We earn affiliate commissions for purchases using our links.  Learn more

The 5 Best Luxury Ice Cream Toppings to Enjoy with Homemade Ice Cream

Rank:

Photo:

Model:

Rating:

More Info:

#1

BEST OVERALL

Luxardo Maraschino Cherries

#2

Stonewall Kitchen 4 PieceDessert Topping Collection

#3

Sander’s Sundae Beat Gourmet Toppings Set

#4

Ghirardell Premium Sauce Set

#5

Oreo Small Cookie Crumbs

In a time when we’ve learned to appreciate the little things in life, food has revealed itself to be one of our greatest pleasures, especially when we make it ourselves at home.

For ice cream lovers and enthusiasts, there are now so many fun and delicious ways to can make your favorite treat even better, without ever having to leave the house.

What are the best ice cream toppings to use? Simple but good ice cream toppings you can try to enhance this famous dessert include maraschino cherries, salted caramel sauce, chocolate fudge, and cookie crumbs.

Whether you use just one experiment with a combination of all of them, your tastebuds will be in for a pleasant surprise.

To guide you in a delicious direction, we’ve counted down our top 5 ice cream toppings to get you in the mood, with options that will work on every flavor.

With this tasty inspiration and our favorite finds, you’ll transform your once plain homemade ice cream into something worthy of serving up to the world.

Our Recommendations for the Best Luxury Ice Cream Toppings

Ice cream is one of the most versatile desserts, being the perfect accompaniment to apple pie, a milkshake, or even your own sundae creation.

All you need is a few of the right toppings to turn it from blah to brilliant, so check out our recommendations for the best ice cream toppings to buy.

Winner: Luxardo Maraschino Cherries

Luxardo Maraschino Cherries
  • Weight: 28oz
  • Flavor: Sour
  • Sugarfree: No

Nothing goes better with ice cream than a cherry, and if you’re impartial to cherries on top of your favorite dessert, the best choice is Luxardo Maraschino Cherries.

This pack comes with two 14oz bottles of sour marasca cherries that have been steeped for months in a special syrup consisting of cherry juice and sugar. The Italian cherries are the perfect topping for ice cream but also go well on cakes, cocktails, and other desserts.

Although you might not assume these cherries have any health benefits, customers were thrilled to find they meet many dietary requirements.

Compared to our other picks for best ice cream sundae toppings, Luxardo cherries are gluten-free, vegan-friendly, kosher, and non-GMO, so you don’t have to feel guilty indulging.

Another bonus is the taste, and this is thanks to the special candying process that Luxardo uses. Other brands with neon cherries only use pre-pickled varieties but these are candied fresh, and still retain the sour taste that marasca cherries are known for.

They’re a great equalizer for the sweet taste of ice cream and helps to balance the flavors.

On the downside, these are an expensive treat, and probably not ideal to put in your ice cream every night. They’re costlier than other cherries because they’re made with real marasca cherries, and although you get two jars with purchase, you’ll probably get through them pretty fast.

Another potential drawback is that you can’t keep these in the fridge otherwise they’ll lose some of their appeal. However, storing them in the pantry might not be ideal if you’re serving them with ice cream, so you’ll have to settle for keeping them cool instead.

Luxardo Maraschino Cherries are some of the best toppings for ice cream because they can be used on everything from sundaes to milkshakes, and whatever else you can imagine.

They’re available for the best price online at Amazon and come with free shipping, so there’s no need to head to the store just to get this sweet treat.

Runner Up: Stonewall Kitchen 4 PieceDessert Topping Collection

Stonewall Kitchen 4 PieceDessert Topping Collection
  • Weight: 50oz
  • Flavor: Sweet
  • Sugarfree: No

With just one purchase you can give your dessert-making skills a boost, thanks to the four different flavors that are some of the best ice cream bar toppings we’ve seen.

Stonewall Kitchen has hand-selected 4 x 12.5oz jars of toppings with bittersweet chocolate, salted caramel, peanut butter chocolate, and dark chocolate sea salt caramel sauce to choose from.

One of the best things about these toppings is the variety and how they’re outside of the box for most ice cream flavors.

With additions like bittersweet chocolate and peanut butter chocolate, you’ll be able to create unique desserts and offer up guests gourmet treats that they likely don’t get in anyone else’s home.

Customers raved about the quality of these toppings and how just a little bit was enough flavor to transform a bowl of ice cream.

