Reviewing and ranking all of the Halo Top flavors that I can shove my spoon into!
What I love about Halo Top is that all its flavors taste and feel identical to “regular” ice cream. The mouthfeel is smooth and creamy, and the flavors and sweetness are just right. Sure, you likely won’t find much in terms of a comparison to loaded ice creams—which Halo Top has in their Mix-Ins line (with a lot more calories)—but their regular Halo Top versions are still enjoyable, and some do come with some basic bits spread throughout their insides.
Either way, if you’re looking for a good ice cream, especially one packed with protein and lower in calories, Halo Top should be on your menu. And not to mention the funny slogans when you open the container!
*You can find my review of some of their Mix-Ins flavors separately here and here.
Flavor Ranking
1. Chocolate Ice Cream Cake
While I don’t see any explicit cake pieces in this chocolate-looking ice cream, there are some small, dark-looking chocolate chips embedded.
Upon tasting, I’m hit with a darker chocolate. It really reminds me of Friendly’s Forbidden Chocolate (my absolute favorite) or many other brands’ darker, creamier chocolates. It’s not super super dark or bitter, but it’s definitely there, with the balancing act coming from how fairly sweet and creamy it is. I also really enjoyed the fact that it comes across as sweeter than many other Halo Top flavors. Unfortunately, the little embedded bits don’t add too much because there are too few of them. Overall, a solidly sweet and milky dark chocolate—my favorite!
2. Peanut Butter Cup
A smooth-looking, peanut butter-looking ice cream is plopped into this container. There are no apparent swirls or any embedded bits.
When spooning in, I get a clear, fairly defined peanut taste. It’s very smooth, with a uniform texture. The peanut itself is pleasant and creamy and isn’t overly nutty by any stretch of the imagination. Essentially, it feels like the base of a peanut butter ice cream, and unfortunately, it would be a lot better with embedded peanut bits to enhance the texture and make the peanut flavor stronger. Still, if you’re looking for something with a smooth, authentic light to moderate peanut taste and sweetness, this one is for you, and I say this as a peanut butter lover. Also, the flavor is peanut butter cup—why didn’t I taste any explicit chocolate? Peanut butter cups do have chocolate, right?
3. Chocolate Caramel Brownie
A mostly smooth, chocolate-looking ice cream contains small, dark, embedded pieces that are quite soft, which is surprising because they resemble chocolate chips but are really melt-in-your-mouth teeny tiny brownie pieces.
I love how you can both taste a slightly dark milk chocolate alongside a smidge of complementing caramel. It genuinely tastes like a brownie batter-based ice cream, but less dark, being lessened by the caramel. What you get is a concoction that resembles a slightly darker chocolate, toned down, with a caramel background that also uplifts the overall flavor profile. It’s a great swirl of three different flavors. I also have to report that the embedded pieces don’t contribute to the experience because they’re too soft, essentially making the entire mouthfeel uniform.
4. Mint Chip
Surprisingly, this looks like vanilla ice cream with a generous amount of little embedded hard chocolate chips. I expected something more greenish, but really, it just seems like vanilla ice cream with mix-ins.
In terms of taste, I don’t feel it’s as strong as other minty ice creams or treats. This flavor instead comes across as creamier, almost like vanilla was mixed with the mint. Don’t get me wrong, you still get mint, and it’s appreciable, but it’s not super strong; notably, it doesn’t taste like toothpaste either. The creaminess, combined with mild to moderate sweetness, makes this a pleasant mint-based ice cream that could satisfy even hardcore mint haters. I also appreciate the good number of chocolate bits, which provide a nice contrast, though I don’t feel they add much flavor.
5. Caramel Cheesecake
This flavor looks identical to vanilla ice cream. It’s pale white, with no embedded bits or pieces, which is discouraging, given that this ice cream is advertised as cheesecake-flavored.
When spooning in, honestly, if you blindfolded me, I would have thought this was vanilla ice cream with maybe a suggestion of caramel. It’s a bit different from your traditional vanilla; however, it tastes more milky and, of course, has a hint of caramel. It’s kind of disappointing because the caramel and advertised cheesecake flavors aren’t very pronounced. Still, it does differentiate itself enough from traditional vanilla ice cream to suggest a difference is being presented. It would have also helped if it were just a tad sweeter because, as it is now, while it is pleasant and feels like just enough for most people, I feel like some added sugar or something would have enhanced the flavor.
6. Cookies & Cream
Loaded with cookie-like pieces, this ice cream is bright white and looks like your typical cookies-and-cream flavor.
Unfortunately, I have to report that this tastes almost entirely like vanilla ice cream with maybe, just maybe, a hint of chocolate. Despite looking like it has tons of cookie bits, they melt in your mouth immediately, as does the ice cream, creating a very uniform-tasting and feeling experience. And, don’t get me wrong, either; this is a good vanilla ice cream, but I don’t understand why we call it cookies and cream if it doesn’t have an explicit cookies taste or mouthfeel. Nonetheless, this vanilla ice cream — or cookies and cream, in this case — is moderately sweet and creamy, with an authentic, regular-vanilla taste. Basically, it’s more or less your traditional vanilla ice cream.