A scoop or two of vanilla or a bowl of choc-chip is all very nice, but some occasions call for something a little less ordinary. We’re talking colorful, Willy Wonka–style creations: ice cream with savory ingredients folded through, scoops rolled in crushed Cheetos, and flavors you're more likely to find on a dinner plate than in a cone. From the beautiful to the bizarre, and often a bit of both, these are America's most outrageous ice cream flavors.
All of the flavors are a little outrageous at Milk & Cream Cereal Bar, which was founded in New York City and now has locations in Astoria, New York and Jersey City, New Jersey. There are rotating signature combinations, such as the Froot berry bliss – Froot Loops cereal with strawberries, blueberries, vanilla ice cream, and gummy bears. Customers can also build their own creation by choosing vanilla or cookie dough ice cream and adding cereals and other toppings.
Despite the name, Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium in Falmouth has become most famous for its lobster ice cream. Yep, this seaside spot has been serving scoops flavored with one of New England's favorite delicacies since 1988. Real chunks of lobster are folded into the butter-flavoured ice cream, a creation apparently offered to prove to a customer that all Ben & Bill's serves were house-made. There’s a second location at Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard.
This cracking (or crackling) flavor is decidedly out of the ordinary, with a base of tutti frutti ice cream topped with Pop Rocks candy that sizzles and pops in your mouth. It’s so popular at Clumpies, which has several parlors in Chattanooga, that, while other unusual flavors come and go, it’s become part of the core menu. Its blue and red look is as striking as the taste sensation.
If ice cream for breakfast sounds like an outrageous treat, how about a shot of bourbon with that? Humphry Slocombe’s Secret Breakfast combines bourbon ice cream and crunchy cornflakes (with an optional bourbon caramel on the top), and it’s one of the most popular scoops on the menu. The small chain, with parlors in San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley, specializes in unusual flavors like Hong Kong Milk Tea and Lavender Crumble.
Where do goths go for ice cream? If they happen to be in Los Angeles, it has to be Little Damage. The shop is famous for its black waffle cones, made with activated charcoal for a striking effect. They’re topped with soft-serve ice cream in flavors that are constantly rotating, and are chosen to pop vividly against the dark cones. Regularly reappearing varieties include lemon velvet and the shop’s original flavor, almond charcoal (right).
Jeni's, which has shops across the US, has released more than its share of outrageously good ice cream flavors – including whiskey and pecan, and buttercream birthday cake (which comes complete with chunks of sponge, frosting and rainbow sprinkles). But the everything bagel flavor, inspired by the breakfast favorite, perhaps tops the lot. It’s all about the toppings, taking all that you'll find sprinkled atop the bagels: sesame, poppy seeds, onion and garlic, all of which are folded into sweet cream cheese ice cream.
This isn’t just curry ice cream – this is curry and white chocolate ice cream. The subtly spiced sauce is swirled through a base of ice cream laced with sweet white chocolate, and it’s surprisingly lovely. The 'curry curry' is a creative, reappearing special from The Comfy Cow, whose previous offerings have included chocolate with bacon: a rich milk chocolate ice cream folded with maple syrup and chunks of bacon.
Durian is a divisive fruit. It’s infamous for its funky smell – so much so that it’s reportedly banned on numerous forms of public transport in some countries, including Thailand and Singapore. That hasn’t stopped New York parlor Morgenstern's from putting it in an ice cream, though. The distinctive fruit is paired with banana for extra sweetness, and is pictured here paired with scoops of coffee and raw milk flavors.
This seasonal ice cream parlor, located in the popular summer resort of Rehoboth Beach, has served up some unusual flavors in its time. There was ghost pepper, which required customers to sign a waiver and prove they were over 18 years old, and then there’s this rather less intimidating favorite. The base is vanilla ice cream, colored what the shop calls ‘mermaid lilac’, and folded with crushed Oreo Golden cookies.
It sounds outrageous and, well, it is. But Cheat-Ohs – soft-serve ice cream rolled in crushed Cheetos – is a regular fixture on the specials board at Big Gay Ice Cream, which has several locations in New York City. The cheese puff creation understandably proved a huge social media hit when it first appeared a few years ago, and its frequent return is testament to the fact that the combination of sweet and salty is actually quite delicious.
