MORE vegan Halo Top comin’ your way, what’s new?
Guys, I suck. I am SO far behind on posting reviews of the dairy free Halo Top flavors. While I still have a ways to go, I have already tried their sea salt caramel, chocolate, and candy bar dairy free editions, but have only mentioned them on my Instagram. I’ve raved about Halo Top twice already (Part 1 and Part 2), and I can only go so far in my college student budget. On top of that, you can’t argue the fact that Halo Top isn’t the cheapest ice cream line on the market. The struggle.
But nonetheless, I got a chance to try out two of Halo Top’s newly released dairy free flavors during my spring break in March!
CHOCOLATE ALMOND CRUNCH
To tell y’all the truth, I did NOT think that much of the chocolate almond crunch pint when I first took a glance. Chocolate and almonds? Great, but whatever. Don’t get me wrong–I FREAKING LOVE chocolate and almonds together. Dark chocolate covered almonds, dark chocolate bars with salted almond chunks inside, or chocolate chip cookies with almond pieces? GIVE ME ALL OF THEM. As a dessert FLAVOR, the pair doesn’t ring to me as strongly as something like chocolate peanut butter, cookie dough, cinnamon roll, red velvet, cookies and creme, or peanut butter and jelly. Nevertheless, I decided to give it a chance.
Nutrition and ingredients-wise, it fares pretty similarly to most of the pints. However, clocking in at 280 calories a pint, the chocolate almond crunch ice cream does boast itself as one of the lowest calorie varieties. So, this is a good incentive to select this flavor rather than another Halo Top pint that may be 320-360 calories.
Upon my first spoonful, I was actually surprised in the best way! Think of a mug of hot chocolate made with an almond milk base and the slightest touch of coconut cream. Not to mention, there are actual almond chunks in the ice cream! You don’t see it in the photo, but they’re present. I do wish the almond chunks were more assertively incorporated into the ice cream, hence it would be of even greater pleasure for someone to open the pint and find almond pieces at first sight. At least that’s my personal preference. But on a broader spectrum, this flavor is a winner!
I left the rest of this ice cream for my sister because she selected this flavor herself, and I would have felt guilty if I pigged out on the whole pint on the spot. Whelp, I might as well have to find another pint and create a delicious sundae or ice cream bowl with it!
PANCAKES AND WAFFLES
Completely contrary to chocolate almond crunch, I had extremely high expectations for this flavor, even higher than the peanut butter cup ice cream! Pancakes and waffles is such a customer favorite, and I was actually pretty pissed off that this flavor didn’t join the first line-up of dairy free pints. However, Halo Top won me over again once newer dairy free flavors popped up in the market. So, I KNEW I had to try this flavor when I got the chance.
Ingredients, nutrition facts, you get the deal. What makes it different from the chocolate almond crunch flavor is that it is 320 calories instead of 280, so higher, meaning that it’s expected to taste better. I WILL note that this pint does contain corn syrup, which is a big no-no ingredient for many people. Since I consume corn syrup probably only once or twice a year, if even that many times, this wasn’t a huge deal for me. That being said, if I start consuming Halo Top on a weekly basis, this probably wouldn’t be my go-to flavor.
Look at that smooth top! I was expecting to see some more prominent syrup swirls at the top–this ice cream does have pancake syrup mixed inside–but redeems itself once you actually take a spoonful. This flavor is much sweetener than the chocolate almond crunch and is probably one of the sweetest flavors aside from the sea salt caramel. It’s almost a bit overpoweringly sweet where it might taste bitter at some point. That being said, I love this ice cream, as it pairs splendidly with fruits and blander toppings like granola. This probably ranks around fourth place (#3 is sea salt caramel, #2 is chocolate almond crunch, and #1 is cinnamon roll) given that it has corn syrup, but I’d definitely purchase it again.
PROS + CONS
For pros and cons, see Part 2.
OVERALL
Halo Top’s new seven dairy free flavors look absolutely KILLER, and I am delighted to have already cut into three (including candy bar, which will be coming out soon in another review!). Again, it’s incredible that they already have a line of vegan ice cream (unless if allergic to coconut) for those who chose not to or cannot tolerate dairy. I will still be on the lookout for Halo Top’s four other new flavors–vanilla maple, toasted coconut, birthday cake, and chocolate chip cookie dough, the latter being the most exciting flavor–and will continue to post more reviews of any other products I try.
Site: https://www.halotop.com/
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