Breyers Natural Vanilla Ice Cream: Labelgrade C (64/100)
C 64 / 100 — Notable sugar load and very low sodium.
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Breyers Natural Vanilla Ice Cream delivers 3g of protein and 170 calories per 2/3 cup (USDA FDC 2030766). Per 100g that’s 3.4g of protein; per oz, 1g. The Labelgrade is C (64 / 100): Notable sugar load and very low sodium.
Why this Labelgrade
| Dimension | Grade | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protein density | C- | 55 / 100 | 3.4g per 100g — below the high-protein bar; not the right product for protein hunting |
| Ingredient quality | B+ | 80 / 100 | Short 5-ingredient list, no additive flags |
| Saturated fat load | C | 61 / 100 | 6g per serving (6.8g per 100g) — meaningful saturated fat load |
| Sodium load | A+ | 100 / 100 | 50.2mg per serving (16mg per oz) — low |
| Sugar load | D | 44 / 100 | 19g sugar (14g added) — substantial added-sugar load |
| Fiber | F | 30 / 100 | 0g fiber, expected for animal-protein products |
| Overall | C | 64 / 100 | Weighted blend: protein 23% · ingredients 21% · saturated fat 18% · sodium 15% · sugar 15% · fiber 8% |
How it compares
| Product | Protein per serving | Per 100 g | Per oz | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breyers Natural Vanilla Ice Cream (this product) | 3g | 3.4g | 1g | 170 |
| Häagen-Dazs Banana Rum Jam Ice Cream | 4g | 3.8g | 1.1g | 270 |
| Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream | 5g | 4.2g | 1.2g | 270 |
| Plain cooked chicken breast (benchmark) | — | 31g | 8.8g | ~165 |
The lightest of the big three — and why that means a better grade
Read the comparison table from the bottom up and the pattern is clear: of the three mainstream ice creams we grade, Breyers is the lightest, and it earns the best score because it’s the lightest. At 170 calories and 9g of fat per serving, it undercuts both Ben & Jerry’s and Häagen-Dazs (270 calories, 14-16g of fat) by a wide margin. The reason is how it’s made. Breyers uses a relatively airy, high-overrun churn — more air whipped into the mix — so a scoop is less dense with cream than a super-premium pint. Less cream per scoop means less saturated fat and fewer calories for the same bowl.
That’s the counterintuitive lesson of the ice cream aisle: the “premium” tier grades lower, not higher. Super-premium ice cream is a marketing promise of richness — more butterfat, less air — and richness is exactly what the scorecard penalizes. Breyers isn’t health food (nothing here is), but if you’re choosing among full-fat vanillas, the plainer, lighter, more-aerated one is the better pick on the numbers. The C is the highest grade ice cream gets on this site, and Breyers is the one holding it.
A clean label on a dessert: what the B+ ingredient score does and doesn’t mean
Breyers makes a real point of its short ingredient list, and the label backs it up: milk, cream, sugar, vegetable gum (tara), natural flavor. Five things, all recognizable, one mild stabilizer — that earns a B+ on ingredient quality, the best of any dimension on this page and genuinely better than most ice creams, which lean on more gums, emulsifiers, and corn syrup. If you care about eating dessert made from short, plain ingredient lists, this is a sensible choice.
But it’s worth being clear about what a clean label can and can’t do. It can’t change the fact that the two biggest ingredients are cream and sugar, and those are precisely what drag the grade down: 6g of saturated fat (a C) and 19g of sugar with 14g added (a D). A simple, honest ingredient list makes this a good version of a dessert, not a food that’s good for you. The ingredient quality and the sugar/fat load are answering two different questions — “is it made of real stuff?” (yes) and “is it nutritious?” (no, it’s ice cream). Both answers are true at once, and the C is the honest average of them.
Scope
This page covers Breyers Natural Vanilla Ice Cream (1 PT/473 mL), UPC 077567274731, as represented in USDA Branded Foods FDC 2030766. Breyers sells multiple variants in this product line — other sizes, flavors, or fat levels may have different macros and Labelgrade scores. Manufacturers periodically reformulate; always cross-reference the actual package label, especially if you have allergies or dietary restrictions.