Think ham doesn't go with ice cream? Think again. Windy Brow Farms has taken a New Jersey classic – Taylor Ham, or pork roll – and incorporated it into a sweet treat. The processed pork, which is mixed with cinnamon and sugar, adds a salty kick to sweet maple ice cream. This flavor has been a crowd favorite since the fruit farm released it as part of its ‘Only in Jersey’ range, which originally included sweetcorn and honey and tomato pie too.
If you think the look of this jet-black ice cream is striking, wait until you taste it. The aniseed punch of liquorice isn’t for everyone, but many people adore it, and it's one of the most popular flavors scooped at Big Dipper Ice Cream. It also happens to be one of the most Instagram-friendly ice creams around. The small chain has locations in Billings, Helena and Missoula, and sometimes offers a salted black liquorice twist too.
The eye-popping color of this ice cream may be enough to entice visitors to Dave's Hawaiian Ice Cream, which has parlors on Oahu and Molokai islands. The purple scoop is made from ube, or purple yam – a root vegetable known for its vivid hue. It's combined with the shop's indulgent vanilla ice cream to create a sweet treat. Other colorful, Hawaiian-inspired concoctions include green tea, azuki bean, and poha berry.
Sesame Street character Cookie Monster has inspired many treats, from ice creams to cocktails. What makes this one from Owowcow special, though, is the fact it hasn’t been doused with artificial food colourings. It owes its delicate blue hue to organic butterfly pea flowers, and consists of sweet ice cream swirled with crumbled chocolate chip cookies, made in-house. It was created as a way to use up a glut of cookies, and proved so popular it’s now one of the core flavors.
The yeti used to be a rare sighting at Molly Moon’s, scooped out as a winter special (the parlor also has a summer take, Sasquatch). But this combo of classic ice cream tossed with house-made granola, swirls of vanilla bean caramel sauce, and chunks of dark chocolate was hugely popular, and it’s now part of the core menu. The shops, dotted around Seattle, sometimes offer a vegan version too.
Black Dog Gelato is the brainchild of Jessica Oloroso, a former pastry chef whose travels in Italy inspired her creations. The seasonal shop has a range of rotating specials, and one of the regular quirky-yet-crowd-pleasing options is made with chocolate, strawberries, and balsamic vinegar. Sweet, tangy and complex, it's a step above your average strawberry scoop.
The small-batch offerings at The Bent Spoon change regularly, but this one often returns to the menu because it’s just so delightful. The olive oil, used both in the ice cream and drizzled on top, brings subtle nutty and grassy notes that balance the sweetness. The shop sometimes adds complementary flavors like lemon and sea salt. Another favorite here is bananas Foster, served flambéed (though not to melting point).
This savory-sounding concoction is the brainchild of Sweet Republic, an Arizona ice cream parlor celebrated for its made-from-scratch offerings. Fresh asparagus is whipped into a creamy sweet treat in pretty mint green – it's pictured here with summery sweet corn and tomato basil sorbet.
Tin Pot Creamery has several scoop shops in northern California’s Bay Area (including Palo Alto and Los Altos) and is known for its French-style creations. Classics like mint chocolate chip and vanilla bean sit alongside matcha green tea and lavender with lemon-poppy cookies. Most innovative – and prettiest – of all is the delicate and floral blue jasmine tea, which started as a limited-edition flavor and was so popular it has been added to the ‘forever menu’.
Portland-based Fifty Licks is known for its quirky, experimental flavors, though never for gimmicks – these creations are all about the taste. An enduring favorite is the Thai rice flavor, which uses fragrant jasmine rice for a wonderfully silky texture, as well as the leaves of the pandan plant. It tastes like an aromatic and slightly floral rice pudding. Other unusual scoops on the menu include cornbread ice cream, which comes with chunks of cornbread and a drizzle of honey butter.
Since Brooklyn-based Odd Fellows opened in 2013, the imaginative shop has conjured up more than 400 different ice cream flavors. The range changes day by day, but one favorite that tends to return again and again is this sweet cornbread ice cream, which works well served as a sundae with a blueberry compote. Other winning options include tequila pineapple and miso cherry. The small chain also has shops in Florida, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
Don’t worry – no goldfish were harmed in the making of this unusual ice cream. It’s made with cheesy goldfish-shaped crackers, which are crushed and folded into otherwise sweet ice cream. It’s salty, sweet and hugely popular whenever it pops up on the ever-changing menu at Ice Cream Riot. Cheddar goldfish is shown here, right, paired with a scoop of the brand’s 'dirty cookies & creme'. Other gloriously OTT creations include Pop-Tart ice cream sandwiches.
