Credit:
Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser
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Credit:
Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser
Reviewed's mission is to help you buy the best stuff and get the most out of what you already own. Our team of product experts thoroughly vet every product we recommend to help you cut through the clutter and find what you need.
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This 8-ounce, sturdy scoop excelled at virtually every test. It has a slightly weighted feel that translates into smooth scooping abilities. Read More
This scoop has a heat-conductive liquid in the handle that moves heat from your hand to its head, which cut through all pints like butter. Read More
This highly rated scoop is popular for its heavy-duty composition, comfortable rubber handle, and curved head that glides easily into ice cream. Read More
This UK-born product comes in five vibrant colors and has a pointed tip made of stainless steel that's built to dig right into your pint. Read More
This scoop has a slightly sharp edge that glides through ice cream easily and a lever that makes it easy to dispense perfectly round scoops. Read More
A good, high quality ice cream scoop can mean the difference between quickly and easily gliding through a fresh (or freezer-burned) pint, and straining your hand muscles trying to get something merely resembling a round scoop. Luckily, we did all that heavy lifting for you, and found the best ice cream scoops for all of your dessert needs.
Our top pick is the OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Ice Cream Scoop (available at Amazon for $10.99) for its unmatched performance, and the Zeroll 1020 Original (available at Amazon) made the list as a best upgrade pick for a slightly pricier option that's reminiscent of classic ice cream parlors.
The OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Ice Cream Scoop was the best scoop we tested.
The Zeroll 1020 Original Ice Cream Scoop was our pick for the best upgrade.
Comfortable handle
Easy scooping
Dishwasher-safe
Scoops not round/uniform
Not ideal for cookie dough
Comfortable grip
Good for scooping freezer-burned pints
Scoops not round/uniform
Ice cream stuck to head frequently
Affordable
Light
Convenient lever
Less-than-sturdy material
Difficult to grab in corners
Prone to rusting
Comfortable grip
Easy to scoop corners
Study build
Long and heavy
Scoops not round/uniform
Rounded scoops
Good sized handle
Slip-prone handle
Difficult to scoop hard ice cream
There are a few things to consider when shopping ice cream scoops.
Finding an appropriately weighted ice cream scoop is a delicate balance. Too heavy, and it becomes a struggle to handle while scooping. Too light, and it won't dig into hard, frozen ice cream pints very well.
Ice cream scoops we tested ranged from 3 to 12 ounces, but the ideal scoop will fall somewhere in between. Our top two winners weigh in at 9 and 4 ounces respectively, but one of the keys to their success is a weighted balance.
If the head of a scoop is much heavier than its handle, you'll find it difficult to successfully dig through an ice cream pint. It becomes much less comfortable for the user, resulting in a loss of control that makes ice cream scooping much more frustrating and less uniform.
Stainless steel is a no-brainer when it comes to kitchen utensils, thanks to its inherent resistance to rust and chipping. But there are other durable materials that are great options for ice cream scoops.
Zinc or aluminum alloys, for example, are popular alternatives that are also strong, long-lasting, and effective at ice cream scooping. But steer clear of any non-metal scoops—like plastic—as they won't easily dig through ice cream or last quite as long.
In some cases, the inclusion of a lever can take a scoop from good to great, aiding the dispensing process and assuring that scoops get dropped in the optimal shape without getting broken along the way. It's especially useful when working with something like cookie dough, which is prone to stick to a scoop even more than ice cream.
But these benefits are only true if a lever is made well. During testing, we noticed certain levers getting stuck as we pressed them, which had me believe they might have been better without that added feature.
We recommend looking into the mechanism behind the lever in a scoop. Those with a spring incorporated tend to be more user-friendly than those without, which require you to manually move the lever back and forth, and oftentimes get stuck. On the other hand, opting for a lever-less scoop with an appropriately curved head means you might not even need a lever to get your balls of ice cream easily dispensed.
We know it can feel impossible to wait for that instant satisfaction when your ice cream craving hits, but experts say you shouldn't try to scoop immediately after pulling a pint out of the freezer.
That's because most freezers are set around 0°F, and ice cream's high butterfat content makes it way too hard to scoop at that temperature. (Even our top scoop picks took some elbow grease to scoop at this temp.) Plus, flavor is also impacted based on temperature; that mocha chip just won't taste the same when it's still fully frozen.
It's recommended that you let your pint get up to between five and 10 degrees Fahrenheit before you start the scooping process (or whenever you notice it's starting to soften when you touch it).
To make this waiting game even longer, experts also advise letting this temperature come down slowly in the fridge (for about 15 minutes). That's because letting it sit on your countertop means it's more likely to melt unevenly, especially around the edges. Trust us—the results are so worth the wait.
In addition to making sure your pint is at the right temperature for scooping, there are a few other tricks to get the most out of your ice cream experience.
If you're a regular at ice cream shops, it's likely that you've seen employees keep their scoops in a tub of water in between uses. And yes, part of this reason is to clean any residual ice cream off before the next use—but it also helps warm the head to make gliding through tubs easier.
Plus, this trick makes releasing the ice cream much easier, as it's less likely to get stuck on the scoop when transferring to a cup or cone. So it might not be a bad idea to give yours a little rinse beforehand.
When it comes to the actual scooping, try to keep your pint leveled and flat (to avoid future patches of freezer burn). Then, aim to scoop in a clockwise motion around the circle of the pint until a spherical shape of ice cream appears, rather than digging into it like you would a bowl of mac and cheese, for example. It might even be best to twirl the pint as you scoop to make the process less strenuous.
Monica is Reviewed's Kitchen & Cooking editor and an avid home cook; she's been testing a wide range of kitchen products at Reviewed for three years. Previously the Digital Editor at Culture Cheese Magazine (and a former barista), she's also had her work published in The Boston Globe, Modern Luxury, Boston Magazine, and more.
Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.
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