26 of the Weirdest Ice Cream Flavors Out There

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Private chef Jeff Woodward lists the strangest ice cream flavors of all time

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IN THIS ARTICLE

1 Pear and Blue Cheese

2 Earl Grey Tea

3 Crème Fresh Curry Crunch

4 Buttermilk

5 Cheddar Cheese

6 Goat Cheese with Red Cherries

7 Arbequina Olive Oil

8 Garlic

9 Pizza

10 Cereal Milk

11 Strawberry Honey Balsamic with Black Pepper

12 Flamin’ Hot Cheetos

13 Cold Sweat

14 Dill Pickle

15 Kraft Macaroni & Cheese

16 Old Bay Caramel

17 Lobster

18 Vanilla with Sriracha Sauce

19 Corn

20 Thanksgiving Dinner

21 Grapenut

22 Secret Breakfast

23 Anchovy

24 Oyster

25 Asparagus

26 Sweet Potato

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Co-authored by Annabelle Reyes Reviewed by Chef Jeff Woodward

Last Updated: February 27, 2026 Fact Checked

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Forget ice cream flavors like cookie dough and mint chip—it’s time to take a trip into more adventurous waters! If you’ve ever wondered what kind of strange ice cream flavors might exist, you’re in luck because we’ve rounded them all up into this comprehensive list. A private chef partnered with wikiHow to share some of the wildest and most unusual ice cream flavors out there, fit for only the most daring foodies!

What are some weird ice cream flavors?

Private chef Jeff Woodward says some weird ice cream flavors are anchovy, Thanksgiving dinner, sweet potato, oyster, and asparagus. Other strange flavors include pear and blue cheese, olive oil, garlic, and lobster. If you’re looking for fun ice cream, try brands like Van Leeuwen, Jeni’s Ice Creams, or Salt & Straw.

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1

Pear and Blue Cheese

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1. When it comes to unusual ice cream flavors, Salt & Straw is one of the most notorious players in the game. One of their weirdest offerings is pear and blue cheese ice cream, featuring candied Oregon Bartlett pears and cave-aged blue cheese crumbles from Rogue Creamery. Salt and Straw’s website describes the flavor as a union of sweet and savory, and although it sounds a bit out-there, we have to admit, it also sounds totally one-of-a-kind!

   • Salt and Straw has ice cream shops in many states, including Arizona, California, Florida, New York, and more.
   • If you live in the U.S., You can also order Salt & Straw ice cream for nationwide shipping on their website.

   Meet the wikiHow Expert

   Chef Jeff Woodward is a private chef and the owner of The Rogue Chef in Branson, Missouri. He has over 20 years of experience in the restaurant industry.
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2

Earl Grey Tea

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1. Sold by Van Leeuwen, this flavor turns a warm and fragrant cup of earl gray tea into a yummy frozen treat. This is far from the most outlandish flavor on our list, but it does require a bit of a mature palate, since it has such a heavy tea flavor. Ingredients include cream, milk, sugar, black tea leaves, and bergamot oil—so if you try this one, get ready for a rich and aromatic experience!

   • Van Leeuwen has ice cream shops in several states, including New York, California, New Jersey, Texas, Colorado, Florida, and more.
   • If you live in the U.S., you can also order pints of ice cream for delivery on Van Leeuwen’s website.

3

Crème Fresh Curry Crunch

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1. Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Sebastian Joe’s ice cream is a popular family-run business with tons of super interesting offerings. One of their seasonal summer flavors is crème fresh curry crunch, which features a blend of tart and rich crème fresh and spicy, aromatic curry flavors, along with crunchy components throughout. It sounds like a daring and totally unique ice ice cream!

   • Sebastian Joe’s has ice cream shops in Minneapolis, and you can also order their ice cream online on their website.
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4

Buttermilk

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1. Sold by Arkansas-based ice cream company Loblolly Creamery, this flavor is made with buttermilk, heavy whipping cream, cane sugar, honey, and salt. It actually sounds pretty darn delicious, and according to Loblolly Creamery’s website, it tastes like cheesecake.

