Ranking and reviewing the best Breyers CarbSmart and No Sugar ice cream flavors, including Rocky Road, Peanut Butter, Brownie a la Mode, Vanilla, and more!
Note: From experience, there doesn’t seem to be much difference between the Carb Smart and No Sugar Added variants in terms of texture, taste, or composition (comparing the vanilla versions). Carb Smart may be ever so slightly creamier due to its slightly higher fat content, and the No Sugar version a smidge sweeter, but it’s really a toss-up and something you really have to look for. Honestly, you won’t really notice or care about the differences.
Lastly, how do these compare to “normal” ice cream? You won’t notice a difference here either! Each flavor in this lineup is tasty, creamy, and, most importantly, contains no weird, artificial sweetener or off-putting flavors you might expect, especially given the “we are a healthier choice” connotation. Breyers doesn’t come across as cheap or premium; it’s just right, offering a traditional, tasty experience with lower calories!
Flavor Ranking
1. Rocky Road
Rocky Road leans more towards a nutty milk-chocolate flavor, and unfortunately, I don’t get much marshmallow from it despite the white-appearing swirls. Also, its packaging definitely shows it has a lot more than it actually does—those swirls are actually pretty thin! Though, don’t get me wrong, there are almost enough—quite large, actually—crunchy, chocolate-looking pieces that add an extra chocolate and nutty flavor, which compensates for any of its downfalls. Still, while it’s a very good and reasonably loaded ice cream, I’d absolutely want more marshmallow flavor, please!
2. Peanut Butter
I have a lot to say here as a peanut fan, so get ready…
Immediately upon opening, I noticed the large chunk-looking, peanut-like swirls embedded in this darker chocolate ice cream. However, spooning through, I do notice they’re thin and provide a very, very thin crunch, which is at least a nice contrast to the ice cream. Don’t get me wrong, though; this might be a good thing because the ice cream contains a very large number of these swirls throughout, so when you scoop through it, you can literally hear cracking! It’s really interesting, and since there’s so much of it, it provides a really good mouthfeel and spoon experience.
In terms of taste, it’s a little darker than your regular milk chocolate and has a good amount of peanut butter. They’re balanced, and it comes across as both pleasant and dessert-y. It’s not overly sweet by any means, the peanut isn’t too nutty, and the chocolate isn’t too dark or bitter either. It’s a very well-balanced, mildly dark peanut ice cream that’s reasonably sweet. It’s pleasant and smooth, and, personally, as a peanut butter lover, this ice cream does hit the spot.
On the other hand—and nitpicking—I do wish it were a smidge sweeter or perhaps had both the chocolate and peanut flavors elevated just a hair. Again, nitpicking! I think most, if not all, people would really enjoy this ice cream for its flavor and the generous amount of lightly crunchy peanut swirls.
3. Brownie a la Mode
Nearly tied for second, Brownie a la Mode is vanilla-based but still has a good amount of fudgy swirls that give it an overall aprecitable chocolate taste. It looks reasonably packed and includes various flavors, such as fudgey chocolate and vanilla, as well as embedded brownie bits. Notably, while those brownie bits are far and few in between, and very small, they pack a tiny, noticeable punch! When you inevitably hit a few, it’s so good—they’re small and chewy and add to the contrast and taste profile with the mix of other flavors. The overall mix of fudge, brownie, and vanilla base makes for a wonderful experience.
4. Mint Fudge Cookie
I love the color of this, so spooky! And the composition is equally interesting. It primarily consists of white, pale green ice cream with what appears to be regular milk chocolate ice cream swirled throughout, with additional thin fudge swirls. There are also tiny, lightly crunchy embedded chocolate bits. Basically, this thing is pretty loaded!
The taste is sure to please anyone, including mint haters. The flavor profile is an equal blend of mild mint and light milk chocolate, with a background of darker fudge. The flavor is nuanced, and its sweetness level is perfect, something between mild and moderately sweet, around the same as other ice creams. Going back to those who don’t like mint, I do think you’ll enjoy this because of how creamy the ice cream is and how the mint doesn’t give off any toothpaste or overly strong flavor; it’s very well balanced by the chocolate and creaminess, and overall, the ice cream is quite pleasant and smooth.
5. Neapolitan
Your generic Neapolitan ice cream. All three of the flavors: strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate, are standard, mostly mildly sweet, and just, well, generic. If you compared it to any other brand’s Neapolitan version, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. No flavor is sweeter than the others, and they are all represented accurately. It doesn’t taste cheap, and it doesn’t taste premium either. Instead, this ice cream may work well as a base for toppings, since Neapolitan ice cream definitely needs them!
6. Chocolate
Who doesn’t love chocolate? This chocolate ice cream is equally good as most others. It’s essentially your standard, reasonably creamy and sweet milky chocolate ice cream base, just screaming for some toppings or whipped cream.
7. Vanilla (No Sugar Added and Carb Smart)
It’s a standard, mildly to moderately sweet vanilla. Not vanilla bean or anything snazzy like that, just a plain (but still tasty) vanilla ice cream flavor you’d find at the local shop or ice cream truck. Of course, it needs toppings, at least, in my sweet-toothed opinion!
There wasn’t much of a difference between the two vanilla versions. Maybe the Carb Smart was slightly creamier due to its slightly higher fat content, while No Sugar added was a smidge sweeter. Either way, it was hard to distinguish the difference.