Our 2022 List of Top 20 Best Froyo Shops in the US

We’ve noticed many “best frozen yogurt shops” lists this month, inspired no doubt by National Frozen Yogurt Month. What bothers us about those lists is that the criteria for which shop makes the list is unclear and there’s too much focus on frozen yogurt chains. Also, the authors don’t seem like frozen yogurt experts.

Well, we’re tracking frozen yogurt all the time and eating a lot of it. During our research, we’ve noted which shops seem committed to quality and uniqueness and these are our top 20. All of the shops on our list have their own in-house flavors.

Note, we left out large national or international frozen yogurt chains, restaurants that serve froyo, ice cream shops, and gelato shops. But we did include a mix of frozen yogurt shops that we’ve been to and those we want to visit one day. Thirteen states were represented with the top positions going to #1 California, #2 Massachusetts, and #3 Pennsylvania.

21 Choices Frozen Yogurt

• 44 N Fair Oaks Ave, Pasadena, CA 91103
• 817 W Foothill Blvd, Claremont, CA 91711
• 460 W 1st St, Claremont, CA 91711

21 Choices started in Pasadena, California in the 1990s. They’re known for their mix-in style customizable froyo, creative flavors, and wide selection of add-ins. The froyo and add-ins are mixed together on a cold marble slab, similar to Cold Stone Creamery. Their soft serve is made in-house every day. They also make their own cookies, cookie dough, brownies, cheesecake, pound cake, and more. Look for their best flavors like Circus Animal Cookie made with Circus Animal cookies, Blueberry Muffin made with blueberry muffins, Coffee, Coffee, Coffee made with Stumptown Coffee. They also have many vegan soft serve options.

Aloha Yogurt

• 219 E Baseline Rd #5, Tempe, AZ 85283

Founded in 2010 by an Arizona State University alum, Aloha Yogurt in Tempe, Arizona uses their own froyo recipes and also makes droolworthy creations like froyo tacos and froyo sandwiches made with homemade cookie dough. The shop was self-serve but switched to counter-serve during the pandemic (and is still counter-serve). Lemon cake froyo is made with slices of lemon cake, including the frosting. Dogs can indulge in dog-urt and hang out on the dog-friendly patio.

Ayelada

• 505 East St, Pittsfield, MA 01201

After falling in love with the froyo at GoBerry (also on our list), Jim and Lisa opened Ayelada with the help of GoBerry’s owner. The help included providing a few froyo recipes – enough to get Ayelada started. In April 2013, Jim and Lisa opened Ayelada in Pittsfield, Massachussets. The frozen yogurt is made fresh each day with dairy from local farms. And they make their own vegan soft serve now.

BerryLine

Froyo lovers, no trip to Boston is complete without a visit to BerryLine in Harvard Square. They originally opened in September 2007 and were the first to bring tart fro-yo to the Boston area. The locally owned counter-serve shop features their own froyo flavors like Lemon Bar, Peanut Butter Fudge, Nutella, Rose, and Apple Cinnamon, homemade baked toppings, their own homemade mochi, and housemade ice cream. Don’t forget to admire their froyo mural outside. BerryLine was voted Boston’s Best Froyo seven times.

Culture: An American Yogurt Company

NYC/Brooklyn has seen many froyo shops come and go. The current reigning artisanal froyo shop is Culture: An American Yogurt Company, born in 2011. They manufacturer fresh and frozen yogurt in house, something that almost no other yogurt place does. Their Greek yogurt is made from locally sourced Hudson Valley milk and live probiotic cultures. The counter-served yogurt is available fresh or frozen. Housemade artisanal toppings include fresh key lime custard (recommended, very tangy), strawberries macerated in balsamic vinegar, and pineapple roasted with cardamom in maple syrup.

Easy Breezy

• 119 Town Center, Corte Madera, CA 94925
• 307 N Santa Cruz Ave, Los Gatos 95030
• 4028 24th St, San Francisco 94114
• 718 Irving St, San Francisco 94112
• 44 West Portal Ave, San Francisco 94127

It all started in July 2012, when the first Easy Breezy opened in the Noe Valley neighborhood of San Francisco. The concept was premium, fresh, organic self-serve froyo, custard, and soft serve in a cute setting inspired by a Midwestern ice cream shack. Their soft serve is hand-crafted and made with proprietary recipes, organic ingredients whenever possible and fruit that’s chopped, blended and squeezed by hand. Their froyo/soft serve texture is better – thick, smooth, creamy, but not dense. We love the creative flavors like Mint Mojito, Sweet Chai O’ Mine, Jelly Donut, and anything with fresh lime or lemon juice. Easy Breezy was the first IFYA Swirl of Honor member shop.

Eb & Bean

• 3040 SE Division St, Portland, OR 97202
• 1425 NE Broadway St, Portland, OR 97232
• 645 NW 21st Ave, Portland, OR 97209

Eb & Bean has new owners but they’re continuing to offer artisanal froyo (based on their own recipes), housemade sauces, local toppings, etc. Their yogurt is local, organic, non-GMO, rBST free, and made in small batches with custom, often creative and interesting flavors since 2014. In their first year, they served 72 flavors. Flavors include Apricot Crème Fraiche, Grasshopper Pie, Lemon Marionberry Buttermilk, and Salty Pistachio. Get the Rosemary Caramel froyo if you can find it.

