By clicking a retailer link you consent to third-party cookies that track your onward journey. If you make a purchase, Which? will receive an affiliate commission, which supports our mission to be the UK's consumer champion.

18 Aug 2023

Best vanilla ice cream: Carte D'Or beaten by cheap supermarket brand

We asked consumers to blind-taste and rate tubs of vanilla ice cream to find out where you can get the tastiest supermarket scoop

Rebecca MarcusSenior researcher & writer

If you're looking for the best-tasting vanilla ice cream, you might think that sticking with a big brand is a safe bet.

But with some premium brands costing more than £4 a tub, we found it's not always worth spending the extra.

We asked a panel of 67 consumers to blind-taste Carte D'Or, Kelly's and Mackie's vanilla ice cream alongside nine supermarket own-label options.

A cheaper tub from Lidl topped the scoreboard, though Waitrose and Carte D'Or also went down well with our panel.

Not all supermarket ice creams impressed, with some falling short on the all-important vanilla flavour and creamy texture.

Eat well, live better and stay healthy: sign up for our free monthly Food & Health newsletter

Best vanilla ice cream

These four are the best of the bunch.

Our tasters thought Lidl's Bon Gelati ice cream was a step ahead of the rest, impressing on both flavour and creaminess, but Carte D'Or, Waitrose and Tesco weren't far behind.

Best Buy: Lidl Bon Gelati Vanilla Ice Cream – 77%

£2.89 for 1L (29p per 100ml)

Lidl's tasty budget tub proves you don't need to splash out for a superior scoop.

It was rated better overall than every other ice cream we tested, earning good marks across the board for its indulgent texture and flavour.

Most of our tasters thought the creaminess and sweetness were spot on, and around three quarters were satisfied with the strength of vanilla flavour.

While it's not the cheapest of all the supermarket-own labels, it's still a good value option if you're looking for a more affordable alternative to pricier brands. However, it's worth knowing that it has a higher sugar content than most of the other tubs we tested.

Available from Lidl (in store only).

Carte D'Or Madagascan Vanilla Ice Cream – 73%

£3.75 for 900ml (42p per 100ml)

Although it didn't quite match up to Lidl, Carte D'Or ice cream is still a great choice if you're after a satisfying summer dessert.

It scored higher than rival brands Kellys and Mackies overall, picking up good marks for flavour, texture and aroma.

At nearly £4 a pop (and for a smaller tub than some), Carte D'Or is more expensive than all of the supermarket-own label options we tested, so it's worth keeping an eye out for deals before stocking up.

For example, it's currently on offer for £3 at Asda, bringing it down to 33p per 100ml.

Available from Asda, Co-op, Iceland, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose.

Waitrose Vanilla Dairy Ice Cream – 73%

£3.30 for 900ml (37p per 100ml)

Waitrose is another good own-label option, tying in second place alongside Carte D'Or.

According to our panel, it was one of the best-looking ice creams, and its flavour and texture hit the spot for the majority of tasters.

If you shop at Waitrose, it's worth trying – though it's one of the priciest supermarket own-label ice creams, so it doesn't offer as much of a saving compared to more expensive brands.

Available from Waitrose.

Tesco Vanilla Ice Cream – 72%

£2.30 for 900ml (26p per 100ml)

Tesco's cheap and cheerful tub put in a good showing in our taste test, finishing just a tad behind Carte D'Or.

The colour looked a bit too dark for many, but impressed in other areas and was rated on a par with higher-scoring ice creams for aroma, flavour and sweetness.

As one of the cheaper supermarket options, Tesco is worth considering if you're after a decent dessert that won't blow the budget.

Available from Tesco.

Check out our pick of other supermarket freezer staples including the best pepperoni pizza and best vegan burgers.

How vanilla ice cream from Kelly's, M&S, Aldi and more compare

Aldi is your next-best bet after our top four and it's good value, too.

While none of the rest were rated too badly, most fell behind higher-scoring ice creams on flavour and texture:

Aldi Gianni's Madagascan Vanilla Ice Cream – 70%. Good flavour but disappointing texture. Just over half said it wasn't creamy enough. £2.89 for 1L (29p per 100ml). Available from Aldi.
Kelly's Cornish Clotted Cream Ice Cream – 70%. One of the few ice creams that contained real clotted cream, but not everyone was a fan of the extra creamy texture – around a quarter found it too creamy for their liking. £4 for 950ml (42p per 100ml). Available from Asda, Co-op, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury's and Tesco.
Mackie's Indulgent Vanilla Dairy Ice Cream – 68%. The most expensive ice cream on test. Its flavour and texture were well liked overall, but 63% thought the colour was too light. £4.30 for 1L (43p per 100ml). Available from Ocado.
Morrisons Vanilla Ice Cream – 68%. Although it got good marks for appearance and texture, two thirds found the flavour too weak. £2.29 for 900ml (25p per 100ml). Available from Morrisons.
Sainsbury's Vanilla Ice Cream – 67%. Most thought Sainsbury's ice cream had a good level of creaminess, but more than half found the flavour too weak. £2.30 for 900ml (26p per 100ml). Available from Sainsbury's.
Co-op Vanilla Flavour Ice Cream – 66%. Co-op's ice cream fell towards the bottom of the rankings – more than half found the flavour too weak and 45% said it wasn't creamy enough. £2.85 for 900ml (32p per 100ml). Available from Co-op.
Asda Really Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream – 65%. The cheapest on test but the flavour missed the mark, with 70% finding it too weak. £2.20 for 900ml (24p per 100ml). Available from Asda.
M&S Cornish Vanilla Dairy Ice Cream – 65%. Despite being the priciest own-label ice cream on test, M&S was the joint-lowest scorer. Just over half found the flavour too weak and 46% said it wasn't creamy enough. £4 for 1L (40p per 100ml). Available from Ocado.

What is vanilla ice cream made of?

It would be fair to assume that cream is one of the main ingredients in vanilla ice cream – but, surprisingly, several of the ice creams we tested don't actually contain any fresh cream.

Common alternative ingredients include reconstituted milk concentrate and whey powder. This isn't limited to cheaper supermarket-own labels – Carte D'Or doesn't list cream anywhere on its ingredients label.

If you want to stick with ice cream made with traditional ingredients, it's worth checking the label carefully before you buy.

Lidl, Mackie's and Waitrose contain whipping cream, while Aldi uses double cream. Kelly's and M&S are the only ice creams we tested that are made with clotted cream.

Most of the ice creams we tested are classed as high in saturated fat (more than 5g saturated fat per 100g), so they're best saved for an occasional treat.

How to keep your heart healthy - expert tips on keeping cholesterol and blood pressure in check

How we tested vanilla ice cream

The ice creams were tested in August 2023 by a large panel of consumers who regularly buy and consume vanilla ice cream.

Each ice-cream brand was assessed by 67 people, and the make-up of the panel broadly represents the demographic profile of adults in the UK.

The panellists rated the taste, texture, aroma and appearance of each product and told us what they liked and disliked about each one.

The taste test was blind, so participants didn’t know which brands they were trying. The order in which they sampled the ice creams was rotated to avoid bias.

Each panellist had a private booth so they couldn’t discuss what they were tasting or be influenced by others.

The overall score is based on: