I am very open-minded when it comes to ice cream. There is merit to be found in premium, value-oriented, full-fat, and light varieties. I find myself purchasing light versions on occasion to help offset the sheer volume of ice cream I consume.
There are numerous healthier ice creams available now that allow one to consume an entire pint with a fraction of traditional ice cream’s fat, sugar, and calories. I have always seen the texture of these light ice creams as an area that needed improving. Oftentimes they are not as smooth and creamy as their full-fat counterparts. They can come across as overly icy.
Enter Nick’s Swedish-Style Light Ice Cream. The company manufactures light ice cream using sugar alcohols and a variety of plant-based sweeteners and fat. It says that because of its plant-based fat, “only Nick’s creates the unmistakable melt-in-your-mouth creaminess of full-fat ice cream, but with way fewer calories.” This is quite the lofty claim that I was eager to investigate upon receiving six pints directly from Nick’s.
Peanöt Butter Cup
I started with one of the more difficult flavors for light ice creams to nail. This ice cream is a peanut butter ice cream with tiny peanut butter cups. It has a nice, mild, and delightfully creamy peanut butter flavored base. The miniature peanut butter cups are adorable and delicious, but I could have gone for a few more of them mixed in.
Not mentioned in the description were a couple surprises in this one. There is a chocolate swirl that helps to pull the whole thing together. Oddly enough, there are also little bits of brownie dough. The chewy brownie pieces really help to elevate the experience as a whole.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1/2 cup) 90 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 10 mg of cholesterol, 80 milligrams of sodium, 19 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 3 grams of sugar, 6 grams of sugar alcohols and 4 grams of protein.
Strawbär Swirl
This is a classic strawberry ice cream. The vanilla base in this is mellow and, again, quite creamy. It serves its purpose well and allows the strawberry to shine. The strawberry ribbons are bright and fresh with abundant natural sweetness. The taste reminds me of preparing homemade ice cream with my parents when I was a child. It is on-par with most of the strawberry ice creams I have had.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1/2 cup) 70 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 75 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, 6 grams of sugar alcohols and 4 grams of protein.
Swedish Cookie Dough
I was most excited to try this one. It has a vanilla base, swirled with chocolate and pieces of sugar cookie dough. Unsurprisingly, this is just as smooth as the other flavors. The base is embedded with the taste of the buttery sugar cookie dough, even in a spoonful without a piece.
I also get a hint of cinnamon throughout, which gives the pint a borderline snickerdoodle vibe. The cookie dough pieces add a welcome and familiar grit. The chocolate swirl is mild and compliments the dough well. Overall, this was more complex than I was expecting, and it is incredibly tasty.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1/2 cup) 70 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 70 milligrams of sodium, 19 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, 3 grams of sugar, 5 grams of sugar alcohols and 3 grams of protein.
Cherry Choka-Fläka
This flavor is a vanilla ice cream with chocolate flakes and cherry bits. The base tastes more like cherry ice cream than vanilla, as the cherry pieces have imparted their flavor upon the whole pint. It is not at all artificial, which is wonderful.
The abundant dark chocolate flakes add a touch of richness and a satisfying snap in each spoonful. The best parts are the chewy cherry chunks. They bring a pleasant texture and a realistic tartness to the mix. When getting a bite with both components, this ice cream reminds me of a cherry cordial.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1/2 cup) 70 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 70 milligrams of sodium, 19 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams fiber, 3 grams of sugar, 5 grams of sugar alcohols and 3 grams of protein.
Swedish Lemon Bar
This ice cream is a little airier than the others but still feels just as creamy. Nick’s says that it is a cheesecake ice cream with ribbons of lemon. I get a little bit of cheesecake flavor in the base, but it ultimately reminds me of a lemon bar, as the name would indicate. There is also a subtle buttery taste in the base that makes me think of the shortbread crust in lemon bars.
The lemon ribbon here is the star of the show. It is bright, fresh, tart, and amazing. There are small, chewy lemon rind pieces incorporated throughout, and overall, it reminds me of candied lemon rind. This refreshing flavor is the most innovative of the bunch, and I have never had anything quite like it.
Rating: 10 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1/2 cup) 60 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 65 milligrams of sodium, 17 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, 4 grams of sugar alcohols and 4 grams of protein.
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Triple Choklad
As a chocolate ice cream with brownie bits and a fudge swirl, this one seemed like it would be the most decadent. The chocolate base appears to be of the dark variety. It is slightly less sweet than I was expecting, with a touch of pleasant bitterness.
The fudge swirl tends to be overpowered by the base and does not make much of an impact. The brownie bits are chewy and enjoyable. It is a decent flavor, but much more subdued than I was expecting. As a fan of all things chocolate, I expected to like this one the most, but it’s actually my least favorite of the six.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1/2 cup) 80 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 80 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, 3 grams of sugar, 5 grams of sugar alcohols and 4 grams of protein.
Final Observations
Nick’s was not exaggerating the creaminess of its ice cream at all. These do not quite measure up to the most premium, velvety, full-fat ice creams, but one would be hard-pressed to identify these as light flavors in a blind taste test. Nick’s Swedish-Style Light Ice Cream is not just “good for light ice cream.” It is good, period. It will stack up well against many standard ice cream varieties.
I did some quick research on Swedish ice cream, and the search results predominantly bring up content about Nick’s. From what I can tell, there are not any distinctly Swedish methods of ice cream preparation. The “Swedish” moniker seems to refer to the brand’s creator.
According to its website, Nick’s has 14 patents, two in-house food scientists, and has performed over 100 flavor tests. This makes perfect sense because Nick’s Swedish-Style Light Ice Cream is an exemplary product. When deciding to purchase light ice cream in the future, I do not see myself buying any brand besides Nick’s from now on.