If you like to feel decadent and worldly when eating dessert, having four flavors made from a famous American-owned and operated brand like Stonewall Kitchen is the finest way to do it.

However, there seem to be some issues during shipping, because Stonewall Kitchen has packaged these in small, delicate glass jars.

Depending on where you’re buying from, you’ll want to make sure their shipping process is covered for accidents like this, otherwise, you may have to buy some more to finally get it to your door in good order.

Some tasters decided that these toppings were too sweet for them and they preferred something a little sour or bitter to balance out their ice cream. If you don’t have a particularly sweet tooth you might agree, so don’t succumb to buying these as toppings if you can’t stand some sugar.

The Stonewall Kitchen 4 Piece Dessert Topping Collection is not just good for ice cream but all kinds of desserts at home. You can find it online at a low price through Amazon, with free shipping when you spend over $35.

They’re beautifully packaged and make a great gift for friends and family, or a delectable treat to enjoy yourself with your home ice cream bar.

Alternative: Sander’s Sundae Beat Gourmet Toppings Set

Sander’s Sundae Beat Gourmet Toppings Set
  • Weight: 40oz
  • Flavor: Sweet
  • Sugarfree: No

It’s a known fact that chocolate is consistently rated as one of the best vanilla ice cream toppings of all time, and it goes pretty well on other flavors too.

Sanders has created the perfect set for chocolate fans with their Sander’s Sundae Best Gourmet Toppings Set, featuring four different flavors for you to enjoy.

The four jars feature 10oz each of toppings and it comes with tastes that have been perfected over 140 years of the Sander’s brand operating.

The coolest thing about this set, besides the taste, is the packaging. If you appreciate a retro twist or are looking for a neat gift to give the ice cream lover in your life, you’ll love the red and white classical box that the jars come in.

Customers were thrilled to find the world-famous Sander’s brand only uses sustainable cocoa farming practices to make all of their products.

You don’t have to feel guilty for indulging when you choose a brand like this, and it only makes the chocolate toppings taste even sweeter.

There’s not a lot of variety here unless you’re someone who’s into chocolate, so don’t purchase the set from Sander’s if you want versatility.

Three of the four flavors are centered on chocolate and not even with additions like peanut butter or sea salt, which makes them not that enticing unless you rate chocolate as your favorite ice cream topping.

Another drawback is the inclusion of corn syrup in these toppings, which could turn some people off.

As consumers today look for more natural ingredients, finding corn syrup could be a dealbreaker, so keep that in mind if you’re conscious about what’s on the labels of the desserts you eat.

For ice cream and chocolate lovers, there’s no better way to make a sundae than with Sander’s, and you’ll have everything you need with the Sundae Best Gourmet Toppings Set.

It’s available at Amazon for a great price and can be shipped for free when you spend over $35, which is easy to do when you’re shopping for chocolate. 

Alternative: Ghirardell Premium Sauce Set

Ghirardell Premium Sauce Set
  • Weight: 68oz
  • Flavor: Sweet
  • Sugarfree: No

If you want only the finest ingredients in your ice cream bar but don’t have a lot of cash to spend, the Ghirardelli Premium Sauce Set is will serve you well.

As the oldest chocolate maker in the country, you can guarantee the taste is phenomenal, and there are four different flavors in 14oz bottles to enjoy in all kinds of ways, including as a decadent topping for your ice cream treat.

The size for money value is a huge selling point for these gourmet toppings and it doesn’t take away from the delicious flavor either.

Ghirardelli has proven you can eat well for less while still making it seem like a luxurious topping, and their ice cream stores found around the country are proof of that.

A huge bonus of these toppings is that they don’t need to be stored in the fridge once opened, so you can keep them in the pantry.

This means they’re quicker to heat up if you prefer hot fudge but also won’t get that pasty feel to them that condiments like this sometimes do when they’ve been kept in the fridge.

This is another brand that uses high fructose corn syrup in their products which has been negative for some customers, so keep that in mind. As the ingredient has been shown to be particularly unhealthy, it seems to be phasing out of other dessert products, but Ghirardelli continues to use it in theirs.

Also, the presentation of these bottles isn’t as fancy as some of the other condiments on our list and it’s not something you’d give as a gift, even if they have included a stainless steel serving spoon.

You could always transfer the contents to something prettier if you don’t like the plastic squeeze bottle, but that takes some effort.

The Ghirardelli Premium Sauce Set is one of a kind, delivering on both flavor and affordability. this would be a great starter for your home ice cream bar and versatile enough to use in coffees, cakes, and other desserts.