5

Cheddar Cheese

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1. When you think of ice cream, you probably imagine sweet flavors rather than savory ones, but there’s actually a popular ice cream made with one of the most savory foods out there—cheese! In the Philippines, cheddar cheese flavored ice cream, called “queso” or “keso,” is a foodie favorite. It’s a mix of sweet and salty flavors, and it may even include corn kernels. We think it sounds super fun and unique!
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6

Goat Cheese with Red Cherries

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1. Sold by Jeni’s Ice Creams, this flavor features goat cheese from LaClare creamery based in Wisconsin paired with scratch-made cherry sauce for a sweet, tart, and slightly tangy combo. The inclusion of the goat cheese seems a little wild at first glance, but Jeni’s website describes the flavor as similar to cherry cheesecake, and that sounds totally delicious.

   • Jeni’s Ice Creams has ice cream shops in several states across the country, and you can also find it in the frozen isles of several grocery stores.

7

Arbequina Olive Oil

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1. Another Salt and Straw offering, this one is exactly what it sounds like–olive oil-flavored ice cream. According to Salt and Straw’s website, the grassy and tropical flavors and rich, buttery texture of the Oregon olive oil is enhanced when turned into this frozen treat. If you’re an olive oil-lover when it comes to savory dishes, this one might be right up your alley!
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8

Garlic

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1. Gilroy, California is the garlic capital of the world, and it’s (fittingly) home to the huge Gilroy Garlic Festival. The festival features tons of dishes featuring garlic, but the fun doesn’t stop at savory foods—there’s also garlic ice cream on offer. It’s a bit unusual for an ice cream flavor, but garlic lovers and festival enthusiasts swear by it.

9

Pizza

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1. Another Van Leeuwen entry on this list, this ice cream featured a cream cheese and mozzarella-flavored base with tomato jam swirls and basil crust cookies. It was a limited edition release, so unfortunately you can’t try out this flavor anymore, but it certainly sounds one-of-a-kind!
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10

Cereal Milk

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1. Inspired by the delicious flavor of milk once your cereal has been sitting in it for a while, this offering from Milk Bar is a tamer (yet still unique!) option. There’s a soft serve version of the ice cream that’s only available at Milk Bar’s physical locations, but there are also pints of the ice cream with added cornflake crunch for sale in some grocery stores.

   • Curious to know which ice cream flavor fits your personality best? Take our quiz here!

11

Strawberry Honey Balsamic with Black Pepper

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1. Yet another Salt and Straw option, this flavor features strawberry ice cream “spiked” with honey balsamic and spicy cubeb pepper, with ribbons of strawberry jam throughout. It sounds like a bit of a wild combo, but strawberries do taste pretty darn good in a salad with balsamic dressing and pepper, so maybe it’s the same case here? If you’re a strawberry ice cream lover who’s adventurous with food, you may want to give it a try.
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12

Flamin’ Hot Cheetos

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1. This ice cream featured a sweet cream base and had Flamin’ Hot Cheetos crushed and mixed in throughout, creating a uniquely spicy and sweet flavor experience. Unfortunately, it was a limited-edition launch by ice cream chain Marble Slab Creamery, so it’s no longer available. It lives on in our memories, though!

13

Cold Sweat

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1. Sold by Sunni Sky’s Homemade Ice Cream Shop in Algier, North Carolina, this flavor is apparently so spicy that you have to sign a waiver to try it! It’s made with hot peppers and hot sauce, creating a unique icy-hot sensation. This one definitely sounds like it’s meant for only the bravest foodies!
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14

Dill Pickle

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1. Located in Stanley, North Dakota, Dakota Drug is a drugstore with a soda fountain inside. With their Whirl-a-Whip machine, they’re able to mix any topping you’d like into your ice cream, and one of the toppings on offer is dill pickles. If you’re a pickle lover, you just might need to take a trip to North Dakota to try it out!

15

Kraft Macaroni & Cheese

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1. Kraft Macaroni and Cheese is a beloved childhood staple, and thanks to Van Leeuwen, it’s also an ice cream flavor! This ice cream is made with typical ingredients like cream, milk, and sugar…plus Kraft cheese sauce mix. It’s definitely a strange combo, but ice cream is delicious and mac and cheese is delicious, so why wouldn’t they be delicious together?
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16

Old Bay Caramel

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1. Sold by ice cream chain The Charmery in Maryland, this ice cream flavor features a vanilla base and a swirl of Old Bay-infused caramel sauce. Old Bay is a spice blend including savory herbs and spices like celery salt, red pepper, black pepper, bay leaf, mustard powder, and paprika, and it’s famous for tasting delicious on seafood. If you enjoy the flavor of Old Bay in crab cakes or shrimp boils, you might just enjoy it in ice cream, too!

