Fast Food Chain Soft Serve Ice Cream, Ranked

Though soft serve ice cream is delicious in all seasons, it's especially nice to indulge in the cool and creamy treat in the summer. As American as apple pie, this nostalgic delight gained popularity in the 1930s to highlight a day at the fair or a summer baseball game. While the origins of soft serve ice cream are somewhat debated, the first patented soft serve ice cream maker appeared in 1926.

A turning point in the soft serve story came in 1934, when Tom Carvel famously sold melty ice cream from a broken-down truck. This accidental success sparked a nationwide trend that was followed by Dairy Queen offering its own self-serve concept. Specialized machines were developed to store a pre-mixed blend of sugar and cream at just the right low (but not frozen) temperature, giving rise to the smooth, cool, and creamy treat we know and love as soft serve.

Soft serve ice cream began appearing on fast food menus as early as the 1940s, with both Chick-fil-A and McDonald's embracing the trend. Sonic Drive-In and Burger King followed in the 1960s, and by the 1970s, Wendy's introduced its own soft serve-inspired creation. These fast food giants still offer their own spin on soft serve, but who reigns supreme? I set out to find the answer, tasting them all in the name of research. What follows is my definitive ranking of the most popular fast food soft serve treats, from worst to best.

As a kid, I wasn't a fan of soft serve ice cream, and I'm pretty sure that's because the only kind I experienced was akin to what I tasted from Burger King. While smooth and creamy, I found this dessert completely neutral in flavor; you know the kind where you have to keep taking bites, hoping the taste will eventually show up? In this case, it never quite does. 

There's even a faint chemical aftertaste that lingers a bit too long. To be fair, Burger King shines more with its sundaes and shakes, where added flavors and mix-ins do the heavy lifting, but that's not what this mission is about.

Nutritionally, the soft serve cone clocks in at 200 calories and comes with the most extensive ingredient list of all the contenders. At $1.39 at my local location, it's the most budget-friendly option on this list, but when it comes to flavor, you get what you pay for. Now, on to the next cone.

Punctuated by the signature top curl, Dairy Queen's vanilla cone is a nostalgic treat that takes most right back to their childhoods. Available in kids' size, small, medium, and large, the classic vanilla cone offers the perfect amount of sweetness to complement your day. But keep in mind, Dairy Queen's soft serve isn't classified as ice cream because it doesn't meet the minimum 10% milk fat requirement set by the FDA for ice cream, and instead contains only 5% milk fat.

There would be no digression as the day's mission was clear: one soft serve cone per stop. The Dairy Queen cone arrived slightly worse for wear, though it made a valiant attempt at that signature top curl. In a side-by-side taste test, however, the DQ vanilla cone fell surprisingly short. Instead of a rich, vanilla-forward creaminess, it left behind a noticeably artificial aftertaste. Of all the contenders, this soft serve was by far the firmest, likely by design to support its role as the base for dipped cones and the iconic Blizzard. While not quite an epic fail, an unadorned DQ cone wouldn't be my first choice for a soft serve outing, particularly when it's the most expensive of the bunch, coming in at $2.79 plus tax at my neighborhood DQ Grill & Chill for a small 220-calorie cone. It's much better suited as a base mixed with more exciting things, like crumbles and crunchies.

Sonic Drive-In jumped on the soft serve bandwagon in the 1960s, offering a frozen dessert that, at the time, contained minimal milk fat. It wasn't until much later, in 2010, that the iconic drive-in, once known for its nostalgic root beer shakes, made the switch to using real ice cream in its milkshakes to meet FDA regulations. Although it's disputed online whether the current vanilla cup is still real ice cream or has returned to soft serve, Sonic's online menu advertises it as soft serve. The classic treat is priced at $1.99 at my local franchise and clocks in at 300 calories. Interestingly, despite some digging, the exact ingredients of Sonic's vanilla soft serve are notably elusive, making it something of a mystery in the world of fast food frozen desserts.

I had to drive a bit to reach the nearest Sonic, so by the time I arrived, I was ready for a sweet reward. Served in a cup, the soft serve's firm consistency initially had me hopeful; it looked like it might lean toward true ice cream. But from the first bite, it was underwhelming. The flavor wasn't particularly sweet or noticeably vanilla-forward; instead, it delivered a bold yet unmistakably artificial taste that I began to wonder was simply a characteristic of soft serve. I gave it a fair shot, taking a spoonful with every mile of the return trip, only to decide that such a drive wouldn't be necessary this summer. 

It's worth noting that all of the soft serve options on this list are vanilla, as is this Frosty. The original Wendy's Frosty was created in 1969 by founder Dave Thomas and equipment distributor Fred Kappus. As the story goes, Thomas was looking for a unique chilled dessert option to add to his menu, where the square burger patty was taking the world by storm, and the result was the Frosty, a chocolate and vanilla mixture yielding a malty flavor, which was inspired by ice cream served at a racetrack in Cleveland.

