The best low calorie ice cream you can buy in the UK (top 8)
'Low calorie' and 'ice cream' might not sound like 2 things which could (or should) go together, but there has been a huge increase in low-calorie ice creams popping up on supermarket shelves over the last few years. These are ideal for people who want all the indulgence of a good ice cream, just without the guilt afterwards.
As you can imagine, not all of these low-calorie ice creams are good - in fact, many of them are downright bad. But there are some out there which are really excellent, the best of which we wanted to round up for our readers. Let's take a look at the best low calorie ice cream you can buy:
Halo Top - 80kcal per 100ml
The one thing which really captured our attention about the Halo Top tubs were the fact that they advertised how many calories were in each tub rather than per 100ml as most other brands did. We liked this because it suggested to us that Halo Top wanted us to eat the entire tub and not feel guilty, so we duly obliged. This stuff was totally delicious and at only 80 calories per 100ml, it was easily one of the lowest-calorie ice creams we found.
On top of that, the Peanut Butter Cup flavour we tried was delicious. View the product here - halotop.uk
Oppo Brothers - 82kcal per 100ml
A double salted caramel swirl flavour ice cream doesn't sound like it should be both delicious and low calorie, but somehow the Oppo Brothers have managed to achieve this miracle. Their method of reducing calories is quite simple in that all they do is reduce the amount of sugar they use, but we still found this to be really tasty and to taste like normal ice cream. 82 calories per 100ml makes this one of the lowest calorie ice creams we could find, and if Salted Caramel isn't your thing then the rest of the Oppo Brothers range is also similarly low in calories. View and buy their products here - oppobrothers.com
Little Moons - 215kcal per 100ml
If you've seen Little Moons on your local supermarket shelves and not had a clue what Mochi ice cream actually is, you're not alone - we were the same for months. But a few things grabbed our attention and made us give them a shot. Firstly, the 'Great Taste' award sticker on each of the boxes was a good sign, and secondly the very low-calorie content. When we finally bought some Little Moons, we were blown away. They tasted unlike anything we'd ever had before, but were totally delicious and also unmistakably ice cream. Mochi ice cream is a Japanese invention and is basically just sticky rice wrapped around ice cream. It sounds a bit weird and it definitely is, but it's also delicious and, crucially, low in calories. 1 Little Moons Passionfruit & Mango ball contains just 69 calories, very little given how delicious and filling it is. View the product here - littlemoons.com
Ben & Jerry's Moo-phoria - 136kcal per 100ml
Ben & Jerry's is known for their indulgent, calorie-heavy ice creams, so a lot of eyes were rolled when they released their lighter, lower-calorie range. But we have to admit that the 'Moo-phoria' range of ice creams is actually pretty delicious, and although you can taste that it isn't quite as rich and flavoursome as their standard range, it still has that distinctive Ben & Jerry's taste. We only tried the Chocolate Cookie Dough variety from the Moo-phoria range, which tasted pretty much identical to the normal Cookie Dough in our opinion. And at only 136 calories per 100ml, it was nice to eat some Ben & Jerry's without the guilt. View the product here - benjerry.co.uk
Jude's - 94kcal per 100ml
Jude's make a lot of noise about how low in calories their ice cream is, with the amount of calories contained in 100ml actually bigger than the 'Jude's' logo on the tub. Although we do have to say, at 94 calories per 100ml we're not surprised they're making a lot of noise about it, especially given how good it tastes. We only tried the Salted Caramel variety, but it definitely didn't taste like low-calorie ice cream to us. View the product here - judes.com
Solero -108 kcal per 100ml
The Solero brand has been around for years, but not many people realise how low in calories they are. Only 98 calories per individual Solero is impressive given how much flavour they manage to pack into the ice cream. Plus, these aren't small-sized either - each Solero is 90ml, about the same size as a Magnum lolly, so you probably won't need more than 1 to scratch your ice cream itch. View the product here - tesco.com
Häagen-Dazs Gelato cups 150 calories per tub
People often think of gelato as a more indulgent version of ice cream, but the opposite is actually true - generally speaking, gelato is lower in fat compared to ice cream. For this reason, we're surprised to see so few gelato options on supermarket shelves, but there are some brands producing gelato, including Häagen-Dazs. At only 150 calories per tub, the gelato cups from Häagen-Dazs are very low in calories and definitely one of the best-tasting options in this list. View the product here - haagen-dazs.co.uk
Coco Nutters sticks - 134kcal per lolly
You'll find quite a few plant-based ice cream options on supermarket shelves at the moment, but although you'd think they're lower in calories than dairy ice cream, this definitely is always the case. Having said that, these Chocolate Dipper Vanilla Sticks from are both plant and low-calorie, clocking in at just 134 calories per ice cream lolly. Coconut ice cream is a great alternative to dairy ice cream if you're looking for something which tastes great but with fewer calories. View this product here - coconutco.co.uk
As you can see, low-calorie ice cream is no longer reserved for weird health shops - there are lots of options out there, and we think we've included the best-tasting and most impressive in this list. Let us know if you've tried any of these in the comments!
Finn H
Finn is the editor of You Well and has been writing about travel, health, and more for over 10 years.