The Fast Food Chains With the Best Ice Cream
Ice cream is the perfect pick-me-up on a hot summer day, as an afternoon treat, or whenever you’re in the mood for something sweet.
If you don’t order ice cream from your favorite fast food chain, you might be missing out.
Many fast food chains offer delicious ice cream cones and cups, making them an ideal dessert after your meal.
These sweet, creamy treats have a variety of flavors, and some even come with delicious toppings or mix-ins that you can customize.
In this article, we’ve rounded up the 13 best fast food ice creams to order when you want a frozen treat.
13. Burger King: Soft Serve Cone
Burger King is one of the largest fast food chains best known for its signature burgers.
They run over 7,000 locations in the US, with at least one in each state.
Burger King’s dessert menu features a variety of cookies, milkshakes, and pies, as well as one of the most affordable fast food ice cream cones.
Their soft-serve cone costs only $1.49.
It’s a cool, creamy, velvety swirl of vanilla-flavored soft-serve ice cream served in a classic cake cone.
If you prefer your ice cream to be in a cup, Burger King also offers a soft-serve cup at the same price.
One Soft-Serve Cone is 200 calories and contains 5 grams of fat, 150 milligrams of sodium, and 5 grams of protein.
12. Chick-fil-A: Icedream Cone
Chick-fil-A is one of the most beloved fried chicken chains, with nearly 3,000 locations throughout the US.
Their dessert menu features a variety of cookies, milkshakes, brownies, and a signature soft-serve.
Chick-fil-A calls their soft-serve ice cream “Icedream.”
An Icedream Cone is made with a swirl of old-fashioned vanilla-flavored soft-serve, offered in a cake cone.
It’s 180 calories and contains 4 grams of fat, 90 milligrams of sodium, and 4 grams of protein.
They also have an Icedream Cup, which is the same as the cone but served in a cup.
11. Wendy’s: Frosty
Wendy’s is another of the largest and most popular fast food chains, famous for its burgers.
They run nearly 6,000 locations in the US, with at least one in each state.
They have an entire section of their menu dedicated to their signature ice cream treat, the famous Frosty.
Wendy’s Frostys were designed to be thick enough to eat with a spoon, smooth enough to drink with a straw, and the perfect sweet and salty accompaniment to fries.
They come in two flavors: classic chocolate and vanilla.
Each flavor comes in four sizes: junior, small, medium, and large.
A medium Classic Chocolate Frosty is 470 calories and contains 12 grams of fat, 210 milligrams of sodium, and 13 grams of protein.
10. Checkers/Rally’s: Cheesecake Sundae
Checkers and Rally’s are two fast food chains that have different names but share the same menu.
There are over 500 Checkers locations and over 300 Rally’s locations throughout the US.
Their unique dessert menu offers sweet treats like funnel cake fries and brookies and a delicious ice cream option.
Checkers and Rally’s offer a variety of cheesecake sundaes in flavors like strawberry, fudge, and caramel.
Each sundae has layers of strawberry, fudge, caramel syrup, cheesecake crust pieces, and decadent vanilla ice cream.
A Strawberry Cheesecake Sundae is 470 calories and contains 15 grams of fat, 460 milligrams of sodium, and 8 grams of protein.
9. A&W: Sundae
A&W is most well-known for being a root beer company, but they also run a chain of fast food restaurants.
They operate over 500 locations in 38 states.
A&W has an extensive dessert menu featuring everything from root beer floats to milkshakes to soft serve.
One of their best ice cream treats is the sundae.
It’s made with A&W’s signature vanilla-flavored soft-serve ice cream, your choice of sauce, and topped with a swirl of whipped cream and a maraschino cherry.
The sauce options include strawberry, caramel, hot fudge, and regular chocolate.
One Hot Fudge Sundae is 390 calories and contains 14 grams of fat, 250 milligrams of sodium, and 7 grams of protein.
8. Cold Stone Creamery: Signature Creations
Cold Stone Creamery is a popular ice cream chain famous for its customizable creations.
They run almost 1,000 locations in the United States.
Cold Stone’s ice cream is made fresh daily in each store and mixed with your choice of toppings on a frozen granite stone in front of you.
You can choose your own combination of ice cream flavors, fruits, nuts, chocolate, and candy or one of their premade Signature Creations.
They offer over two dozen Signature Creations, with flavor profiles ranging from fruity to creamy to chocolatey.
Their popular options include Banana Caramel Crunch, Campfire Classic, Apple Pie a la Cold Stone, Cheesecake Fantasy, and Chocolate Devotion.
Each Signature Creation comes in three sizes: Like It (small), Love It (medium), and Gotta Have It (large).
One medium Banana Caramel Crunch is 740 calories and contains 21 grams of fat, 270 milligrams of sodium, and 13 grams of protein.
7. Sonic Drive-In: Sonic Blast
Sonic Drive-In is a 50s drive-in-themed fast food chain famous for its menu full of classic American fast food items.
They run over 3,500 locations in 46 states.
Sonic has an extensive ice cream menu featuring a variety of cones, sundaes, milkshakes, and blasts.
Sonic Blasts are made with real vanilla ice cream mixed with a variety of toppings for a delicious flavor and texture.
They come in many flavors, including Oreo, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, mini M&Ms, Butterfingers, Snickers, and chocolate chip cookie dough.
Each Sonic Blast comes in four sizes: mini, small, medium, and large.
A medium Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough is 920 calories and contains 45 grams of fat, 450 milligrams of sodium, and 13 grams of protein.
6. Baskin-Robbins: Ice Cream
Baskin-Robbins is one of the largest and most popular ice cream chains, with nearly 2,500 locations throughout the US.
Each location offers 31 different ice cream flavors, so even if you visited your local Baskin-Robbins every day for a month, you’d still be able to get a different flavor each time.
The available ice cream flavors will vary based on date and location.
Some of Baskin-Robbins’ popular flavors include Rocky Road, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Cotton Candy, Jamoca, and Rainbow Sherbert.
You can enjoy your ice cream in a cup or a variety of cones, including cake, sugar, fresh-baked waffle, and fancy waffle with sprinkles.
5. Shake Shack: Frozen Custard
Shake Shack is a popular fast food chain famous for its chef-crafted burgers, fries, hot dogs, and custard.
They operate over 250 locations in 30 states and Washington DC.
Shake Shack’s dessert menu is full of delicious ice cream treats like milkshakes, floats, and frozen custard.
Shake Shack makes its thick, decadent frozen custard fresh in-house daily.
It comes in two classic flavors: vanilla and chocolate.
Each flavor comes in two sizes: single scoop and double scoop.
A single scoop of Vanilla Frozen Custard is 280 calories and contains 15 grams of fat, 180 milligrams of sodium, and 7 grams of protein.
4. Culver’s: Concrete Mixer
Culver’s is a Wisconsin-based fast food chain that has become a Midwestern staple for its signature Butterburgers, cheese curds, and frozen custard.
They operate nearly 900 locations in 25 states.
Culver’s dessert menu is iconic, featuring everything from shakes, malts, and floats to frozen custard concretes.
Their frozen custard is made in-house, in small batches throughout the day, always using farm-fresh dairy.
Culver’s concrete mixers are made with a blend of frozen custard and mix-ins, creating a sweet and decadent treat.
You can make your own mixer by combining chocolate or vanilla frozen custard with toppings like chocolate syrup, brownie pieces, M&Ms, strawberries, and cashews.
You can also order one of Culver’s premade concrete mixers, which comes in nearly a dozen flavors.
Some of their most popular flavors include cookie dough, Butterfinger, salted caramel brownie, chocolate Oreo, and mint Oreo.
Each concrete mixer comes in four sizes: mini, small, medium, and large.
A medium Mint Oreo is 960 calories and contains 50 grams of fat, 390 milligrams of sodium, and 14 grams of protein.
3. Oberweis: Ice Cream
Oberweis is a Midwestern dairy company that sells milk and other dairy products but also runs its chain of ice cream shops.
They operate over 40 locations in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Missouri.
Oberweis offers many delicious ice cream treats, including scoops, sundaes, shakes, malts, and smoothies.
Although the available ice creams at your local Oberweis shop may vary, you can expect to find classic flavors like vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, mint chip, and cookies and cream.
Each ice cream flavor comes in four sizes: kids, single, double, and triple.
You can enjoy your ice cream in a cup or choose one of Oberweis’ waffle bowls or cones, which come in plain, sugar, dipped, nuts, and sprinkles.
A single scoop of Strawberry Ice Cream is 405 calories and contains 23 grams of fat, 70 milligrams of sodium, and 0 grams of protein.
2. McDonald’s: McFlurry
McDonald’s is the world’s largest fast food chain, with over 13,000 locations in the US alone.
In addition to signature menu items like burgers, chicken nuggets, and fries, McDonald’s is also famous for its desserts.
The McDonald’s dessert menu features items like soft-serve ice cream, milkshakes, cookies, and apple pie.
However, their most famous dessert is the McFlurry.
It’s made from a blend of creamy vanilla soft-serve ice cream with a variety of different mix-ins.
The two permanent McFlurry flavors are Oreo and M&Ms, but the Oreo Shamrock McFlurry is also in high demand around St. Patrick’s Day.
An Oreo McFlurry is 510 calories and contains 16 grams of fat, 260 milligrams of sodium, and 12 grams of protein.
1. Dairy Queen: Blizzard
Dairy Queen is an ice cream and fast food chain famous for its frozen treats.
They run nearly 4,500 locations in the United States.
Dairy Queen’s menu is full of delicious ice cream treats, including soft-serve sundaes, Dilly bars, and their iconic Blizzards.
Blizzards are made from soft-serve ice cream blended with a variety of mix-ins to create a frozen treat so thick that it won’t fall out of its cup, even when turned upside-down.
There are many delicious Blizzards with permanent and limited-edition flavors that roll in and out seasonally.
Some popular Blizzard flavors include chocolate chip cookie dough, turtle pecan cluster, Oreo, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, Heath, Snickers, Butterfinger, and M&Ms.
Each flavor comes in four sizes: mini, small, medium, and large.
A medium Turtle Pecan Cluster Blizzard is 1,020 calories and contains 52 grams of fat, 390 milligrams of sodium, and 18 grams of protein.
Conclusion
Many fast food chains include ice cream on their menu to offer a great way to finish your meal.
These fast food ice creams come in a variety of flavors, and most can be ordered in a cone or a cup.
Whether you like your ice cream fruity, chocolatey, plain, or full of toppings, there will surely be an option to satisfy your craving.
Next time you’re in the mood for a frozen treat, try one of the ice creams on this list.
