- The Dairy Queen Blizzard is made with thick, soft-serve ice cream and a range of customizable mix-ins
- I visited two Dairy Queen locations and tried all 18 of the available Blizzard flavors to see which was the best.
- In the end, I found that the best Blizzard flavor was the seasonal s’mores, and the worst was cotton candy.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
No matter what time of year it is, few treats can bring a smile to a person’s face quite like the iconic Dairy Queen Blizzard.
Its signature combination of thick, smooth soft serve and customizable mix-ins has made it one of the most beloved desserts in the US for more than 30 years. As of August 2020, the chain offers 18 Blizzards on its dessert menu, including a few seasonal and limited-edition flavors.
Determined to figure out which Blizzard is the best of all, I spent several days trying every single one on the menu. In the end, I ranked the Blizzards from worst to best, based on their overall flavor and value.
Read on to see how the desserts stacked up. *Note that prices and item availability may vary by location.
Cotton candy Blizzard — $4.99
The first problem with this special, seasonal Blizzard was the texture. It had these chewy, colorful bits of sugar that felt a bit off - like they weren't supposed to be in there and a child added them in at the last minute.
But the unbearable sweetness of this Blizzard is what earned it a spot on the bottom of my list. This dessert just tasted like pure sugar and my teeth still hurt thinking about it.
I could picture younger kids absolutely loving this, but I can't see myself ordering this one again.
M&M Blizzard — $4.99
Many people picture M&Ms when they think of a classic ice-cream mix-in. That symphony of crunchy, chocolaty bits with smooth, creamy ice cream is a kid's kryptonite on a summer afternoon.
My M&M Blizzard came exactly as expected - with the bite-sized candies slightly crushed and evenly dispersed throughout the vanilla. It was a simple, yet satisfying option.
But this Blizzard was pretty underwhelming, especially when compared to the other ones on the menu. I think it could've benefited from the addition of a brownie to make the chocolate flavor of the candies stand out more.
Royal Rocky Road Trip Blizzard — $5.49
Full disclosure: I don't care much for rocky-road ice cream, so I knew I wasn't going to be wild about this one from the start.
Like rocky-road ice cream, this Blizzard contains all of the essential flavors: chocolate, peanuts, and marshmallow. This dessert has a single marshmallow core in the center of the cup with the ice cream around it and it comes with brownie chunks to offset the strong vanilla flavors.
I can see this being a dream for anyone who loves marshmallows, but I felt that the core overpowered the rest of the Blizzard. At one point, I thought the peanuts were missing, but they'd really just collected at the very bottom of the cup, which made every bite pretty inconsistent.
Wonder Woman Cookie Collision Blizzard — $5.01
With such a fun name, I had high hopes for this limited-edition Blizzard. Unfortunately, it underwhelmed me.
Essentially, It's a hodgepodge of chocolatey flavors, but instead of using brownies as the dessert mix-in of choice, it's chocolate chip and chocolate-chocolate cookie dough, which are pretty much indistinguishable from each other.
This had potential, but the similar toppings didn't add much in terms of flavor. If you were to blind taste-test me, I'd probably have a difficult time distinguishing between this one and the regular cookie dough Blizzard, which is disappointing.
Heath Blizzard — $4.99
I was eager to try the Blizzard because I think Heath is an excellent, underrated candy bar.
The Heath candy bits were finely chopped and distributed well throughout the ice cream. This gave the entire Blizzard a strong toffee taste, which I personally loved.
However, the biggest issue with this one was the texture. Toffee is notoriously sticky and hard, especially when paired with a cold substance like ice cream. As I ate my Blizzard, I noticed the small bits of the candy were getting stuck to parts of my teeth, which made me unwilling to finish it.
Oreo cookie Blizzard — $4.99
Although I enjoyed this Blizzard, it was essentially the same thing as cookies-and-cream ice cream.
On a positive note, DQ's signature vanilla soft serve tasted mellower and had a more delicate finish than what you'd find at the grocery store. I also liked that I could taste the icing bits in the Oreos.
But I probably wouldn't order this one again unless I was on the go and craving something familiar. For the price, I would rather purchase a pint of high-quality cookies-and-cream ice cream from the grocery store.
Choco Brownie Extreme Blizzard — $4.99
As a chocolate lover, I was surprised that I didn't like this one as much as I'd hoped. This Blizzard is proof that there can be too much of a good thing.
This comes with brownie pieces, chocolate fudge, and chocolate chunks. I enjoy all of those things individually, but when they're all packed together in an 8-ounce cup, it's almost too much.
It was clear to me that the chewy brownie chunks were the star of the show, and the other two chocolaty components didn't add much. The brownies were so fudgy that they blended together with the fudge chunks, too. Part of me feels like the fudge chunks were thrown in just to give this Blizzard its "extreme" name.
The kicker of this dessert is that it came with vanilla ice cream - not chocolate - but I honestly couldn't taste it underneath all of the toppings.
Butterfinger Blizzard — $4.99
This Blizzard consists of vanilla soft serve and a generous amount of nutty, scrumptious Butterfinger bits. I immediately noticed the little orange bits sticking out from the creamy soft serve, so everything looked like it had been mixed well.
Taste-wise, this blizzard was good, but not incredible. The candy bar (or bars?) were ground incredibly fine, which made it so the nutty flavor blended seamlessly into the soft serve.
