Breyers Ice Cream and Frozen Dairy Desserts

Cartons of Breyers ice cream and frozen desserts.

Breyers offers a wide variety of ice cream and frozen desserts. The texture, flavor, and ingredients are similar to other brands in the marketplace. In fact, even the brand name is often confused by one of its top competitors: Dreyer’s (a Nestle brand).

This food review provides a detailed overview of Breyers sweet dairy treats. It includes an explanation of the difference between ice cream and frozen dairy desserts, an analysis of calories by macronutrient, and the ingredients for many of the brand’s most popular flavors.

Breyers Ice Cream vs Frozen Dessert

Is It Ice Cream?

The first thing to note is not all of the containers in your grocer’s Ice Cream freezer is actually ice cream. At least not as it’s defined by the USDA.

Ice cream is made primarily with 100% real dairy products, which may include milk, cream, milk powder, and whey. It may also include other additives that act as stabilizers, emulsifiers, and flavoring agents.

By comparison, other frozen dessert options look like ice cream and taste similar to ice cream, but are made with various other ingredients, including oils.

Moreover, even if the desserts share some of the same ingredients as real ice cream, the dominant ingredients in frozen desserts that don’t qualify as ice cream are often added sugars, water, gums, or a type of oil.

Cartons of Breyers ice cream and frozen desserts.
Ice cream and frozen dessert

Standards for Ice Cream

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, there are certain grades and standards that must be met in order for a product to be labeled as “Ice Cream.”

The standards for ice cream include the following:

  • Contain 1.6 pounds of total solids per gallon
  • Weigh no less than 4.5 pounds to the gallon
  • Contain 20% or more total milk solids, of which at least 10% is milkfat
  • Whey cannot exceed 25% of the milk solids not fat, by weight

Additional standards apply when optional bulky ingredients such as cocoa solids, flavors, or sweeteners are added.

Marketed as Frozen Dairy Dessert

Food products that do not meet such standards cannot be labeled as Ice Cream.

Breyers uses the term “Frozen Dairy Dessert” for many of its products, including Vanilla Fudge Twirl, Extra Creamy Vanilla, and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough flavors.

Breyers Summary Nutrition Facts by Flavor

Breyers ice cream and frozen dairy desserts do have a couple of nutrition facts in common.

  • Serving size is 2/3 cup for all flavors. However, net weight varies from 78 grams to 91 grams.
  • The amount of protein per serving is 2 grams to 3 grams, depending on the flavor.

Use the following table to compare calories, fat, carbs, and added sugars in many of Breyers top ice cream and frozen dessert flavors.

Nutritional Information by Flavor

FlavorType2/3 CupCaloriesFatCarbsAdded Sugars
French VanillaIce Cream85g18010g21g13g
Vanilla ChocolateIce Cream87g1709g21g15g
Vanilla Chocolate StrawberryIce Cream87g1608g20g14g
Natural VanillaIce Cream88g1709g19g14g
CoffeeIce Cream78g1404g23g12g
Chocolate TruffleIce Cream91g2008g30g17g
Chocolate ChipDairy Dessert89g1707g26g14g
Black Raspberry ChocolateDairy Dessert89g1805g30g16g
Chocolate Chip Cookie DoughDairy Dessert89g1907g30g15g
Rocky RoadDairy Dessert90g1907g29g14g
Cookies & CreamDairy Dessert80g1906g29g17g
Chocolate Pretzel SwirlDairy Dessert81g1808g27g10g
Vanilla Fudge TwirlDairy Dessert90g1504.5g26g13g
Extra Creamy VanillaDairy Dessert81g1404.5g24g14g
Butter PecanDairy Dessert83g1708g22g10g
Double Chocolate Brownie BatterDairy Dessert82g1807g29g16g
Extra Creamy ChocolateDairy Dessert81g1404.5g23g13g
CarbSmart Coffee Cookie CrunchDairy Dessert81g1206g17g2g

Calories

Total calories in Breyers ice creams and frozen dairy desserts vary by flavor. The total ranges from 120 to 200 calories per serving.

Calories by Macronutrient

Carbohydrates contribute the highest proportion, up to nearly 70%, of total calories.

Fat makes up approximately between one quarter to one half of the total calories. And approximately 4% to 8% of calories is from protein.

SUMMARY OF CALORIES BY MACRONUTRIENT

  • Total calories vary by flavor
  • Fat makes up the highest percentage of total calories, up to 68%+
  • Carbohydrates contribute 25% to 50% of total calories
  • Includes added sugars
  • Protein contributes up to 8% of total calories
List of ingredients in ice cream vs frozen dairy dessert.
Breyers ice cream ingredients vs frozen dairy dessert ingredients

Breyers Ingredients and Allergens

As noted above, the ingredients used for products labeled and marketed as Ice Cream must adhere to standards set by the USDA. This is apparent in Breyers use of the term Frozen Dairy Dessert.

