8 Healthiest Sorbet Brands—and 2 to Avoid
Sorbet is a great option for anyone looking for a chilly scoop made with real fruit that is dairy-free and not too sweet. Sorbets are generally made with a fruit base (like lemon, mango, berries, or melons) combined with a syrup, usually made with some sweetener (such as sugar). A good sorbet should be refreshing, not too sweet, and offer an intense fruity flavor. In general, the recipes for an excellent sorbet involve four cups of fruit and one cup of sugar, but this ratio changes based on the sweetness of the fruit. Like ice cream, sorbet is a churned, frozen dessert, so it's made with ice cream machines to create the perfect blend of a sweet-tart taste and texture.
Since sorbet is usually fat-free, it is generally lower in calories than ice cream. Since sorbet is made from fruit, it often provides vitamins C and A and other nutrients present in the fruit. However, the downside of sorbet is that most brands contain a lot of added sugar. Some of the new brands, like Halo Top and Frozen Farmer, are offering lower calorie and lower sugar options because they use sugar substitutes like allulose, monk fruit, or erythritol to sweeten their products.
To help you find the best sorbets for your health, we picked out eight of the healthiest sorbets on grocery store shelves and two varieties you may want to avoid.. Read on, then check out these 9 Best Healthy Ice Cream Brands.
How we chose the healthiest sorbet
- Moderate in calories: Since sorbet is essentially fruit and some type of syrup churned into a frosty treat, our best choices are less than 200 calories per serving. Most serving sizes are two-thirds of a cup.
- Lower sugar counts: Most of the calories in sorbet come from the natural carbs from the fruit and added sweeteners such as sugar, agave, nectars, and other sweeteners.
- Made with real fruit: We prioritized sorbets made with real fruit rather than fruit flavorings.
8 Healthiest Sorbets
Best: Haagen-Dazs Raspberry Sorbet
- Nutrition (Per 2/3 cup 140-g serving):
- Calories: 170
- Fat: 0 g (Saturated fat: 0 g)
- Sodium: 15 mg
- Carbs: 42 g (Fiber: 0 g, Sugar: 36 g)
- Protein: 0 g
Haagen-Dazs has been making popular ice cream and sorbet since the 1960s. While the brand may be best known for its super-premium ice cream, it also manufactures excellent sorbet. The three main ingredients in this Haagen-Dazs Raspberry Sorbet are water, sugar, and raspberry puree. As with most fruit-based sorbets, this one is gluten- and dairy-free.
Best: Talenti Summer Strawberry Dairy-Free Sorbetto
- Nutrition (Per 2/3 cup 135-g serving):
- Calories: 150
- Fat: 0 g (Saturated fat: 0 g)
- Sodium: 0 mg
- Carbs: 36 g (Fiber: <1 g, Sugar: 34 g)
- Protein: 0 g
This Italian-style sorbet from Talenti is made with fresh strawberries and a dash of lemon and churned into a delish, award-winning, dairy-free frozen treat. The main ingredients are water, strawberries, and sugar.
Best: Jeni's Frosé Sorbet
- Nutrition (Per 2/3 cup 129-g serving):
- Calories: 180
- Fat: 0 g (Saturated fat: 0 g)
- Sodium: 10 mg
- Carbs: 44 g (Fiber: 0 g, Sugar: 33 g)
- Protein: 0 g
Jeni's was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 2002 by James Beard Award-winning ice cream maker Jeni Britton. The brand's ice cream is often considered one of the best in the United States. Jeni's sorbets are frequently raved about for their unique combination of ingredients and full-flavored sensory experience. The Jeni's Frosé Sorbet (frozen rosé) is made with Sonoma Valley rosé with added pear and strawberry, plus watermelon essence and lemon juice. If you want a frosty treat poolside, this won't disappoint.
Best: Halo Top Mango Sorbet
- Nutrition (Per 2/3 cup 117-g serving):
- Calories: 100
- Fat: 0 g (Saturated fat: 0 g)
- Sodium: 30 mg
- Carbs: 33 g (Fiber: 10 g, Sugar: 17 g)
- Protein: 0 g
Halo Top's Mango Sorbet is at the top of our list for the healthiest sorbet because it is lower in calories and sugar than most commercially available sorbets. It also has 10 grams of fiber, whereas most others have no fiber. It even provides 6% of the potassium you need in a day. To get the right sweetness to its sorbets, the brand uses calorie-free sweeteners, including erythritol and stevia.
