We Tried 35 Turkey Hill Ice Cream Flavors and the Winner Blew Us Away

Here at Parade, we're passionate about ice cream. And honestly, can you blame us? When we're in the mood for a sweet treat, it's hard to beat a scoop of ice cream in a cup or cone. It's rich and creamy and always hits the spot.

Over the years, we've tried and ranked many different ice creams, from smaller brands like Jeni's to big brands like H?agen-Dazs. And as the ice cream universe grows and changes, we've noticed new (or new-to-us) brands popping up in the grocery store freezer case. One of those brands is Turkey Hill, a PA-based company with a rich history that's now available in major retailers, like Walmart and Target.

Now that Turkey Hill is widely available it seemed like a good time to do a deep dive into their wide range of flavors— and I happened to be the perfect person for this taste test because I live in Central PA, not far from Turkey Hill HQ.

For a full week, my husband, my 6 kids and I worked our way through some amazing ice cream. And the end of the week we compared notes to compile this list of 35 Turkey Hill ice cream flavors, ranked worst to best.

Related: We Tried 9 Different Ice Cream Sandwiches and the Winner Won By a Landslide

What is Turkey Hill Ice Cream?

Turkey Hill was founded during the Great Depression as a milk route. The company’s owners started producing ice cream in the 1950s with vanilla, chocolate and fresh-fruit flavors, like Peach.

In the 1970s, Turkey Hill drivers started to advertise more flavors, such as Egg Nog and Southern Pecan Pie. The seasonal flavors became extremely popular, so the company began making them year-round.

In the 1980s, the ice cream business grew tremendously and the brand started to produce a variety of flavors. Today, Turkey Hill’s ice cream lineup consists of more than 50 flavors.

In addition to ice cream, the company also produces sherbet and drinks, such as iced teas. I love the brand's sweet tea because it's the closest to Southern Style tea that I've found in Central PA.

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How We Tested the Turkey Hill Ice Cream

You'd think that testing ice cream would be pretty straightforward. You eat the ice cream and you decide which one you like the best, right? But that's easier said than done when you have 35 different flavors to try.

To help me make sense of it all, I grouped similar flavors together so that I could get a feel for how they are different. For example, Turkey Hill sent me five different vanilla ice creams: Vanilla Bean, Homemade Vanilla, Original Vanilla, French Vanilla and Simply Vanilla Bean. You wouldn't think these would be all that different from one another, but my youngest daughter loves vanilla ice cream she swears each of these has its own distinct flavor. When you taste them side by side you realize that she's right.

Included in my ice cream drop were Turkey Hill's newest flavors: Buttery Southern Pecan Pie, Brownie Batter Cookie Dough, Cherry Chocolate Chunk, Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup, Mint Chocolate Cookie, Salted Caramel Chocolate Espresso Ice Cream, and Ultimate Cookie Overload. This new lineup of premium ice cream, which is called the Late Night collection, is packed with “flavors inspired by your deepest late-night cravings,” and they definitely deliver.

Turkey Hill already had a Chocolate Mint Chip flavor, so I tested it alongside the new Mint Chocolate Cookie. Similarly, the brand had a Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup and a Butter Pecan flavor, so I wanted to see what made the new Late Night versions different.

Turkey Hill also recently released two new flavors in honor of Barbie’s 65th birthday— Strawberry Marshmallow and Frosted Cupcake. The brand already has a strawberry ice cream and a Frosted Party Cake flavor, so I was interested to see how the new Barbie-inspired ice creams would stack up. At the end of the week-long testing, I gathered the comments and crunched the numbers to create the rankings.

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35 Turkey Hill Ice Cream Flavors, Ranked Worst to Best

A quick note before we jump in: This ranking is based on what my family liked (and didn't like). There wasn't a dud in the bunch, but there were definitely a handful of flavors that really stood out to us as being the best of the bunch.

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35. Choco Mint Chip

Where are my mint lovers? This flavor is very minty with hints of chocolate, so if that’s what you want, this is a good choice for you. My 7-year-old hated this, but I didn’t think it was awful. It all comes down to how minty you like your ice cream.

34. Vanilla Salted Caramel

This flavor is “vanilla swirled with salted caramel,” and I have to admit that I didn’t care for this one all that much because there wasn’t enough caramel. I think this would be a great combo if you added some vanilla bean ice cream and then added caramel syrup on top.

33. Chocolate Marshmallow

Chocolate and marshmallows are a classic combination, but this flavor missed the mark for us. This decent chocolate ice cream has swirls of marshmallow fluff running through it, but I felt like the fluff was sparse. It was definitely more chocolate than marshmallow and I would have liked it better with thicker marshmallow swirls.

