It’s anybody’s guess how the word “vanilla” became a synonym for “boring.” But here at Tasting Table, we reject the phraseology entirely — and apparently, we aren’t alone. According to a 2024 study by the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), the most popular ice cream flavor among sweet-toothed foodies in the U.S. is none other than classic vanilla.
The figures come from a survey conducted by the IDFA in partnership with global decision intelligence firm Morning Consult, which sought to determine Americans’ definitive ice cream preferences from sea to shining sea. Per the survey, 97% of Americans reported “[loving]” or “[liking]” ice cream, specifically vanilla. Following vanilla, the other top-four ice cream flavors of the general public are chocolate, strawberry, butter pecan, and cookie dough, in that order. Surprised by vanilla’s leaderboard dominance? Keeping with the theme of potential upsets, 2024 also marked the first time that cookie dough and butter pecan broke into the top five rankings in an IDFA study.
Vanilla’s climb to the top of the pack seems relatively recent. The IDFA’s 2022 report found chocolate to be the most popular ice cream flavor in America, followed by cookies n’ cream, vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate chip. A separate 2024 study by Instacart also found vanilla to be the most popular ice cream flavor in America, noting that “29% of [all] Instacart orders included vanilla ice cream between June-August 2023.”
In the US, foodies are screaming for vanilla ice cream
According to World Population Review, the U.S. consumes the second-most amount of ice cream of any country in the world, following New Zealand. U.S. ice cream fans put away around 20.8 liters (over 5 gallons) of the stuff per person every year. Ice cream manufacturers in America churn out more than 870 million gallons per year just to meet the unrelenting, world-leading consumer demand. That’s a lot of vanilla ice cream — and we totally get it.
Vanilla also boasts optimal opportunities for customization with toppings. This pale-hued canvas is the perfect foundation for building a fully loaded sundae. In the IDFA survey, 35% of ice cream lovers named hot fudge as their go-to sundae topping, followed by whipped cream (29%), caramel sauce (24%), and chocolate sauce (21%). We have 15 more ways to upgrade your ice cream sundae to help you out, which might come in handy considering the majority (63%) of foodies said their favorite place to dig into a bowl of ice cream is at home. If you can relate, Wegman’s makes our favorite store-brand vanilla ice cream; stash a half-gallon in your freezer for whenever an at-home ice cream craving hits. We’re also loving the high-quality ingredients of Van Leeuwen’s Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. A word to wise American foodies: the third Sunday in July is celebrated as National Ice Cream Day. In 2025, it’ll fall on Sunday, July 20.
