The Worst Ice Cream At Aldi Is Unpleasantly Bitter

Aldi is a long-standing institution when it comes to getting no-frills groceries at a fraction of what you would pay at other stores. Much like Costco (with Kirkland goods) and Trader Joe's, Aldi offers own-label goods that cut out costs such as marketing, sales, and grocery store shelf-placement, in turn passing on savings to the consumer. While some products from the store, like ribeye steak, chicken Caesar salad, and specially selected aged cheese have been deemed Aldi customer favorites, thanks to a yearly poll conducted by the discount supermarket, there are other items that didn't even make the list.

One item we weren't surprised to see left off the list was Aldi-branded basic chocolate ice cream. After licking our way through 12 different types of ice creams from Aldi, with flavors ranging from butter pecan to strawberry, we found that the chocolate was the least inspiring. We were surprised, considering chocolate is usually a safe bet, but as they say, sometimes the simplest recipes are the hardest to pull off. Not only did Aldi's chocolate ice cream not offer the comfort-flavor stability you'd expect from a single-flavor ice cream, but the manufacturers were too heavy-handed with the cocoa, leaving a bitter taste on the palate. 

It wasn't just that the flavor of Aldi's basic chocolate ice cream too bitter, the texture also left more to be desired. It didn't offer enough of the creaminess expected in ice cream compared to the others that our taste tester tried. However, don't let the chilly review of Aldi's chocolate ice cream keep you from wandering down their frozen aisle, altogether. They do have some delicious tubs, pints, and popsicles to choose from. 

In fact, there's a whole Reddit thread dedicated to chocolate ice cream's fraternal twin sister: vanilla. Aldi fans found Aldi's Specially Selected Super Premium Vanilla Ice Cream to be mind-blowing, going as far as to say it outranks premium ice cream brand Häagen-Dazs. We should also note that both Aldi's premium range vanilla and chocolate ice cream are made with only five ingredients, so it's nice to know it's not super-jam-packed with a bunch of unnecessary additives and preservatives. So, if you can, skip the basic chocolate and opt for the premium offering instead.

While the Aldi-branded basic chocolate floundered in our ranking of ice cream, smaller pint offerings featuring more texture and flavors did very well. In fact, Aldi's Sundae Shoppe Brookie Dough Premium Ice Cream featuring vanilla and chocolate ice cream along with chocolate chip cookie dough and brownie chunks took the number one spot on our ranking. If this pint of ice cream looks suspiciously familiar, it's because it's a clear Ben & Jerry's dupe. Honestly? We're all for Aldi getting into the copycat game if it means we get to enjoy all the flavors at half the cost.