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When is National Vanilla Ice Cream Day?

National Vanilla Ice Cream Day celebrates plain vanilla ice cream, the simple base many other flavors start from, every July 23.

Next

Friday, July 23, 2027

in 268 days

The one after

Sunday, July 23, 2028

Every year

July 23 every year

Informal observance

National Vanilla Ice Cream Day is a day for plain vanilla ice cream, the simple base that many other flavors start from. It falls on July 23 every year.

It is an informal observance, not an official holiday. Day-calendar sites and trade groups list it, but no law or proclamation names it. That means you can mark it however you like, with a single scoop or a full batch.

Informal observance. An informal observance, listed by day-calendar sites and trade groups. It is not a proclaimed holiday.

Simple ways to mark it

  • Make a plain vanilla base with the Base Builder and Batch Scaler, sized to the ice cream machine you already have at home.
  • For a class or office treat, check the ice cream scoop size chart to see how many scoops each container will give you.
  • Read the history of ice cream page with your family or class, then share a bowl of vanilla while you talk it over.
  • Set out a tub of vanilla with a few toppings so each person in your group can build their own simple sundae.

Read about the flavor

  • Flavor library

    Vanilla ice cream

    The cream-colored classic that many other flavors start from

Where the day comes from

National Vanilla Ice Cream Day falls on July 23 every year. It is an informal observance listed by day-calendar sites and trade groups, not a proclaimed holiday. No law or proclamation names it. National Day Calendar lists the day and says it could not find who created it or where it came from. So nobody knows who started it, or when.

The flavor itself has a longer paper trail. The Library of Congress holds Thomas Jefferson’s handwritten recipe for vanilla ice cream. According to the Library, it is one of several recipes he collected while serving in France in the 1780s. If you want a short story to share in a newsletter or a class on July 23, that recipe is a good one to point to.

Vanilla is not always the crowd favorite, though. IDFA reports that in its 2026 trends survey, vanilla placed third among favorite flavors, after chocolate and butter pecan. In IDFA’s 2024 survey, it had been first. Either way, a plain vanilla base is an easy place to start. It works in a single scoop on a cone, and it pairs with almost any topping your group brings to the table.

Questions people ask

When is National Vanilla Ice Cream Day?

National Vanilla Ice Cream Day is on July 23 every year. The date stays the same, so the day of the week changes from one year to the next. The page above shows the next two dates and how many days away the next one is.

Is National Vanilla Ice Cream Day an official holiday?

No. It is an informal observance listed by day-calendar sites and trade groups. No law or proclamation names it, so marking it is entirely up to you and your group.

Who started National Vanilla Ice Cream Day?

Nobody knows for sure. National Day Calendar lists the day but says it could not find who created it or where it came from. So there is no known founder to credit when you share the date.

Is vanilla still the most popular ice cream flavor?

No, not in IDFA's 2026 trends survey. Vanilla placed third among favorite flavors there, behind chocolate and butter pecan. It had been first in IDFA's 2024 survey, so the ranking can shift from one survey to the next.

Sources

  1. National Vanilla Ice Cream Day (July 23) National Day Calendar
  2. Today in History: July 23 (ice cream history and the cone) Library of Congress
  3. Chocolate Returns to No. 1 and Butter Pecan Surpasses Vanilla Ahead of National Ice Cream Day (July 16, 2026) International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA)

Every data source the site uses is on the Sources page.

More ice cream days

The full calendar, with a month view of July