How’s this for a bad dream scenario: You have all your friends (or worse, your crush) over for dinner and you’re about to serve up some scrumptious pecan tart with a side of delectable ice cream. After dishing the tart, you embarrassingly attempt to dig into the icy hard surface of your frozen dessert with an inferior everyday spoon.
Best case, you’re able to carve out a few scant slivers of ice cream. Worst case, you bend the spoon while breaking a sweat and freeing none of the sweet, sweet treat. Your dinner party is ruined, your reputation is in tatters, and you wilt and retire for the evening to weep alone under a cold shower.
OK, maybe not that much of a nightmare, but when the scooping gets tough, the wise get a good ice cream scoop. And oh what a pleasure things will be from there on out. There are few experiences that compare to the deep satisfaction of watching ice cream curl up into an ice cream scoop.
Should you wish to step up your ice cream serving game, we’ve dug deep here to find the internet’s finest frozen tools of choice. Don’t worry about reading thousands of reviews online trying to find the best product. Our list has the best ice cream scoops available.
Best Overall: Spring Chef Ice Cream Scoop
This scoop promises heavy-duty craftsmanship without the gimmicks. Containing no moving parts, which tend to be vulnerable to breakage, the scoop is strong and dishwasher safe. The scoop has been shaped to deliver the most satisfying and effortless scooping experience possible. It’s also available in 5 colors. Say yes to perfect spheres of ice cream!
Best Ice Cream Scoop Set: Apexstone Set of 3
Normalize owning ice cream scoops in 3 different sizes with this neat little set. Coming with 3 separate scoops with diameters, 4cm, 5cm, and 6.3cm, the Apexstone set allows you a greater degree of customizability when preparing your desserts. All the scoops are made of stainless steel and have a built-in trigger to deposit the ice cream where it’s needed. If this doesn’t inspire you to create an ice cream snowman, then you’re missing the point.
Most Comfortable Ice Cream Scoop to Use: OXO Good Grips Ice Cream Scoop with Lever
Bruising the palm of your hand trying to feed yourself ice cream isn’t a great look. Avoid that predicament by embracing the luxurious handle from OXOs famous Good Grips range. This ice cream scoop is made from high-quality stainless steel and is as sturdy and reliable as they come. It also includes a nifty lever that deposits ice cream, making serving much more enjoyable.
Most Innovative Ice Cream Scoop: Anti-Freeze Ice Cream Scoop
No, it’s not a pun, it’s not a play on words, it’s the truth — this ice cream scoop has antifreeze sealed inside its handle! This is revolutionary for 2 reasons — it stops your hands from freezing up, and as heat transfers from your hand, heating the antifreeze, the scoop then is heated up, allowing the scooping end to effortlessly glide through ice cream. Ingenious right?
Best Quality Ice Cream Scoop: Gorilla Grip Premium Ice Cream Scoop
Available in 8 colors, and with a giant handle and scoop, this scooper isn’t only durable, it’s really, really good looking. Gorilla Grip employs durable zinc alloy to ensure that your scoop never bends or breaks on hard ice cream. The large, comfy, slip-resistant handle won’t freeze, having your hands from ice cream induced frostbite. It’s also dishwasher safe, so forget scrubbing in the sink.
Best-looking Ice Cream Scoop: Midnight Scoop
Batmobile meets ice cream scoop in the Midnight Scoop. We bet you had no idea that an ice cream scooper could look so darn attractive. Ergonomic design is the selling point of the midnight scoop, and boy, does it get it right. Oh, and it works phenomenally well, with its pointed scooper, stainless steel construction, and a great deal of wildly positive reviews, this makes for the perfect gift — either for someone else, or yourself.
Best Ice Cream Scoop With A Trigger: Good Living Ice Cream Scoop
If you’ve never used an ice cream scoop with a lever, then you’re missing out on one of life’s richest engineering marvels. The Good Living Scooper is made from stainless steel and is available in a variety of colors and as a 1 or 2 pack. The scoop’s lever allows you to clear the scoop of ice cream with the simple push of the lever. Once you’ve used one of these, you’ll know you’ve made it.
Most High-Tech Ice Cream Scoop: THAT! Scoop That II Warming Ice Cream Scoop
We save the most unbelievable for last. Seriously, this scooper is the product of some crazy engineering and possibly dark magic. The Scoop That II (what a name) is ring heated, using a fishbone design in the handle and a specially coated scooping bowl, filled with some sort of biodegradable liquid to maximize thermodynamic utility. What all this means is that the lip of the scoop heats using the warmth from your hand, while the bowl of the scoop stays cold ensuring there is no melt when serving up that soft ice cream. This is truly an impressive engineering feat, and definitely worth your consideration as a gift or as a dinner table conversation piece.