Best: Frozen Farmer Farm Crafted Honeydew Sorbet
- Nutrition (Per 2/3 cup 98-g serving):
- Calories: 25
- Fat: 0 g (Saturated fat: 0 g)
- Sodium: 10 mg
- Carbs: 27 g (Fiber: 12 g, Sugar: 2 g)
- Protein: 0 g
This farm-to-table brand processes fruit grown on its 3,000-acre farm to create tasty and better-for-you sorbets in flavors such as watermelon, honeydew, strawberry, cherry, and raspberry. The nutritionals are similar to Halo Top because the brand also sweetens its sorbet with erythritol, allulose, and monk fruit and adds chicory root fiber to up the fiber in each scoop.
Best: Sambazon Organic Acai Sorbet
- Nutrition (Per 2/3 cup 137-g serving):
- Calories: 170
- Fat: 5 g (Saturated fat: 1 g)
- Sodium: 20 mg
- Carbs: 34 g (Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 19 g)
- Protein: 1 g
This organic sorbet is made with acai berry puree, water, and sugar as the main ingredients. Unlike most other sorbets, this one has some fat from the acai, which is lower in sugar and higher in fiber than most other fruity sorbets. It's also vegan and non-GMO.
Best: Open Nature Lemon Sorbet
- Nutrition (Per 2/3 cup 143-g serving):
- Calories: 180
- Fat: 0 g (Saturated fat: 0 g)
- Sodium: 16 mg
- Carbs: 45 g (Fiber: 0 g, Sugar: 43 g)
- Protein: 0 g
Open Nature is the store brand from the Albertsons supermarket company, which includes the Albertson's, Von's, and Safeway grocery store chains. Open Nature products are free from any artificial ingredients and non-GMO. This refreshingly sweet-tart sorbet is made with water, sugar, lemon juice, lemon pulp, lemon juice concentrate, and natural flavors.
Best: Island Way Mandarin Orange Sorbet
- Nutrition (Per 1 shell, 66-g serving):
- Calories: 70
- Fat: 1.7 g (Saturated fat: 1 g)
- Sodium: 6 mg
- Carbs: 14 g (Fiber: .5 g, Sugar: 13 g)
- Protein: 0 g
Island Way sorbets are unique in that the sorbet is served within the fruit shell. What's more, the brand includes dairy milk in the recipe, so the sorbet has complex flavors and textures that can transport you to a tropical paradise. These sorbets are also excellent sources of vitamin C.
2 Sorbets to Avoid
Worst: Talenti Cold Brew Coffee Dairy Free Sorbetto
- Nutrition (Per 2/3 cup 130-g serving):
- Calories: 280
- Fat: 15 g (Saturated fat: 9 g)
- Sodium: 25 mg
- Carbs: 33 g (Fiber: <1 g, Sugar: 31 g)
- Protein: 5 g
Sorbets or sorbetto that are not fruit-based and have flavors like chocolate or coffee tend to be higher in calories and added sugars than traditional fruit-flavored sorbet. This cold brew flavor is made from water, sugar, egg yolks, coconut oil, and other ingredients. While this sorbetto may taste great, it has about 100 more calories than fruit-flavored options, and it is also high in saturated fat, much like super-premium ice cream.
Worst: Talenti Dark Chocolate Sorbetto
- Nutrition (Per 2/3 cup serving):
- Calories: 240
- Fat: 10 g (Saturated fat: 7 g)
- Sodium: 20 mg
- Carbs: 40 g (Fiber: 3 g, Sugar: 35 g)
- Protein: 3 g
The three main ingredients in this dark chocolate sorbet include water, sugar, and cocoa, none of which are nutritional all-stars. What's worse is that it's also made with saturated fat-rich coconut oil and even more sweeteners. It exceeds the calorie limit we recommend for a frosty treat, and it's too high in fat and saturated fat to be considered a best bet.
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