9 Best Ben and Jerry’s Flavors & 3 Benefits of the Ice Cream

Jacqueline Eisenbraun (Senior Editor)

If you’ve ever had a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream you’ll know that it tastes different. It’s a bit airier, creamier, and their marketing is so spot on it’s instantly recognizable. To help you choose the perfect ice cream, we present the nine best Ben and Jerry’s flavors.

There’s a reason why Ben and Jerry’s is so good though or, in fact, there are several reasons. It starts with the founders, and goes on to their simple but effective base recipe.

Ben and Jerry’s also offer a unique brand philosophy supporting causes close to their hearts. If you agree with their causes it’ll give you one more reason to buy their ice cream.

What Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Is

What Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Is

Ben and Jerry’s is a delicious ice cream brand which has been popular for nearly five decades. Their ice cream is renowned for its unusual flavors as well as the founders’ advocacy for human rights.

Essentially, when you buy Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, you’re not just getting a tub of deliciousness, but also supporting some great causes.

Where Ben and Jerry’s Is From

Where Ben and Jerry’s Is From

Ben and Jerry’s was founded in Burlington, Vermont in 1978. The popular ice cream is still made in Vermont today at the company’s factory in Waterbury. Their main site is open to visits from the public.

So if you like, you can visit the birthplace of Ben and Jerry’s and see exactly how it’s made.

What Ben and Jerry’s Flavors Are Made Of

What Ben and Jerry’s Flavors Are Made Of

Ben and Jerry’s ice cream is made of the same base mix for each batch and flavor. They start with a mixture of heavy cream, condensed skimmed milk, liquid cane sugar, and egg yolks. Chocolate flavors get an added helping of cocoa powder.

After that, natural stabilizers are added to prevent the formation of ice crystals and heat shock during the processing. Chunks of chocolate or cookies, toppings, and gooey swirls of caramel or chocolate are then churned into the ice cream. Delicious.

What makes Ben and Jerry’s ice cream unique is that their base recipe is aerated more than other brands of ice cream. This makes it lighter and creamier than competing ice creams.

Origin and Philosophy of Ben and Jerry’s

Origin and Philosophy of Ben and Jerry’s

Ben and Jerry’s ice cream was founded in 1978 by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. The two friends from Merrick, New York decided to take an ice cream-making course in 1977 on a whim.

Ben has a disability called anosmia, which means he can’t smell or taste much. He relies on the way things feel in his mouth to provide any sort of variety in his food. Because of this, Ben and Jerry decided to add their signature chunks to their ice cream, which ultimately made them famous.

After an initial investment of 12,000 Dollar, they made it to their first anniversary and celebrated by hosting their first annual ‘free cone day.’ Nearly 50 years later, it’s still a big yearly celebration for the popular ice cream brand.

What really made them unique beyond the chunks of goodness in their ice cream, however, are their core values. Ben and Jerry’s works to support economic and social justice for communities, protect the Earth’s ecosystem, and advance human rights.

The Best Ben and Jerry’s Flavors You Need to Try

The Best Ben and Jerry’s Flavors You Need to Try

Let’s start by saying all Ben and Jerry’s flavors are pretty amazing. That’s saying a lot, as there are 98 flavors currently available.

17 of them are dairy-free, giving you some options if you have dietary intolerances. Below are the best of the best Ben and Jerry’s flavors you have to try — if you haven’t already.

Classic Flavors

Classic Flavors

Some of the best ice cream flavors are classics. If you’re thinking that’s chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla, though, you’re mistaken. At Ben and Jerry’s we’re talking Phish Food, Caramel Chew Chew, and Chunky Monkey.

They’ve been creative with their ice creams before being really creative came into style. And the best part? These ice cream flavors are all incredibly delicious, too.

Phish Food

Phish Food

One of the all-time favorite flavors Ben and Jerry’s fans have been enjoying for years is Phish Food. Interestingly, this flavor was created together with the band Phish, to celebrate their being from Vermont — much like Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

Phish Food is made up of sumptuous chocolate ice cream with marshmallows, fish-shaped chocolate chunks, and caramel.

Cookie Dough

Cookie Dough

Nowadays cookie dough is a hugely popular flavor made by plenty of ice cream brands. Back in the 1980s, the idea of adding cookie dough to ice cream was fairly new and even radical.

Ben and Jerry tried it, at the suggestion of one of their fans, and Cookie Dough was born. This delicious vanilla ice cream with generous chunks of chocolate chip cookie dough and chunks of chocolate is a firm favorite. It’s one you should try right now, if you haven’t already.

Caramel Chew Chew

Caramel Chew Chew

Caramel Chew Chew has been a popular Ben and Jerry’s ‘classic’ flavor since the 1990s. It’s caramel overload, so if you enjoy anything with that sort of flavor, this one’s for you.

Caramel ice cream meats chocolate-coated caramel chunks and generous swirls of caramel. It’s a rich, decadent ice cream that’s perfect in sundaes or even homemade milkshakes.

Half Baked

Half Baked

This classic Ben and Jerry’s flavor has been around since the year 2000. It’s an ingenious combination of some of their most popular flavors. Chocolate and vanilla ice cream are swirled together along with chunks of brownies and chocolate chip cookie dough.

It’s more chocolatey than the original Cookie Dough, and a little less so than Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream. In short, it’s absolutely delicious and great if you can’t make up your mind which ice cream you want.

Chunky Monkey

Chunky Monkey

Another classic, Chunky Monkey originated in 1988 and has since been a firm fan-favorite. Chunky Monkey is a mixture of delicious, creamy banana ice cream with banana-shaped chunks of chocolate and walnut pieces.

It’s the perfect dessert, the perfect pick-me-up, and the perfect ice cream overall. Chunky Monkey is an absolute winner, and one of the most popular classic Ben and Jerry’s flavors you can get today.

Cherry Garcia

Cherry Garcia

This original 1980s flavor was named after the American guitarist Jerry Garcia. It’s cherry-flavored ice cream made with cream and studded with chunks of dark chocolate and cherries.

If you like black forest gateau, this is the perfect ice cream for you. It’s a delicious treat that feels slightly healthier than the other flavors, but probably isn’t. You can get it as a dairy, non-dairy, and FroYo version as well.

Chocolate Flavors

Chocolate Flavors

What would an ice cream brand be without chocolate flavors? As with most things, Ben and Jerry’s have taken their chocolate ice cream game to another level.

None of their flavors are just plain, boring chocolate. These pack a punch and add chocolate pieces or other ingredients in to give you fudgy, chocolatey heaven in ice cream form.

Chocolate Fudge Brownie

Chocolate Fudge Brownie

The most delicious chocolate ice cream you may ever have contains more than just chocolate. This ice cream is studded with heaps of chocolate brownie pieces.

Ben and Jerry’s have been sourcing their brownies from Greyston Bakery in Yonkers, New York since they first created this flavor in 1991.

What’s more, Greyston Bakery helps homeless New Yorkers gain skills in the workplace. So by enjoying this ice cream, you’re supporting a really good cause as well.

Peanut Butter Cup

Peanut Butter Cup

This ice cream is an all-American creation. It features peanut butter ice cream with chunks of delicious peanut butter cups.

This sumptuous ice cream flavor is the perfect flavor for peanut butter lovers and those who enjoy Reese’s peanut butter cups in particular. It’s great by itself or with banana.

The sweet and salty flavors of the peanut butter and chocolate combination really make this ice cream something extra special.

Chocolate Therapy

Chocolate Therapy

Another chocolatey favorite. Chocolate therapy is a base of sumptuous chocolate ice cream with chocolate pudding ice cream swirls, and chocolate cookies.

If you ever needed a break up ice cream, this is the one. And if you ever need a chocolate fix in general, this is also the one. It’s chocolate overload and tastes great blended into a milkshake, too.

Types of Ben and Jerry’s Flavors in Ice Cream

Types of Ben and Jerry’s Flavors in Ice Cream

Ben and Jerry’s offer a range of different flavors and ice cream types. Below is a summary of the subcategories they have, and what makes each one unique.

Scoop Shop Flavors

Scoop Shop Flavors

These are the flavors available in Ben and Jerry’s ice cream shops. There is a range of flavors, including originals, non-dairy, sunflower butter-based ones, and sorbets.

The 32 original ice cream flavors include such favorites as Cherry Garcia, Chocolate Fudge Brownie, and Chunky Monkey. There’s also a dairy-free Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, which is a great alternative for those with dietary intolerances.

Topped

Topped

There are 11 kinds of ‘topped’ flavors of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. These each come with a crunchy, crackly topping, mostly made of different kinds of chocolate.

Some of the most popular flavors include Chocolate Milk & Cookies, Dirt Cake, and Tiramisu, which is an ice cream-style take on the popular Italian dessert.

Non-Dairy Pints

Non-Dairy Pints

Ben and Jerry’s offer dairy-free, vegan pints of ice cream for those with intolerances and vegan diets. These are made using either sunflower butter or almond milk.

They’ve been crafted to resemble Ben and Jerry’s’ standard flavors as closely as possible. You can even get some of the classics as non-dairy alternatives, including Cherry Garcia, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and Chocolate Fudge Brownie.

Ice Cream Pints

Ice Cream Pints

These include all of the standard Ben and Jerry’s flavors mentioned above. They’re the flavors you’ll find available in shops and supermarkets. These include some of your all time favorites, such as Half Baked, Caramel Chew Chew, and Chunky Monkey.

Ben and Jerry’s also regularly release special edition flavors such as their Chance The Rapper flavors, and their collaboration chocolate ice cream with Tony’s Chocolonely.

