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Halo Top Review

August 16, 2020   46 Comments

This Halo Top review is in response to the people who want to know if you can actually like light ice cream with a fraction of the calories of REAL ice cream.

Halo Top Review

A pint of traditional vanilla ice cream is 1000 calories with 64 grams of fat and 82 grams of sugar. It also has 17 grams of protein and zero fiber.

Halo Top and Breyers Delights are in this space where ice cream gets a makeover. Now it includes about 300 calories for a pint!

How do they do it? Here are the ingredients for the Halo Top Sea Salt Caramel flavor:

It should be very obvious that they cannot use the traditional recipe of cream, sugar, and eggs. There are eggs but instead of cream - skim milk. To replace sugar they are using erythritol (sugar alcohol) and organic stevia extract.

It does work!

Here are the nutrition facts for the Halo Top Sea Salt Caramel flavor:

The amount of fat, sugar, and calories for this ice cream is a fraction of the traditional ice cream amount. But, that won’t matter if it doesn’t taste or feel like actual ice cream.

I dove into three flavors (about $5 each) to determine what the buzz is about. First up is Sea Salt Caramel.

I love sea salt caramels (though I never buy them). I had a caramel habit that was bad for my teeth and waist line. I started eating Medjool dates as a replacement.

This had a light texture but it was SO SWEET!! I could taste the strong, overly sweet flavor of erythritol and stevia and I couldn’t eat it. I would give this flavor a pass.

Vanilla is my favorite flavor - I know it is sad. I love me some Haagen Dazs vanilla if I hit a rough patch. This vanilla is actually good. It was a little too sweet for me BUT it had a nice texture and strong vanilla flavor.

If I was trying to hit the Haagen Dazs habit, this would be a good option.

Finally, I tried chocolate mocha chip. I thought that the chips were going to be dark chocolate but they turned out to be white chocolate. Wierd. This was the best flavor by far. It tasted like chocolate, wasn’t too sweet, and seemed closer to traditional ice cream than the other two flavors.

I think Halo Top is better on average than Breyer Delights but it will depend on the flavor that you like.

My thinking is that Halo Top can be a good bridge for moving away from sugary desserts but not a complete solution. It does include sugar alcohols (which give many people stomach pains as they are impossible to digest) and can be way too sweet.

If you want to eat less ice cream, fresh fruit is a wonderful substitute BUT you have to ready your taste buds for the flavors. A sweet peach is far less sweet than Halo Top Sea Salt Caramel ice cream and so may not hit the “dessert” button for you.

Do you have a Halo Top review that you would like to share?

Other posts you might like:

Breyers Delights Review

Breyers Delights Review

This Breyers Delights review may stop you from getting a stomachache. I believe Breyers is trying to get you to eat an entire pint of ice cream.

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First 20 Comments: ( See all 46 )

I found Halo Top to be bland, but most of all the consistency was that of frozen milk. I tried different flavors, but my assessment applies to all. Not a fan.

on September 8, 2019

Not impressed.

Much better to make frozen banana “ ice cream” or your strawberry frozen yogurt! ( experiment with other fruit, so good)

I eat frozen dark cherries as my fix in a hurry.

I don’t like sugar substitutes nor alcohols. I do like eating foods as close to their natural states as possible and not science experiments :)

on September 8, 2019

Test "Enlightened". I found the coffee and chocolate peanut butter to be creamy and not overly sweet. Next I'll try vanilla. However, I'm a straight up Breyers Vanilla or Strawberry lover.

on September 8, 2019

I used to find a few of the flavors acceptable - chocolate and peanut butter mostly. Then I found the Enlightened brand which is fabulous- particularly the chocolate peanut butter flavor. There was a big sale recently at Shoprite and for $2.88 I tried the Halo Top chocolate almond. It tasted like almond extract. After 3 bites I threw it away. Back to Enlightened.

on September 8, 2019

I tried multiple flavors...just didn't taste very good to me. My cat wouldn't touch the leftovers - instead she tried to 'rake over it' - as if it was something from the litterbox that needed to be covered...her review was worse that mine...

