The time has come to talk about one of the most snackable sweets on earth: mochi ice cream.
If you’re unfamiliar, mochi is a traditional Japanese rice cake made of mochigome — a mix of glutinous short-grain rice, water, sugar, and cornstarch — pounded into a paste and then molded into all variety of different shapes. Sometimes that shape is round and it holds ice cream inside. As you might imagine, these little ice cream dumplings are quite often delicious.
After seeing a huge boom over the past decade, mochi ice cream has fully hit the mainstream. It can be found in most markets, alongside all your other favorite frozen desserts. If you seek it out, chances are the first brand you’ll see is Los Angeles-based My/Mo Mochi. Kroger carries it. So does Target. Whether you’re in Anchorage, Alaska, or Zzyzx, California (an actual city!) you’ll be able to find the stuff.
Currently, My/Mo makes fifteen different flavors. Since that’s way too many for a person to pick from blindly, we’ve tested and ranked all fifteen of them below.
15. Apple Pie à la Mode
A hallmark of My/Mo Mochi is how far the brand strays from more traditional Japanese flavors (not having Red Bean is a crime) and it doesn’t get less traditionally Japanese than Apple Pie. That doesn’t make the flavor bad by any means, Apple Pie à la Mode is one of My/Mo’s seasonal flavors and, if you love spiced apple and vanilla ice cream, you’re going to want to stock up on these to enjoy during the off-season.
For me? It tastes a little too much like apple sauce and I’m just not into that.
The bottom line: If you don’t love the taste of artificial apple, almost any flavor will provide a better experience.
14. Cookies & Cream
My/Mo has two distinct styles of making mochi ice cream. Flavors either come in an all ice-cream form and a filled-form. Cookies & Cream would’ve been a great candidate for the filled variety, but sadly it’s not that. The cookie crisps in this flavor are just a bit too small, and the ice cream is a little more watery than it is creamy. It’s not bad at all, but it promises so much.
What should it have been? Creamy ice cream with a chunky Oreo cookie-like center!
The bottom line: Doesn’t live up to its promise, but a fine flavor overall.
13. Double Chocolate
A chocolate-flavored mochi exterior with rich and creamy chocolate ice cream and crisped brownie bites? Count us in!
The chocolate ice cream here is pretty solid, offering a nice balance of deep chocolate-y notes with brownie bites that provide a nice crunch and texture. Our only gripe here is the brownie bites are a bit flavorless, and, honestly, calling them brownie bites is being generous. They recall chocolate chips more than brownies.
The bottom line: Lovers of chocolate look no further, this is a great way to double up.
12. Pumpkin Spice
Pumpkin Spice is My/Mo’s other seasonal flavor and while I fully expected to dislike this flavor as much as the apple, I kind of love it. A delicious mix of clove, cinnamon, a dash of nutmeg, a dusting of gramham cracker… it’s pretty much Pumpkin Pie in a mochi ice cream form.
The bottom line: Not just for pumpkin spice die-hards, this is a solid flavor worthy of your freezer space.
11. Sweet Mango
I know this is going to weird people out, but believe me — what you’re about to read is not a knock on My/Mo’s Sweet Mango mochi:
The Sweet Mango mochi does not taste anything like actual mango. At all. It tastes like Nerds. From Wonka.
Lucky for me, I love Nerds. If you love Nerds there’s a high chance you’re going to love Sweet Mango mochi. That simple.
The bottom line: Don’t pick up this flavor expecting mango flavor. But if you want a balance of sweet and tangy, this is the one for you.
10. Ripe Strawberry
Strawberry ice cream is both one of the most divisive flavors of ice cream and one of the most basic. It belongs in the same class as vanilla and chocolate but it isn’t nearly as beloved. Which means if you love strawberry ice cream, you’re going to love My/Mo’s Ripe Strawberry. If you don’t, this flavor will do nothing to win you over.
In terms of strawberry ice cream, Ripe Strawberry is decent to good, the small bits of frozen strawberry are a nice touch and if they were a bit bigger it might push this ice cream firmly into the “good” camp.
The bottom line: For commited lovers of strawberry ice cream and strawberry milkshakes. Probably not for anyone else.
9. Mint Chocolate Chip
This flavor would’ve ranked much higher had My/Mo opted to make it strictly mint ice cream, rather than adding the flakey bits of chocolate. My/Mo’s chocolate bits just leave a lot to be desired. Again, these taste more watery than they do chocolatey and that’s really a shame as the mint ice cream is delicious.
Paired with the gooey mochi exterior, this flavor is as refreshing as ice cream can get.
