10 Best Store-Bought Ice Cream Cakes, Ranked

If there’s one food that embodies the spirit of the phrase “best of both worlds,” it’s ice cream cake.

Creamy, cold layers of ice cream? Check. Convenient, sliceable shape? Check. It’s a classic birthday party dessert simply because there’s a 100% chance that everyone will enjoy it.

Ice cream shops across the country offer custom ice cream cakes where you can choose everything from the cake flavor to the ice cream flavor to the decor, but you can also pick up ice cream cakes at most supermarkets.

Today, I’ll take you through some of the best ice cream cakes you can find at your local grocery store, and these are just as good as the custom options at those fancy ice cream shops.

Plus, most options on my list are significantly cheaper than the ice cream shop alternatives, so you can have your (ice cream) cake and eat it, too!

10. Good Humor Viennetta Vanilla

We’re starting with an ice cream cake made by Good Humor, one of the most iconic frozen dessert brands of all time.

The Viennetta Vanilla was originally launched in the UK in 1982.

The ice cream cake made its way to America soon after but was discontinued in the 90s because it wasn’t selling well in the States.

Well, thanks to the 90’s nostalgia craze sweeping the nation, Viennetta Vanilla was brought back to the US in 2021.

If you haven’t had a chance to try it, this ice cream cake is essentially a large rectangle of ice cream with thin ribbons of crunchy chocolate throughout.

The outside of the cake is decorated with intricate swirls of more vanilla ice cream, giving it the appearance of a sophisticated, very “British” dessert experience.

The ice cream (which is technically a frozen dairy dessert) on this ice cream cake is just okay – it’s not particularly rich or creamy.

The slivers of chocolate have a satisfying crunch to them, but they’re a little bit waxy once you start to chew them.

But I had to include it on my list because it’s definitely one of the prettier desserts out there, and also simply because of the nostalgia factor.

Plus, despite its shortcomings in the flavor department, it’s still a mix of vanilla ice cream and chocolate, so I really can’t complain too much.

Look for Viennetta Vanilla at your local Kroger, Safeway, or Stop and Shop.

9. Friendly’s Wattamelon Krunch Ice Cream Cake

If you’re from the northeast area of the US, there’s a good chance you’ve had a slice of a Friendly’s Wattamelon Roll in the past.

This dessert is made with watermelon and lime sherbet with chocolate chips to look like a watermelon with seeds.

The dessert had a cult-like following but was discontinued in 2021.

Luckily, Friendly’s recently launched a new, very similar product: the Wattamelon Krunch Ice Cream Cake.

While it’s not an exact replica of the beloved Wattamelon Roll (pictured above), it’s pretty darn close and super tasty.

The “ice cream” cake is actually made with sherbet – watermelon-flavored for the pink layer and lemon-flavored for the white layer.

It’s dotted with chocolate chips throughout to act as the “seeds,” and the very top is covered in green whipped icing and crunchies, which are basically little bits of cookies.

Since this pick doesn’t contain any ice cream, and because I’m not a huge fruity dessert girl, I couldn’t rank this ice cream cake any higher, but I will say that it’s super refreshing and a guaranteed hit appearance-wise.

Does it replace the void left by the Wattamelon Roll’s departure? I’ll let the New Englanders decide.

I was able to find the Wattamelon Krunch Ice Cream Cake at ShopRite, and hopefully, more grocery stores will have this product on the shelves soon.

8. Jon Donaire Caramel Turtle Ice Cream Cake

If you want an ice cream cake that’s so rich that you may feel slightly sick after eating it, look no further than Jon Donaire’s Caramel Turtle Ice Cream Cake.

It’s made with a chocolate cookie crust, which is topped with a thin layer of fudge.

On top of that is a thick layer of vanilla ice cream, with ripples of caramels and crushed praline pecans throughout.

That’s topped with chocolate whipped topping, more crushed pralines, and drizzles of both caramel and chocolate sauce.

This ice cream cake is incredibly rich and has a little bit of every classic dessert flavor you can think of – chocolate, vanilla, caramel, and nuts.

The chocolate cookie crust is chewy and insanely chocolatey, especially with that layer of fudge on top of the crust.

This cake is definitely a little harder to track down than most, but it’s worth trying if you happen to find one.

It’s sold at most Kroger, Weis, and BJ’s stores.

7. Reese’s Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cake

Carvel is the master of ice cream cakes, so it’s no wonder they have a handful of cakes available at the grocery store that blow most others out of the water.

The first Carvel cake on today’s list is their Reese’s Peanut Butter cake.

This ice cream cake is made with two layers of chocolate ice cream, separated by a layer of chopped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and a peanut butter spread.

The cake is covered in a thin layer of peanut butter whipped icing and then drizzled in Hershey’s chocolate and crushed peanut butter cups around the border.

The ratio of chocolate to peanut butter flavor here is on point, which is sometimes hard to find in a chocolate peanut butter dessert.

I love it when peanut butter desserts have a little bit of a salty bite to them, and this ice cream cake definitely fits the bill.

The ice cream itself also tastes high quality, creamy, and smooth.

This Reese’s Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cake can be found at most grocery store chains like Walmart, Safeway, Giant, or Publix.

6. Carvel Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cake

We’re coming in hot (well, chilled, in this case) with another Carvel pick.

From bottom to top, Carvel’s Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cake includes chocolate ice cream with cookie dough pieces, a layer of chocolate crunchies, vanilla ice cream with cookie dough pieces, a layer of whipped icing, chocolate drizzle, more cookie dough pieces, and chocolate chips.

