The Best Frozen Treats for Summer, According to Kids

Best Fruity Ice-Cream Bar

Turkey Hill Strawberry Fruit & Cream Bar

Soft strawberry ice cream and mini pieces of strawberries had our kid testers raving that these bars tasted "sweet and tangy at the same time." Beet-juice concentrate makes them extra pinkalicious.

Best Nostalgic Treat

GoodPop Valencia Orange

Twin pops blew the minds of our kid testers and brought back memories for their parents. But unlike the neon hues of the '80s and '90s, GoodPop's sunny color and flavor come from OJ. "It tasted like a cold orange wedge," said one 6-year-old who shared with his mom.

Best Mixed-Flavor Bar

Popsicle Mango, Strawberry & Vanilla Swirl Fruit Twisters

The scoop from kid testers: The surprise strawberry center and the creamy milk and
icy mango swirls around it add up to an "awesome flavor explosion." As for parents, they were happy to report that the spiral shape is less messy than classic pops.

Best Nondairy Bar

So Delicious Dairy Free Dipped Mint Fudge Swirl

Kids and parents alike praised the texture of these coconut-milk bars, noting that they're much creamier than other nondairy treats they'd tried. The crunchy dark-chocolate shell and mint flavor also got two thumbs-ups from the tasting panel.

Best Chocolate Bar

Blue Bunny Load'd Bars Super Fudge Brownie

If your family likes chocolate ice cream with mix-ins, these epic bars will be your jam. "The brownies in the ice cream were soft and fudgy," one kid enthused. Our junior tasters also raved about the milk-chocolate coating with crispy cookie pieces inside.

Best Frozen-Yogurt Treat

Yasso Vanilla Bean Poppables

While the Greek fro yo in these mini balls passed the kid test with flying colors, the "crunchies" in the chocolate coating brought down the house. Surprise! They're toasted quinoa, supplying 2 grams of fiber per serving.

Best Ice-Cream Cups

Breyers Reese's Snack Cups

Sold in a pack of ten, this treat with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups one-ups single-flavor options. In the words of a taster: "It's crunchy and creamy and has the right ratio of Reese's to ice cream."

Best Premade Cone

Klondike Cones Double Down Chocolate and Classic Chocolate

Some kids preferred the chocolate wafer cone and chocolate curls on the Double Down Chocolate version, while others voted for the classic's crispy cone and peanuts. Both have "a tunnel of chocolate sauce that's soft and perfect."

Best Sorbet

Island Way Sorbet

These sorbet-filled fruit shells gave our panel of tasters vacation vibes. Each box comes with four flavors, but favorites included the mango in half of a hollowed-out orange and the ruby berry in a grapefruit shell. The sorbet is smoother than most, thanks to a splash of cream.

Best Fruity Treat

Helados Mexico Bolis Con Crema Strawberry Fresa

Popular in Mexico, bolis are frozen treats in a tube. These California-made versions use classic wholesome ingredients like milk, cream, strawberries, sugar, and egg yolks. One kid reviewer called them "melt-in-my-mouth delicious," while another raved that "they tasted like a smoothie."

Best Ice-Cream Sandwiches

Sundae Shoppe Minis Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches

"It tastes like frozen Oreos," said one kid tester about this Aldi supermarket exclusive. Others mentioned that the cookies stayed crunchy. There are 12 to a package, each the perfect size for a toddler.

Best Custard Pint

Tillamook Oregon Strawberry Shortcake Frozen Custard

Frozen custard is similar to ice cream but has more pasteurized eggs and butterfat, which make it smoother. Kids gave this flavor, with strawberry-sauce swirls and shortcake pieces, a perfect score for creaminess.

Best Kids' Pint

Serendipity Birthday Cake

The iconic New York City restaurant launched a line of ice creams, and our kid testers adored this one, which wowed them with swirls of pink frosting (naturally colored), cake pieces, and sprinkles. Said one tester: "Every bite felt like a party in my mouth."

Best New Frozen Treats for Grown-Ups

Ben & Jerry's Thick Mint Topped

After you break through a thick layer of chocolate ganache and chocolate-covered cookie pieces, you'll hit mint ice cream with more cookies swirled throughout. "It tastes like frozen Thin Mints!" said one kid tester.

Best Dairy Free Pint

Mauna Loa Macadamia Milk Mango Liliko'i

Mango and passion fruit are a dream team, especially when blended with macadamia-nut milk. The slightly tangy result won over little panelists, who rated it higher than many of the regular ice creams they tried.

Best Dairy Free Pint

365 by Whole Foods Market Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Kid testers couldn't tell the difference between a scoop of this treat made with almond milk and regular ice cream. "The cookie-dough pieces taste very natural, and there are plenty of them," said one tester. Bonus: It's gluten-free to boot.

Best Mochi

Trader Joe's Mini Mochi

"I love Trader Joe's Mini Mochi. They're a perfect size for kids to try. Mango is my favorite flavor, but the store also sells it with coconut-based Thai tea filling."

—Pat Tanumihardja,
Author of Instant Pot Asian Pressure Cooker Meals

Best Tropical Flavor

Häagen-Dazs Pineapple Coconut

"Häagen-Dazs Pineapple Coconut has all the things I look for in a good scoop—it's rich, creamy, and not too sweet or overloaded with add-ins."

—Parents contributing Editor Joy Howard,
Author of Disney Eats

Best Fruit Bars

Outshine Fruit Bars

"The lime Outshine Fruit Bars strike the right balance of tart and sweet and are super-refreshing."

—Leena Saini,
Author of Around the World in 80 Purees: Easy Recipes for Global Baby Food