We compared Ben & Jerry's vegan ice cream with a trendy company that is trying to compete with it - and the winner was clear
Ben & Jerry's currently makes nine flavors of non-dairy ice cream, and Halo Top makes 14. We tried each brand's classic chocolate flavor.
Both flavors are certified vegan. Ben & Jerry's uses almond milk as a dairy substitute, and Halo Top uses coconut milk. While Halo Top’s carton brags that it has only 280 calories per pint, Ben & Jerry's version has nearly four times that, with 840 calories per pint or 210 per serving.
We tried Halo Top's chocolate ice cream first.
It didn't look like traditional chocolate ice cream.
The ice cream was pretty underwhelming. The flavor was very almond-y, even though it was made with coconut milk. The chocolate flavor was very light and was overpowered by the almond flavor.
Some reviewers said it tasted identical to Halo Top's peanut butter cup flavor, which we tried earlier this month.
The texture was very light. Even though the ice cream was refreshing, it wasn't very sweet.
We tried Ben & Jerry's chocolate fudge brownie next.
It's made with almond milk and brownie bits from Greyston Bakery in New York.
It looked almost exactly like the regular fudge brownie flavor.
It tasted almost exactly like the regular fudge brownie flavor too, if not better. It was really rich and flavorful, and it was sweet without tasting overly sugary.
The chocolate fudge brownie was absolutely delicious, and it didn't taste at all like almond milk. The brownie bits, which are also vegan, gave the ice cream a great texture.
While it's great that both brands are now offering vegan ice cream ...
... Ben & Jerry's non-dairy chocolate option had a much richer flavor, a better texture, and had the added bonus of having brownie bits in the ice cream. Halo Top's ice cream just wasn't quite sweet enough, and the chocolate flavor was overpowered by almond. Ben & Jerry's was the clear winner.
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