That term is not unique to Breyers. It’s used by OREO, Dreyer’s, Blue Bunny, and Klondike, among many other brands.

Breyers ice cream generally contains fewer ingredients compared to the alternative dessert option.

For example, here is a comparison of the ingredients between two of the brand’s vanilla flavored treats: Natural Vanilla (its original ice cream) and Extra Creamy Vanilla (a vanilla-flavored frozen dairy dessert).

Comparison of Ingredients

Ingredient

Natural Vanilla
Ice Cream

Extra Creamy Vanilla
Dairy Dessert

Milk

Yes

Cream

Yes

Yes

Skim Milk

Yes

Sugar

Yes

Yes

Natural Flavor

Yes

Yes

Corn Syrup

Yes

Water

Yes

Whey

Yes

Mono and Diglycerides

Yes

Guar Gum

Yes

Carob Bean Gum

Yes

Tara Gum

Yes

Yes

Annatto

Yes

Vitamin A Palmitate

Yes

Ingredients and allergens vary by flavor. The following chart provides a summary of ingredients in popular Breyers ice cream flavors and Breyers frozen desserts.

Ingredients by Flavor

Flavor

Ingredients

French Vanilla Ice Cream

Milk, Cream, Sugar, Corn Syrup, Egg Yolks, Whey, Vegetable Gums, Mono and Diglycerides, Natural Flavor, Annatto, Salt.

Extra Creamy Vanilla Dessert

Skim Milk, Sugar, Cream, Corn Syrup, Water, Whey, Mono and Diglycerides, Guar Gum, Carob Bean Gum, Tara Gum, Natural Flavor, Annatto, Vitamin A Palmitate.

CarbSmart Coffee Cookie Crunch Dessert

Skim Milk, Cream, Maltitol Syrup, Water, Polydextrose, Coconut Oil, Glycerin, Coffee Extract, Whey, Sugar, Dutched Cocoa, Soluble Corn Fiber, Enriched Wheat Flour, Mono- and Diglycerides, Vegetable Oil (soybean, palm), Guar Gum, Carob Bean Gum, Dried Cane Syrup, Natural Flavor, Cocoa, Soy Lecithin, Corn Starch, Sodium Bicarbonate, Milk, Salt, Acesulfame Potassium, Sucralose.

Chocolate Truffle Ice Cream

Milk, Cream, Sugar, Dutched Cocoa, Corn Syrup, Coconut Oil, Whey, Canola Oil, Vegetable Gums, Mono and Diglycerides, Salt, Cocoa, Soy Lecithin, Natural Flavor, and Annatto.

Double Chocolate Brownie Batter Dessert

Skim Milk, Corn Syrup, Sugar, Fructose, Coconut Oil, Dutched Cocoa, Enriched Flour, Cream, Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Oil, Whey, Cocoa, Palm Oil, Molasses, Butter, Soybean Oil, Mono and Diglycerides, Natural Flavor, Guar Gum, Soy Lecithin, Carob Bean Gum, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Bicarbonate, and Salt.

Coffee Dessert

Skim Milk, Corn Syrup, Sugar, Water, Cream, Coconut Oil, Coffee Extract, Whey, Mono and Diglycerides, Guar Gum, Carob Bean Gum, Tara Gum, Annatto, and Natural Flavor.

Natural Vanilla Ice Cream

Milk, Cream, Sugar, Tara Gum, and Natural Flavor.

Vanilla Fudge Twirl Dessert

Skim Milk, Corn Syrup, Water, Sugar, Fructose, Coconut Oil, Whey, Cream, Dutched Cocoa, Vegetable Gums, Mono and Diglycerides, Salt, and Natural Flavor.

Vanilla Chocolate Strawberry Ice Cream

Milk, Cream, Sugar, Water, Strawberries, Whey, Dutched Cocoa, Tara Gum, and Natural Flavor.

Cookies & Cream Dessert

Milk, Liquid Sugar, Sugar, Wheat Flour, Cream, Corn Syrup, Palm Oil, Skim Milk, Whey, Dutched Cocoa, Natural Flavor, Salt, Baking Soda, Soy Lecithin, Mono- and Diglycerides, Carob Bean Gum, Guar Gum, Vitamin A Palmitate, and Tara Gum.

  • Vegetable gums include one or more of the following: carob bean, tara bean, and/or guar gum.
  • Annatto is generally used as a coloring agent.
  • Dutched cocoa is processed with alkali to reduce the natural acidity and bitterness of natural cocoa.
  • Liquid Sugar used in the Cookies & Cream flavored desert is made with sugar and water.

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