A Chinatown institution for more than four decades (and now with several New York locations), Chinatown Ice Cream Factory has had plenty of practice dreaming up unusual creations. The black sesame option is a perennial favorite: a nutty-tasting blend flecked with black sesame seeds. It’s lovely on its own, or, as shown here, with scoops of other flavors like green tea and ube or taro.
More outrageously good than simply outrageous, the tiramisu ice cream served at Sweet Rose Creamery is so delicious that anyone who tries it will wonder why this isn’t more of a ‘thing’. It’s one of the regular flavors served at the creamery’s two Santa Monica shops, and it really does have all the components of the moreish Italian dessert. Sponge ‘ladyfingers’, made in-house, are folded through the velvety ice cream, along with strong coffee syrup, dark cocoa powder, mascarpone, and a little Marsala wine. Make ours a pint.
That’s basil with blackberry, not blackberry with basil. The earthy-sweet herb, with its notes of anise, black pepper and mint, is definitely the dominant flavor here, steeped overnight in cream and then strained for the ice cream base. Blackberry sauce is swirled through to bring a touch of tart sweetness. It’s one of the core flavors at High Point Creamery, with other favorites including cornbread with strawberry jam, and whiskey with pistachio brittle.
The menu at il laboratorio del gelato is like a paint color chart – there are so many vivid and unusual creations on offer. The visionary shop opened in 2002, and has been committed to whipping up unique frozen treats ever since. The shop's flavor portfolio is full of astonishing options such as carrot, beet, butternut squash, pink pepper, root beer, Cheddar and wasabi. This one is infused with the flavor of tarragon, bringing a warm and delicate anise note to the party.
All of the flavors scooped up at Dasher & Crank, an ice cream shop in Miami's hip Wynwood district, are inventive and delicious. But the ube macapuno stands out in more ways than one. While other outrageous flavors come and go, this one – made with ube, or purple yams, which give it that vibrant purple hue (shown bottom left) – is the most popular ice cream on the menu. The ice cream base is coconut, which lifts the earthy notes of the sweet potato for a refreshing balance.
Salt & Straw is known for its kooky ice cream creations, and its most innovative and unusual offerings crop up as part of its annual Thanksgiving series. The flavors vary a little each year, with 2022’s ‘dinner’ including caramelized turkey and cranberry sauce, roasted peach and sage cornbread stuffing, a vegan pumpkin and gingersnap pie, and Mom's Mango Pie, a collab with musician Hrishikesh Hirway. The small chain mainly has shops on the West Coast, plus one in Miami, Florida.
A slightly tamer option compared to some on our list, cilantro lime is a seasonal favorite at Lick Honest Ice Creams. The flavor is perfect for summer, with its kick of zesty lime and twist of fresh coriander. Lick has shops in and around Austin and San Antonio, and its other palate-pleasing offerings – inspired by seasonal, Texas-grown ingredients – include sweet persimmon and sage, and dewberry.
This pumpkin flavor comes back by popular demand each fall at Cool Moon Ice Cream, and it’s suitably warming for the chillier season. You can find it here throughout October right up to Thanksgiving, alongside other seasonal flavors like butter pecan and orange cranberry sorbet. There’s also a candy cane flavor for the festive season, and always-available options such as birthday cake and kulfi (pistachio, cardamom and rosewater).
Tomato is a favoured ingredient at The Creole Creamery, which has three locations in New Orleans, Louisiana and one in Bay St Louis, Mississippi. The Creole tomato sorbet – a sweet but tangy flavor that makes the most of this locally grown produce – is a seasonal menu staple. Other tomato-infused concoctions have included Alotta Burrata, a cheese-based scoop swirled with strawberry-tomato jam (pictured).
If you’ve never thought of putting pickles on your ice cream, this might change that. Sweet Action, which has several shops in the Mile High City, focuses on high-quality ingredients, local produce and unique flavor combinations. Options change seasonally, but this honey jalapeño pickle creation returns regularly due to customer demand. It’s made with jalapeño and honey pickles from local company The Real Dill.