Specially Selected Vanilla and Chocolate Super Premium Ice Cream
If you’re the type who studies ingredients lists and looks for food that contains simple, whole, easily identifiable ingredients, you know that many types of store-bought ice creams include processed ingredients such as gums or corn syrup. However, there is one ice cream line at Aldi that contains only five simple ingredients.
Specially Selected Super Premium Ice Cream comes in vanilla or chocolate flavors. The ingredients are cream, skim milk, sugar, pasteurized egg yolks, and either vanilla extract or cocoa. That’s it. These are my go-tos when I buy ice cream for a family birthday celebration or other special event that calls for ice cream.
Specially Selected Ice Cream is a Regular Buy. That means you should be able to find it at Aldi all year.
This cost $5.99 for a 48-ounce container at my local store at the time of publication. That comes out to about 12 cents per ounce. Each container has nine 2/3-cup servings, which comes out to about 67 cents per serving.
These are sold under the Specially Selected brand. There is no company called Specially Selected. Instead, that’s the name Aldi puts on various gourmet products that it sources from multiple suppliers. Other Specially Selected products I’ve seen at Aldi include mini chocolate cheesecake bites, 7 layer dessert bars, and corn chowder.
If you’re looking out for allergens, both flavors contain milk and eggs. They may contain traces of peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, and soy. This is kosher certified.
One 2/3-cup serving of either flavor has 340 calories, along with 22 grams of total fat (28% DV), 15 grams of saturated fat (75% DV), 65-75 mg of sodium (3% DV), 30-31 grams of total carbohydrates (11% DV), 0-1 gram of dietary fiber (0-4% DV), 29-31 grams of total sugars, 23 grams of added sugars (46% DV), and 6 grams of protein.
This ice cream is excellent. It has a more solid, dense texture compared to other store-bought ice cream that contains ultra-processed ingredients or has air whipped into it.
The vanilla ice cream is creamy and sweet and is delicious on its own. It also makes a perfect base for sundaes with add-ons such as crushed candy bars, chocolate or caramel syrup, whipped cream, and cherries. This is great for serving a la mode with a slice of pie or cake, or you can sandwich the ice cream between two cookies for a homemade ice cream sandwich.
The chocolate ice cream has a mild bittersweet flavor and is ideal for chocolate lovers. It’s good on its own, and it can also make a good base for a homemade “Blizzard” with candy add-ins.
You are limited to only two flavors with this ice cream line. If you want more flavor choices, Aldi also sells ice cream under its Belmont house brand that includes Moose Tracks, strawberry, cookies and cream, butter pecan, mint chocolate chip, and more. Those flavors don’t have the simple ingredients lists that this Specially Selected ice cream has, though.
The Verdict:
Specially Selected Ice Cream comes in vanilla and chocolate flavors. This ice cream line features just five simple ingredients: cream, skim milk, sugar, pasteurized egg yolks, and either vanilla extract or cocoa. If you want ice cream without a lot of unfamiliar, highly processed ingredients, this is a great choice at Aldi.
Ice cream is always subjective, different people like different things, but this is a particularly good value.
Super premium ice cream has to have a minimum amount of butterfat to qualify, along with a minimal amount of air whipped in. The premium and super premium labels require an industry standard be met for those. Ben & Jerry’s would be similar.
It’s not easy to get really smooth and creamy ice cream without added ingredients beyond the cream, milk, sugar, and egg yolks, if that’s important to you, this is your type.
I have tried both flavors and both were a great value in my opinion. The vanilla wasn’t overly forward but likeable real vanilla, if not the finest vanilla I have ever had. Both BJ’s and Costco were a flop for me. This ice cream, left to melt, has a minimal amount of foam floating on top, so likely true to claim of super premium.
Less fat and
Less sugar. Is needed
Aldi sells light ice cream, if you’re wanting less fat and sugar. The tradeoff is that the light ice cream has more ultra-processed ingredients. https://www.aldireviewer.com/sundae-shoppe-light-ice-cream/
I just tried this Specially Selected Vanilla ice cream and it is delicious, the real thing, perfectly real ice cream. Will be buying it again, and again.
It is quite good!
The simple, clean ingredients encouraged me to purchase the Vanilla ice cream but the taste and texture will make me a repeat buyer. Excellent product for a very good price. I’m not a big chocolate ice cream consumer but I will definitely try it next time.
A while back the Aldi Chocolate Ice Cream, previously excellent in my opinion for years, underwent a formula change. It has become radically more “chalky” with a weaker and more artificial and “chalky” chocolate flavor. It is now below the quality of common “soft serve” brands. I would prefer a price increase rather than Aldi reducing the product quality to such an inferior quality. YUCK!
It doesn’t seem to be the kind of behavior I have come to expect from Aldi over the years of patronage. I hope this gets corrected AND that Aldi doesn’t reduce the quality of more of their products to boost their profit margins while disrespecting their customer base.
Aldi’s Specially brand ice cream is the only one I buy. I have 8 grandchildren, and it is their favorite. We keep in stock at all times.