32. Original Vanilla

This is described as a "classic vanilla-flavored ice cream," and that’s exactly what it is. This flavor was the lowest-ranking vanilla, but it would still be a solid choice for topping a pie or making a milkshake.

31. Vanilla & Chocolate

If you're on the fence between vanilla and chocolate, this flavor was made for you. It's exactly what it sounds like—vanilla-flavored ice cream and chocolate ice cream in the same container. If you need something to please a crowd, this is the classic flavor that Turkey Hill started with and it’s a good choice, though it doesn’t wow me.

30. Fudge Ripple

The vanilla base with a rich fudge swirl sounds promising, but it wasn't our favorite. It has hints of chocolate, which mostly left us wishing for more. That said, if you're more of a vanilla ice cream person who likes just a little bit of chocolate, this might be one for you.

29. Mint Chocolate Cookie Late Night

I'm not a big mint and chocolate fan, but this flavor reminded me of an Andes mint, which is probably the only chocolate and mint combo that I enjoy. Even the 7-year-old who was not a fan of the chocolate mint chip said this one wasn’t terrible, but he’d “never eat it again.”

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28. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

The key to a great scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream is plenty of cookie dough bits. That's what we're in it for, right? When I tried this one I didn't find nearly enough cookie dough bits, which is how it landed pretty low on the list.

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27. Cookies 'N Cream

This flavor is a classic version of the fan-favorite cookies and cream combo. It's a simple vanilla ice cream base swirled with crumbled chocolate wafer cookies and tastes like a Dairy Queen Oreo Blizzard, which made it nostalgic for me.

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26. Tin Roof Sundae

Basic vanilla, plus a rich fudge swirl and chocolate-covered peanuts—what could be wrong with that? This flavor is really classic and simple, which I liked. It’s especially good if you like the combination of chocolate and peanut butter, but it fell a bit flat when compared to some of the other Turkey Hill flavors.

25. Black Cherry

It was fun to see a fruity ice cream in the mix, but this wasn't our favorite flavor. The vanilla base had generous chunks of black cherries, but we thought it had a surprisingly light cherry flavor.

24. Vanilla Bean

Take the Original Vanilla, but add vanilla bean specks, and you have the Vanilla Bean flavor. We did prefer this one to Original Vanilla but it still wasn't a stand-out flavor. It's another one that would be good to have in the freezer for topping desserts or as a base for a hot fudge sundae.

23. Neapolitan

Neapolitan is a trio of ice creams that offers a little something for everyone. When you lift the lid, you'll see the classic stripes of strawberry ice cream, chocolate ice cream, and vanilla bean ice cream packed inside. We liked that Turkey Hill uses vanilla bean in this combo because it pairs well with the strawberry and chocolate.

22. Homemade Vanilla

If you like "old-fashioned homemade vanilla-flavored ice cream," this is the one for you. It’s not as salty as homemade ice cream, but it does have that simple vanilla taste.

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21. French Vanilla

The company describes this as a "Vanilla flavored French custard ice cream" and it's got a classic vanilla flavor with a bit of a buttery aftertaste. We think it would be extra good in an affogato.

20. Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup

As a chocolate and peanut butter fan, I had high hopes for this one, which is classic chocolate ice cream with ribbons of peanut butter running through it. Unfortunately, the chocolate flavor is very light and the peanut butter was in a big clump in the center, so this was a dud for me.

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19. Strawberry Marshmallow

When I saw "strawberry swirled with marshmallow” I was intrigued, but this flavor didn’t impress me much. It’s a basic strawberry ice cream with some hints of marshmallow fluff, which are as sparse as they are in the Chocolate Marshmallow ice cream. More marshmallow fluff, please!

18. Strawberries & Cream

The fruity freshness of this flavor landed it in the middle of the pack. I liked the combination of strawberry ice cream with real strawberry slices. It tasted like fresh frozen strawberries, which is especially refreshing on hot days. I'm thinking this one would be extra tasty made topped with some chilled ginger ale for a cool and creamy ice cream float.

17. Black Raspberry

Going into this tasting, I was familiar with this one because it's my husband's favorite Turkey Hill ice cream flavor. Made with raspberry puree, it has a distinct raspberry flavor and a pretty purple color. It's smooth and creamy with just the right amount of fruity flavor.

16. Triple Chocolate Trio'politan

If you like chocolate, this one's a triple threat. When you open the tub you'll see a Neapolitan-style arrangement, but with a trio of chocolate flavors instead of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. This flavor has milk chocolate ice cream with a fudge swirl on one side, Dutch-style chocolate with chocolate chips on the other side and dark chocolate in the middle. Scoop across the container to create a fun striped scoop of ice cream.

