America's favorite ice cream flavor revealed as one classic tops every state

Americans are increasingly curious about ice creams that market themselves as healthier alternatives, but data shows they keep returning to tried-and-true brands and flavors.In celebration of National Ice Cream Day, online grocery platform Instacart offered the scoop on what flavor most Americans are buying.Vanilla was the most-purchased ice cream flavor in 2025, according to Instacart data.It accounted for about 21% of all ice cream orders and was "the single most popular pick in every one of the 50 states and D.C."AMERICA'S MOST-SEARCHED ICE CREAM BRAND MAY SURPRISE YOU — AND THERE'S A HEALTHY REASON WHYSteve Christensen, executive director of the Missouri-based North American Ice Cream Association, told Fox News Digital that ice cream brings people together."Try the vanilla first," he recommended when sampling ice cream.
"If the vanilla's good, then everything's good."Vanilla is far and away the most popular ice cream flavor American consumers are buying, according to a new report.(iStock)Chocolate ranked second, accounting for 7.9% of purchases.
Cookie dough took third with 6.9% of ice cream lovers choosing it.The results prove that "when it comes to ice cream, comfort beats novelty almost every time," Instacart said.CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTERInstacart reported the remainder of the top 10 most-purchased flavors consisted largely of familiar, longtime favorites: cookies & cream (5.8%); chocolate fudge/brownie (5.1%); peanut butter (4.7%); mint chocolate chip (4.7%); coffee (4.5%); strawberry (3.7%) and cherry (3.1%).Halo Top, which markets its ice cream as a "feel-good treat" with "fewer calories and less sugar than other leading brands, with a good source of protein," was the most-searched ice cream brand from April 2025 through April 2026, according to Google search data analyzed in a study from Innerbody Research.Searches don't necessarily translate to sales, however.In 2025, Breyers, Blue Bunny and Turkey Hill were the top-sel...