The Simple Way To Upgrade Store-Bought Vanilla Ice Cream - The Daily Meal (2024)

ByCynthia Anaya|

Nowadays, there are hundreds of ice cream flavorsto choose from, and depending on the brand, some of those fancy flavors can get pretty expensive. If you have picky eaters at home, you might run into another issue — finding a flavor that everyone likes. This is why vanilla is the safest, and sometimes the cheapest, way to go.

Vanilla is rated one of the most popular ice cream flavors in the U.S., and for good reason. Too plain for you? It doesn't have to be. One of the great things about store-bought vanilla ice cream is that you can customize it and make it your own. After all, vanilla is the base for many other ice cream flavors, such as cookies and cream. Epicurious reports that you can jazz your vanilla ice cream up to give it an upgrade, just like the creameries do. The only difference is, the magic happens after the ice cream leaves the store shelf.

Turn your vanilla ice cream into a new flavor

The Simple Way To Upgrade Store-Bought Vanilla Ice Cream - The Daily Meal (2)

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Merriam Webster defines vanilla as "lacking distinction" and lists "plain, ordinary, and conventional" as three synonyms. But we think "loaded with potential" should be added because that's precisely what the flavor offers. Potential. Options. Endless possibilities.

A simple way to upgrade your vanilla ice cream is to change the flavor, which you can do by mixing it with fruit using a standing mixer. You can add blueberries, strawberries, kiwis, blackberries, bananas, or any fruit you like. Feel free to experiment with the fruit combinations. Strawberries go well with bananasand with kiwis, too.

Not really big on mixing fruit with ice cream? Try coffee or peanut butter instead. You can also add a flavored syrup like caramel or chocolate to change the taste. If you're a fan of Dairy Queen's Blizzards, you can add candy or cookie bits to the ice cream to make your own version. And of course, you can do this while keeping the vanilla base flavor unchanged or after changing it to caramel, chocolate, or other flavorings to it.

Regardless of what you mix with your vanilla ice cream, you can complete the upgrade by adding toppings. Try sprinkling in some nuts, ice cream sauce, or any combination perfect for your taste buds and you'll never see vanilla as plain again.

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The Simple Way To Upgrade Store-Bought Vanilla Ice Cream - The Daily Meal (2024)

FAQs

The Simple Way To Upgrade Store-Bought Vanilla Ice Cream - The Daily Meal? ›

You can try adding coffee, peanut butter, or a flavored syrup like caramel or chocolate as well. Adding candy or cookie bits to the ice cream while keeping the vanilla base flavor unchanged — or after changing it to other flavorings — is also a great way to enhance vanilla ice cream.

How to make store-bought vanilla ice cream better? ›

Try coffee or peanut butter instead. You can also add a flavored syrup like caramel or chocolate to change the taste. If you're a fan of Dairy Queen's Blizzards, you can add candy or cookie bits to the ice cream to make your own version.

How do you pimp up vanilla ice cream? ›

Raw cookie dough is another favourite addition — chocolate chip is particularly good. Also look at stirring in crunchy additions such as praline-coated nuts or toffee popcorn or just add nuts on their own — peanuts stirred in when you are rippling vanilla ice-cream with a salty caramel sauce are particularly good.

How to jazz up vanilla ice cream? ›

Caramel sauce, sprinkles, crushed candy and waffle cones can turn the ice cream in your freezer into all sorts of fun ice cream desserts. Even the best vanilla ice cream brands get an upgrade with classic hot fudge or a gourmet balsamic drizzle.

How to modify vanilla ice cream? ›

If you find yourself wishing you had a different flavor of ice cream but all you have is vanilla, toss that ice cream in your stand mixer with something to flavor it and beat until incorporated: fresh berries, coffee, peanut butter, chocolate sauce, crushed candy, cookies.... you choose.

