We Tried 25 Dairy Queen Blizzard Flavors and the Winner Was a Fan Favorite That's Finally Back on the Menu

Summer might be on its way out, but here at Parade we belive that ice cream is the perfect dessert any time of the year. And one of our favorite spots to grab some soft serve is Dairy Queen, particularly when the soft serve is in Blizzard form.

The only challenge when ordering a Blizzard? Making up your mind! With dozens of options to choose from, it can be a little overwhelming when it’s time to choose a Blizzard flavor. To help you out, we grabbed a couple of friends, drove to a nearby DQ and ate a ton of treats to create this list of 25 Blizzard flavors, ranked from least favorite to most favorite.

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A Brief Blizzard History Lesson

The DQ Blizzard, a combo of soft serve and a variety of mix-ins—candy and cookie pieces, sundae toppings, bits of brownies, nuggets of cookie dough and so much more—quickly became a hit after being introduced in 1985. Since the treat's inception, there have been more than 170 Blizzard flavors, which is a heck of a lot of mix-ins! The past, present and future Blizzard creations are kept safe in a vault known as "The DQ Freezer," waiting to be shared with fans at just the right moment.

In the quick-serve restaurant’s 85-year history, Dairy Queen Blizzards have built up quite a reputation. The fan-favorite treat is one of the brand’s calling cards and Blizzard buffs are always on the lookout for new flavor drops. And depending on where you get your Blizzard, it’ll likely be served to you upside down. Why? Because the soft serve treat is so thick and rich that it should stick tight to the cup. Fun fact: If your DQ location participates in the “Upside Down or Free” program and the Blizzard isn’t served to you upside down, it’s free.

Over the years, the DQ Freezer has churned out a wide array of creative combos, including Animal Cookie, Banana Cream Pie, Girl Scout Thin Mint, Bubble Tape, Cotton Candy and more. Some Blizzard flavors are forever favorites—Oreo, Cookie Dough and Reese’s regularly make up the brand’s top three performing Blizzards. And all of those cookie bits really add up. The popularity of the Oreo Blizzard makes DQ the number one buyer of Oreo cookies in the world.

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How We Tested The Dairy Queen Blizzards

In a wonderfully sweet series of events, Dairy Queen was kind enough to open their red spoon-clad doors to me and two friends so we could sample the current Blizzard menu, including the new fall flavors. With dozens of flavors available, including 4 royals and the brand-new French Silk Pie, we were in for a treat—or 30. Our mission? Eat our way through the Blizzard menu and choose our most and least favorites.

Upon arrival at DQ in Medford, NY, we were met by Patti who owns and runs the location with her sister Michelle. Patti personally made our Blizzards, serving us three at a time with small breaks in between each round as we worked our way through the menu. My friends and I took notes on what we liked and disliked about each flavor, and then proceeded to sort each one into a loose categorization of our personal top 5, bottom 5 and everything in between. We then compared notes at the end and rearranged the flavors as necessary until our list was complete.

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25 Dairy Queen Blizzards Ranked from Least Favorite to Most Favorite

Before we get into the ranking, we'll remind you that there's not a dud in the bunch. Creamy soft serve plus tasty mix-ins are always a win in our book. This list reflects how the three of us ranked the flavors, based on our taste preferences. Let us know if you agree—or not!

25. Pumpkin Pie

The fall always brings with it an assortment of pumpkin pie flavors, and this Blizzard produces the ideal treat to pair with the cooler temperatures, amber-colored leaves and cozy knit sweaters. The Pumpkin Pie Blizzard nails the quintessential fall feeling (and flavor) by combining Libby’s Pumpkin Pie Mix, pie chips, nutmeg and whipped topping. Sweater season is just about to be upon us and this is the perfect Blizzard to take you from summer to fall. That said, it wasn't a top pick for any of the three of us, which is how it ended at the bottom of the list.

24. Reese's Pieces Cookie Dough

Going into the first tasting round, we all enjoyed the combination of peanut buttery Reese’s  pieces and hearty chunks of cookie dough, but after trying it again we wondered if simpler might be better. Each of us ranked the Reese’s Blizzard and the Cookie Dough Blizzard higher on our list, leaving us to wonder if DQ bit off a bit more than they could chew with this one.

