ICYMI, Halo Top recently added seven new vegan flavors to their product line. The latest flavor drop included five non-dairy versions of the regular Halo Top favorites, as well as two new and non-dairy exclusive flavors.
Vegans and dairy-avoiders everywhere should get excited about Pancakes & Waffles, Birthday Cake, Candy Bar, Chocolate Almond Crunch, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and the two non-dairy exclusives, Toasted Coconut and Maple Vanilla.
I've written previously about how I have a deep appreciation for this strange fluffy frozen stuff, which I first tried after the first wave of vegan Halo Top flavors hit the shelves.
So naturally, I got all giddy and excited when I read about the new flavors. And being the selfless individual that I am, when presented the opportunity to try, review, and rank the new flavors for Spoon, I agreed.
7. Chocolate Almond Crunch
I love chocolate, I love almonds, and I love crunch, so I was excited to give this one a whirl. The chocolate base-flavor was a bit artificial tasting, and although there were chunks of almond and flecks of chocolate in the ice cream, they were few and far between.I think using the word "crunch" in the title got this texture-junky's hopes up too high.
After testing, and based on my knowledge of the other flavors, I've found chocolate-based Halo Top flavors taste much faker than non-chocolate based flavors. Just not rich or chocolately enough for my tastebuds. It wasn't bad, but just wasn't as good as I had hoped.
6. Maple Vanilla
Upon opening the maple vanilla, the first thing I noticed were little specks of vanilla. The ingredient list confirmed real vanilla bean was actually in the flavor, which I appreciated.
The ice cream was smooth and fluffy and the whole experience was like eating lighlty-syrup-flavored frozen Cool Whip (a good thing, IMO). While this flavor was decent, I did find it to be a bit monotone, and since it was all smooth and no crunch, not something I would reach for on a regular basis unless I paired it with another dessert or crushed up cookies or cereal on top.
5. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
I'm a texture junky, so I loved the actual chunks of cookie dough in this pint. Since most cookie dough ice cream tastes a bit fake, this Halo Top variety could actually make a legit stand-in for the real stuff.
My only wish is that the flavor had about 10 times the amount of cookie dough, simply because I enjoyed the chewy texture contrast it offered to the sweet vanilla ice cream.
4. Birthday Cake
Yay sprinkles! When I peeled back the lid on this one, I immediately smiled. With all the colorful sprinkles, how could you not?
This flavor was legit. Like all birthday cake-flavored stuff, it tasted satisfyingly artificial-cake-flavored and delicious. If you're fond of cake batter-flavored things, sprinkles, or aesthetics, you'll dig this one.
3. Candy Bar
Candy Bar? Sign me up. This pint was packed with chocolate-esque ice cream that had an artificial-ish tasting caramel swirl with tiny pieces of peanuts and chocolate. Eaten all together, it tastes kind of like a Snicker's ice cream bar from your childhood, artificial aftertaste included. Sticky sweet nostalgic bliss. I only wish there were more chunks!
2. Toasted Coconut
Toasted Coconut is one of the new dairy-free exclusive flavors, and I really liked it! While I find a lot of Halo Top flavors lack adequate chunks/pieces/bits to appease my tastebuds, the toasted coconut was packed with toasted coconut flakes.
There is a light coconut flavor, and all of the flakes add a nice crunch to the ice cream. I also happen to be coco for coconuts, so I found this flavor to be delightful.
1. Pancakes and Waffles
I think Pancakes and Waffles was the flavor I was most excited to try, and it did not disappoint. The pint has tiny crunchy waffle bits dispersed throughout and has a sticky syrup-flavored swirl. The syrup is more like diner syrup than real maple, and it kind of tastes like Mrs. Buttersworth's spilled into a carton of whipped topping, which apparently is something I'm into.
In Conclusion
Overall, I liken Halo Top to frozen Cool Whip rather than ice cream in terms of texture and mouthfeel. As someone with a background in nutrition, I'm often asked if Halo Top is healthy. I want to clarify, that I do not think you should demonize or angelify any foods. Food is just food. I do not eat Halo Top in place of full-fat ice cream, but I enjoy it as the strangely delicious frozen treat that it is.
That said, I would definitely buy the Pancakes and Waffles, Candy Bar, Toasted Coconut, and Birthday Cake flavors again in the future.