24 Fall 2026 Store-Bought Ice Cream Flavors, Ranked

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Growing up, my family always had ice cream in the freezer. The problem? We only got vanilla ice cream, since my sisters and I could never agree on what flavors to get. And while vanilla ice cream can easily be upgraded with some toppings, these days, I enjoy trying unique flavors, especially when it comes to seasonal finds.

With the abundance of fall-inspired flavors taking over the freezer aisle, I set out to rank as many as I could get my hands on. Popular brands like Ben & Jerry's and Alden's competed against store brands like Favorite Day and exclusive brands like Jeni's and McConnell's. Options went beyond traditional pumpkin spice, with creative twists like Honey & Cornbread Cookies and a vegan treat called Graveyard Cookie Crumble. After rearranging my freezer a million times and replenishing my lactase pills, here's my honest ranking of 2026's store-bought fall ice cream flavors, from worst to best. Prices may vary based on your location.

At the bottom is an ice cream from Target's private label, Favorite Day: White Chocolate Pecan Caramel. This limited edition dessert is available in a 16-ounce pint for $2.99; one of the cheaper items on the list. Typically, I enjoy pecan-flavored things, but this missed the mark.

While pecan-flavored products tend to have a warm, nutty flavor, the nuts in this ice cream tasted almost rancid. I couldn't distinguish any white chocolate; the base was closer to vanilla. One positive is that the texture of the ice cream was smooth and creamy. The caramel ribbons were rich and silky, with a decent amount swirled throughout. Neither was enough to convince me to get past the bitter nuts.

Perry's Friendsgiving is a limited edition offering, which features a base of almond-flavored ice cream, sugar cookie dough, and a rich Blackberry swirl. A quart container cost about $5.99. For all the ingredients and flavor elements, this ice cream was bland.

Visually, the ice cream had a pop of color from the blackberry swirl, but that flavor didn't come through, and neither did the almond. The cookie pieces were tasty and there was a decent amount studded throughout the ice cream. Scooping was also easy, but the lackluster flavor didn't make this option worth it.

Cookie butter is something you either love or hate, and, unfortunately, McConnell's Cookie Butter wasn't my favorite flavor. It was very frosty and icy, rather than creamy.

I was also thrown off by the cookie butter itself. Typically, cookie butter is made with a Belgian cookie called Speculoos, which has spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and clove. After reading the side of the pint, I realized that the ice cream was made with chocolate chip cookies. This is not the worst thing in the world, but because I was expecting the traditional cookie butter, I was a bit disappointed. Coupled with the icy texture, I couldn't bring myself to rank it any higher.

The Favorite Day Apple Cider flavor costs about $2.99 a pint. This ice cream didn't hit the way that I wanted it to for a couple of reasons.

I was expecting that warm, syrupy cider taste, but that didn't come through here. There were notes of cinnamon and a subtle hint of tart apple, but the flavors didn't mesh well. The ice cream was also supposed to have chunks of spiced apple, but I didn't find a single piece. The only reason this ice cream doesn't hit the very bottom of my list is because the texture was smooth and creamy.

Next up is Salt & Straw's Cinnamon Snickerdoodle ice cream, which is about $15 a pint. Salt & Straw is a Portland-founded company that ships small-batch artisan ice cream across the nation. While this ice cream nails the cinnamon-sugar flavors, it falls short on texture.

It had a very gritty, almost sandy texture, which reminded me of powdery cookie crumbs. Combined with the cinnamon spices that lingered, it was slightly unpleasant, and I had to brush my teeth afterwards. I'll note that this pint didn't go to waste; it made a great flavor addition to my coffee the next morning.

Next is Salt & Straw's Jack 'o Lantern Pumpkin Bread ice cream. A pint costs $12.95, and it was a part of the brand's Halloween drop. While it wasn't the worst I've had, it had too much going on.

This flavor has a pumpkin-spiced base, chunks of pumpkin bread, and whipped cream cheese frosting swirled throughout. The pumpkin bread was moist and tasty, but got lost among the spiced ice cream. And the whipped cream cheese frosting wasn't tangy enough to cut through the sweetness. The amount of mix-ins was impressive. I just didn't love all the elements combined enough to keep coming back for more.

Favorite Day's Cinnamon Espresso cost about $2.99 a pint, and it was described as espresso-flavored ice cream with a cinnamon graham cracker swirl. This ended up being my second favorite from the brand, thanks to the bold espresso. The graham cracker swirl added a sweet and saltiness, along with a subtle textural contrast.

This tasted like a fancy frozen coffee, and as someone who can't live without her daily latte, it ended up being a great nightcap. My only complaint is that I wish the cinnamon flavor was more pronounced. The graham cracker flavor was stronger, but I think a heavier dose of cinnamon would have been nice.

The first of our two Trader Joe's options was a classic Pumpkin ice cream. You could see the individual flecks of the spices in the ice cream, which I appreciated more than the artificial flavorings you sometimes find.