However, I felt the candy's chocolate coating got completely lost in the mixing process. That wasn't a deal-breaker, but I still wouldn't call this Blizzard my favorite.
Snickers Blizzard — $4.99
The symphony of textures makes Snickers one of the US's most beloved candy bars, and the same holds true when it's paired with delicious vanilla soft serve.
Yummy chocolate, smooth caramel, and crunchy peanuts gave this one a pleasant blend of different flavors and without overpowering the ice cream itself.
Of the candy-themed Blizzards I tried, this was one of the better ones.
Reese's peanut-butter cup Blizzard — $4.99
As advertised, this Blizzard came with vanilla soft serve and noticeable chunks of Reese's peanut butter cups. This made me happy because it meant it contained actual chocolate, not Reese's Pieces, which taste like pure peanut butter to me.
As expected, everything tasted great. The Reese's chunks had that familiar melt-in-your-mouth flavor that I know and love. However, the further I got into my Blizzard, the less peanut butter cups there were, and the less enjoyable it became.
Still, if I had to choose a candy-themed Blizzard, I'd probably order this one again over some of the others.
Oreo fudge brownie Blizzard — $4.99
Like the chain's traditional Oreo Blizzard, this comes with vanilla soft serve and chewy bits of Oreo cookies. The only difference is that this takes it to the next level by adding globs of yummy, fudgy brownies to the mixture.
This was good but it wasn't much of a standout to me because it seemed like the Oreos were reduced to the background.
The brownies dominated the entire dessert, which wasn't a problem for me as a chocolate lover, but it made me question whether the Oreos needed to be there.
Turtle pecan cluster Blizzard — $4.99
The blend of buttery pecans, caramel, and vanilla on this Blizzard was absolutely divine. I also liked that my order contained pieces of whole pecans.
But I found the chocolate fudge shavings to be unnecessary because they weren't noticeable at all. If you didn't tell me they were in there, I would assume they weren't.
That said, this Blizzard earns high marks for its uniqueness and great taste.
Oreo cheesecake Blizzard — $4.99
Much like the cheesecake Blizzard, this came with a decent amount of cheesecake chunks. The only difference is that this one's also mixed with Oreo cookies.
I accidentally ordered this with chocolate ice cream instead of vanilla but, even so, it tasted the same as the chain's vanilla soft serve but with a hint of chocolate syrup.
In my opinion, this is a great option for the cheesecake lover who also wants a little bit of chocolate. The ratio between the two ingredients was fairly even, which meant no one taste dominated the other. In fact, they enhanced each other. The cocoa in the Oreos popped each time I got a bite of them with the creamy cheesecake.
Chocolate chip cookie dough Blizzard — $4.99
Cookie dough is one of the most popular ice-cream flavors in the US, and I totally get why.
The dough bits in this Blizzard were just the right size and, best of all, there were so many of them. This Blizzard was heaven with a great ratio of ice cream to cookie dough.
The chocolate fudge really made this Blizzard standout from standard, store-bought cookie dough ice cream from the grocery store. The fudge made the ice cream chocolaty, which brought out the sweetness of the doughy bits. It was a nice change from the chocolate-chip ice cream cookie dough's usually paired with.
Raspberry Fudge Bliss Blizzard — $4.99
My initial thought on seeing this Blizzard was that it seemed the most "adult" to me because it's the only one with actual fruit in it.
By far, the best part of this Blizzard was the fresh raspberries. They added a layer of tartness that counteracted the intensity of the chocolate-fudge chunks.
I just wish there were more of them in the Blizzard because once I got a quarter of the way in, all that I tasted was vanilla and chocolate.
Frosted animal cookie Blizzard — $4.99
This Blizzard has the perfect level of sweetness. The small amount of frosting on the animal cookies gave it just a hint of that sugary taste without being too much.
The cookies also had a nice chewiness to them and they stood up well to the ice cream without getting soggy.
Best of all, after a few bites, the colorful icing and sprinkles on the cookies melted into the soft serve, which made the entire thing taste like a delicious confetti cake.
Royal New York Cheesecake Blizzard — $5.49
I'm always a fan of a good dessert within a dessert when it's executed well - fortunately, this Blizzard was a hit.
The creamy cheesecake chunks made for a superb mix-in for Dairy Queen's soft serve: They had a slightly chewy, yet smooth texture that stood up well to the ice cream. I also found that they had a pleasant, sweet flavor that didn't taste artificial or overly sugary.
But it was the strawberry mixture in the center that seriously elevated this Blizzard. As soon as I got to the core, strawberry flavor began to seep into every corner of the cup, which gave every subsequent bite that burst of berry flavor.
S'mores Blizzard — $5.09
When two classics come together, you're bound to end up with something delicious. That's exactly what happened with the s'mores Blizzard, which is why it was my absolute favorite.
Unlike the Royal Rocky Road, which was overpowered by too much marshmallow, and Chocolate Brownie Extreme which was too chocolaty, the s'mores Blizzard had just the right amount of everything.
Instead of mini marshmallows, which can easily turn rubbery when cold, it has chocolate chunks that contain marshmallow filling. It also has graham-cracker pieces and graham-cracker dust that courses throughout the entire Blizzard, causing the ice cream to adopt that irresistible, toasty flavor.
Because of the graham-cracker dust, every bite tastes like a s'more. In other words, this Blizzard is the perfect summer treat, and I can't wait to order it again soon.
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