, too, that makes it taste a bit richer than Breyers and other supermarket regular ice creams." Although just $0.10 less than Breyers, 365 Whole Foods Market Chocolate Ice Cream was still the more affordable option at $5.50 for a 1.5-quart container (or $0.61 per ⅔-cup serving). The richer taste and texture of 365 Whole Foods Market Chocolate Ice Cream is reflected in its nutrition label, which lists the highest amount of saturated fat (7 grams) per serving among the five regular ice creams included in the comparison. A higher fat content is typical of premium ice cream varieties which require fewer additives because the fat helps them maintain a dense texture and melt slower, according to Consumers Reports.

Other chocolate ice cream brands in the regular, non-premium ice cream category included Wellsley Farms (BJ's), Sundae Shoppe (Aldi), Great Value (Walmart), and Favorite Day (Target). If you're curious how these contenders stacked up, Sundae Shoppe, Great Value, and Favorite Day were each labeled as "Just Okay," with comments describing milk-chocolate-like flavors, airy textures, and more additives than Breyers. The lower ratings of each likely correlate to their lower prices, with 1.5-quart containers costing $3 to $4.

Wellsley Farms — another surprising pick since BJ's Wholesale Club has a limited regional footprint — was labeled a "Good Deal." Not only does it cost $6 for a half-gallon ($0.50 per ⅔-cup serving), but Consumer Reports also praised its flavor and texture, remarking, "Our testers like its deep, dark-chocolate flavor. It's a bit sweeter, fudgier, and denser than Breyers."

Consumer Reports' rankings show that not all store-brand ice creams are created equal, despite the common misconception that private-label products are all simply name-brand products sold under a generic label. For shoppers who typically pass over Whole Foods' private-label products or assume they're overpriced (some products, like the store's 365 Whole Foods Market milk, really are overpriced), its 365 private-label chocolate ice cream proves shoppers don't necessarily have to pay premium prices to get premium-quality flavor.