Trader Joe's ice cream was rich and creamy, closer to a custard in texture. It was easy to scoop, and the color was a vibrant orange that didn't feel artificially dyed. But as an ice cream with no mix-ins, it was pretty boring. If pumpkin spice is your favorite, it's worth trying, but for me, it was a nice option to sample and then share with my pumpkin spice-obsessed friends.

Another pumpkin-based seasonal flavor, Ben & Jerry's Pumpkin Cheesecake pints sell for about $5.99. Right out of the freezer, I found the ice cream difficult to scoop, so I let it thaw for a few minutes.

Flavor-wise, this ice cream is heavy on the graham cracker crumb swirl.The pumpkin here is balanced with the tanginess found in the cheesecake flavor. However, I wish there were a bit more complexity to the mix-ins, such as including cheesecake pieces like my favorite Specially Selected Strawberry Cheesecake from Aldi (the best Aldi ice cream).

Our next McConnell's option was Miso Sticky Toffee, which costs about $12 a pint. I was excited to try it because I love sweet-and-savory desserts. I also like miso soup, so I was curious to see how that umami base would translate into ice cream.

Pairing the miso with the toffee added a nice savory balance. Each bite was silky smooth, and there was also a generous amount of toffee swirls. This flavor was so rich that I could only eat a few bites. I found that it melted a lot faster, too. For those reasons, it wasn't the highest on my list, but I would probably eat it again — in small doses.

Perry's Pumpkin Pie was the next gourd-inspired treat. This version featured a swirl of pumpkin pie and whipped cream-flavored ice cream with pieces of pie crust throughout.

There's a subtle hint of cinnamon that helps boost the warmth of the pumpkin, though I wish it was stronger. And the whipped cream-flavored ice cream didn't add much to the overall flavor or texture, aside from providing contrasting color. The pie crust happened to be my favorite part. Somehow, they managed to stay crisp, and they weren't soggy, which often happens with ice cream mix-ins.

Chocolate Graveyard Cookie Crumble was the only dairy-free option, and I was not prepared for what I was going to find when I opened it. The ice cream contains black cocoa-flavored coconut cream and black cocoa cookie crumbles. This results in a dark hue that was surprising upon first glance. Even more shocking were the bright red swirls of white chocolate frosting that I only noticed after serving. The graveyard theme suddenly made more sense.

Flavor-wise, I liked the combination of coconut cream and black cocoa. It felt rich, creamy, and earthy, and the sweet cookie crumbles and white chocolate mellowed out the bitterness of the cocoa.

Pumpkin spice lattes have dominated coffee shops for decades, so it's only natural that there would be some crossover in the ice cream aisle.  McConnell's Pumpkin Spice Latte sells for about $12 a pint. And, while pumpkin spice isn't my go-to flavor, this ice cream was pretty delicious.

The first thing I noticed was that the color was rich and dark, and you could taste espresso right away. The pumpkin spice adds creaminess and warmth,  melding perfectly with the bold coffee. I also enjoyed the swirl of salted caramel, which added body and depth. The salty-sweet combination amplified the warm spices, making this ice cream taste like a fancy coffee.

Our final Favorite Day flavor was Caramel Commotion, which sells for $2.99. It features a salted caramel base, caramel-filled chocolate truffles, and a generous swirl of caramel. The ice cream has a very silky, smooth consistency, and you get contrasting texture and flavor from the salted caramel truffles.

This flavor was nostalgic, reminding me of a childhood favorite scoop from my local ice cream shop. The main drawback of this ice cream was how quickly it melted. Right out of the fridge, the texture was already soft, and after scooping it into my glass, it melted in a matter of minutes. Next time, I'll eat it straight from the pint to hopefully minimize this issue.

Wegmans Pumpkin Pie was next on the list for about $5.99. This one placed higher than the previous pumpkin-pie ice cream for a couple of reasons. Like Perry's, it contained pumpkin and cream-flavored ice cream, but, in this case, notes of vanilla helped distinguish it.

The pie pieces also tasted like warm cinnamon, bringing out more of the pumpkin pie flavor. Texturally, they added a bit of crunch without distracting from the ice cream. The consistency of this ice cream was smooth and custardy, which really solidified the seasonal pie inspiration.

I love anything that blends salty and sweet flavor profiles, so I was excited to try this Salted Maple ice cream. Unfortunately, it melted extremely fast. But based on flavor alone, I'm willing to put up with that.

A pint of this ice cream sells for about $3.79 and features a creamy maple base and a sprinkle of sea salt. There's a generous maple swirl ribboned throughout, bringing out even more of that syrupy sweetness. This flavor would be a great option to use in affogatos, to get something similar to a salted maple latte. Rich and luscious, the Trader Joe's find is worth a try, even with its temperamental melting.

Another take on the salty-sweet desserts, McConnell's Salted Caramel Chip went above and beyond what I expected. For starters, this ice cream, which sells for about $12 a pint, was actually chocolate. Initially, I was skeptical because I felt like there would be too much going on to really enjoy the salted caramel, but the bittersweet chocolate base really helped enhance the flavors.