Frozen Yogurt Pints

Frozen Yogurt Pints

Frozen yogurt tends to be a little healthier than regular ice cream. Ben and Jerry’s offers two kinds of delicious FroYo. One is a version of their popular Cherry Garcia, the other a Half Baked frozen yogurt alternative.

Cores Ice Cream Pints

Cores Ice Cream Pints

Possibly Ben and Jerry’s most ingenious ice cream invention. These are some of your favorite flavors, with added deliciousness of a thick core of cookie dough, brownie batter, or fudge in the center just to name a few.

Some of the flavors include Salted Caramel Core, Peanut Butter Fudge Core, and mouthwatering Brownie Batter Core. These are really good, but hard to share with others, so be warned.

Sundaes

Sundaes

This is a new Ben and Jerry’s invention. It’s pints of some of their most popular ice cream flavors, layered and topped with whipped toppings, sauce, and chocolate chunks — just like a sundae you’d get at an ice cream parlor.

The Cookie Vermont-ster, for instance, is a cookie dough ice cream with whipped ice cream layer topping, as well as chocolate sauce and cookie chunks.

Netflix

Netflix

Ben and Jerry’s have partnered with Netflix to create some collaborative flavors of ice cream. The idea is that you’ll buy yourself a pint of ice cream and hunker down to a nice movie.

There are two kinds of Netflix and Chill’d flavors — one with dairy, and one without. Both feature peanut butter ice cream with brownie chunks and sweet and salty pretzel swirls.

Lighten Up Ice Cream

Lighten Up Ice Cream

Lighter, lower-calorie versions of popular Ben and Jerry’s ice cream flavors. There’s a Vanilla Brownie ice cream with only 113 calories per 100ml serving, and a Chocolate Cookie Dough with the same. Delicious, yet diet-friendly.

Certified Gluten-Free Flavors

Certified Gluten-Free Flavors

This range of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream is perfect for celiacs and those following a gluten-free diet. There are 13 flavors which are made to be safe for everyone with that type of dietary intolerance.

These include some popular flavors, such as Chunky Monkey, Peanut Butter Cup, and Phish Food.

Doggie Desserts

Doggie Desserts

Ben and Jerry’s have recently started making ice cream for your pooch, which they lovingly call Doggie Desserts.

They currently offer two flavors, Pontch’s Mix with peanut butter and pretzel swirls, and Rosie’s Batch with pumpkin and mini cookies.

Benefits of Ben and Jerry’s Flavors

Benefits of Ben and Jerry’s Flavors

There are some definite benefits to choosing Ben and Jerry’s ice creams. This is particularly true when it comes to some of their ranges over others. Below are a few of the most notable benefits.

Non-Dairy

Non-Dairy

Their non-dairy ice creams are great for vegans and those who are lactose intolerant. The use of almond milk or sunflower butter makes the ice cream flavors super creamy and almost indistinguishable from the dairy versions.

Fairtrade

Ben and Jerry’s have committed their company to using Fairtrade Certified ingredients since 2005. Since 2010 this includes every one of their ranges and ice creams. This means producers in developing countries are paid fair prices for the ingredients they sell to Ben and Jerry’s.

Gluten Free

Ben and Jerry’s have made a serious effort to craft gluten free ice cream flavors that are safe for celiacs and those following a gluten free diet.

This is great news, as their ice cream flavors containing cookies and baked goods, for instance, would normally not be suitable for those suffering from a gluten intolerance.

Best Alternatives to Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Flavor

Best Alternatives to Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Flavor

It’s safe to say that Ben and Jerry’s are ahead of their game when it comes to ice cream. They’ve been popular for nearly half a century and continue to innovate when it comes to tasty iced treats.

Below are some great alternatives for when you can’t get a Ben and Jerry’s or you disagree with their ethics.

Magnum

Magnum

Magnum ice creams are another popular choice, particularly when it comes to ice lollies. Best of all, Magnum achieved their Rainforest Alliance certification in 2012, making them another sustainable ice cream brand. All of their cocoa is supplied from Rainforest Alliance farms.

Breyers

Breyers

Breyers is an old-fashioned American ice cream brand which was first started in 1866. They make tons of different flavors, including such popular choices as M&M’s MINIS Caramel Fudge, Cookie Duo, and Banana Split.

Breyers also have a range of low carb, gluten free, lactose free, non-dairy, non-GMO, no sugar added, and reduced calorie ice cream ranges. So there’s something for everyone.

Pink Albatros

Pink Albatros

Pink Albatross is a great alternative to Ben and Jerry’s if you follow a strict vegan diet. All of their ice cream flavors are made without any artificial ingredients, milk, soy, or eggs. They’re completely plant-based.

Popular flavors include Dreamy Straccia-Coco, Exotic Passion Fruit, and Perfect Roast Pistachio.

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