Red velvet ice cream
A red-tinted, lightly chocolate ice cream with pieces of red velvet cake and a tangy cream cheese swirl.
Sometimes found Found in some shops and some grocery freezers. What the badge means
Red velvet ice cream takes the flavors of the cake and puts them in a scoop: a lightly chocolate, red-tinted base, chunks of cake and a cream cheese swirl. It sits in our bakery and dessert section.
You can find it in some shops and some grocery freezers. This page covers its taste, how to make it at home, what to serve with it, how common it is and its nutrition.
What red velvet tastes like
Red velvet tastes like a mild chocolate ice cream with a tangy edge. The base is only lightly chocolate, so the cocoa stays in the background. The red color comes from added coloring, not from the chocolate.
Through the scoop you find soft pieces of red velvet cake, which add a bakery taste and a tender, cakey bite. A cream cheese swirl runs through it and brings a tangy, rich contrast to the sweet base. The overall effect is close to a slice of red velvet cake with its frosting, served cold and creamy.
Where red velvet comes from
The sources we use do not record who first made red velvet ice cream or when. What they do show is how a flavor like this is put together. The red comes from added color in a lightly chocolate base, and the cake pieces go in late.
In factory ice cream, H. Douglas Goff of the University of Guelph explains, pieces such as cookies and candy go in as the ice cream leaves the freezer. At that point about half of its water is frozen, and it is about as soft as soft serve. That is why home cooks add cake cubes at the end of churning.
Color is part of the story for store pints too. 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. Red velvet depends on added color for its look.
How to make red velvet at home
The simplest way to make red velvet ice cream at home is a no-churn base of sweetened condensed milk and whipped cream. The Base Builder sets up that style for you. A Philadelphia base, with no eggs, also works if you have a machine. The Base Builder gives a base formula built on standard food-science ranges, not a tested recipe.
Make the base lightly chocolate, then add color for the red. Fold in cubes of baked cake at the end. If you use a machine, that means the end of churning. Factories add pieces the same way, once the ice cream is about as soft as soft serve. Layer a cream cheese swirl in as you pack it into the container.
Use only fully baked cake. The FDA says not to use raw-flour products such as cake mix in ready-to-eat treats. To resize a recipe you already have, use the Recipe Scaler.
Base formula
Open the Base Builder: No-churn (condensed milk and whipped cream)
Other styles that suit it: Philadelphia (no eggs)
The Base Builder gives a base formula built on standard food-science ranges, not a tested recipe.
What to serve with red velvet
Red velvet goes well with the same things that suit the cake. White chocolate, shaved or melted into a sauce, adds a mild sweetness that sits well with the cocoa. Fresh strawberries bring a bright, fruity contrast and match the red color. For a full cake effect, add a spoonful of cream cheese frosting on top. It works as a scoop on its own or next to a slice of cake at a party.
- white chocolate
- strawberries
- cream cheese frosting
How common red velvet is
Our badge puts red velvet at 3 of 5, a first quarter moon labeled Sometimes found: you can find it in some shops and some grocery freezers. The badge shows how easy it is to find, not how much people like it.
In IDFA's April 2026 survey of 2,205 U.S. adults, red velvet ranked 28th of 40, with 3% picking it as one of up to five favorites and 0% naming it their single favorite. In IDFA's April 2024 survey of 2,203 U.S. adults, it ranked 32nd of 40, with 4% picking it as one of up to five favorites.
How it ranks in surveys and order data
| Survey | Result |
|---|---|
| IDFA survey, April 20262,205 U.S. adults, online, April 7-9, 2026, margin of error +/-2 points | Ranked 28th of 40: 3% picked it as one of up to five favorites |
| IDFA survey, April 20262,205 U.S. adults, online, April 7-9, 2026, margin of error +/-2 points | 0% named it their single favorite |
| IDFA survey, April 20242,203 U.S. adults, online, April 16-18, 2024, margin of error +/-2 points | Ranked 32nd of 40: 4% picked it as one of up to five favorites |
- Rare Rare enough that you would most likely make it at home.
- Hard to find Look for it in specialty shops and seasonal runs.
- Sometimes found Found in some shops and some grocery freezers.
- Easy to find Common in most grocery freezers.
- Classic A classic you can buy almost anywhere.
Nutrition, roughly
FoodData Central has no record for red velvet ice cream, so the figures shown are for a plain vanilla base, regular to rich, not for this flavor. Regular vanilla has 207 kcal, 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 249 kcal and 16.2 g fat per 100 grams. Cake pieces, the cream cheese swirl and sweeteners 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 red velvet itself: these are the figures for a plain vanilla base, regular to rich. Mix-ins and sweeteners change them.
Questions people ask
What does red velvet ice cream taste like?
It tastes like a mild chocolate ice cream with a tangy side. The base is lightly chocolate and tinted red, with soft red velvet cake pieces and a tangy cream cheese swirl running through it.
How do you make red velvet ice cream without a machine?
Use a no-churn base of sweetened condensed milk and whipped cream, made lightly chocolate and colored red. Fold in baked cake cubes at the end, then layer a cream cheese swirl in as you pack it.
Can I use raw cake mix in red velvet ice cream?
No. The FDA says not to use raw-flour products such as cake mix in ready-to-eat treats, and says home cooks should not try to heat-treat flour. Use cubes of fully baked cake instead.
More flavors to try
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Bakery and dessert
Cookies and cream ice cream
Vanilla ice cream with crumbled chocolate sandwich cookies
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Bakery and dessert
Cookie dough ice cream
Vanilla ice cream with soft chunks of chocolate chip cookie dough
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Bakery and dessert
Birthday cake ice cream
Sweet vanilla tasting of cake batter, with colorful sprinkles
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Bakery and dessert
Brownie fudge ice cream
Chocolate or vanilla ice cream with brownie pieces and fudge ripple
Plan and make it with these
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Recipe Scaler and Converter
Ice cream recipe converter: cups to grams
Scale an ice cream recipe by a factor, a batch volume or your machine, and see every line in grams and cups.
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Scoop size chart
Ice cream scoop sizes and the disher number chart
The number stamped on an ice cream scoop tells you how many level scoopfuls fill one quart, so a #8 holds 4 fluid ounces (1/2 cup) and a #16 holds 2.
Sources
- Chocolate Returns to No. 1 and Butter Pecan Surpasses Vanilla Ahead of National Ice Cream Day (July 16, 2026) International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA)
- Handling Flour Safely: What You Need to Know U.S. Food and Drug Administration
- Ice Cream Technology e-Book: Freezing/Whipping of Ice Cream H. Douglas Goff, University of Guelph
- Ice cream preferences of U.S. adults, topline results (Morning Consult for IDFA, April 7 to 9, 2026) International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA)
- Ice cream survey of U.S. adults, topline results (Morning Consult for IDFA, April 16 to 18, 2024) International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA)
- Ice creams, vanilla (FDC 167575) U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service
- 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.