23. Mint Brownie

This mint-flavored treat combines choco chunks, chewy baked brownie pieces and a cool mint topping for a refreshing dessert. The rich brownie pieces and chocolate bits temper the cooling mint a bit, but the flavor is pretty strong, so this one's for mint lovers only. That said, it might be the move for those warm end-of-summer/early-fall days that come out of nowhere when you really need a cooling treat.

22. Oreo Cookie

All three of us are fans of the sweet, creamy, crunchy goodness of a classic Oreo Blizzard. However, when this flavor went head-to-head with some of the other flavors on this list we found it to be a little bit plain. It’s a solid choice, but we found ourselves preferring the delicious fudge center provided by the Royal version.

21. Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Party

Our initial thought with this one was, “party is in the name, it must be good.” And we weren't disappointed. Peanut Butter Cookie Dough blends two fan-favorite flavors into one Blizzard party and multi-colored sprinkles bring the party. If you're feeling festive or are celebrating something on your next trip to DQ, this might be the one for you.

20. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Who hasn’t found themselves standing in front of the refrigerator at midnight snacking on spoonfuls of cookie dough as a snack? We’ve all been there and Dairy Queen found the perfect way to turn that moment into a Blizzard. This flavor blends chocolate chip cookie dough chunks and fudge with DQ’s soft serve ice cream. As we were eating this one we thought it might be a genius move to order a cookie dough Blizzard, bring it home and sandwich it between freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies. Who's in?

19. Chocolate Brownie Extreme

Cocoa fudge, brownie pieces and rich choco chunks come together in this extreme Blizzard version. We're chocolate fans, so we liked this one but if we had to choose a chocolate brownie flavor, we'd go for the Royal Ultimate Choco Brownie because it's hard to beat a chocolate core in the middle of a Blizzard. If you're feeling like chocolate but not ultimate chocolate, this would be a solid pick.

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18. Royal Ultimate Choco Brownie

For this flavor, DQ expertly combines choco chunks, brownie pieces and a cold fudge topping with the famous chocolate fudge core. The fun thing about this flavor is the chocolate adventure you embark on as you make your way through the treat. There are the firmer choco chunks and the chewy brownie pieces and then when you're part-way through your desert you hit the molten fudge core. The DQ website describes this flavor as "choco-topia" and we couldn't have explained it better ourselves.

17. Butterfinger

Who else misses the days when The Simpsons were the face of the Butterfinger brand? In our humble opinion, Dairy Queen is truly missing out on the cartoon collaboration of our generation with the Butterfinger Blizzard. It’s made up of tiny Butterfinger pieces and DQ’s iconic soft serve, making it the perfect fall weather treat ahead of Halloween. We all found ourselves taking multiple scoops of this and coming back for more.

16. M&M Milk Chocolate Candies

This fan-favorite flavor takes M&M pieces and pairs them with a tasty chocolate topping before swirling it all up in DQ’s soft serve. The hard candy shell adds a nice crunch as you're making your way through the treat. For those looking for a classic Blizzard experience, this is where it's at.

15. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup

It's pretty much impossible to go wrong with milk chocolate Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups blended beautifully with DQ’s creamy soft serve. This is Blizzard perfection for those who love a good peanut butter cup—or four.

14. Turtle Pecan Cluster

This flavor caught us by surprise. When we read the description we feared it might have a little too much going on, but we were pleasantly surprised. The rich caramel topping, nutty pecan pieces and perfect chocolate shavings were a solid combo and had us all going back for second and third bites.

13. Caramel Fudge Cheesecake

The number 2 to our beloved NY Cheesecake flavor (more on that below), Caramel Fudge Cheesecake makes its mark by pairing a delicious caramel topping with salted caramel chocolate truffles and chunky bits of creamy cheesecake. Just like the fall season, this cheesecake offering is only around for a limited time, so make sure to get to DQ soon to enoy this one.

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12. Royal Oreo Cookie

The formula is simple. Take a fan-favorite Blizzard flavor, add a rich chocolate fudge center and pat yourself on the back for a job well done. If you're wondering which Oreo flavor to choose, we definitely prefer the Royal treatment. The rich fudgy center adds an extra layer of rich chocolate to the mix that adds another layer of flavor and also makes this one more fun to eat.

