14 'Ice Creams' At The Grocery Store That Aren't Really Ice Cream

You're strolling along the freezer aisle of your favorite grocery store and (without thinking about it) toss a carton of ice cream or some ice cream-adjacent dessert, like Klondike bars or Drumsticks, into your cart. You probably take that box or carton home, enjoy the frozen treats, and never even once think about whether or not you're truly eating ice cream. If it looks like ice cream and tastes like ice cream, it's ice cream — right?

Well, not really. Take a closer look at that carton or box and you may just see something surprising: the words "frozen dairy dessert." When you see those words, it means the maker isn't legally allowed to call the item "ice cream," as it doesn't meet certain standards put forth by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These standards dictate that ice cream must include certain percentages of butter fat and milk solids, for example.

However, just because your dessert isn't labeled "ice cream" doesn't mean it won't be tasty — it's just not technically considered ice cream. So which frozen desserts have been pulling the wool over your eyes? Here are 14 "ice creams" at the grocery store that aren't really ice cream.

Oreo sandwiches are a crowd favorite, whether you buy them in the grocery store, from the ice cream bin at a convenience store, or from your local ice cream truck. What could be better than two giant Oreo cookies with Oreo-flavored ice cream wedged in the middle?

While this treat is admittedly tasty, it's not ice cream — nor does it claim to be. It says right on the box that "Oreo sandwiches feature crème-flavored frozen dairy dessert." Instead of ice cream, the frozen dairy dessert is mostly "dairy product solids," which are just dairy products that have undergone a change — mainly the extraction of protein or lactose, and even minerals (or all three) from the milk, plus a few added ingredients that help give flavor and texture to the creamy frozen center — like the scary-sounding but pretty benign propylene glycol monostearate, which is used for emulsification. 

Honestly, the most worrisome ingredient in this "fake" ice cream is not in the ice cream itself, but in the oversized Oreo cookies. They contain high fructose corn syrup, just like their average-sized counterparts.

Blue Bunny's mini bars are essentially small "ice cream" bars covered in chocolate, and mixed and topped with caramel and crunchy bits. However, the brand is careful never to actually say that its mini bars contain any ice cream. Instead, the bars' interiors are described as "creamy vanilla goodness." Additionally, the ingredients list doesn't actually list any ice cream, even if the ingredients are pretty similar to what you'd find in ice cream.

Blue Bunny's mini bars are primarily made from recognizable ingredients including skim milk, sugar, whey, corn syrup, and buttermilk. These are the first five ingredients. Compare that to verifiable vanilla ice cream from Great Value and the ingredients are pretty much the same: milk, skim milk, cream, sugar, and buttermilk. Why one is ice cream and one isn't comes down to the quantity and proportions of ingredients used and, in this case, Blue Bunny's choices didn't make the cut when it came to capturing the official "ice cream" label.

Good Humor bars are another childhood classic for many, especially the strawberry shortcake bars, with their distinct flavors. Vanilla "ice cream" encapsulates a strawberry "ice cream" core and it's all surrounded by a crunchy exterior for a mix of flavors and textures that's difficult to replicate. That said, this is another instance of dairy desserts masquerading as ice cream. Yes, Good Humor's tagline is "ice cream truck favorites," but this is no ice cream.

Instead, a Good Humor strawberry shortcake bar is mostly nonfat milk, with the "cake crunch" product taking the No. 2 spot on the ingredients list — and if you ever wondered what exactly that cake crunch on the exterior of your strawberry shortcake bar is, it's essentially just your basic cake ingredients — flour, sugar, oil, salt, and baking soda — plus some red food dye. In fact, this pink frozen dessert contains multiple types of red food dye, including Red 3, which "causes cancer in animals," and Red 40 which contains carcinogens, as noted in a review from the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health.

If you were hoping that the Oreo's "ice cream" product at least lived up to your expectations, even if the Oreo "ice cream" sandwiches did not, we have bad news. This frozen treat that looks like ice cream, is filled with Oreo pieces, and comes in a bright blue tub, isn't ice cream either. Again, the brand is quick to point this out, calling the product a "crème-flavored frozen dairy dessert."

