Iowa’s Favorite Ice Cream is a Trifecta of Delicious Flavors

Earlier this year, I wrote about how Blue Moon ice cream is one of the most unique flavors you're likely to find in the Midwest. Now, a new study examines some of the most popular ice cream flavors in the state of Iowa. Would you believe Blue Moon cracked the top five?

It's good to know I'm not in the minority of thinking it's one of the best flavors, but more interesting about this study, from the folks at Affordable Seating, is the fact that vanilla or chocolate didn't top the list. I thought one of the two universally popular flavors would surely top the list for the Hawkeye State, yet that wasn't the case.

This study was conducted by analyzing Google search data. They used the search data for 102 different flavors of ice cream in this manner:

Searches for each of the 102 flavors were combined with five variations, such as “[flavor] ice cream,” “[flavor] ice cream recipe,” “how to make [flavor] ice cream,” “how to make homemade [flavor] ice cream,” and “[flavor] ice cream near me.”

Some of the keywords analyzed include “mint chocolate chip ice cream recipe,” “how to make honeycomb ice cream,” “how to make homemade raspberry ripple ice cream,” “salted caramel ice cream near me,” and “how to make pistachio ice cream.” - per Affordable Seating's website

Get our free mobile app

The most popular ice cream flavor in the state of Iowa is actually Neapolitan ice cream, a trifecta of three delicious flavors. Neapolitan ice cream is a triple-decker ice cream concoction comprised of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream, arranged side-by-side, with no barrier of any kind between the flavors. This flavor has been popular since its creation back in the 1830s. Despite its Italian name, the ice cream has German origins.

Neapolitan ice cream averages about 403 monthly searches in the state of Iowa, trailed closely by vanilla with 393 average monthly searches. Here are the flavors that round out the top five:

• Superman ice cream (373 average monthly searches)
• Blue Moon ice cream (340 average monthly searches)
• Butter Brickle ice cream (337 average monthly searches)

I actually had to look up Butter Brickle ice cream. For anyone unaware, it's a chocolate toffee concoction that has roots in Council Bluffs, IA of all places. I suppose that explains why it's enduringly popular in Iowa. Just when you thought NFL quarterback Max Duggan was shouldering the heavy load of putting Council Bluffs on the map!

Below are the top ten most popular ice cream flavors across the United States, per Affordable Seating:

If you're craving ice cream, read about how a Baskin Robbins has just opened in Dubuque!