Global Food Field Guide

What's in Your Ice Cream?

Nine vanilla ice creams and frozen desserts side by side — from real-cream classics to vegetable-oil 'frozen dessert' and low-sugar Halo Top — with ingredients and nutrition laid bare.

Verified June 2026 • Read the wrapper for the final word — recipes change

● Listed explicitly on the label ● Present but grouped under a generic term × Not listed ? Not documented in reviewed sources

Swipe the table sideways to see every column →

Ingredient	🇺🇸 Ben & Jerry's Unilever · US	🇬🇧 Häagen-Dazs General Mills · EU	🇬🇧 Magnum Classic Unilever · UK/EU	🇬🇧 Cornetto Classico Wall's/Unilever · UK/EU	🇺🇸 Halo Top Wells/Ferrero · US	🇺🇸 Breyers Unilever · US	🇺🇸 Talenti Gelato Unilever · US	🇬🇧 Wall's Soft Scoop Unilever · UK	🇺🇸 Oatly (non-dairy) Oatly · US
Shared base — what nearly all contain
Sugar	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Milk or dairy solids	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	×
Vanilla (extract or flavouring)	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Stabiliser gum(s)	●	×	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Dairy — real cream vs reconstituted milk
Fresh cream	●	●	×	×	●	●	●	×	×
Skimmed / reconstituted milk	●	●	●	●	●	×	×	●	×
Whole milk	×	×	×	×	×	●	●	×	×
Milk powder / whey solids	×	×	●	●	×	×	×	●	×
Milk fat / butterfat	×	●	●	×	×	×	×	×	×
Egg yolk	●	●	×	×	●	×	×	×	×
Oat base — non-dairy	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	●
Fats — dairy fat vs vegetable oil
No added vegetable oil (dairy fat only)	●	●	×	×	●	●	●	×	×
Coconut fat / oil	×	×	●	●	×	×	×	●	●
Rapeseed (canola) oil	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	●
Sunflower oil	×	×	×	●	×	×	×	×	×
Cocoa butter (coating)	×	×	●	●	×	×	×	×	×
Sweeteners beyond sugar
Glucose syrup	×	×	●	●	×	×	×	●	●
Glucose-fructose syrup	×	×	●	×	×	×	×	×	×
Fructose	×	×	×	●	×	×	×	●	×
Dextrose	×	×	×	×	×	×	●	×	●
Erythritol (sugar alcohol)	×	×	×	×	●	×	×	×	×
Stevia leaf (Reb M)	×	×	×	×	●	×	×	×	×
Soluble corn fibre / inulin	×	×	×	×	●	×	×	×	×
Emulsifiers & stabilisers
Mono- & diglycerides	×	×	●	●	●	×	×	●	●
Lecithin	×	×	×	●	×	×	●	×	×
Guar gum	●	×	●	●	●	×	●	●	●
Locust bean (carob) gum	×	×	●	●	×	×	●	●	●
Tara gum	×	×	●	×	×	●	●	●	×
Carrageenan	●	×	●	●	×	×	×	●	×
Cellulose gum / gel	×	×	×	×	●	×	×	×	×
Flavour, coating & format
Real vanilla extract or beans	●	●	×	×	●	●	●	×	×
"Flavouring" only (no extract)	×	×	●	●	×	×	×	●	●
Chocolate coating	×	×	●	●	×	×	×	×	×
Wafer cone	×	×	×	●	×	×	×	×	×
Hazelnut	×	×	×	●	×	×	×	×	×
Labelled "frozen dessert" (not real ice cream)	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	●	●

So which is the least healthy?

Figures are per 100 g (EU volume labels for Magnum, Cornetto, Häagen-Dazs and Wall's are published per 100 ml ≈ 100 g). Note that a typical scoop or bar is 60–100 g, and dense gelato packs more into each gram because it holds less air. Headline: the chocolate-coated bars and the gelato are the heaviest hitters, while Halo Top sits in a class of its own.

Sugar per 100 g

Talenti Gelato

34 g Most sugar

Magnum Classic

27 g High

Ben & Jerry's

25 g

Cornetto Classico

22 g

Wall's Soft Scoop

21 g

Breyers

21 g

Häagen-Dazs

20 g

Oatly

19 g

Halo Top

9 g Lowest

Saturated fat per 100 g

Magnum Classic

13 g Most sat fat

Cornetto Classico

13 g High

Ben & Jerry's

12 g

Häagen-Dazs

11 g

Talenti Gelato

9 g

Oatly

8 g

Breyers

7 g

Wall's Soft Scoop

6 g

Halo Top

1 g Lowest

Talenti Madagascan Vanilla Bean carries the most sugar — about 34 g per 100 g (~8 tsp) — because dense gelato has little whipped-in air to dilute it.Chocolate-coated bars lead on saturated fat: Magnum Classic and Cornetto Classico both reach ~13 g per 100 g, driven by coconut fat and cocoa butter in the shell, not the cream.Ben & Jerry's is the most calorie-dense at ~310 kcal/100 g, while Halo Top is the lightest at ~106 kcal with ~1 g saturated fat — it swaps most of the sugar for erythritol and stevia.

On the combined picture — ~307 kcal, 27 g sugar and a category-topping 13 g saturated fat per 100 g — Magnum Classic is the least healthy, with its chocolate coating stacking coconut fat and cocoa butter onto an already sweet centre; Talenti and Ben & Jerry's are close behind on sugar and calories. Halo Top is comfortably the lightest. Note the real-dairy distinction: Häagen-Dazs and Breyers use the shortest, cream-based labels, whereas Wall's and Oatly are vegetable-oil 'frozen desserts' rather than true cream ice cream.

Values are per 100 g; serving sizes differ widely (a Halo Top serving is 85 g, a Magnum bar ~86 g/110 ml, a US 'pint' scoop ~106 g), so per-portion intake varies.

Real cream vs oil matters: Häagen-Dazs, Breyers, Talenti and Ben & Jerry's are cream/milk-fat based, while Wall's and Oatly are vegetable-oil 'frozen desserts' (coconut and rapeseed oil) and Magnum/Cornetto add coconut fat and cocoa butter in the coating.

Recipes are regional: US and UK/EU formulations of the same brand can differ — figures reflect the specific version sourced (region noted per column).

Compiled June 2026 from official brand sites, Open Food Facts and major retailers. Labels, ingredients and nutrition change over time — always check current packaging.

Sources

Ingredient formulations, allergen statements and product sizes change over time and between manufacturing facilities. This infographic reflects published lists reviewed in June 2026 and is for general interest only. For allergy, dietary or regulatory decisions, always read the wrapper of the specific product in your hand.