15. Simply Natural Homemade Vanilla

This vanilla option is part of the brand's Simply Natural line, which has eight flavors with a pared-down ingredients list. The Simply Natural Vanilla Bean is made with nonfat milk, cream, sugar, vanilla and vanilla bean. That's it! Because of the short ingredients list, this flavor tends to be a bit harder straight out of the freezer, so just leave it on the counter for a few minutes to soften slightly before scooping.

14. Cherry Chocolate Chunk Late Night

The Late Night flavors really lean into the mix-ins, which is a very good thing. We really liked this combination of cherry ice cream studded with cherry pieces and chocolate chips. It tastes just like a cherry cordial candy and would make a perfect late-night snack.

13. Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Late Night

Another solid flavor from the Late Night line. This is what I imagined the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup would be. It’s a “dark chocolate ice cream with milk choco peanut butter cups and peanut butter swirl,” and while it is very good, it’s not as decadent as the other Late Night flavors.

12. Peanut Butter Ripple

Any peanut butter fans who aren't really into chocolate will be super happy about this flavor. The vanilla ice cream base is swirled with ribbons of real peanut butter, and it’s delicious! Usually, peanut butter is paired with chocolate, but this is a nice change.

11. Dutch Chocolate

This rich chocolate option is solid, but it wasn't my favorite chocolate flavor (keep reading for that). It's good, but not the best chocolate ice cream I've had. It would be another good choice for making milkshakes, sundaes or ice cream floats, though.

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10. Butter Pecan

Ice cream really is a year-round treat, but I feel like the nutty flavors are especially good when you can feel the fall weather sneaking in. The lightly buttery ice cream is tasty and has a decent amount of pecan bits, though I would prefer more pecans. That said, this one would be perfect for an early fall day when you need to grab a sweater when you head outside.

9. Ultimate Cookie Overload Late Night

If you like cookies, keep an eye out for this one. It starts with cookie dough ice cream, then adds in cookie dough pieces, chocolate flakes and a cookie crumb swirl. It's definitely a couch-worthy flavor that would pair well with your next TV or movie night.

8. Double Dunker

They didn't skimp on the chocolate with this one. The mocha-flavored ice cream has cookie dough bits swirled into it and it is loaded with crumbles of chocolate sandwich cookies. It’s rich and decadent and gives you mouthfuls of chocolate.

7. Colombian Coffee

Have you ever had a light-roast iced coffee that was the perfect blend of sweet cream and coffee flavors? Then you already know what this ice cream tastes like. It’s made with roasted Colombian beans and reminded me of an affogato, so I had to make one using this flavor and a blonde roast espresso pod in my Nespresso machine. It was delicious!

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6. Moose Tracks

If you have candy lovers in the house, keep this one in mind. The vanilla base has peanut butter cups and Moose Tracks fudge—a thick and salty fudge sauce from Michigan—swirled into the ice cream.

5. Frosted Cupcake

This was instantly one of the favorite ice creams we tried. The cupcake-flavored ice cream is swirled with pink icing, so it's pretty and tasty. I thought it tasted like a bakery cupcake and this is what I’d expect to eat in Barbie’s kitchen.

4. Buttery Southern Pecan Pie Late Night

Turkey Hill describes this as a “Buttery southern style pecan pie flavored ice cream with pie crust pieces and caramel swirl,” but when I was explaining it to a friend I was a little more specific. I said, “Imagine you took two homemade snickerdoodle cookies and sandwiched homemade vanilla ice cream between them then drizzled warm butter and salted caramel on top.” This was one of my favorite flavors!

3. Salted Caramel Chocolate Espresso Ice Cream Late Night

How good was this one? So good that it left my husband speechless. It’s rich and has a kick of nutty espresso flavor from espresso beans that are worked expertly into the ice cream. The sweetness of the ice cream is balanced with the saltiness of the caramel, which also works really well with the coffee flavor. In short, if you love chocolate and coffee, you going to want to keep an eye out for this ice cream.

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2. Orange Cream Swirl

I love sherbet, so I was looking forward to this one. The vanilla ice cream base is swirled with orange sherbet, giving this one a Creamsicle vibe, which is a flavor combination that seems to be everywhere at the moment (including at Costco). I thought this combination was light, refreshing and delightful.

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1. Brownie Batter Cookie Dough Late Night

This was hands down the best ice cream I have ever eaten! It starts with a brownie batter-flavored ice cream, which is a very strong start, then adds chocolate chip cookie dough pieces and a cookie crumb swirl. The brownie batter adds a bit of saltiness to balance out the sweetness of the cookie dough and the texture of everything together is next-level.

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