Ben & Jerry's vs Häagen-Dazs: Which Super-Premium Pint Wins?
Two super-premium pints, head-to-head: Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie and Häagen-Dazs Banana Rum Jam. They cost about the same, weigh about the same per scoop, and land within a few points of each other — both squarely in C territory, because super-premium ice cream is built to be rich, and richness is exactly what a nutrition scorecard marks down. Ben & Jerry's edges it. Every number below is pulled live from each product's graded fact sheet.
The short answer
Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie is the marginal winner at C (62/100). It matches Häagen-Dazs on calories (270 per serving) but carries less saturated fat (9 g vs 10 g) and a little less sugar (23 g vs 26 g), and its brownie and cocoa even sneak in 2.04 g of fiber where Häagen-Dazs has none.
Häagen-Dazs Banana Rum Jam scores C- (58/100) — and the reason is the whole point of the category. It's the richer scoop: 16 g of total fat per serving vs Ben & Jerry's 14 g, denser and creamier with less air whipped in. That decadence is what you're paying for, and it's exactly why it grades a notch lower. Its one genuine win: a slightly cleaner, shorter ingredient list (B vs B-).
The counterintuitive thread runs through both: these aren't C-range because they're badly made — they're C-range because super-premium means more butterfat and sugar per scoop, and Häagen-Dazs's richer profile is precisely why it scores below Ben & Jerry's. Neither is vanilla-plain, either: you're choosing between brownie-and-fudge and a banana-rum swirl. The real lever isn't the brand — it's the size of your scoop.
Side-by-side
| Ben & Jerry's Choc Fudge Brownie | Häagen-Dazs Banana Rum Jam | |
|---|---|---|
| Labelgrade | C 62 / 100 | C- 58 / 100 |
| Serving size | 120 g (½ cup) | 105 g (½ cup) |
| Calories per serving | 270 | 270 |
| Protein per serving | 5 g | 4 g |
| Protein per 100 g | 4.2 g | 3.8 g |
| Calories per g protein | 54 | 67.5 |
| Total fat per serving | 14 g | 16 g |
| Saturated fat per serving | 9 g | 10 g |
| Saturated fat per 100 g | 7.5 g | 9.5 g |
| Total sugar per serving | 23 g | 26 g |
| Sugar per 100 g | 19.2 g | 24.8 g |
| Fiber per serving | 2.04 g | 0 g |
| Sodium per serving | 64.8 mg | 59.8 mg |
| Flavor base | Chocolate + brownie + fudge | Vanilla bean + banana rum swirl |
| Protein density grade | C- | C- |
| Ingredient quality grade | B- | B |
| Sugar grade | F (32) | F (17) |
| Saturated fat grade | C- | D |
| Sodium grade | A+ | A+ |
| Fiber grade | D | F |
Where Ben & Jerry's wins
- Less saturated fat for the same calories. Both scoops are 270 calories, but Ben & Jerry's carries 9 g of saturated fat to Häagen-Dazs's 10 g — 7.5 g vs 9.5 g per 100 g. That's a full 2 g less total fat per serving, and it's the single biggest reason it grades C- on saturated fat where Häagen-Dazs gets D.
- A little less sugar. 23 g per serving vs 26 g. Even with brownie chunks and a fudge swirl, it lands under the banana-rum swirl's load — and scores 32 on the sugar dimension to Häagen-Dazs's 17.
- It actually has fiber. The cocoa and real wheat-flour brownie contribute 2.04 g of fiber per serving — modest, but Häagen-Dazs has 0 g, so this is a clean win (D vs F).
- More protein, barely. 5 g vs 4 g per serving. It's a rounding-error edge — neither is a protein food — but it nudges the density grade in Ben & Jerry's favor.
Where Häagen-Dazs wins
- Cleaner, shorter ingredient list. This is the one dimension the lower-graded pint takes. The vanilla base is six recognizable things — cream, skim milk, sugar, egg yolks, ground vanilla beans, vanilla extract — and the swirl is mostly banana puree, sugars, actual rum, and coconut oil. That earns B on ingredient quality, ahead of Ben & Jerry's B-, which leans on a few more stabilizers (guar gum, soy lecithin, carrageenan).
- Lower sodium. 59.8 mg per serving vs Ben & Jerry's 64.8 mg. Both are low enough to score A+, so it's a small win — but it's a win.
- Pure richness, if that's what you came for. This isn't a grade win, it's a taste one: at 16 g of fat per scoop with very little whipped-in air, it's the denser, creamier, more decadent of the two. The scorecard penalizes that density — but it's also precisely the experience super-premium exists to deliver.
Where it's a tie
- Calories. 270 per labeled serving for both — identical.
- The grade band. Both land in the C range (C vs C-), and both for the same reason: cream and sugar at super-premium density. Neither is a health food, and neither pretends to be.
- Sugar and sodium letter grades. Both score F on sugar (Häagen-Dazs is heavier by the underlying number) and A+ on sodium — low sodium is the one easy point ice cream always banks.