How to improve store-bought ice cream? ›

A Chef Gives 13 Ways To Transform Store-Bought Vanilla Ice Cream
  1. Add fruit, but cook it first. ...
  2. Use coconut oil for the best homemade chocolate chips. ...
  3. Toast nuts before mixing them into store-bought vanilla ice cream. ...
  4. Use instant espresso for bold coffee flavor. ...
  5. Keep candy or cookie pieces bite size.
4 days ago

How to spice up plain vanilla ice cream? ›

12 Creative Toppings You Should Put On Vanilla Ice Cream
  1. Lemon and Mint. PIN IT. Photo by Grace Bodkin. ...
  2. Oreos and Peanut Butter. PIN IT. Photo by Grace Bodkin. ...
  3. Instant Espresso Powder. PIN IT. ...
  4. Cinnamon Toast Crunch. PIN IT. ...
  5. Toasted Day-Old Croissants. PIN IT. ...
  6. Molasses and Granola. PIN IT. ...
  7. Wasabi. PIN IT. ...
  8. Barbecue Chips. PIN IT.
Jun 24, 2015

How to make vanilla ice cream less boring? ›

"When I'm at an ice cream shop, I almost always go for a peanut buttery flavor, so if I'm at home and only have some leftover vanilla, the first thing that pops into my head is to go and grab my jar of peanut butter from the pantry. If I'm feeling really fancy, I add some chocolate chips."

What can I mix with vanilla ice cream? ›

Vanilla Ice Cream Dessert FAQ

You can also use dessert sauces like hot fudge, lemon curd or salted caramel sauce.

What to put on plain vanilla ice cream? ›

Whether you're looking for chocolate overload or sweet-savory nuts, we've got you covered with our collection of ice cream toppings.
  1. Homemade Sprinkles. ...
  2. Blueberry Sauce. ...
  3. Coffee Honeycomb Crunch. ...
  4. Salted Caramel Sauce. ...
  5. Olive Oil Hot Fudge. ...
  6. Cherry Fizzy Candy. ...
  7. Butterscotch Sauce. ...
  8. Fried Chicken Caramel.

What is a good add in for ice cream? ›

Check out my list below of the best ice cream mix-ins and see if your favorite made the cut.
  • Cookie Dough. ...
  • Cookies. ...
  • Chocolate Chips, Pieces, or Crunch. ...
  • Caramel. ...
  • Nuts and Granola. ...
  • Fruit. ...
  • Candy Bars. ...
  • Fudge/Chocolate Sauce. The combination of cold ice cream and hot, decadent fudge is hard to beat!
Aug 28, 2017

How do you make store bought ice cream taste like soft serve? ›

Luckily, you can turn any ice cream into soft serve with just one trick: Mix more air into it. While the cones you find at places like McDonald's aren't actually ice cream at all, real soft serve is made with all the same ingredients as its more traditional relative.

What could you add in to change the Flavour of the ice cream? ›

A sprinkling of sea salt can literally compliment any flavour of ice cream. While salted caramel is all the rage these days, try it with chocolate or Nutella. All of the world's greatest chocolate makers recommend salting sweet food, and ice cream is no exception. Sometimes you just can't beat the classics!

How do you level up ice cream? ›

Believe it or not, plain Tahini is a great ice cream topping, too. It balances out the sweetness of the ice cream and adds depth. Toss on some chocolate chips or honey if you've got a sweet tooth. Crushed up ice cream cones or graham crackers with Vanilla Tahini is like a little kid's dream!

What can I add to homemade ice cream to make it thicker? ›

Adding thickening agents, such as egg yolks, cornstarch, gelatin, tapioca starch, or even Junket tablets, enhances the texture and elevates the overall ice cream experience. Remember, making homemade ice cream is as much an art as it is a science.

How do you add mix ins to store bought ice cream? ›

1 - Let 1 pint vanilla ice cream soften slightly at room temperature. Scoop into a large bowl. 2 - Chop any larger mix-ins, then add all mix-ins to the bowl. Stir and mash until combined.

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