11 Discontinued Ice Creams

Summer is prime ice cream season, whether you’re browsing a grocery store freezer or chasing the neighborhood ice cream truck. But not all the classic flavors—of both traditional ice cream and other forms of ice cream-like, frozen dairy desserts—you may remember devouring are still available today. Here are some of the most missed discontinued ice creams.

1. The Choco Taco
2. Häagen-Dazs Crème Brulée
3. Starbucks Java Chip Ice Cream
4. Popsicle Sprinklers Ice Cream Bars
5. Jell-O Pudding Pops
6. Flintstones Push-Ups
7. Good Humor Candy Center Crunch Ice Cream Bar
8. Mounds Ice Cream Bars
9. Trader Joe’s Salted Caramel Gelato
10. Ben & Jerry’s Oatmeal Cookie Chunk
11. Friendly’s Wattamelon Roll

The Choco Taco

The Choco Taco came out in 1983 and quickly became a fan favorite. It was a sweet take on a popular Mexican dish, with vanilla ice cream and fudge wedged between a waffle cone taco shell and topped with peanuts and chocolate. Sadly, this popular treat was discontinued in 2022 after Klondike decided to simplify its line of products. 

But the Choco Taco may not be gone for good: After seeing fans’ reactions to the news, Klondike announced it hopes to one day bring it back, though the company has no concrete plans or timelines in place (at least, not publicly). And in February 2024, Taco Bell announced that it and ice cream company Salt & Straw would introduce their own version of the frozen treat.

Häagen-Dazs Crème Brulée

Häagen-Dazs Crème Brulée was a beloved ice cream flavor in the early 2000s—people couldn’t get enough of its sweet custard texture. Despite its popularity, in 2016, the manufacturer retired it in pursuit of the next great flavor. 

Starbucks Java Chip Ice Cream

Tubs of Starbucks-branded ice cream became available in grocery stores in 1996. For those who liked their coffee in frozen-dairy form, flavors like Java Chip were a hit. In 2013, Starbucks pulled out of that particular market, and all their delicious flavors disappeared from grocery store freezers. The coffee chain offers a Java Chip Frappucino, but it obviously isn’t quite the same.

Popsicle Sprinklers Ice Cream Bars

Popsicle Sprinklers became popular in the ‘90s. Though they were a simple creation—just vanilla ice cream covered with chocolate and sprinkles—they remained a beloved part of many kids’ summers before vanishing sometime in the early 2000s. 

Jell-O Pudding Pops

Many an ‘80s and ‘90s kid enjoyed the Jell-O Pudding Pop, a creamy, chocolatey treat that debuted in the late 1970s and gained popularity the following decade. Business initially boomed, but despite the high revenue, the product was too expensive for Jell-O to continue making. In 2004, the company licensed the Jell-O Pudding Pops name to Popsicle, which tweaked the original formula, much to fans’ dismay. Popsicle finally discontinued the nostalgic dessert in the early 2010s due to dwindling sales. 

Flintstones Push-Ups

The Flintstones fans probably remember seeing these popular sherbet bars show up in grocery stores in the early 1990s. For about a decade, kids devoured these fruity push-ups. You can still find the pops today, but they no longer have the old Flintstones-specific packaging.

Good Humor Candy Center Crunch Ice Cream Bar

Snagging one of these from the ice cream truck got you both ice cream and candy. The bars featured a solid chocolate center surrounded by vanilla ice cream that was coated in a crunchy chocolate shell. Though it was a popular ‘90s snack, Good Humor has since discontinued the Candy Center Crunch Ice Cream Bar—but you can petition the company to revive it.

Mounds Ice Cream Bars

If you’ve ever stood in the check-out lane at the grocery store, you’ve probably seen Mounds candy bars. But did you know there was once an ice cream version of the coconut and chocolate treat? Mounds Ice Cream Bars became available for the first time in 2012, but disappeared just a few years after their initial release. 

Trader Joe’s Salted Caramel Gelato

Trader Joe’s is known for its delicious confections. With its rich, creamy texture, Salted Caramel Gelato quickly became a hit when it was released in 2014. But in 2020, the gelato joined the ranks of other discontinued Trader Joe’s products. If you’re still hoping to one day tuck into a pint of the lost gelato, you can leave feedback on the store’s decision to retire it.

Ben & Jerry’s Oatmeal Cookie Chunk

Ben & Jerry’s has a whole graveyard full of discontinued flavors. But the one of the most-missed flavors is Oatmeal Cookie Chunk, a sweet cream cinnamon base flecked with fudge and bits of oatmeal cookies. The flavor first appeared in 2003, then became widely available from 2004–2012. Though Oatmeal Cookie Chunk has been gone for a decade, it’s forever memorialized by the poem on its tombstone:

“From the moment that this oatmeal went
There’s been no end to fans’ lament.
If you’d ‘sowed more oats’ before the reap
We wouldn’t have buried it quite so deep.”

Friendly’s Wattamelon Roll

In 2021, Friendly’s announced it would be departing the ice cream roll industry. The brand stopped making its Wattamelon Roll—a fruity sherbet concoction that’s shaped like a watermelon, complete with chocolate chip “seeds.” Friendly’s also said goodbye to its seasonal Jubilee Rolls, much to the disappointment of the New Englanders who enjoyed them during the holidays each year.

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A version of this story originally ran in 2022; it has been updated for 2024.