Transform Any Bowl Of Ice Cream With A Snack From Your Pantry

What's better than sitting on the couch and unwinding with a big bowl of decadent ice cream? While a school straight out of the tub or with the standard sundae toppings is undeniably delicious, other unconventional ice cream toppings sitting around your pantry can transform your dessert into something unique and flavorful. Take your late-night treat to the next level by skipping the usual caramel sauce and whipped cream and adding something like potato chips instead.

To try this, just grab your favorite brand of salted potato chips, crush them up, and top your ice cream with the pieces to add a delectable crunch and boost of savoriness that counteracts the rich dairy. After all, potato chips are very similar to fries, and there's a scientific reason why fries taste so good when dipped into a milkshake. The chips' saltiness and umami flavor bond with and enhance the ice cream's sweetness, making your taste buds pop with extra flavor. It's even better if you pair this savory snack with rich, nutty ice cream flavors, like one with loads of brownies and peanut butter, for a counteracting texture to the soft brownies or to reinforce the salty-sweet peanut butter flavor.

Out of potato chips? Well, why rely only on them when plenty of other pantry snacks can transform your bowl of ice cream? For example, throw some crushed pretzels into caramel ice cream. Imagine gooey clusters of caramelized sugar coating the crispy snack's edges for a toasty, elevated sweet and malty bite. And while it's not a snack, olive oil is another pantry staple that pairs well with vanilla ice cream. Consider kicking your vanilla ice cream up a notch with a light drizzle of your favorite oil and a sprinkling of flaky sea salt. The oil provides a savory, grassy flavor, which brings out the vanilla's warm sweetness. The fat content of the two ingredients merge to create a luxurious mouthfeel.

Another way to impart ice cream with a buttery flavor is to use crushed crackers. Since crackers have light, flaky layers, adding them to ice cream provides a multi-dimensional bite, while the crumbs soak up the melted bits of the creamy dessert. Pair crackers with vanilla ice cream for a simple sweet and saltiness, or go for chocolate toffee ice cream to complement the savory notes in both the toffee and crackers, and add depth of flavor to the sweet chocolate.