Already a $15 billion industry in the U.S., the ice cream craze intensifies every year, giving creameries plenty reason to strive to differentiate themselves. In any major city these days, you can find vegan ice cream, liquor-infused ice cream, and flavors that reflect a range of cuisines. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex reflects those nationwide trends, with new creameries popping up all the time, and ice cream makers finding ways to set themselves apart. On any given day, Dallasites may discover gelato crafted by a Tuscan gelato master; a shop that eschews chocolate and vanilla for flavors like Ginger Pear Riesling and Norwegian Brown Cheese; and Arabic ice cream with a high melting point that stretches like a cheesy mozzarella stick.
If you’re craving ice cream, this list of 15 shops around town will satisfy any whim.
Scoop N’ Buns
This shop in Garland, owned by a Mexican and Filipina — aka “Mexi-Pino” — husband-wife team harmoniously blends the two cultures in the kitchen. Part of the nod to Mexico is the adjacent coffee shop, Frida, named for Frida Kahlo, while a nod to the Philippines is a customizable Filipino desert called halo-halo that combines shaved ice with tropical fruit and is served á la mode. Perhaps most alluring of all, Scoop N’ Buns offers warmed up donuts from a local donut shop, stuffed with ice cream churned in-house. 507 W. Walnut St., Garland, scoopnbuns.com
The Spelled Milk
With a selection of 400-plus cereals, this eccentric Bishop Arts-based shop is a niche experience. From the “Wall of 100 Cereals” to the cereal art to the cereal-baked donuts, it’s a feast for the senses. Soft-serve ice creams are made daily in fairly basic flavors, serving as a simple foundation for exciting cereal toppings. 712 W. Davis St., Dallas, thespelledmilk.com
Howdy Homemade
In hopes of changing the way the public perceives people with disabilities, the owners of the seven nationwide locations of Howdy Homemade make sure their hiring reflects their mission. The team proudly employs people with developmental and intellectual disabilities to work in the stores and at their events. By patronizing Howdy, not only are you treating yourself to delicious ice cream, you are contributing to a good cause. At the Dallas location, try the Dr. Pepper chocolate chip. 12300 Inwood Rd. Ste 200, Dallas, howdyhomemade.com
Swirled Peace
Owner and ice cream enthusiast Sara Saginaw conceptualized Swirled Peace once she switched to a plant-based diet and found her ice cream options severely limited. Her plant-based soft-serve spot in Richardson offers oat-milk ice cream and caters to ice-cream lovers with dietary needs. Not only is the ice cream dairy-free, but every flavor listing includes its potential allergens. This is a great stop for anyone who would like to be free from worry about what’s in their ice cream. Try both the frozen hot chocolate and matcha flavors. 309 W. Eighth St., Richardson, swirledpeace.com
Rico’s Paleteria y Botanas Locas
The Metroplex is home to four locations of this beloved Mexican ice cream shop, also known as a paleteria. Rico’s serves up more than just ice cream, offering an extensive menu of Mexican snacks and sweets as well. The homemade tequila ice cream is a stand-out, but the fun of Rico’s is that the whole place is colorful, wild, and over-the-top, so it’s best to order accordingly. Think heaping sundaes, a shake in a chocolate-rimmed cup garnished with a whole paleta, and homemade buñelos and churros piled high with ice cream and smothered in chocolate sauce. Multiple locations, qrco.de/bcJkqq
Bigdásh
With four locations around the Metroplex, this Middle Eastern ice cream and pastry shop, helmed by a local husband-wife team from Syria, brings something unique to the city’s ice cream scene. Arabic ice cream, also known as stretchy ice cream, was developed in the Middle East, an area with a sweltering climate that necessitates ice cream with a high melting point. Arabic ice cream is dense enough to eat with a fork, stretches like pizza dough, and has all the sweetness of the ice cream found in American shops. Another reason to check out Bigdásh is its variety of homemade baklavas. Order one with ice cream stuffed inside. Multiple locations, bigdash.com
Botolino Gelato Artigianale
Raised on a farm in Tuscany, Botolino owner Carlo Gattini hails from the family behind longtime Dallas institution MoMo Italian Kitchen. His attention to detail, love of fine ingredients, and culinary background shine at Botolino, where he makes the gelato fresh every day sans any artificial flavors. That freshness and quality are so stark, this gelateria has opened four locations around the city to satisfy Dallasites’ high demand. Multiple locations, botolino.com