- Protein density grade. C- for both — which is to say, don't buy either for protein.
Which should you buy
Buy Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie if you want the marginally better-graded scoop, a chocolate-and-brownie experience, or simply the slightly lighter saturated-fat number for the same calories. It's the chunk-forward pick — brownie pieces and fudge ribbons are the entire reason to reach for it — and it edges Häagen-Dazs on four of the six dimensions. Just remember the 23 g of sugar is still real.
Buy Häagen-Dazs Banana Rum Jam if you want maximum richness and the cleanest, shortest ingredient list, and you don't mind that it grades a touch lower for being the denser, creamier pint. It's the one to pick when decadence is the whole point and a banana-rum swirl sounds better than chocolate. Go in knowing it's the heavier scoop — more saturated fat, more sugar — which is exactly why it sits at C-.
The honest meta-answer: the difference between these two is smaller than the difference your spoon makes. Both are around 54–67.5 calories per gram of protein — desserts, full stop, not protein. If you want ice cream that does nutritional work, a high-protein "light" pint is a different category. If you want the real thing, pick the flavor you'll enjoy more and control the portion: a single half-cup in a bowl beats either pint eaten from the carton. We unpack the full pattern in why the expensive ice cream scored worse.
How they were graded
Both products use the v3 6-dimension Labelgrade formula (see /methodology): protein density 23% + ingredient quality 21% + saturated fat 18% + sodium 15% + sugar 15% + fiber 8%. Ben & Jerry's data from USDA FDC 498338; Häagen-Dazs data from USDA FDC 2111803. Every figure on this page is read live from each product's record at build time, so the numbers can't drift out of sync with the individual fact sheets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is healthier — Ben & Jerry's or Häagen-Dazs?
Neither is health food — both are super-premium ice cream — but Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie grades slightly better, C (62/100) vs Häagen-Dazs Banana Rum Jam at C- (58/100), a 4-point gap on the same v3 formula. The two scoops are identical on calories (270 each per serving), but Häagen-Dazs carries more of everything a dessert gets marked down for: 10 g saturated fat vs 9 g, and 26 g sugar vs 23 g. That richer profile is exactly why it scores lower.
Why does the richer Häagen-Dazs score lower than Ben & Jerry's?
Because "super-premium" describes the two things the scorecard penalizes most in a dessert: more butterfat and less whipped-in air. Both pints are super-premium, but Häagen-Dazs takes it further — 16 g of total fat per serving vs Ben & Jerry's 14 g, and 9.5 g of saturated fat per 100 g vs 7.5 g. Denser, creamier, more luxurious per spoonful, and more saturated fat and sugar per spoonful too. Häagen-Dazs scores D on saturated fat and F on sugar; Ben & Jerry's scores C- and F. The grade gap is richness, not quality — see <a href="/guides/expensive-ice-cream-scored-worse">why the expensive ice cream scored worse</a>.
Which has more sugar?
Häagen-Dazs Banana Rum Jam has more — 26 g per serving vs Ben & Jerry's 23 g. That comes from the banana rum swirl (banana puree, brown sugar, sugar, rum) layered over a sweetened vanilla base. Ben & Jerry's lands a little lower despite its brownie chunks and fudge ribbons. Per 100 g it's 24.8 g for Häagen-Dazs vs 19.2 g for Ben & Jerry's. Both score F on the sugar dimension — an F is an F — but Häagen-Dazs is the heavier of the two by score (17 vs 32).
Which has more protein — and does it matter for ice cream?
Barely, and no. Ben & Jerry's lists 5 g per 120 g serving and Häagen-Dazs lists 4 g per 105 g serving — 4.2 g vs 3.8 g per 100 g. Both are rounding error in protein terms: at 54 and 67.5 calories per gram of protein, neither is remotely a protein source. If protein is your goal, a high-protein "light" pint (Halo Top / Nick's style) delivers 7–10 g per serving at roughly half the calories. These two are desserts you eat because they taste good, not for the macros.
Which ingredient list is cleaner?
Häagen-Dazs, slightly — it's the one place the lower-graded pint wins. Its vanilla base is six recognizable things (cream, skim milk, sugar, egg yolks, ground vanilla beans, vanilla extract) and the swirl is mostly banana puree, sugars, real rum, and coconut oil, earning a B on ingredient quality. Ben & Jerry's is also recognizable — cream, sugars, cocoa, real wheat-flour brownie, egg yolks — but adds a few more stabilizers (guar gum, soy lecithin, carrageenan), landing at B-. A clean label and a good grade answer different questions, though: both are still cream and sugar at heart.
How big is a real serving, and how many are in a pint?
The labeled serving is about a half cup for both. Ben & Jerry's pints hold roughly 4 servings; a 14 fl oz Häagen-Dazs tub holds about 3. Portion is the entire game with super-premium ice cream — because it's so dense, the calories climb fast. A single 120–105 g scoop in a bowl gives you the numbers in the table; eating half the container, an easy sitting for either, roughly doubles them. The most powerful lever on this whole page isn't which pint you pick — it's how much of it you eat.