You'll find thin shards of chocolate that melt in your mouth quickly, leaving a cocoa-forward flavor that melds well with the hints of warmth from the salty caramel. I really enjoyed McConnell's take, especially because the added chocolate made it unique but still balanced.

The next flavor is also from McConnell's: Malted Milk Chocolate. I wasn't expecting to enjoy this one as much as I did, but McConnell's really nails the simple and classic flavor perfectly.

At around $12 a pint, the chocolate ice cream has a strong bittersweet flavor instead of that overly sugariness that makes me shy away from most chocolate ice creams in the first place. There are no add-ins to this pint, but you get to fully focus on the rich and complex chocolaty flavor, along with the subtle but much-appreciated malted milk. This would be absolutely delicious in a diner-style milkshake. It didn't rank higher because malt flavor can be divisive, and there weren't any add-ins to take it to the next level.

The final pumpkin-inspired treat is Alden's Organic Pumpkin Spice, and I was actually surprised that this made my top 10 flavors. A 1.5 quart of ice cream costs about $15, and, upon opening the container, you're met with a gorgeous orange hue. That coloring was due to annatto, a seed that comes from the achiote tree and is commonly used to naturally add coloring to food.

Flavor-wise, this ice cream struck the perfect balance between sweet and spice, thanks to cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. While I usually want some mix-ins when it comes to ice cream, the lack of inclusions in this flavor actually helped enhance the overall pumpkin-y vibes, making it the best pumpkin ice cream of the bunch.

For our first Tillamook flavor, we have the limited edition Espresso Chip ice cream, which costs about $5.99. It's a coffee lover's dream. The deep brown coloring illustrates the inclusion of real coffee, and I barely regretted eating it so late because it's caffeinated. I even contemplated scooping the ice cream over waffles for breakfast.

Caffeine buzz aside, the creamy base is speckled with chocolaty pieces of espresso beans, which added textural contrast to the otherwise smooth scoop. I loved the juxtaposing bitterness against the sweet ice cream. If you aren't a fan of eating espresso beans, you may be tempted to pass on this limited edition flavor, but I still think it's worth a try.

The Sugar Cookie ice cream cost about $5.99 and is a great bridge between fall and winter. Mixed in with the creamy vanilla cookie base, you'll find a plethora of hearty chunks of sugar cookie dough.

I found so many pieces in my single serving that I was half expecting there to be none left in the container. A quick peek and digging around with my spoon proved otherwise. Tillamook knows how to do mix-ins. Cookie dough wasn't the only thing hiding in the ice cream. You also get crystal-like sugar pieces, similar to sparkling sugar on Christmas cookies that brought in a nice crunch. All of the elements combined earned its spot easily in my top five.

Our final option from Alden's Organic is the Caramel Apple ice cream, which costs about $15 per container. This ice cream was unique in that base is a tart apple ice cream, which gets its flavors from the inclusion of apple purée concentrate.

Paired with the silky caramel ribboned throughout, I appreciated the balanced sweetness. Texture-wise, it was slightly softer than some of the other ice creams I tried. It felt almost like I was eating soft-serve ice cream, but I think it worked well for this flavor. Alden's did an excellent job at turning my favorite fall treat into a delicious scoop of ice cream.

Giant is one of my go-to grocery stores, so I was pleasantly surprised to come across the store brand's apple pie-flavored treat. The Giant Deluxe Cinnamon Swirl Apple Pie ice cream costs about $3.99 and features a base of creamy cinnamon ice cream.

What separated this ice cream from the other two apple-inspired items on this list was the pie filling that was swirled throughout. This pint had real apple incorporated into the filling, albeit in a blended swirl rather than pieces. This added a sweet, caramel-like texture that helped bring out the cinnamon in the base. It scooped smoothly, and the texture was velvety and custard-like, but it still stayed frozen enough and didn't melt too quickly. Only one other flavor managed to beat it out with more creativity points.

Lastly, we have McConnell's Honey & Cornbread Cookies, which sells for about $12 a pint and starts with a honey-flavored base. Throughout the pint, you'll find chunks of cornbread cookies, which offer a fun textural contrast that made it my top flavor.

I loved the creativity behind this flavor, and found it to be slightly savory from the cornbread cookies. The honey flavor was subtly sweet, and it didn't have any iciness. The ice cream stayed firm after I removed it from the freezer, but not so much that I was unable to scoop it. Ultimately, it earned my top spot because I could not come up with any negatives for it. It really blew me away.

I purchased some flavors at stores including Target, Wegmans, and Giant, while some were gifted to me for review. Prices may vary depending on location of purchase. I served them in a glass, noting the texture and quantity of mix-ins, if the specific flavor included any. I also ranked them on overall flavor and took an unbiased approach, keeping my personal preferences away from impacting my final ranking.