Beyond the Oreo cookie pieces and obvious dairy elements, the only ingredients that might have you scratching your noggin' are the monoglycerides and the two types of "gums" — guar gum and carob bean gum. However, while they might not be familiar to you, monoglycerides are considered safe and simply a form of fat, and natural gums (sugars) are safe as well, and are used in a broad range of products.

The Turkey Hill brand is a well-known player in the ice cream world, and the brand does produce a large variety of ice cream products that are authentically ice cream. However, there's also a fair number of frozen dairy desserts among the Turkey Hill product line.

Before you pick up a carton of Turkey Hill ice cream, take a gander at the fine print along the bottom of the bucket. You may just see that it says "frozen dairy dessert," despite the fact that the carton also proudly claims the product is "made with farm fresh milk." Remember, though — the use of real ingredients like milk and sugar isn't what determines whether or not a food item is or isn't "ice cream." Instead, it's all about the quantities and proportions. This fact, however, doesn't make some customers feel any better, saying that the frozen dairy dessert tastes "like cold nothing" on Reddit. 

Additionally, Turkey Hill is no stranger to criticism regarding its ingredients choices; in 2019, the brand was part of a class action lawsuit wherein claims were made that the brand mislabels its vanilla ice cream, falsely saying it contains real vanilla.

Cutting back on the carbs or calories and hoping that you can have your ice cream and eat it, too? You might be attracted to Breyers Carb Smart bars,which definitely look like ice cream, and contain just 60 calories, 4 grams of carbs, and 3 grams of sugar. However, what Breyers, a huge ice cream brand with international reach, doesn't claim is that the bars actually include any ice cream.

Instead, this is a frozen dairy dessert, made with skim milk and water, plus a mix of unfamiliar, difficult-to-pronounce ingredients. There's maltitol syrup, an alternative sweetener that's generally safe but Healthline says it can cause some gastrointestinal distress in some individuals; polydextrose, a carbohydrate that actually has supposed benefits similar to a prebiotic, notes the journal Nutrients; and acesulfame potassium, another artificial sweetener, but one that Medical News Today says is controversial for its links to cancer.

What would you do for a Klondike bar? Give up your dreams of eating real ice cream and settle for a frozen dairy dessert? Because that's exactly what you'll find beneath a Klondike bar's crunchy chocolate exterior: It's a frozen mix of nonfat milk, coconut oil, sugar, corn syrup, fructose, and whey. Well ... at least that's the case part of the time.

The original Klondike bars, sold in Pittsburgh in the 1920s, were most definitely made with real ice cream. The original vanilla bar promoted on the Klondike website additionally claims that it's made with real ice cream. However, some varieties, like the Klondike Krunch, are clearly labeled as "frozen dairy desserts" on the packaging (even if some of the marketing does use the word "ice cream"). It seems like Klondike could be toeing a dangerous line that could lead to consumer confusion.

If you're not familiar with this regional chain, Friendly's is so much more than just ice cream. It's also a diner serving up all your favorite and expected classics, including, yes, loads of ice cream. So, it's natural that Friendly's would also branch out into items you could buy in the freezer aisle, at least in some grocery stores. Only one problem: This "ice cream" in the store isn't exactly the same you eat in the restaurant.

Some of the Friendly's "ice cream" that you pick up in the store is clearly marked as a frozen dairy dessert. However, like the Klondike brand, Friendly's mixes it up — and you could find a Friendly's "premium ice cream" right next to the frozen dairy desserts, so it can be a little confusing. Read the packaging carefully if the distinction matters to you — that way you'll get exactly what you want to pay for.

Like Good Humor, Blue Ribbon produces some "ice cream" bars that, if they aren't exactly the same, are quite reminiscent of ice cream bars you may've eaten as a kid. Take Blue Ribbon's chocolate éclair bar, for example. Much like a strawberry shortcake bar, the chocolate éclair bar features a chocolate center, surrounded by vanilla, and then an outer layer of sweet crumbs. However, while you would naturally assume the chocolate center and vanilla layer are both made of ice cream, that's not the case. This is another instance of a frozen dairy dessert and, according to Blue Ribbon, the vanilla isn't real, it's artificial flavoring.

The same goes for Blue Ribbon's orange dream bar, with its vanilla interior and orange shell on the outside (the shell, by the way, is a fat-free sherbert). Blue Ribbon also has a strawberry shortcake bar, just like Good Humor, that is likewise a frozen dairy dessert.

