Americans are increasingly curious about\u00a0ice creams\u00a0that market themselves as healthier alternatives, but data shows they keep returning to tried-and-true brands and flavors.<\/p>\n
In celebration of National Ice Cream Day, online grocery platform Instacart offered the scoop on what flavor most Americans are buying.<\/p>\n
Vanilla was the most-purchased ice cream flavor<\/a> in 2025, according to\u00a0Instacart data.<\/a>\u00a0It accounted for about 21% of all ice cream orders and was \u201cthe single most popular pick in every one of the 50 states and D.C.\u201d<\/p>\n Steve Christensen, executive director of the Missouri-based North American Ice Cream Association, told Fox News Digital that ice cream brings people together.<\/p>\n \u201cTry the vanilla first,\u201d he recommended when sampling ice cream. \u201cIf the vanilla\u2019s good, then everything\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n Vanilla ice cream made up 21% of ice cream orders in the US for 2025. gtranquillity \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n Chocolate ranked second, accounting for 7.9% of purchases. Cookie dough took third with 6.9% of ice cream lovers choosing it.<\/p>\n The results prove that \u201cwhen it comes to ice cream, comfort beats novelty almost every time,\u201d Instacart said.<\/p>\n Instacart reported the remainder of the top 10 most-purchased flavors consisted largely of familiar, longtime favorites: cookies & cream (5.8%); chocolate fudge\/brownie (5.1%); peanut butter (4.7%); mint chocolate chip (4.7%); coffee (4.5%); strawberry (3.7%) and cherry (3.1%).<\/p>\n Chocolate placed as the second most-loved flavor with 7.9% and cookie dough followed close behind at 6.9%. kerkezz \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n Specialty and premium brans saw some of the strongest growth year-over-year.<\/p>\n Halo Top, which markets its ice cream as a \u201cfeel-good treat\u201d with \u201cfewer calories and less sugar\u00a0than other leading brands, with a good source of protein,\u201d was the most-searched ice cream brand<\/a> from April 2025 through April 2026, according to Google search data analyzed in a study from Innerbody Research.<\/p>\n Searches don\u2019t necessarily translate to sales, however. In 2025, Breyers, Blue Bunny and Turkey Hill were the top-selling brands by dollar sales,\u00a0Dairy Foods Magazine<\/a>\u00a0reported.<\/p>\n H\u00e4agen-Dazs was the most-purchased brand among American consumers using Instacart.<\/p>\n \u201cAt roughly 24% of orders, it edges out Ben & Jerry\u2019s, with Breyers rounding out the top three,\u201d Instacart reported.<\/p>\n Regional ice cream brands\u00a0maintained strong customer loyalty, the data showed.<\/p>\n \u201cTillamook is the brand the West favors most, Blue Bell rules the South and Blue Bunny owns the Plains,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n Specialty and premium brands, including Alec\u2019s Ice Cream, Rebel, Straus Family Creamery, Van Leeuwen and Graeter\u2019s Ice Cream posted some of the strongest growth year-over-year, the data showed.<\/p>\n