Key Takeaways
Both McDonald’s and Dairy Queen offer iconic ice cream treats with Oreo cookies, but the two items have signature differences.
Examining their ingredients and preparation methods reveals what sets them apart and why one stands out as superior.

Soft serve is the OG fast food dessert. Without drive-thru soft serve we wouldn’t have the Wendy’s Frosty, A&W’s Root Beer Float, or the Dairy Queen Blizzard.

DQ’s iconic treat has come a long way since the ’80s, with a seemingly infinite list of flavor options and secret menu orders to boot. But I get overwhelmed by a vast menu. And I’m also a creature of habit. Nothing is better than a classic Oreo Blizzard. Well, except for the Oreo McFlurry.

Turn your cup upside down all you want. To quote the modern-day sage Shania Twain, “That don’t impress me much.”

The McDonald’s Oreo McFlurry is ten times better than the Dairy Queen Oreo Blizzard—and I can prove it.

McDonald’s McFlurry vs. Dairy Queen’s Blizzard

I’ll admit: The optics aren’t great. DQ has been in the soft serve mix-in game longer than McD’s, as the Blizzard was invented in 1985. It took McDonald’s a decade to catch up. The McFlurry was actually invented in Canada in 1995, and, according to the fast food giant, was named the McFlurry “because a flurry felt like a cool, crisp, catch-a-snowflake-on-your-tongue moment of delightful possibility that engaged the senses and lifted people’s moods.”

Right…It had nothing to do with another chain’s popular winter weather-inspired ice cream treat. Sure, sure, sure.

Then there’s the whole question of whether the ice cream machine is down at my nearest McD’s. It almost always is, but that’s part of the allure. It’s like a Magic 8 Ball or a will-they-won’t-they rom-com character dynamic.

And, OK, the new McFlurry cup situation at many franchises is weird. It’s less of a cup and more of a takeout carton with a folded top that has no structural integrity. But remember those weird square spoons (that actually served a purpose)? We all just went with it. Show me a more loyal fan base.

Also, technically speaking, McDonald’s and Dairy Queen use the same fake ice cream strategy. That’s right: Soft serve isn’t actually ice cream. It would have to have significantly more milkfat, as Mashed reported in a deep dive of McD’s ice cream.

The ingredients for DQ’s “Artificially Flavored Vanilla Reduced Fat Ice Cream” and McD’s “Vanilla Reduced Fat Ice Cream” are remarkably similar, with the most noticeable difference being McDonald’s use of cream and milk, as opposed to DQ’s use of milkfat and milk. But as someone who has tasted both versions recently, while my dog was testing pup cups, I have to say: They taste the same.

So, why is the Oreo McFlurry better than the Oreo Blizzard? Because of how it’s mixed.

Why the Oreo McFlurry Tastes Better Than the Oreo Blizzard

Sara Haas

Although soft serve isn’t considered real ice cream, it is a superior frozen dairy treat because it’s so fluffy. Those teeny, tiny, silky ice crystals whipped throughout make soft serve the drive-thru icon that it is. So, why on earth would you then smash all the delicate little air pockets back out of it?

Because that’s what you get with a Blizzard. And don’t get me started on the Culver’s Concrete. The Blizzard is so well-mixed—over-mixed in fact—that it’s basically hard-pack ice cream. I don’t want uniformity. I want edible gravel.

An Oreo McFlurry is chaos in the best way, with Oreo cookie pieces that I can visibly identify, featured in various sizes. An Oreo Blizzard is so mixed that it’s just gray. The Oreo cookie pieces are eroded into sandy specs with far less texture than a McFlurry. And isn’t that the whole point of a good mix-in? It should highlight the harmony of creamy soft serve and crunchy candy or cookies—not smash it all together like compound butter.

Social media tells me I’m wrong. On Reddit, DQ fans have compared the Blizzard to a major league sports team and the McFlurry to a minor league.

“How is this even a discussion, the McFlurry is just a cup of their ice cream with some toppings thrown on top,” one Redditor commented. “It’s not even mixed together. It tastes good, but the Blizzard is mixed together, which takes it to another level. Plus, the Blizzard is always available, the McFlurry is frequently unavailable due to McDonald’s suspect ice cream machines.”

Correct. For all the reasons that people hate the McFlurry, I love it. I don’t care if the machines break down. It’s worth the wait.