I tried ice-cream bars from Costco, Whole Foods, and Wegmans. The winner had an extra ingredient that gave it an edge.

Thu, 08/15/2024 - 15:53

A gray counter holding a purple box with illustrations of ice-cream bars, a white box with a red, blue, green, and orange design and images of ice-cream bars, and a red-and-white box with an ice-cream bar on it sitting next to blue, green, and purple plates holding ice-cream bars — I tried ice-cream bars from Wegmans, Whole Foods, and Costco.
Ted Berg

I compared ice-cream bars from Wegmans, Whole Foods, and Costco to find the tastiest ones.
The ice-cream bars from Wegmans' were OK, but they didn't stand out to me.
My wife and I loved the chocolate-and-nut coating on the Kirkland Signature ice-cream bars.

Classic, chocolate-coated ice-cream bars are a perfect dessert when you need a frozen treat but don't want to mess around with cones, scoops, or dessert toppings.

If you can't count on the ice-cream truck rolling by, many major supermarket chains offer store-brand bars. This is no surprise, as the ice-cream industry is booming — according to market research company Grand View Research, the industry was valued at over $113 billion in 2023, and it's expected to keep growing.

However, figuring out which ice-cream bars are worth buying can be difficult. To find out, I bought ice-cream bars from Wegmans, Whole Foods, and Costco and taste-tested them with my family of four.

Here's how they stacked up, from worst to best.

Wegmans' vanilla ice-cream bars looked pretty average.

Wegmans' vanilla ice-cream bars looked like a classic interpretation of the nostalgic dessert.

Ted Berg

A package of 12 Wegmans' ice-cream bars was only $5, making them the least expensive of the three varieties I tried.

Out of the brands I tasted, these bars looked the most like a traditional, bare-bones ice-cream-truck dessert.

I thought Wegmans' ice-cream bars were just OK.

An ice-cream bar with a frosty exterior sitting on a blue plate on a gray counter — Wegmans' vanilla ice-cream bars didn't blow me away.
Ted Berg

I thought these bars were just OK. The outer shell had a nice chocolate flavor, but I thought the coating was thinner and waxier-tasting than the other bars I tried.

I also found the vanilla ice-cream interior to be underwhelming. It tasted airy and icy, and it didn't have much flavor. But at $0.41 per 3-ounce bar, Wegmans' dessert still seemed like a solid deal.

My kids had no complaints, and I don't think anyone would be disappointed to pull one of these out of a freezer on a hot day. Still, my wife and I agreed they were the least tasty of the three.

The 365 organic chocolate-dipped ice-cream bars from Whole Foods seemed a bit expensive.

A white box with a red, green, blue, and orange branch illustration and images of chocolate ice-cream bars sitting next to a green plate holding an ice-cream bar on a gray counter — I didn't think the three-pack of the 365 organic chocolate-dipped ice-cream bars was a great deal.
Ted Berg

At $6 for a package of three, Whole Foods' ice-cream bars were by far the most expensive of the three brands I tried. They were also the only organic ice-cream bars.

Notably, the packaging on Wegmans' and Costco's ice-cream bars advertised desserts with a "chocolate-flavored coating," but the 365 box said its dessert was "dipped in organic chocolate."

These bars were shorter and thicker than Wegmans' version, and the chocolate was a shade lighter. But at $2 per 3-ounce bar, these were much more expensive than Wegmans' option.

I liked the 365 ice-cream bars, but I'm not sure I'd buy them again.

An ice-cream bar sitting on a green plate on a gray counter — The 365 organic chocolate-dipped ice-cream bars had a good flavor and thick chocolate coating.
Ted Berg

These were definitely an upgrade from Wegmans' version. The outer shell was slightly creamier and meltier, but it still gave the dessert a nice crunch when I bit into it.

The ice cream was thick, with a warm and noticeable vanilla flavor. My 6-year-old couldn't identify exactly why he preferred these bars, but he said they were "yummier" than Wegmans' version.

I agreed — the chocolate and the ice cream tasted better. If someone offered me one of these bars, I'd happily eat it.

However, it's hard to imagine buying the pricey dessert again. Plus, a box of three bars isn't convenient for a family of four.

The Kirkland Signature ice-cream bars from Costco had almonds in the chocolate coating.

A white-and-red box with an image of a chocolate ice-cream bar sitting next to a purple plate holding an ice-cream bar with nuts on a gray counter — I was excited to see how the almonds impacted the flavor of the Kirkland Signature ice-cream bars.
Ted Berg

I was a bit surprised that an 18-pack of the Kirkland Signature ice-cream bars, priced at $10, cost more per bar than the ones from Wegmans — these were about $0.56 per bar. But to be fair, the Kirkland Signature bars were 3.1 ounces, and Wegmans' were only 3 ounces each.

The Kirkland Signature bars also seemed more substantial than the versions from other brands. The chocolate-flavored coating looked thickest of the three, and these bars were the only ones I tried that came with almonds — my Costco didn't sell plain chocolate-coated bars.

The Kirkland Signature ice-cream bars were the clear winner.

A purple plate holding an ice-cream bar with a chocolate-flavored-and-nut coating on a gray counter — I'm definitely keeping the Kirkland Signature ice-cream bars in my freezer.
Ted Berg

Unfortunately, the almonds turned off my 4-year-old entirely. My 6-year-old gave the Kirkland Signature bars an enthusiastic thumbs-up when he tried them, but ranked them last because he didn't like the almonds.

But for my wife and me, these were the clear winners. The almonds added an extra crunch to the chocolate-flavored coating. However, these bars would've been the winner even without almonds.

The chocolate tasted milkier than the others, closer to candy-bar quality, and didn't crumble after a few bites. The ice cream was flavorful and wasn't heavy or icy.

My 4-year-old will probably love them once she's willing to try them, so I've made space for them in my freezer.

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Food, Food, ice-cream, Costco, whole-foods, wegmans, Ranking, review, Freelancer, freelancer-le, Summer

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I tried ice-cream bars from Costco, Whole Foods, and Wegmans. The winner had an…