If you've noticed a trend among these ice creams that aren't really ice creams, it might be that a lot of them are a far cry from what you'd typically think of as a basic, classic serving of ice cream. They either feature tons of add-ins, extras, and/or flavorings, or they're molded into interesting shapes or onto a stick. They're frozen novelties. And it might lead you to believe that, perhaps, real, true ice cream isn't a good fit for these uses. It might also lead you to think that, if a brand were just going to sell plain vanilla ice cream, then, it could possibly spring for the right ratios to give you real ice cream.

Alas, that's not what Blue Bunny has done with its soft vanilla cups. It's literally just vanilla "ice cream" in a cup, but Blue Bunny opted to go the frozen dairy dessert route. Maybe it's a choice that impacts texture, as Blue Bunny does advertise this product as being similar in texture to soft serve, even though it's sold and stored in the freezer, like normal hard "ice cream." However, if you're looking for real ice cream of any type, look elsewhere.

For those who need to follow a non-dairy diet, Ben & Jerry's non-dairy line is a godsend. Your favorite B&J flavors? Without the dairy? Perfection. It's also arguably the best non-dairy ice cream on the store shelf, in terms of tasting like real ice cream. However, it's definitely not real ice cream.

While some ice creams — like those sold by Lactaid — are fully ice cream, just with the lactose removed, making them suitable for lactose-intolerant individuals, if not vegans, that's not the case for Ben & Jerry's non-dairy ice cream. In fact, the brand doesn't even use the term "ice cream." This is another frozen dessert. So what does Ben & Jerry's use in place of milk? Some recipes use oat milk, while others use almond milk. The almond milk varieties are technically the brand's "old" recipe, while the oat milk is the "new" recipe that's supposedly creamier and overall better for flavor delivery than the prior recipe.

While SO Delicious might sell its products in the ice cream aisle, right next to ice cream, the brand makes no secret about not being ice cream, with "frozen desserts" front and center on the brand's website in big, bold letters. Like Drumsticks and the various brands that produce "ice cream" bars, SO Delicious crafts frozen treats in different shapes and configurations as well. However, rather than use a mix of dairy products, sugars, and natural gums to reach the final product, SO Delicious relies on almond, cashew, coconut, oat, and soy milks, for non-GMO, dairy-free, certified vegan desserts.

You will, though, notice one offering from the brand that may raise a few eyebrows: SO Delicious's "wondermilk" frozen desserts. What exactly is a wondermilk? Apparently, it's the brand's own blend of various milks (like oat, coconut, and soy), oils, and other ingredients for a product that best mimics the taste and feel of real dairy.

If you're picking up a pint of Oatly in the grocery store, you probably know what you're in for. Yes, it looks like ice cream and, yes, it's sold in the ice-cream aisle, but this is not ice cream. It says "oat" right in the brand name. The phrase "Wow no cow!" is splattered all over the packaging, as is "100% vegan." Still, for those with doubts, this "ice cream," just like all the rest on this list, has to say, right at the bottom of the pint, that it's a "non-dairy frozen dessert."

Compared to some other vegan or non-dairy ice creams out there, Oatly is pretty simple and contains very few ingredients: water, oats, coconut oil, sugar, and a few extra items for flavor and texture. Plus, if you're looking for a non-dairy soft serve that can take the place of that Blue Bunny soft serve, Oatly has something to fill that need: oatmilk-based soft serve mix, just add the soft serve machine.

Is there anything quite like a classic Drumstick? You've got the sweet chocolate shell, covered in nuts, that cracks underneath your first bite. The creamy center contrasts perfectly with the slightly soft and sweet waffle cone. Then, at last, you get a chocolate-filled cone end as the perfect send-off. As much as you may love a Drumstick, though, don't make the mistake of thinking these beloved treats are made from real ice cream.

Drumsticks aren't real ice cream, even though they contain ingredients like skim milk and sugar that might convince you otherwise. One good thing about this? At least it means your faux-ice cream Drumstick won't melt like real ice cream. The natural gum ingredients help prevent rapid melting and, as one TikTok user showed, you can thus leave out a Drumstick for up to a whole day, at room temperature, and it'll remain relatively intact rather than melting into a full-liquid, sticky puddle.