Across the United States, ice cream is entering a fresh moment. Makers are experimenting with deeper flavors, silkier textures and ingredient combinations that feel inventive while still comforting. Throughout 2025, conversations around food have pushed ice cream back into the spotlight, especially as certain creations gain momentum on social platforms and inspire people to explore new shops and regional favorites.
This feature highlights the ice cream cream selections that truly stand out this year. Each one reflects a different expression of craftsmanship, whether it is a classic scoop perfected over time or a modern creation shaped by global influences. These choices represent the places that consistently draw attention for quality, creativity and the kind of flavor experience that stays with you long after the first taste.
What is emerging across the country is a richer and more expressive ice cream culture. Travelers and locals are discovering shops that treat ice cream with the same care given to fine desserts, turning simple cravings into memorable moments. As 2025 unfolds, these flavors and makers illustrate where the nation’s fascination with exceptional ice cream is headed and the experiences shaping that momentum.
Top 10 Ice Cream You Must Try In America (2025)
10. Ample Hills Creamery
Ample Hills Creamery brings a playful energy to every scoop while maintaining precision in texture and flavor. Their ice cream base is rich and velvety, providing a perfect canvas for mix ins that feel deliberate rather than excessive. Seasonal flavors this year explore caramelized fruits, spiced cookies, and inventive swirls, blending nostalgia with modern creativity. Each bite delivers layers of texture, from soft ribbons of fudge to crunchy inclusions, creating a satisfying mouthfeel that keeps the experience engaging.
The brand’s presence extends beyond Brooklyn, with new locations across the East Coast that have kept the menu fresh and inspired. Their approach emphasizes small batch craftsmanship, ensuring that even familiar flavors carry subtle surprises. Attention to detail is evident in everything from the dairy base to the hand-stirred mix ins, giving each scoop a sense of depth and richness.
Ample Hills also experiments with limited release flavors that rotate with the seasons, drawing on local ingredients and classic desserts reimagined for contemporary palates. These creations demonstrate how balance between innovation and tradition can produce memorable ice cream. The shop’s ability to combine whimsical presentation with careful flavor construction makes it a standout among artisan ice cream brands in the US in 2025.
9. Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams has built a reputation for combining clarity of flavor with creative experimentation. Each scoop maintains a polished texture while highlighting the distinctive qualities of fruits, nuts, and spices. In 2025, the seasonal lineup emphasizes bright, fruit-forward profiles alongside more indulgent, layered flavors that balance richness and restraint.
The ice cream achieves a refined mouthfeel that feels luxurious without being heavy. Limited edition releases explore unusual pairings such as citrus with floral notes or roasted nuts with subtle spice, producing combinations that are fresh yet familiar. Nationwide availability allows these flavors to reach a wide audience, bringing consistent quality to both shops and pints.
Jeni’s also continues to refine its vegan line, using nut and oat milks to achieve creaminess comparable to dairy options. This commitment ensures that each flavor retains depth and balance while broadening accessibility. By merging craftsmanship with inventive flavor building, Jeni’s solidifies its place as one of the most influential ice cream brands in America in 2025, offering scoops that are both imaginative and grounded in technique.
8. McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams
McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams exemplifies subtlety and precision. Based in California, the brand focuses on small batch production with dairy sourced from single origin farms, resulting in a base that is both creamy and clean. This attention to quality allows flavors to shine without being overshadowed by excess sweetness.
In 2025, McConnell’s has refined its classics while introducing limited seasonal flavors featuring delicate fruits, toasted nuts, and caramelized notes. The balance between richness and restraint creates a long, satisfying finish with each spoonful. Textures remain consistently smooth, giving a sense of luxury without being overly dense.
The brand’s influence extends through both in-shop experiences and carefully curated pints for home enjoyment. McConnell’s demonstrates that excellence can come from measured refinement rather than bold novelty. Its enduring appeal lies in the ability to transform simple, high-quality ingredients into ice cream that feels timeless, elegant, and fully representative of America’s artisan ice cream movement.
7. Van Leeuwen Ice Cream
Van Leeuwen has expanded its presence across the United States, establishing itself as a leader in both dairy and plant-based ice cream. The brand achieves a creamy, rich texture in every scoop, with flavors that feel layered and intentional. Its vegan line, crafted from almond, cashew, and oat milks, matches the depth and mouthfeel of its dairy offerings.
In 2025, Van Leeuwen experiments with roasted nuts, burnt sugar, and aromatic spices, elevating classic concepts with modern sensibilities. Seasonal releases often highlight regional ingredients, emphasizing freshness and a thoughtful balance of flavors. The brand’s approach allows both adventurous and classic palates to find engaging options without compromising quality.
Van Leeuwen’s influence extends beyond shop counters, with pints reaching grocery stores nationwide. Each flavor maintains clarity and richness, demonstrating that expansion does not require sacrificing craftsmanship. The combination of inventive flavor construction and accessible delivery secures Van Leeuwen’s position as a key figure in America’s ice cream culture, blending innovation with reliable, creamy texture.
6. Bi Rite Creamery
Bi Rite Creamery embodies California’s artisanal approach to ice cream. Local ingredients drive the flavor profiles, resulting in desserts that reflect both seasonality and place. Salted caramel, roasted nuts, and fruit blends are executed with restraint, allowing textures and flavors to unfold naturally with every bite.
In 2025, Bi Rite’s seasonal lineup incorporates floral and spice forward combinations that feel inventive yet grounded. Each scoop maintains a silky, luxurious mouthfeel, balancing richness with freshness. The creamery’s careful sourcing emphasizes sustainability and a deep connection to local producers, giving each flavor a sense of authenticity and depth.
