Where can you find the best chocolate soft serve ice cream?

Whether it comes from a delivery truck, a fast food joint or a real ice cream parlor, soft serve ice cream is a widely popular refreshment, especially during the summer heat.

And if you’re struggling through a busy supermarket this season, a cool cup of creamy, sweet soft serve ice cream probably sounds like a well-deserved reward.

Perhaps that’s why America’s two largest hypermarkets, Costco and Sam’s Club, offer the iced dessert in their respective food courts. Like the proverbial light at the end of a crowded, fluorescent tunnel, the concession stands are often conveniently located directly behind the checkout area.

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Costco recently gave customers an exciting new reason to stop by after paying by offering chocolate soft serve ice cream for the first time since 2018. The newly introduced flavor replaced the popular strawberry ice cream in the food court and drew both cheers and boos from the retailer’s vocal online commentators.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

No matter what flavor you prefer, the comeback of chocolate offers another point of comparison between Costco and its main competitor, Sam’s Club, which has steadfastly stuck to its own chocolate soft serve frozen yogurt all this time.

I recently sampled the frosty, chocolatey flavors from both retailers, both based in the same New Jersey city, to find out which wholesale club is the true champion in chocolate soft serve. Here’s how the two flavors compare.

Sam’s Club

Nutrition:
Frozen Chocolate Yogurt (per container)
Calories: 350
Fat: 5 g (saturated fatty acids: 3.5 g)
sodium: 210mg
carbohydrates: 68 g (fiber: 1 g, sugar: 54 g)
protein: 10g

Sam’s Club offers a variety of snacks in its cafe, including three yogurt cups: vanilla, chocolate and swirl. You can also choose between two different ice cream sundae flavors. A 10-ounce cup of the chocolate fro-yo costs just $1 plus tax at Sam’s in Edison, NJ

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The appearance: Pulled out of the machine flawlessly, with perfect roll-up, as if it had been made in a real ice cream parlor. The yogurt had a light brown hue. The surface looked shiny and smooth.

The taste: Bittersweet at first bite. The strong flavor immediately reminded me of Hershey’s chocolate syrup, although the intensity lessened the more I ate. The texture was smooth and creamy, and overall I found it quite comforting on a hot afternoon. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better tasting version for a dollar anywhere else, at least in this part of the country. Even McDonald’s charges more for its soft serve.

Costco

Nutrition:
Chocolate ice cream (per serving)
Calories: 570
Fat: 28 g (saturated fatty acids: 18 g)
sodium: 260mg
carbohydrates: 67 g (fiber: 0 g, sugar: 59 g)
protein: 10g

Like Sam’s Club, Costco now offers soft serve ice cream in vanilla and chocolate flavors. No matter which you choose, it will cost you almost twice as much compared to the competition. A 10-ounce tub costs $1.99. You can also add chocolate or strawberry sauce to any flavor and call it a sundae for $2.49.

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The appearance: Less artfully presented than Sam’s flawless version, but not unappetizing. The ice cream was more of a mocha color and looked a bit more melty than its rival.

The taste: Despite containing more sugar in a single serving, Costco’s soft serve somehow tasted less sweet than Sam’s Frozen Yogurt and more like cocoa. The rich flavor immediately reminded me of the old school Jell-O Chocolate Cook & Serve Pudding, which I loved as a kid. The consistency was also airier and lighter, making it difficult not to finish the whole tub within a few minutes.

The judgment

It all comes down to the age-old adage, “You get what you pay for.” Sam’s Club frozen yogurt is an incredible bargain for the price, but definitely tastes like a cheap dessert, while Costco’s version costs more but tastes correspondingly higher quality.

If you can spend the extra money – and don’t mind the extra fat and calories –I bet you’ll find Costco’s chocolate soft serve twice as delicious, too.

Chris Shott