We don’t want to sound dramatic, but National Ice Cream Day 2018 is one of the high holy days of foodies. Even poor National French Fry Day gets eclipsed by this celebration of all things frozen cream. You should already know why it’s so special but it’s sweet enough for us to repeat: you have tons of options for free ice cream today.
Consider it your chance to find out what that ice cream diet would have been like had you given it a try. Once a year we’re going to say it’s completely fine (and 100% delicious) to swap out all of your day’s meals with frozen desserts. Whether you’re the kind of person who likes to savor a cone as you walk through a park or dig into a pint in front of Netflix, there’s plenty of ways for you to indulge in free ice cream today. We highly encourage you to enjoy more than one.
Where to get free ice cream today for National Ice Cream Day 2018
We’ll break this down into scoop shop deals for National Ice Cream Day 2018 and how to get free ice cream today from brand that you’ll find in the grocery store. Map out your route to hit as many as possible today. Calories don’t count of National Ice Cream Day, anyway.
Free ice cream today from scoop shops
Baskin-Robbins
Download the Baskin-Robbins app (through iTunes or Google Play) for free ice cream today. Most locations of the sweet chain are offering different deals, like BOGO cones, $0.99 sundaes and $2 off a medium milkshake. Call ahead to make sure your nearest location is participating.
Carvel
Head over to a participating location of Carvel and bring a friend, or your appetite. They’re offering free ice cream today when you buy a cup or cone, although the deal is only on soft serve. So will you BOGO solo or share the sweet savings with someone else? Tough call, right?
Cold Stone Creamery
National Ice Cream Day 2018 is going on here, too. Download their rewards app today to get a “Buy One Get One Free Creation” coupon. Already have an account because you love their desserts? Great! You’re able to get the coupon through the app as well.
Dairy Queen
Did we mention that the deals aren’t just for free ice cream today? We don’t want you thinking you’re limited to small cups and cones, here. DQ is maintaining that “Fan Food” motto by making their classic Blizzards available today for free. Get all the details on the National Ice Cream Day 2018 Dairy Queen deal with our guide.
Dippin’ Dots
While we’re channeling your inner child with a day’s worth of free ice cream today, why not make it that nostalgic treat Dippin’ Dots? At their standalone shops and stalls you can get a free mini cup of Dippin’ Dots at participating locations. Keep in mind, though, that this deal is only going on during a 2-hour window at the shops, so call ahead to get the exact hours.
Graeter’s
They’re celebrating not only National Ice Cream Day 2018 but also their 148th anniversary, which means you’ll get a cone for just $1.48 at their participating locations. Did we mention they just launched the limited edition flavor Cheesecake Cookies and Cream?
Marble Slab Creamery
You’ll want to check out their social media accounts — peep their Instagram, Twitter and Facebook — because they’ll be posting coupons this morning for a free kids cup or cone with the purchase of any regular or best value cup or cone. Even sweeter? This deal runs through Tuesday, July 19.
16 Handles
Free ice cream today also includes some specials for the froyo fans in your group. Head over to 16 Handles to get the first 3 ounces of your froyo and toppings free from open to 5pm when you download their app (available on iTunes and Google Play).
Sonic Drive-In
We love when brand celebrate National Ice Cream Day, but mix up the offerings. Drive by Sonic to get half price ice cream slushes, shakes and floats every day after 8pm. Just make sure your nearest location is participating in the deal. You can also double down on the desserts and get a free slush or drink when you download the company’s app.
Yogurtland
Swirl it up and save some cash because this froyo spot is dishing up BOGO. Head into one of their locations for the free ice cream today between 1pm and 5pm.
Bonus: PetSmart
Don’t let fido feel left out! PetSmart is handing out free ice cream today that’s made specifically for doggos. Swing by to show your furry best friend how much they mean to you. Just make sure you head to a PetsHotel location!
Free ice cream today from stores
But you don’t have to load the kids in the car to get a good deal on ice cream today. While you’re online shopping enter to win some free ice cream today.
Halo Top
Although this one’s not guaranteed, health world darling Halo Top is giving 1000 fans a chance to try their new protein-packed low-calorie flavor for free. PS: It’s peanut butter and jelly and it’s insanely delicious. (Plus it’s only 360 calories for the entire pint.) Head to their website now, add a pint of peanut butter and jelly to your cart and enter the code HALOTOPPB&J at checkout. The flavor is only around for a couple weeks, so stock up.
Enlightened
You’re counting your calories, but you can still enjoy some ice cream. Low-calorie frozen dessert favorite Enlightened not only has an official deal going on for National Ice Cream Day 2018, but you can still download a coupon from their site for a delicious discount. Head over to their IG post about National Ice Cream Day 2018 for your chance to win. They’re giving 25 hungry ice cream lovers 7 boxes of their bars and 15 pints, each, and one extremely lucky person will win a full month of free ice cream. You’ll need to like the post and follow their page, their past five posts on the social media platform and you can tag friends for extra entries. By the way, free ice cream for a month means 8 pints per week for 4 weeks. Yum.
Ice cream deals for National Ice Cream Day 2018
OK, so not every brand is on board with free ice cream today — maybe they’ll come around next year — but some are making sweet discounts available on their desserts. And we’re certainly not ones to turn up our noses at savoring a pint and saving some cash.
Arctic Zero
We know we’ve talked a lot about apps, but if you still have space on your iPhone or Android and a love of light ice cream, download the ibotta app. When you use this app to buy Arctic Zero light ice cream, you’ll get $4 back. And, you know, $4 is roughly the cost of another pint.
Ben & Jerry’s
You’ll find pints of Ben & Jerry’s — both regular and dairy-free flavors — available at Whole Foods at a 2 for $6 deal. Our suggestion: head for those mix-in dense flavors, especially the ones with fudge or peanut butter cores. Amazon Prime members, you’ll enjoy an additional 10% off on top of the seriously sweet deal.
Cumberland Farms
Starting at 8am and running until 11:59pm, you can text the word “SCOOPS” to 64827 to receive $1 off any pint of Cumberland Farms’ Ultimate Scoops Ice Cream flavors. That means you’ll pay just $3.99 per pint versus the regular price of $4.99 per pint. Plus, with flavors like Peppermint Palooza, Sensational Strawberry Cheesecake or recently added Blissful Breakfast Club (maple ice cream with blueberry swirls and chunks of Belgian waffle), your taste buds will thank you for using the discount as an opportunity to stock up.
Snow Monkey
It’s National Ice Cream Day 2018 not 1998, which means there are vegan brand giving their dairy-free diners a chance at indulging on the cheap, too. You’ll get 25% off site-wide — we repeat, on the entire site — today when you use the code “ISCREAM25” at checkout.
Talenti Gelato
Head on over to your local Whole Foods and fill your cart with Talenti at a discount. Perfectly timed with National Ice Cream Day 2018, you can get pints of their luscious gelato or sorbetto flavors for just $3.99. There’s even a 2 pints for $6 deal for three days around the ice cream holiday. Pay attention to what you’re grabbing, though, because the Talenti limited edition pints of Alphonso Mango Sorbetto, Double Dark Chocolate Gelato and Madagascan Vanilla Bean Gelato are in stores now. Make sure at least one of them hits your cart before they’re gone.
NOTE: No coupons to print or codes to remember, here. Just head to your Whole Foods and find the deals right in the freezer aisle.