You can find it online through Amazon for the lowest price and enjoy their free shipping promotion when you spend over $35 on your favorite ice cream toppings.

Oreo Small Cookie Crumbs
  • Weight: 16oz
  • Flavor: Sweet
  • Sugarfree: No

Oreo’s are one of America’s favorite treats and to enjoy them even more atop your ice cream, you’ll want a packet of the Oreo Small Cookie Crumbs from Nabisco.

This packet measures 16oz and with the right care, you can make it last for months, depending on how much you like to sprinkle.

The best thing about these cookies is that they’re already crumbled which makes it a lot easier to add to your ice cream, whether it’s blended through or sprinkled on top.

It’s all you need to transform vanilla ice cream into something spectacular, and it looks amazing as well.

If you’re looking for a good vegan topping for your homemade ice cream, let Oreos help you out. This famously vegan cookie will add delicious flavor to your iced treats without any of the guilt attached, and it’s the only one on our list that meets these dietary requirements.

In terms of ingredients and data about the cookies, this appears to be out of date, and it doesn’t seem Nabisco has updated them in about eight years.

You’ll have to do your own research to see what’s included, so in terms of marketing and presentation, it needs some work.

Another drawback of these cookie crumbs is that they’re packaged for longevity and you’ll need to find another way to keep them fresh.

The Oreo Cookie Crumbs go stale when left uncovered and don’t do well in the fridge, so it’s not as easy as other toppings we’ve reviewed when it comes to storage.

To get your hands on this world-famous ice cream topping and turn your favorite soft treat crunchy, head to Amazon to find them. Oreo Cookie Crumbs by

Nabisco are an ice cream lover’s dream come true and there are so many fun ways to incorporate them into your nightly dessert.

Luxury Ice Cream Toppings FAQ

The variety of ice cream toppings out there today is mind-blowing and it means you can now easily rival your local ice cream store in taste and quality.

If you’ve been exploring what’s out there in the latest ice cream toppings or want to know more about how to apply them like a pro, read on to see the answers to some commonly asked questions about these tasty treats.

What Toppings Do You Put On Vanilla Ice Cream?

What Toppings Do You Put On Vanilla Ice Cream?

As the simplest and most versatile of all ice cream flavors, almost any topping can complement vanilla.

Popular choices for vanilla ice cream topping include chocolate fudge, salted caramel fudge, waffle cones, maraschino cherries, nuts, crumbled cookies, and fresh fruit.

How Do You Garnish Ice Cream?

Decorating ice cream with a garnish is a matter of personal taste but it helps to choose something that looks and tastes good.

As the sweet treat has a tendency to melt, whatever you place on top will need to be eaten quickly, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still be creative with topping choices.

How Do You Serve Ice Cream For A Crowd?

How Do You Serve Ice Cream For A Crowd?

If you’re planning an event where ice cream is on the menu, you’ll need to first ensure the ice cream is stored at freezing conditions and always use a proper ice cream scoop to serve it.

This can be done by pre-scooping ice cream and placing the balls onto a baking sheet-lined tray in the freezer, or keeping it in its original container and serving it from there.

How Do You Keep Ice Cream From Melting At A Party?

For events where you’ll be taking the tub of ice cream out of the freezer, it helps to have a bucket full of ice handy where you can store it.

This keeps it at the ideal temperature and gives you somewhere portable and easy to serve it from, even if you’re eating outdoors at an event.

The Perfect Addition to a Tasty Treat

If you’ve recently treated yourself to an ice cream machine or just have a new obsession with this icy treat, it’s time to take things up a notch with luxury toppings.

Whether you like to add a glazed cherry or crumbled cookies to the mix, you’ll have fun and reap the tasty benefits of these delicious toppings.

A well-stocked ice cream bar at home is the perfect way to spend your weekends, hosting movie nights, or experimenting with tasty treats, and any of our recommendations would make a welcome addition to it.

Life’s too short to be without your favorite desserts, so consider treating yourself to our picks for the best ice cream toppings.


Christine Coulson

Christine Coulson is our chief author and someone passionate about ice creams. Even though she did begin her journey by checking out new flavors and tastes, Christine further developed a knack for inventing new dishes and blends. She shares her favorite ice cream-making tutorials, best picks, and even buying guides that help you choose the right ingredients for your next ice cream-based dish. As someone interested in deserts than the meal itself, she has some really solid opinions you can count on as well.