I like the Enlighten ice cream bars much better! Thanks for doing the review!

on September 8, 2019

I tried Halo - too sweet for me. I like Enlightened - Coffee and Chocolate Mint. I make it last for 3 to 4 little servings in a ramekin - for me I just need a little while my husband mows through a bowl of Breyers Coffee:)

on September 8, 2019

Tried Halo Top several years ago and it was, well, okay but I didn't love it. I was thinking your review was a sign there had been some great change in the line that made it worth trying again. I went back to my frozen bananas adding different things like peanut butter, vegan coconut salted caramel toppings etc and found my sweet spot. Great review as always Lisa!

on September 8, 2019

Please review Enlightened. I love this so much better than Halo.

on September 8, 2019

I tried those ice creams but they bother my stomach so I buy Edy's Slow Turn chocolate and vanilla and it taste good. (100 calories each for a 1/2 cup)

on September 8, 2019

It’s nothing personal to Halo Top but I find it bland & it gives me a stomach ache. I love Enlightened . Their salted caramel is my favorite. Believe it or not my cat loves it too.

on September 8, 2019

Tried Halo last year and couldn’t get past the texture-to me not creamy. Plus the sweetness was off! Essentially gross tasting to me! Occasional real ice cream is my only choice. Thanks for the review!

on September 8, 2019

Because I’m lactose intolerant, I tried the Halo Top dairy free version-I think they’re made with coconut milk or something but I did NOT like whichever flavor I tried (so bad I couldn’t remember what flavor!)

on September 8, 2019

Halo Top is not good. No like. But couldn’t be more the opposite for Cado...soooooo good and yummy. http://cadoicecream.com/ Benefit: they sell it at Walmart.

on September 8, 2019

I guess I am the only one here that does like some Halo Top flavors! They have a season one - Key Lime Pie - that I would kill for! One thing I do that makes a difference and eliminates some of the complaints about texture is to let it sit out for at least 15 -30 minutes before I eat it. It is then like soft serve and delicious! As for the Enlightened bars, I found their texture to be like plastic. Have not tried the pints of that brand. I also tried Arctic Zero, and some of their flavors are not too bad, and lower in calories than Halo Top. Safeway also has their own house brand that is ok.

on September 8, 2019

I have tried many Halo top flavors and find most okay in a pinch. I’m more of a fan of Chilly Cow. I agree though that Halo top is considerably improved if you let it sit out for a bit before eating.

on September 8, 2019

My daughter convinced me to buy the Halo Top recently when it was a BOGO at our local Publix. Up until this time, I had been resisting because I thought it was too expensive, especially if we didn't like it. We purchased chocolate chip and chocolate chip cookie dough flavors. We thought it was awful! A fake sweet flavor and zero creaminess which is what you're looking for when eating ice cream, right? I will never buy this product again. If I'm really in the mood for ice cream, I can highly recommend Edy's (or Dreyer's depending upon where you live) Slow-Churned. To our family, this is the best tasting "light" ice cream. I think as long as you don't eat it all the time and you follow the serving size which is 1/2 cup, I believe, you're not going to kill yourself if you eat some ice cream every once in a while!

on September 8, 2019

I find substitutes are always substitutes, duh. But I thought I was on a Halo Top ecstasy after it was featured on The Bachelorette..but I have since decided that I will simply indulge with the real thing, infrequently and just enjoy it! I agree on the Halo Top review! It will have the negative effects of eating ice cream without the benefit of the aahhh!

on September 8, 2019

I’ve tried several of the dairy free versions and while some are better than others I’m definitely not a fan of sugar alcohols (or stevia or monk fruit for that matter). I also think a lot of the flavors are just too sweet and many just taste artificial to me. Like some of the other commenters, I make banana "nice cream" also and I like it fine but as a vegan I just get tired of everything tasting like bananas lol. Someone mentioned Cado (which is dairy free and a bit lower in calories than more traditional frozen desserts) but I wasn’t really happy with that either. Taste and texture were just ok but what I hated most was when it melted it turned into a clear, oily substance (avocado oil I assume). That totally ruined it for me. I think I’d rather stick to my non-dairy standbys and just eat smaller portions.

on September 8, 2019

I like the sea salt caramel Halo Top, but I agree with a previous comment about the texture is like frozen milk, not creamy at all. Not worth the WW points for me. I do however love the Skinny Cow Sugar Free Vanilla ice cream sandwiches! They are so good and only 4 WW points. Really flavorful and the chocolate cookie part is so good!

on September 8, 2019

Banana ice 'cream' still my favorite alternate dairy ice cream. I add fruit or gheradelli cocoa and a Tbs of HEALTHY peanut butter fat, some nuts maybe or dark choc bits. No experimental lab concoctions because whipping up real good food is pretty simple and delicious. Recently my son was visiting and made ice cream with tofu; it was delicious [actually decadent] too just needed some freezer time [about an hr].

I just love the idea of real food from plants these past few years. And I only regret not learning how to do it before I was in my late 60's. Thanks for this post, Lisa.

on September 8, 2019

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