Ice cream has always been a staple in a lot of freezers across the UK.
A blind taste test comparing supermarket own label vanilla ice cream against big names like Häagen-Dazs and Jude’s has thrown up a surprising winner. Working from the very bottom of the rankings up to the eventual champion, here’s exactly how nine different tubs actually performed.
Jude’s finished at the bottom, despite a premium price tag.
Jude’s Vanilla Clotted Cream Ice Cream, priced at £5 for 460ml, scored just 63%, landing it firmly at the bottom of the entire ranking. Despite its premium branding, the panel found it underwhelming, describing the flavour as a bit on the bland side.
Given its relatively high price point compared to several supermarket alternatives, this result stands out as a reminder that cost doesn’t automatically guarantee the best tasting tub. It simply didn’t deliver the flavour depth testers were hoping for.
Häagen-Dazs landed second from bottom, despite being the priciest tub tested.
Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream, priced at £5.75 for 460ml, scored 67%, making it the single most expensive product in the entire test. Opinions on both its flavour and texture came back mixed among the panel.
Despite its well established reputation as a premium brand, this result suggests the price tag didn’t translate into a clearly superior tasting experience compared to several considerably cheaper supermarket options. It remained solidly in the bottom half of the overall rankings.
Lidl was the lowest scoring supermarket own brand.
Lidl’s Deluxe Vanilla Ice Cream, priced at £2.69 for 480ml, scored 72%, making it the weakest performer among the supermarket entries specifically. That said, the gap between Lidl and the stronger performers further up the table wasn’t especially wide.
Testers described the texture as pleasantly creamy, and it still earned recognition as a good budget option overall. For anyone simply after an affordable everyday tub, Lidl still delivers solid value, even sitting at the bottom of the supermarket rankings.
Morrisons and Tesco tied for a solid mid-table finish.
Morrisons The Best Madagascan Vanilla Ice Cream, priced at £3 for 480ml, and Tesco’s Finest Madagascan Vanilla Ice Cream, priced at £3.50 for same size, both scored 75%. Morrisons in particular won praise for its great price alongside strong scores for flavour, sweetness, and creaminess.
Tesco’s version was described as creamy with a good texture, though the overall panel verdict suggested it could have benefited from a slightly stronger flavour and a touch more sweetness. Both remain solid, dependable choices, sitting comfortably in the middle of the pack.
Three ice creams tied for a strong joint second place.
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Vanilla Ice Cream, Waitrose No.1 Madagascan Vanilla Ice Cream, and Yeo Valley Organic Madagascan Vanilla Ice Cream all scored an impressive 76%, tying for second place overall. Sainsbury’s earned praise for its good flavour and well-balanced sweetness, with more than half of testers satisfied by the texture specifically.
Waitrose was hailed as a well liked all-rounder, winning approval from two thirds of tasters for both its appearance and flavour. Yeo Valley, meanwhile, emerged as the strongest performing branded product in the entire test, rated highly for its colour, texture, and sweetness, though some testers felt it fell slightly short on creaminess compared to the eventual winner.
Aldi claimed the overall top spot.
Aldi’s Specially Selected Madagascan Vanilla Ice Cream, priced at just £2.69 for 480ml, topped the entire ranking with a score of 77%, also earning a great value award in the process. Testers hailed it as delicious and a crowd pleaser throughout scoring.
Nearly three-quarters of the panel specifically praised its texture, describing it as having the perfect creaminess, while the strength of flavour and overall sweetness were consistently rated as just right. Combining the strongest taste score in the entire test with one of the lowest price tags made Aldi the clear standout winner, beating every single premium and branded competitor it was tested against.