DISCLOSURE: I received free pints from Nick’s. (Thanks Nick’s!) Doing so did not influence my review.
I’ve tried their birthday cake and pistachio. Birthday cake was ok but the pistachio is phenomenal!
It appears that the Cherry Choka-Fläka is the exact same concept as Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Gargia, which is my favorite ice cream. The others look really good, as well.
I wonder if the sugar alcohols used in Nick’s will have the same gastro-intestinal effect that the sugar free gummy bears do. It’s no joke if you have too many in one day. Read the Amazon reviews.
You must be joking! The exact same concept?! B&J Cherry Garcia is CHERRY ice cream, NOT vanilla ice cream, which is why I eat it! SMFH!!!
Anytime college students use a food in a ‘challenge’, you know the results are going to be ‘explosive’ 🙂
This light ice cream sucks. It has sorbitol and way too many ingredients. Artifical!! I will never buy any of it again.
I think they use a nice mix of sugar alcohols with a heavy hand of allulose, which is actually way easier on the GI. I’m on the keto trend so I love this stuff, The mint chocolate chip and the coffee caramel are fantastic.
I have heard only wonderful things about Nick’s. I really want to buy the lemon and cookie dough kinds.
The problem is that there is severe shrinkage when you order these, only buy in-store. The dry ice destroys this stuff.
I got the Swedish cookie one and the biggest problem I had with it is the ‘overly sweet’ taste. It’s the sugar substitutes. I can always tell and just can’t get over the fake sugar taste. That said, if I HAD to go with a light ice cream, Nick’s would certainly be on my list.
The Swedish cookie dough I probably my least favorite. I think it does the worst job hiding the artificial sweetener taste. I much prefer the others I’ve had. It’s my new go-to light ice cream!
I also love this brand!! Though my Swedish Cookie Dough (which I’ve had twice) had a more cinnamon-syrup kind of swirl not a chocolate swirl…? Very odd yours had chocolate! I think my favorite is the Triple Chocolate and the Cookies & Cream.
I’m gonna be on the lookout for this. looks really solid for the cals!
Hello,
I recently tried Nick’s Brand ice cream and it was a GAME CHANGER! For a person who frequents the fridge past midnight for a sweet ice cream snack, I found I was racking up the calories QUICK. But Nick’s has really helped to satisfy that sweet craving, as well as keep my weight in check. The ice cream is very creamy and there are some great flavors to choose from. Reminds me of some of the great gelato I had in Italy last summer.
Overall, Nick’s is a great product, made with lots of love and care for our bodies. I love that, when you taste it, the flavors almost transport you to a vacation state-of-mind, which is especially necessary for sanity with all of the stressors of the pandemic. I feel like I am doing my body good when I am spooning Nick’s ice cream into my mouth. Kudos to Nick and the team of professionals who worked hard to make this dream a reality. I absolutely LOVE it! Sincerely, Sunshine
I would rather never eat ice cream again than eat Nick’s. Very disappointed.
I ordered Nicks because of the reviews. My husband thought the Coffee was the best he ever had….ever….I mean ever.
I tried the cherry and lemon. I liked the cherry , with chocolate , but the lemon, which I thought would be my favorite , was sweet. And then, I am oBe of those people who gets an aftertaste from artificial sweeteners and I an left with that aftertaste.
So will order for my husband, but I will head back to talenti gelato.
In a service note I ordered 6 for my son and his family for a birthday. I couldn’t be there due to pandemic and asked if they would expedite for that AND they did… they loved all of it…..
I was surprised and delighted when I tried Nick’s ice cream for the first time. It is without a doubt my favorite of all time. The vanilla is a perfect blend of sweet and vanilla bean. Thank you Nick’s. I absolutely love your product.
My senior husband found the site to be confusing. There was a posting about vegan ice cream on Facebook. He was interested in the vegan selections. Not realizing there were only three choices, he ended up ordering ice cream that has skim milk in it. It would have been helpful to label all pints with either Vegan or Non-vegan. Suffice it to say, he is stuck with 6 pints of this product that we cannot eat. To add insult to injury, the Caramel swirl has milk protein in it. Please, tell me what is vegan about this. I became congested after eating 2 tablespoons. When I read the ingredients in detail, I was shocked to see milk protein. The product is expensive, and we are stuck with 6 pints. I believe BBB may consider this false advertising.
I agree. Will not recommend nicks to anyone.
I read your post on my phone standing in front of the freezer section trying to decide whether to spend the $6 on Nick’s or go with Enlightened. Bought the Nick’s and it is great! Thanks for the review.
I don’t want to be a nay-sayer, but, honestly, I did not enjoy this product. I bought an assorted 6-pack. I went immediately to the Pistachio. The artificial sweeteners were unpleasant and the texture was not creamy, in my opinion. I tried vanilla next and was not a fan. The real problem, though, was that it didn’t sit well in my tummy. When I went to try a third flavor I found that I was turned off and just didn’t want to eat it. I gave the remaining 4 pints to a diabetic friend. Trust me, I am not a terribly picky eater and am open to new flavors and textures. This just wasn’t for me.
I agree!!!! Will never buy it again!
I tried the Birthday Cake today at lunch. I have to say, it is NOT easy to scoop out like it shows on the advertisements. It was pretty hard and I could not spoon right into it. The taste was good.
Ate a pint of Nicks triple choclad. Delicious. About 2 hours later it looked like an alien was going to pop out of my gut and I was in so much pain, I was getting ready to go to the ER. Fake, calorie-less food comes with a price.
I wish I read this before I wasted 60 bucks. Never again!!