Dave Thomas hoped for a smoother chocolate experience with his original vanilla/chocolate Frosty, and it worked. Today, Wendy's offers a plethora of dessert options and Frosty flavors. At my local Wendy's, I was given the choice to swirl the chocolate and vanilla like the original Frosty or select a plain vanilla version. I panicked but ended up selecting vanilla to keep the playing field as level as possible. Secretly disappointed, I took a spoonful. 

The Frosty was creamier than I remember from my childhood, with a noticeable boost in sweet vanilla flavor. It also happens to be one of the more indulgent and pricier options, weighing in at 310 calories and $2.30 locally for a small cup. One interesting ingredient that stood out was molasses, which helps explain both the extra sweetness and slightly richer flavor profile. Overall, the vanilla Frosty is a contender for best fast food soft serve and ranks in the top tier of my list.

When it comes to desserts, McDonald's doesn't mess around. The Golden Arches has built a legacy not just on burgers and fries, but on iconic sweets like its baked apple pies, McFlurries, sundaes, and of course, its classic vanilla soft serve cone. It's long been known for treating its dessert menu with the same care as its main offerings, and I was genuinely intrigued to revisit this nostalgic favorite.

The soft serve arrived like a bright white swirl, a glob of ribbon candy perched on a cone. The flavor was immediately sweet and creamy, reminiscent of Cool Whip but with a slightly more syrupy, melt-in-your-mouth consistency. It felt close to what soft serve should taste like, so I checked the ingredients: milk, sugar, cream, corn syrup, natural flavor, mono and diglycerides, cellulose gum, guar gum, carrageenan, and vitamin A palmitate. Nothing here seemed out of the ordinary in comparison with the ingredients lists of its competitors. Pricewise it fell right in the middle of the list, at $2.20 plus tax at my neighborhood McDonalds. With 200 calories, it's also nutritionally on par with its fast food peers, but with a slightly cleaner ingredient list.

This soft serve was definitely tasty and enjoyable, thus commanding a top-tier ranking on my list. Pro tip: Order the McDonald's dessert with two chocolate chip cookies to make an ice cream sandwich for a surprisingly satisfying dessert experience.

Did you know that soft serve ice cream technically predates the iconic chicken sandwich at Chick-fil-A? The brand originated as an offshoot of founder Truett Cathy's Dwarf Grill in Atlanta, Georgia, where iced tea and a soft serve dessert called Icedream were menu staples as early as the 1940s. When Chick-fil-A officially launched in 1967, Icedream was among the original offerings, and it remains on the menu today.

The Chick-fil-A Icedream is only available in one size in a cone or cup and is served as a simple swirl. While you can add Icedream to your favorite soda for a yummy spin, it otherwise comes with no bells, whistles, drizzles, or toppings. But honestly, there are none needed as there is magic in this simplicity. The cone I received had a picture-perfect swirl and, in my humble opinion, ranks the highest in this list for its sweet yet distinctly creamy flavor, light and airy consistency, and a subtle crystalline texture that evoked memories of homemade ice cream.

At 180 calories and $1.89 locally for a cone, the Icedream soft serve hits the sweet spot. For me, it's Chick-fil-A for the summertime win.

It's important to note the distinction that defines soft serve ice cream. Basically, soft serve has a smoother and creamier — that is, softer — consistency than normal ice cream, and this is due to how it is stored and tempered. Soft serve is kept at a very low temperature but not frozen, which allows for its easily twistable consistency. Soft serve, also, in contrast to ice cream, has a lower concentration of milk fat and is mixed with a higher concentration of air, making for a less dense substance. It's also prepared in a special machine, although you can make this tasty treat at home. Additionally, it's important to note the distinction between soft serve and custard. Custard is made with eggs, while soft serve is not. So for this ranking, the ground rules were to compare six of the original soft serve-touting fast food chains to see which ranks the best in terms of taste, texture, variety of accoutrements, and, of course, value.

Equipped with some cash, a pen, my phone set to camera, and a wad of napkins, I set out to test every fast food restaurant within a five-mile radius serving soft serve ice cream, as a full cross-country quest to find the absolute best soft serve in the country wasn't in the cards for me. My mission was simple: select the signature, most basic, most vanilla, and unadorned option offered at the establishment and taste it, rating each one in terms of flavor, texture, and consistency. This core data was further distinguished by any notable ingredients, price point (though it may vary based on location), and any available options for jazzing it up with extras, should one feel the need. Brownie points were awarded for cheerful service and swirl technique, but did not determine the final winner. While not an exhaustive list, the fast food restaurants chosen were among the very first in the country to adopt soft serve as a staple franchise menu item.