Ingredients (from the USDA Branded Foods entry)
MILK, CREAM, SUGAR, VEGETABLE GUM (TARA), NATURAL FLAVOR.
Where to buy
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Quick Facts
Per serving · 2/3 cup
See how this fits your day — protein calculator · macro calculator
Full nutrition facts
| Nutrient | Per Serving (2/3 cup) |
|---|---|
| Calories | 170 |
| Protein | 3g |
| Total Fat | 9g |
| Saturated Fat | 6g |
| Trans Fat | 0g |
| Total Carbohydrates | 19g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0g |
| Total Sugars | 19g |
| Added Sugars | 14g |
| Sodium | 50.2mg |
| Cholesterol | 24.6mg |
| Calcium | 110mg |
| Iron | 0mg |
| Potassium | 150mg |
Scope: This page applies specifically to Natural Vanilla Ice Cream (1 PT/473 mL) · UPC 077567274731. Other sizes, flavors, or formulations may differ.
How this fits each diet
Each score is computed from the same USDA nutrition + ingredient data, against the published rules of each diet. They tell you "does this food fit this diet" — not whether the diet is right for you.
contains animal-derived ingredients
contains no listed meat or fish
no wheat, barley, rye, or malt detected in USDA ingredient list
Frequently Asked Questions
Is ice cream healthy?
No — ice cream is a treat, full stop, and Breyers Natural Vanilla is no exception. It's cream and sugar by design: 170 calories, 6g of saturated fat, and 19g of sugar in a 2/3 cup serving, with only 3g of protein to show for it. The honest framing is to enjoy it as dessert, not to talk yourself into it as a snack. What Breyers does have going for it is a genuinely short, recognizable ingredient list (milk, cream, sugar, one gum, natural flavor) — so as ice creams go, it's a clean one. Clean still isn't health food.
Why does Breyers Natural Vanilla earn a C (64/100)?
Two dimensions hold it back, and both are inherent to ice cream: sugar and saturated fat. The 19g of sugar (14g added) scores a D, and the 6g of saturated fat scores a C — that's what a cream-and-sugar dessert looks like on a scorecard. It's lifted back up by a very low 50mg of sodium (A+) and the clean five-ingredient list (B+). Notably, this is the highest-graded of the three big ice creams we cover, because it's the lightest — fewer calories and less fat per scoop than the premium pints. C is the ceiling for ice cream, and Breyers sits right at it.
Why does 'regular' Breyers grade higher than premium ice cream like Häagen-Dazs?
It's counterintuitive but real: the premium ones grade lower. Super-premium ice cream (Häagen-Dazs, C-) is defined by more cream and less whipped-in air, so every scoop is denser with fat and sugar — 16g of fat and 270 calories per half cup. Breyers uses a lighter, more-aerated churn, so the same volume carries less fat and fewer calories (9g fat, 170 cal per 2/3 cup). Ben & Jerry's lands in the middle (C) because its brownie and fudge mix-ins push the sugar up. So 'premium' here means richer, not better-graded — the scorecard rewards the lighter scoop.
What's a realistic serving, and how many are in the pint?
The labeled serving is 2/3 cup, and almost nobody stops there. A 1 pint (473 mL) tub holds about 3 to 4 of those servings — so if you eat a third of the pint in a sitting (easy to do), you're closer to 230 calories, 8g of saturated fat, and 25g of sugar. Portion is the real lever with ice cream: the same product is a reasonable treat at one scoop and a sugar bomb at half the tub. Scoop it into a small bowl rather than eating from the carton, and the numbers above are what you actually get.
Is there a lighter or higher-protein ice cream I should pick instead?
Two moves. First, just take a smaller portion of this — a single 1/2 cup scoop of Breyers is the easiest 'lighter' version there is, and it's already the lowest-calorie of the three pints here. Second, if you want ice cream that does more nutritional work, reach for a high-protein 'light' churned brand (the Halo Top / Nick's / 'light' style), which typically delivers 7-10g of protein and roughly half the calories per serving by cutting fat and adding protein. It won't taste as rich as Breyers, but it's the closest thing to ice cream that earns a better grade.
When was this data last verified?
2026-06-05, against USDA FoodData Central FDC 2030766. We re-verify top-traffic pages monthly and update within 7 days when a manufacturer reformulates.