Even though safe-to-eat cookie dough exists, the best cookie dough ice cream satisfies that universal desire to eat straight dough even more. It allows you to still feel like you’re doing something a little bit naughty. Because you’re not just eating dough—you’re stumbling upon chunks of dough. And the ice cream element doesn’t hurt, either. Creamy ice cream plus sweet-salty cookie dough? Nothing better.
But not everyone is looking for the same thing in a cookie dough ice cream, which made this a challenging ranking. Here’s what we all definitely wanted: big chunks of cookie dough that’s tender and has just a touch of salt and high quality ice cream. Some folks wanted LOTS of cookie dough. Others wanted it more spread out throughout the pint. Some wanted big chocolate shards, others barely wanted to sense the chocolate chips. Some wanted fluffy ice cream, others wanted it dense and custardy.
In the end, there was a pint for everyone. Read on to find where your particular chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream style falls in our ranking.
- Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert
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Is this the best cookie dough ice cream? No. But does it do a damn good job of holding its own without the help of dairy? You betcha. It’s made with almond milk and certainly lighter than the other ice creams on this list, but it’s still creamy rather than icy. True to Ben & Jerry’s form, it’s packed with lots of dough, which tastes almost as good as the dough in the dairy-full B&J’s CCCD ice cream. If you don’t do dairy, you’ll be happy with this pick.
Credit: Liv Averett / Target
- Haagen-Dazs Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
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You know what’s really good? Haagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream. (It was the best vanilla ice cream in our ranking.) It puts other vanilla ice creams to shame. And opening up a pint of Haagen-Dazs still feels like a fancy treat from the ‘90s. When you throw Toll House-quality cookie dough balls into that mix? That’s a whole-pint-in-one-night kind of thing for me. Sadly, we had to knock it down a few notches because there just wasn’t enough cookie dough in the mix. But, for me, this will still be the best cookie dough ice cream to eat by the pint-full.
Credit: Liv Averett / Target
- Toll House Cookie Dough
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Did you know that Toll House makes cookie dough ice cream? Of course they do! And of course the maker of the best tube of ready-to-bake cookie dough makes some of the best cookie dough ice cream. What a no-brainer! This extremely scoopable ice cream base is quite sweet and tastes more of sweet cream than vanilla. One taster commented that it tastes like ice cream sandwich ice cream. It’s sprinkled with lots of tiny, crunchy chocolate chips (a polarizing quality) and, of course, balls of the brand’s signature cookie dough, which taste just as good as you would expect.
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Tillamook Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
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Tillamook’s chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream base is downright indulgent. It’s like frozen whipped cream dotted with tiny chocolate chips and good-sized chunks of cookie dough. There’s definitely not as much dough in this mix as there is in our top pick. But some of us like ice cream—especially when it’s as creamy as this ice cream. We’ve touted Tillamook’s ice cream prowess in the past. It appeared in our best strawberry ice cream ranking, our best mint chocolate chip ice cream ranking, our best coffee ice cream ranking, and more. If you’re in it for the ice cream, this is the best cookie dough ice cream for you.
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
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If you, like Sporked’s own Jordan Myrick, think ice cream is purely a vehicle for mix-ins, then Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough is the best cookie dough ice cream for you. This pint is packed with hunks of dough. And the dough tastes great. It tastes real. It has that nice bite of salt on the finish and crunchy chocolate shingles for texture. It’s ice cream you can chew.
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
Best Non-Dairy
Best Ice Cream Base
Best Fluffy Ice Cream
Best for a Birthday Party
Best of the Best
Other chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream we tried: 365 Almond Milk, Baskin Robbins, So Delicious Coconut Milk, Dreyer’s Slow Churned Cookie Dough, 365, Signature Select, Van Leeuwen, Talenti