The bottom line: A mid-tier flavor that manages to suffer from the inclusion of chocolate.
8. Orange Vanilla
My/Mo Orange Vanilla is essentially a 50/50 Creamsicle. And given this easy-to-eat form factor, we’re going to go ahead and say it’s superior to eating a popsicle. Better still, the orange ice is replaced with pillowy orange-flavored mochi with vanilla bean ice cream encased inside and a tangy burst of orange flavor in the center.
The bottom line: The evolution of the creamsicle. Eating this will never make you look at a 50/50 bar as fondly again.
7. Vanilla Bean
Vanilla is a classic flavor in the world of ice cream and the world of mochi and My/Mo’s Vanilla Bean exceeds expectations. It’s smooth — with a rich and creamy ice cream texture and a soft powedered exterior. It will be someone’s favorite, but we like our top picks to be a little more experimental.
The bottom line: A solid entry of a classic mochi flavor.
6. Dulce de Leche
If you’re looking for a mochi flavor to eat in the morning, Dulce de Leche is your jam. A rich decadent creamed coffee-flavored ice cream wrapped in a slightly bitter chewy exterior with a burst of creamy caramel in the center, Dulce de Leche is definitely My/Mo’s messiest flavor and also its richest.
This truly feels like an indulgent dessert, but at just 110 calories a pop, it never feels too heavy.
The bottom line: Perfect for wake-and-bake stoners or anyone else who feels like eating ice cream in the morning.
5. S’mores
My/Mo’s S’mores is dangerously delicious. Like, be-careful-or-you-might-end-up-killing-the-whole-box delicious. S’mores features a chocolate mochi exterior with graham cracker ice cream and a chewy marshmallow center. The graham cracker ice cream is one of My/Mo’s best and an obvious precursor to their similarly delicious Pumpkin Spice flavor and the chewy marshmallow center is easily My/Mo’s best filing in the entire line.
Our only gripe, and it’s a small one, is that the chocolatey exterior leaves something to be desired.
The bottome line: Delicious, thanks to My/Mo’s graham cracker ice cream and the chewy marshmallow center. Eat this with a side of hot chocolate and you’re in for a tasty winter treat.
4. Vanilla Blueberry
This was the first flavor of My/Mo I tried and the one I was most skeptical of. As I stared into a freezer packed with every flavor of My/Mo, I made some quick and shallow judgements that led me to believe the filled varieties would be the worst. I was wrong and the second I bit into Vanilla Blueberry I knew to throw all previous expectations out the window.
Vanilla Blueberry is so damn delicious. The creamy vanilla bean pairs perfectly with the jelly-like blueberry filling while rendering the plain Vanilla Bean flavor a little redundant.
The bottom line: If you’re a vanilla-lover and on the fence over this and the plain Vanilla Bean choose Vanilla Blueberry. It won’t disappoint and will quickly convince you that jelly-filled mochi is a good thing.
3. Green Tea
Green Tea was always going to rank highly for me. It’s the first flavor that comes to mind when anyone offers me mochi and it’s probably the first flavor of mochi I ever tried. My/Mo’s Green Tea features matcha ice cream encased in a pillowy soft mochi exterior that results in a nice blend of sweet and bitter flavors.
It’s refreshing, it’s markedly different than any other ice cream flavor you’d find at your favorite ice cream parlor, and it doesn’t disappoint for fans of mochi who are unfamiliar with the My/Mo brand.
The bottom line: A delicious iteration of one of the most popular mochi flavors ever.
2. Chocolate Sundae
Everything just comes together beautifully here. Chocolate Sundae, like the S’mores, combines three pillars of flavor. But this time My/Mo knocks it out of the park. Rich and creamy vanilla bean ice cream, semi-bitter chocolate flavored mochi outer, and a bright maraschino cherry center interact in perfect harmony.
The bottom line: Get the experience of eating an entire chocolate sundae in a single bite.
1. Banana Chocolate Cream
Here we are at the top. If My/Mo’s Chocolate Sundae offered the experience of a sundae in a small bite-sized form, Banana Chocolate Cream matches the experience of a banana split. A delicious, perfectly-ripened banana ice cream and mochi outer tossed in fluffy powdered sugar makes way for a decadent and rich chocolate filling.
This isn’t just My/Mo’s best flavor, it’s one of the best mochi ice cream flavors I’ve ever had. As someone who frequented Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo district for the sole purpose of scoring some delicious authentic mochi prior to the pandemic, that’s really saying something.
The bottom line: A banana split in bite-sized form. Banana Chocolate Cream will enhance any dessert you’re planning and will linger in your mind long after you’ve killed the box.