Stellar Scoops Scoop Planner
Menu

Blue moon ice cream

Blue moon is a bright sky blue, sweet ice cream with a fruity or marshmallow flavor that people struggle to name.

Hard to find Look for it in specialty shops and seasonal runs. What the badge means

Blue moon ice cream is a bright sky blue, sweet flavor best known in the Midwest. Its taste is famously hard to pin down.

It is hard to find outside specialty shops and seasonal runs. This page covers what it tastes like, where it comes from, how to make blue moon ice cream at home, what to serve with it, how common it is and what the nutrition figures show.

What blue moon tastes like

Blue moon looks like a summer sky: a bright, clear blue that stands out in any case of ice cream. The taste is sweet, and that part is easy. Naming the flavor is the hard part. Some people say it tastes fruity. Others say marshmallow, and some say almond.

Underneath the color it is a vanilla ice cream. The base is tinted bright blue and flavored with a fruity or vanilla-citrus blend. There are no chunks, swirls or nuts. Expect the smooth, creamy texture of a plain vanilla scoop, with the color and that mystery flavor doing all the work.

Where blue moon comes from

The story goes that blue moon began in Wisconsin. WDET, Detroit’s public radio station, reports that a Wisconsin company claimed a trademark for the flavor and said the name had been in use since 1939. WDET also reports that there are examples of blue moon ice cream in other states years earlier. That leaves competing claims and no clear first maker, so who made it first is disputed.

WDET notes that people describe blue moon as tasting like anything from pineapple to marshmallows, which fits a flavor whose recipe makers keep private. In the Midwest, WDET says, blue moon is usually the blue part of the region’s red, yellow and blue tri-color ice cream.

The bright color may change in stores. IDFA says companies selling more than 90% of U.S. ice cream have pledged to remove certified artificial colors from ice cream sold at retail by the end of 2027.

How to make blue moon at home

For blue moon at home, start with a Philadelphia-style base, which uses no eggs. The Base Builder sets that style up and sizes it to your machine, in grams and cups. A no-churn base made with condensed milk and whipped cream also works if you do not have a machine.

The flavor goes into the vanilla base itself. Flavor it with a fruity or almond-vanilla extract blend, then color it blue. Makers keep their own blends private, so try small amounts and adjust to taste. Blue moon has no mix-ins, so there is nothing to fold in at the end of churning.

If you already have a blue moon recipe you like, the Recipe Scaler resizes it to your machine and converts cups to grams. One thing to keep in mind: the Base Builder gives a base formula built on standard food-science ranges. It is a starting point, not a tested recipe.

Base formula

Open the Base Builder: Philadelphia (no eggs)

Other styles that suit it: No-churn (condensed milk and whipped cream)

The Base Builder gives a base formula built on standard food-science ranges, not a tested recipe.

What to serve with blue moon

Blue moon is sweet and bright, so it pairs well with flavors that add a little tartness or crunch. Cherry is a natural match, whether as a second scoop, a sauce or a cherry on top. Lemon works too, and its sharp citrus plays well against the fruity, vanilla-citrus notes in the blue base. For serving, a waffle cone is the classic choice. Its toasty crunch balances the smooth, sweet ice cream, and the bright blue looks great against the golden cone.

  • cherry
  • lemon
  • a waffle cone

How common blue moon is

We give blue moon a waxing crescent badge, 2 of 5 for commonness, with the label "Hard to find." Look for it in specialty shops and seasonal runs. The badge shows how easy the flavor is to find, not how much people like it.

No survey we use lists blue moon by name, so this badge is our own judgement of how easy it is to find. It shows up most often in the Midwest, where it is usually the blue part of the region's red, yellow and blue tri-color ice cream.

No survey we use lists this flavor by name, so its badge is our own judgement of how easy it is to find.

  1. Rare Rare enough that you would most likely make it at home.
  2. Hard to find Look for it in specialty shops and seasonal runs.
  3. Sometimes found Found in some shops and some grocery freezers.
  4. Easy to find Common in most grocery freezers.
  5. Classic A classic you can buy almost anywhere.

Nutrition, roughly

FoodData Central has no record for blue moon itself. The figures shown are for a plain vanilla base, from regular to rich: 207 to 249 kcal per 100 grams. Regular vanilla has 11 g fat and 21.2 g sugars per 100 grams, or about 137 kcal in a 1/2 cup (66 g) portion. Rich vanilla has 16.2 g fat. Your flavorings, coloring and sweeteners will change these numbers.

Nutrition per 100 grams

FoodData Central record Calories Fat Saturated fat Sugars Protein
Ice creams, vanilla FDC 167575 1/2 cup (66 g): about 137 kcal, 7.3 g fat 207 kcal 11 g 6.79 g 21.2 g 3.5 g
Ice creams, vanilla, rich FDC 167573 249 kcal 16.2 g 10.30 g 20.6 g 3.5 g

FoodData Central has no record for blue moon itself: these are the figures for a plain vanilla base, regular to rich. Mix-ins and sweeteners change them.

Questions people ask

What does blue moon ice cream taste like?

It tastes sweet, but the exact flavor is hard to name. Some people say fruity, some say marshmallow or almond, and descriptions run from pineapple to marshmallows. Underneath the bright blue color, it is a vanilla base with a fruity or vanilla-citrus flavor.

How do I make blue moon ice cream at home?

Start with a Philadelphia-style base with no eggs, or a no-churn base. Flavor the vanilla base with a fruity or almond-vanilla extract blend and color it blue. The Base Builder gives you a base formula built on standard food-science ranges, not a tested recipe.

Who invented blue moon ice cream?

Nobody knows for sure. A Wisconsin company claimed a trademark for the flavor and said it had been in use since 1939. WDET reports that blue moon ice cream appeared in other states years earlier, so who made it first is disputed.

Regional and international ice cream flavors · All flavors

Plan and make it with these

Sources

  1. CuriosiD: What is Superman ice cream? And where does it come from? WDET 101.9 FM, Detroit public radio
  2. Chocolate Returns to No. 1 and Butter Pecan Surpasses Vanilla Ahead of National Ice Cream Day (July 16, 2026) International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA)
  3. Ice creams, vanilla (FDC 167575) U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service
  4. Ice creams, vanilla, rich (FDC 167573) U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service

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