11. Reese’s Fluffernutter Royal

This brand-new fall flavor takes a classic fluffernutter sandwich and turns it into a frozen treat—a bit of magic only DQ could pull off. You have the familiar soft serve studded with pieces of Reese’s peanut butter cups and a peanut butter topping, but the magic is buried in the center. The real fun starts when you hit the center of the Blizzard and scoop out a bit of the marshmallow filling with each bite.

10. Snickers

As much as we like a Blizzard with all the bells and whistles, we can also appreciate a classic. The great thing about a Snickers Blizzard is that the candy bar has so many goodies—chocolate, peanuts, caramel, nougat—packed inside. We all loved how the perfect little chopped Snickers pieces paired with a rich chocolate topping and the creamy soft serve.

9. Heath Bar

This is another classic flavor that landed high on our list. The ingredients are simple but the flavor is seriously sublime. We loved the generous amount of crunchy Heath toffee pieces combined with the silky smooth fudge topping and DQ’s soft serve ice cream.

8. Choco-Dipped Strawberry

Personally, I usually steer away from strawberry-flavored dairy products, but the second you introduce chocolate into the mix my preferences go straight out the window. The Choco-Dipped Strawberry Blizzard is a wonderful combination of sweet strawberry topping and hearty choco chunks. Let's just say that it's berry, berry good.

7. Cotton Candy

If you want to stretch summer out a bit longer, this is the flavor for you. A Cotton Candy Blizzard is a true summer staple and makes us think of long lazy days at the poor. The iconic Blizzard flavor has a shockingly close flavor profile to actual cotton candy thanks to DQ’s purple & pink cotton candy sprinkles.

6. Picnic Peach Cobbler

We knew this one was a winner when we all gave grunts of approval when we tasted this flavor. Picnic Peach Cobbler is a blend of peach topping, buttery cobbler pieces and DQ’s perfectly smooth soft serve and it's one of the most popular warm-weather flavor. No matter the time of year, if Picnic Peach Cobbler is on the menu you’ll be instantly transported to warmer days within the very first bite.

5. NY Cheesecake Royal

This royal flavor combines the rich flavor of cheesecake with a crunchy graham base and tucks a generous amount of strawberry filling in the center. As you make your way through this treat you get all the cheesecake goodness but when you hit the core the party starts, with every bite tasting just like the best strawberry cheesecake.

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4. Salted Caramel Truffle

One of the first “oh my” reactions of the entire tasting, Salted Caramel Truffle quickly became a fan favorite among the group. This limited-time offering is back from the DQ Freezer and ready to impress with its rich cocoa fudge topping, praline candy pieces, choco chunks and salty caramel chocolate truffles. Do yourself a favor and order a large.

3. Oreo Fudge Brownie

As we've mentioned, an Oreo Blizzard is a solid, classic choice, but when you add a cocoa fudge topping and brownie pieces to the mix you have something seriously delicious. Even though we knew we had to try almost 30 different flavors we had a hard time putting our spoons down when we tried this one.

2. Caramel Java Chip

Another one of the first three Blizzards brought to our table, Caramel Java Chip instantly took our taste buds by surprise. With rich notes of coffee, choco espresso crunch pieces and a decadent caramel topping, you don’t need to be a fan of coffee to enjoy this Blizzard. We found ourselves referencing the amazing flavor of this one throughout the tasting, which is how it ended up so high on the list.

1. French Silk Pie

French Silk Pie was an immediate top pick among the group, and one that we kept referring back to throughout the rest of the tasting. This silky smooth treat is a returning fan-favorite that first made its debut back in 2004. It blends DQ’s iconic soft serve with a cocoa fudge topping, choco chunks and delicious pie pieces and is  finished off with a smooth whipped topping.

The combination is rich but not too rich, chocolatey without being overwhelming and a textural experience through and through. Because of all of those reasons, French Silk Pie landed at the top of the list. Keep in mind that this is a limited-time flavor, though, so get thee to DQ ASAP and give it a try.

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