Beth Marie’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream
For those who like their ice cream with a side of nostalgia, Beth Marie’s prides itself on using an ice cream-making machine designed in 1927 and providing an ambiance reminiscent of a 1950s soda shop with old-timey touches like checkered flooring and a red-and-white striped awning. Its unique home in a building constructed in 1876 is an added bonus. The menu changes seasonally, but the shop always offers around 50 flavors. Beth Marie’s has a few locations, but the Denton store is the original. 117 W. Hickory St., Denton, bethmaries.com
Local Creamery
In a city teeming with ice cream, this small-batch ice cream shop with locations in Plano and Murphy stands out. The product is everything you want ice cream to be: homemade, free of artificial additives, and available in flavors that have a lot going on. A recent Flavor of the Month, coined Campfire Vibes, combined toasted marshmallow ice cream mixed with toasted marshmallows, chocolate flakes, and fire-roasted graham crackers. Board games in the shop turn a quick stop for ice cream into an entertaining family outing. 5805 Preston Rd. #598, Plano, localcreamerytx.com
Parlor’s Ice Creams
If you want to support local farmers, check out Parlor’s, where every ingredient is locally sourced and the sourcing is particular. Owners Kellie and Brandon Stoll make sure the milk comes from grass-fed cattle, the fruit from organic farms, and the eggs from pasture-raised chickens. They even use organic cane sugar and do their own pasteurizing in-house. What started as a little farmer’s market stand is now among the most respected ice cream shops in Dallas. Try the Brownie Peanut Butter Chip. 6465 E. Mockingbird Ln., Ste. 465, Dallas, parlorsicecreams.com
Sugar Pine Creamery
For soft-serve lovers looking for a singular experience, Sugar Pine’s ever-rotating menu of six ice creams (two of which are always dairy-free) offers flavors that customers have never had before. Oftentimes, they are flavors that customers likely wouldn’t even associate with ice cream, like mango sticky rice, fig cashew, carrot orange cantaloupe, balsamic strawberry panna cotta, and almond tofu apricot. Owner Lilis Pramasurja changes the menu every two weeks and posts it on Instagram. Sugar Pine may not be for those whose biggest soft-serve adventure is a chocolate-vanilla swirl, but regulars who are into the surprise factor can’t get enough. 6832 Coit Rd. #270b, Plano
Churn and Bake Artisan Creamery
Churn and Bake offers a rotating list of Asian-inspired flavors, such as yuzu creamsicle, jasmine green tea, black sesame, and matcha-Oreo. Their ice creams are carefully crafted, as in the tea in the Thai tea ice cream having been brewed for 48 hours; the brownies swirled into the chocolate brownie batter ice cream are baked fresh in-house; and the cake mixed into the birthday cake ice cream baked fresh in-house, too. Churn and Bake also makes and sells Asian-inspired desserts and Boba tea. 2707 West 15th St. Ste C, Plano, churnandbake.com
Pure Milk & Honey
As its name suggests, the recipe at soft-serve shop Pure Milk & Honey includes fresh milk from a Texas-based organic dairy farm and honey sourced raw from a local bee farm. The lack of processed sugar doesn’t translate to lack of sweetness. The result is a creamy texture with fresh flavor. Pure Milk and Honey offers ice creams, shakes, and an eye-catching eight-layer honey cake. 5321 E. Mockingbird Ln. #135, Dallas, puremilkandhoney.com
Tongue In Cheek
There are two reasons to go to Tongue in Cheek: the ice cream and the swings. There’s a glass-topped table in the middle of the store with wooden swings hanging from the ceiling in lieu of chairs. The rotating menu of 28 flavors includes eight non-dairy and vegan options. Most flavors are classic, like rocky road, cookie dough, and butter pecan, but there are some curve balls, too. Think bourbon bean and cappuccino crunch. Tongue In Cheek has locations in Richardson and Plano, with a location set to open soon in Lewisville. Multiple locations, tongueincheekicecream.com
Cocktail Creamery
People who have trouble making decisions might struggle a bit at this booze-based creamery with 100 flavors, but the end will justify the means. Liquor-infused ice cream plus high-end ingredients equals ice cream so creamy, unusual, and delicious, you’ll want to get drunk on it. (Spoiler: You won’t.) Try the “Turtles, All the Way Down” flavor, which combines chocolate, caramel, and pecan clusters in caramel-chocolate ice cream infused with Ballotin Turtles whiskey and chocolate liqueur. 205 E. Virginia St., McKinney, cocktailcreamery.com