17

Lobster

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1. A specialty from Ben and Bill’s Chocolate Emporium in Bar Harbor, Maine, this one is exactly what it sounds like—lobster-flavored ice cream. According to a TikTok made by the ice cream shop, it all starts with a butter-flavored base (the same used for butter pecan ice cream), with fresh chunks of buttered Maine lobster meat mixed in. Ben and Bill’s acknowledges it’s a strange combo, but they swear the salty flavor of the lobster blends super well with the sweet, buttery ice cream.
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18

Vanilla with Sriracha Sauce

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1. Mason’s Creamery in Cleveland, Ohio offers tons of savory ice cream options that change daily, including daring flavors like waffle batter ice cream with fried chicken skins or caramelized onion. One thing always on offer, though, is vanilla ice cream swirled with Sriracha sauce. Sounds like a pretty unique combo!

19

Corn

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1. Corn ice cream may sound unusual, but it’s actually pretty popular! It’s a staple in many Asian countries and in Mexico, and it’s also an offering at several ice cream shops in the U.S. This one is a bit less surprising than other options on this list—fresh corn has a pretty sweet and mild flavor, so it seems like it would work well in an ice cream!
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20

Thanksgiving Dinner

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1. This discontinued flavor previously sold by The Ice Cream Store in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware is perhaps the weirdest one on our list. Technically called “Beans, Greens, Tomatoes, Potatoes,” the ice cream is supposed to pack the flavor of a Thanksgiving Dinner into a frozen treat.

   • Chef Woodward says this is an unusual flavor he wouldn’t try.

21

Grapenut

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1. Sold by Island Pops, this flavor features a creamy vanilla base with the healthy cereal Grape-Nuts mixed throughout. According to Island Pop’s website, the malty flavor of the cereal infuses into the ice cream base, creating a unique and delicious taste. Unlike a few of the other flavors on this list, it seems like this one could be a crowd-pleaser!

   • Island Pops offers pick-up at their flagship store in Brooklyn, and you can also order ice cream for nationwide shipping on their website.
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22

Secret Breakfast

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1. California ice cream shop Humphry Slocombe prides itself on making unexpected flavors, and this one definitely fits the bill! It features Vietnamese coffee, honey graham, and peanut butter fudge ripple. The name creates an air of mystery, but it actually sounds super yummy.

23

Anchovy

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1. Popularized by The Anchovy Bar in San Francisco, anchovy ice cream is a unique, salty, and savory experience with an acquired taste. It usually combines traditional ice cream ingredients with anchovies, creating a rich, umami-forward flavor profile. It’s definitely one of the weirdest ice cream flavors, according to Chef Woodward.

   • When it comes to weird ice cream flavors, Chef Woodward says, "If you can think of it, someone has done it."
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24

Oyster

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1. Chef Woodward agrees that this is one of the weirdest ice cream flavors. This was a popular, experimental ice cream flavor in the 1800s, with some rumors suggesting it was a favorite of Mark Twain and Dolley Madison. Supposedly, it tastes briny and rich, akin to a frozen oyster chowder. Don’t call yourself an oyster aficionado until you’ve tried it!

25

Asparagus

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1. Considered a classic in Western Massachusetts, asparagus ice cream is described as having a sweet, creamy, and mildly grassy taste. It features a pale green custard base blended with cooked asparagus, often finished with almonds for a slightly nutty, buttery flavor profile. Chef Woodward adds that it's one of the strangest flavors.
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26

Sweet Potato

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1. A favorite in Japan and South Korea, sweet potato ice cream is a creamy, spiced dessert, similar to a frozen pumpkin or sweet potato pie. The sweet potato is pureed, imparting a rich, velvety texture with notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Chef Woodward agrees that it's a pretty weird ice cream flavor.

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