The shop’s reputation for consistent quality and innovative seasonal offerings has solidified its standing in the national ice cream landscape. Bi Rite’s approach blends technique with creativity, producing ice cream that is both thoughtfully composed and delightfully approachable. Its restrained, expressive style makes it a touchstone for the modern artisan movement in the United States.
5. Salt and Straw
Salt and Straw treats ice cream as a canvas for creativity. Each small batch tells a story, blending local and seasonal ingredients into flavors that feel both surprising and approachable. The brand’s 2025 lineup embraces bold combinations, from roasted berries paired with subtle herbs to caramel and floral infusions, showcasing the range of textures and taste profiles ice cream can offer.
The brand emphasizes discovery with every scoop. Flights of multiple flavors encourage tasting, allowing patrons to experience contrasts between smooth creams and crunchy or aromatic elements. Attention to detail extends to sourcing, with imperfect or surplus produce repurposed into inventive creations, demonstrating a commitment to sustainability while enhancing flavor depth.
Salt and Straw’s influence stretches beyond its home in the Pacific Northwest, with locations across major U.S. cities that maintain consistent quality. The brand’s approach blends culinary curiosity with a familiar indulgence, creating ice cream that feels crafted yet accessible. Its seasonal and limited releases invite exploration, ensuring that each visit offers a fresh experience. Salt and Straw has positioned itself as a benchmark for artistry in the ice cream world, combining imaginative flavor construction with smooth, creamy execution.
4. Blue Bell Creameries
Blue Bell Creameries remains a pillar of comfort and consistency in American ice cream. Its 2025 offerings emphasize classic flavors like vanilla, chocolate, and butter pecan, executed with a creamy base that is smooth, dense, and richly textured. The brand balances tradition with subtle innovation, introducing seasonal fruits and lightly spiced blends that enhance the familiar without straying from its core identity.
The charm of Blue Bell lies in the reliability of its flavor profiles. Each scoop delivers a satisfying balance of sweetness and texture, providing a nostalgic quality that resonates with both longtime fans and newcomers. Its regional roots in the South have helped cultivate a loyal following, and the brand’s careful production methods ensure consistency across batches.
Blue Bell’s presence in grocery stores nationwide ensures that ice cream enthusiasts can enjoy premium quality without the need for a shop visit. This combination of accessibility and craftsmanship contributes to its continued prominence. In 2025, the brand demonstrates that excellence does not always require experimentation; precision, consistency, and attention to detail can produce ice cream that is both comforting and exceptional.
3. Tillamook Ice Cream
Tillamook Ice Cream continues to merge craftsmanship with broad accessibility. Known for its robust dairy base and rich texture, the brand emphasizes clarity of flavor and thoughtful ingredient balance. Seasonal releases in 2025 incorporate sweet and salty combinations, nuts, and fruit blends, each designed to enhance the creamy foundation rather than overpower it.
The brand’s approach highlights simplicity executed with care. Flavors are layered with subtlety, allowing natural ingredients to shine while creating satisfying depth in each bite. Tillamook’s attention to mouthfeel and structure ensures that scoops maintain their richness without becoming overly dense or heavy.
Wide distribution in grocery stores and availability across the country strengthen Tillamook’s national presence. This accessibility allows ice cream enthusiasts to enjoy premium texture and flavor from the comfort of home. By pairing dependable quality with thoughtful innovation, Tillamook secures its role as a leading American ice cream brand, combining the reliability of traditional flavors with seasonal creativity that keeps the brand relevant in 2025.
2. Graeter’s Ice Cream
Graeter’s Ice Cream stands out for its unique French Pot process, producing dense, velvety scoops with chocolate chunks that feel substantial and luxurious. This traditional method, combined with small batch production, gives every flavor a distinct texture and richness that is difficult to replicate elsewhere.
In 2025, Graeter’s continues to balance classic favorites like Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip with seasonal explorations that incorporate fruits, spices, and nut elements. Each release showcases the brand’s ability to maintain the integrity of its process while experimenting with flavor nuances. The result is ice cream that is indulgent, smooth, and layered, appealing to both purists and adventurous palates.
Graeter’s national impact has grown through thoughtful distribution and dedicated fanbases, ensuring the brand remains prominent beyond its Ohio origins. Each scoop carries a sense of tradition, demonstrating that meticulous technique can be just as compelling as bold innovation. Graeter’s remains a benchmark for artisanal quality, offering ice cream that feels both refined and inviting in 2025.
1. Häagen Dazs
Häagen Dazs tops the 2025 list for its seamless blend of heritage, craftsmanship, and global appeal. Each scoop is characterized by a dense, creamy texture that enhances flavor clarity, allowing ingredients to express themselves fully. The brand excels in balancing richness and smoothness, ensuring that every bite feels luxurious without being overwhelming.
This year, Häagen Dazs has embraced globally inspired and seasonal flavors that complement its classic lineup. Fruit-based options are bright and fresh, while indulgent profiles such as caramel, chocolate, and nut blends offer depth and complexity. Each flavor is carefully constructed to provide consistency across shops and pints, reinforcing the brand’s reputation for premium quality.
Häagen Dazs’ influence is widespread, combining accessibility with aspirational indulgence. Its presence in shops, grocery stores, and online platforms allows the brand to connect with a diverse audience while maintaining its signature sophistication. In 2025, Häagen Dazs continues to set the standard for premium ice cream in America, offering scoops that are elegant, creamy, and unmistakably crafted with precision.