The textures here can’t be beat. It’s a smooth, creamy, velvety dessert with crunchy chocolate crumbs and chips throughout, and pretty much every bite you take will have a chunk of cookie dough in it.

This is similar to Carvel’s original and beloved ice cream cake but a little more chocolatey thanks to the dough and chips throughout.

The whipped icing on this cake is super fluffy and light, and the cookie dough chunks are bigger than you might expect.

The chocolate crunchies, however, are the star of the show, bringing in some extra chocolate flavor and providing the most satisfying crunch you can get from any dessert.

You can find this ice cream cake at most popular grocery stores like Giant, ShopRite, and Acme.

5. Oreo Ice Cream Cake

I’m a cookies n’ cream lover, so having Oreo on my list of the best ice cream cake flavors was a no-brainer.

This dessert starts with creamy vanilla ice cream with Oreo cookie chunks throughout, which is slathered in a thick layer of whipped icing and covered in finely ground Oreo cookie crumbs.

The ice cream tastes like real, rich vanilla – not that artificial vanilla that some ice cream cakes have.

The chunks of Oreo are pretty generous and manage to remain fairly crunchy.

This ice cream cake’s whipped icing is super light and airy, which provides a nice contrast to the dense ice cream and crunchy Oreo bits.

You can find the Oreo Premium Ice Cream Cake at pretty much any grocery store you can dream of, from Walmart to Food Lion to Wegmans.

4. Carvel Lil’ Love Chocolate Crunchie Ice Cream Cake

If you’ve ever had a Good Humor Chocolate Eclair or Strawberry Shortcake bar, then you know that the best part of them are those little crunchies all around the outside.

What if you had an ice cream cake that’s not covered in crunchies, both inside and outside?

Carvel’s Chocolate Crunchie Ice Cream Cake was made for crunch lovers everywhere.

It features two layers of chocolate ice cream divided by a layer of chocolate and vanilla crunchies.

It’s covered in a thin layer of Carvel’s signature whipped icing, which has a sweet, almost marshmallow-like taste.

This dessert is part of their Lil’ Love line of ice cream cakes, so it’s much smaller than the average ice cream cake, making it perfect for sharing with your family or a small group of friends rather than an entire birthday party.

This small but mighty cake can be found at most larger grocery store chains, such as Publix and Stop & Shop.

3. Friendly’s Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream Cake

Peanut butter cups are best when eaten straight from the refrigerator or freezer – there’s just something about how the chocolate snaps as you bite it and adds that extra bit of satisfaction.

Now, imagine that you could eat a mega-sized peanut butter cup directly from the freezer.

That’s essentially what Friendly’s Peanut Butter Cup ice cream cake is.

This dessert has two layers of peanut butter ice cream, separated by a layer of chopped peanut butter cups.

The dessert is covered in a chocolate fudge glaze, and the bottom border has a whipped peanut butter icing all around.

If you’re a true peanut butter lover, you’ll most likely find this to be the best store-bought ice cream cake out there.

The peanut butter ice cream has that authentic, sweet, and salty peanut taste to it, and the crushed cups in the middle of the cake provide even more peanut butter flavor and some great, crunchy texture.

The chocolate glaze is rich and fudgy but not too thick to keep everything from getting overly sweet.

You’ll find this ice cream cake at most major grocery store chains in the US.

2. Friendly’s Strawberry Krunch Ice Cream Cake

Remember the strawberry shortcake Good Humor bars I mentioned earlier? This product is a dessert in ice cream cake form.

It has two layers of ice cream: vanilla on the bottom and strawberry on the top.

The two ice cream layers are separated by vanilla and strawberry crunchies.

The top and sides of the cake are covered in vanilla whipped icing and more crunchies.

You probably know exactly how this cake tastes just by looking at it. It’s got that sweet, artificial strawberry flavor, which I’ve always loved.

It doesn’t taste like a real strawberry but tastes like the baked goods and desserts we grew up with.

The crunchies are able to somehow remain moist and crunchy at the same time.

The ice cream in this cake tastes like actual high-quality ice cream, too. It’s rich and creamy, which contrasts nicely with the super light, airy whipped icing.

This is by far one of the best ice cream cakes out there because it has the nostalgia factor and good ingredients and flavors to back it up.

This ice cream cake is pretty popular, so it’s likely to be available at your local grocery store.

1. Carvel Original Ice Cream Cake

While Carvel wasn’t the first brand to create an ice cream cake, they’re certainly responsible for creating the world’s most popular ice cream cake.

Their original is simply the best ice cream cake you can buy, hands down.

This cake starts with a layer of chocolate ice cream. Above that is a generous layer of chocolate crunchies – more than you’ll see inside any other ice cream cake on this list.

Then, you’ll find a layer of rich vanilla ice cream.

The whole dessert is covered in a thin layer of vanilla whipped frosting and decorated with a border of blue vanilla whipped frosting and rainbow confetti sprinkles.

Carvel’s original ice cream cake is beautiful in its simplicity.

It doesn’t need a million and one additions to make it special.

It has an equal balance of chocolate and vanilla flavoring and the perfect ratio between smooth, creamy ice cream and icing and crunchy bits of chocolate.

Since Carvel’s original ice cream cake is probably the most popular of its kind, it can be found at virtually any grocery store and in multiple sizes.

Conclusion

Now that you know the best ice cream cakes your local grocery store has to offer, you’ll never be in a pinch of an impressive dessert again.

Some of these options, like the Wattamelon Krunch cake and Caramel Turtle cake, are harder to track down, so keep your eyes peeled in the frozen desserts section.

When in doubt, though, I recommend going with Carvel’s original ice cream cake. I’ve never met someone who’s turned down a slice when it’s brought out at the party!