A Definitive Ranking Of The Best (And Worst) Ice Cream Truck Treats

We love snow cones in general, but the one you can get at an ice cream truck is false advertising. It's not so much a snow cone as it is an iceberg. The shaved ice always freezes into a massive puck that's impossible to eat. There's a reason Popsicle discontinued their version in 2020.

This almost always came in cherry flavor and would instantly stain your lips bright red. It seems to be the messiest of all the treats, as most kids would dig through the slushy mixture to get right down to the candy surprise. It's too sloppy, and not in a nostalgic, endearing way, and too syrupy sweet.

Ordering a soft serve at an ice cream truck is risky business. If you're seriously unlucky, you'll end up with hearty serving of bacteria. And at best? You have chalky and boring vanilla on a cardboard-esque cake cone. And most of it will melt before you get the chance to finish it.

These should not be served to kids! They are too scary! Not to mention the flavors were always confusing. I don't remember a single ice cream truck with any explanation on how these would taste. Fruity? Chocolatey? Ice Cream-y? Does Spiderman taste different from Buttercup? I don't ever want to know.

Hot take, I know, to have this one so low on the list. I love ice cream sandwiches, truly. But when this item is just as readily available in your freezer at home, the allure of getting it from the ice cream truck really isn't there.

Did you know that the Bomb Pops they sell on ice cream trucks are jumbo sized? As a kid, that's what made them appealing. The flavor is a delicious combination of cherry, lime, and blue raspberry. But sometimes tragedy would strike and you would lose the red or white to the sidewalk.

Now we're getting to the good stuff. Fudgsicles never failed to be utterly creamy (pun intended) and so chocolatey. The only downfall was just how sticky your hands felt after you licked the last bit of chocolate from the stick. More would end up on your fingers than in your belly.

Nuts on top of a chocolate shell coating the coldest, creamiest ice cream? I'll say yes to that every time. And by far the best part was the chocolate bottom.

I don't think I ever saw a kid under the age of 12 order one of these, but as an adult, I love it. It's fruity, creamy, rich, and crunchy. It doesn't actually taste like strawberry shortcake, but it's a fun imitation of it.

There are a lot of things I would do for a Klondike Bar. One of them is sprinting after a musical truck in the heat of summer to buy this treat that I could get for cheaper at the grocery store. But there's something so magical about unwrapping that foil and biting into that simple yet delectable square.

When it comes to fruit-flavored ice cream novelties, the push pop is the best by far. It's relatively mess free, interactive, and even comes in TV character-inspired designs. We'd take the Spongebob-themed push pop over the terrifying popsicle any day.

A taco in ice cream form had to come from the brain of a child. It's too crazy to come from the mind of a logical adult, but just crazy enough to work. The crisp waffle cone shell gets a little soggy from the melting ice cream. But the combination of crunchy and creamy textures with salty and sweet flavors make this one of the best.

Cookie + ice cream = genius. Need I say more?

I realize this is a radical opinion, but it's truly the best. It's on a stick, so it's portable. It doesn't fall apart once you start licking. It's fruity and creamy and delicious. We love orange creamsicles so much that we've made our own version and melt-proof creamsicle bars.