Go Greek

• 452 N Bedford Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
• 1431 Ocean Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90401
• Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (?)

Go Greek Yogurteria opened in Beverly Hills, California in 2013 with the vision of bringing authentic Greek yogurt to the US. The shop looks like one you’d find in Greece. The yogurt is kept in terracotta bowls, just like they store it in Greece. It’s not uncommon for Greek yogurterias to offer fresh and frozen yogurt which is what Go Greek does. The Greek froyo is made with 2% or 10% fat Greek yogurt. The toppings are healthier (fresh fruit, dried fruit, cocoa nibs, chocolate chips, premium sauces, Greek biscuits, hemp seeds, chia seeds, flaxseeds, nuts, peanut chews, granola, coconut) and some are imported from Greece. The froyo is self-serve. Ask for the imported Greek rose preserve and try the Greek honey froyo with imported Greek biscuits (cookies).

GoBerry n’ Cream

• 28 Amity St #1e, Amherst, MA 01002

GoBerry ‘n Cream is the last remaining location of GoBerry; the Amherst shop was sold to SiriNam and Kirn during the pandemic. The froyo is still made on-site in small batches with fresh rBST-free, non-GMO dairy from small, local farms and the best ingredients. They do not use prepackaged mixes. The name was changed to reflect the addition of locally-made Bart’s Ice Cream. The original GoBerry in Northampton, MA closed in January 2022, after 12 years. “Over the 12 years, or 4,023 days, its been open, GoBerry has served 6,540 pounds of baby gummy bears, hired 328 employees, sold four tons of Mochi and used more than 1 million compostable spoons.”

The Igloo

• 2223 Grays Ferry Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19146
• 1514 Frankford Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19125

The Igloos in Philadelphia, PA, are two locally-owned self-serve froyo shops. The first opened in the South of South neighborhood in 2013. Most of the froyo is homemade using local fruit, local dairy, and flavoring imported from Italy. They also have fresh baked goods, acai, Water Ice, hot toppings imported from Italy, and shakes. Customer favorites include the peanut butter froyo, Greek froyo, and the lemon topping. When Yogorino closed their Philadelphia locations, The Igloo started carrying their froyo!

Kiwi Froyo

• Route 100 & State St., Pottstown, PA 19464
• 243 N. Pottstown Pike, Exton, PA 19341
• 1171 Nixon Dr., Moorestown, NJ 08057
• Route 422 & Route 29, Collegeville, PA 19426
• 3606 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104

Founded by a brother and sister team in December 2008, the first Kiwi Froyo opened in June 2009. The shops are still family-owned. The froyo is self-serve, including homemade flavors like peanut butter, cookies ‘n cream, cookie monster, funfetti cupcake, and cereal swirl. Vegan and gluten-free options are available. Shout out to the social media person for always creating such enticing looking froyo photos (and we see a lot of froyo photos).

Ono Yo

• 56-505 Kamehameha Hwy, Kahuku, HI 96731

When you’re getting your garlic butter shrimp at Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck in Kahuku, Hawaii, remember to save room for neighboring truck, Ono Yo. Marilyn and Alex Roitman, a high school English teacher and former farmer, brought froyo to the North Shore in 2010. Their all-natural froyo is made with real local fruit and organic Greek yogurt. Toppings get a local spin too, with options such as local raw honey, macadamia nuts, and lilikoi butter. They added acai later.

Shy Giant

• 1500 Pike Pl #16, Seattle, WA 98101

Seattle’s first frozen yogurt shop, Shy Giant at Pike Place Market, opened its doors in 1976. It was also the first fro-yo shop in the Pacific Northwest and the second on the West Coast. They’re still making froyo by chopping up seasonal fruit and adding it to their froyo mix. In addition to froyo, they offer locally made ice cream, shakes, smoothies, sundaes and more. Look for the marionberry froyo and the signs that look like they’re from the 70s.

Spoon Café

• 81 Spring St, Williamstown, MA 01267

The youngest froyo shop to make our list, Spoon Café opened in Williamstown, MA in July 2020. Their artisanal froyo is hand-crafted daily with signature recipes using locally sourced ingredients, including Jersey milk from High Lawn Farm in Berkshire County. Some of their flavors include honey lavender made with local organic honey, butterscotch, banoffee, and amaretto. The froyo is counter-serve. We were sad to read that co-owner Colleen Little passed away this year

Yagööt

• 734 N. Main Street Suite B, Springboro, OH 45066
• 5843 Deerfield Blvd, Deerfield Township, OH 45040
• 2737 Edmonson Road, Cincinnati, OH 452092139 Auburn Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45219 (inside The Christ Hospital main cafeteria)
• 3333 Burnet Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45229 (inside Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center main cafeteria)

Cincinnati-based Yagööt is celebrating 15 years this year. The local treat is proud to taste like real yogurt, including the natual tang and sourness. They also claim that they’ve been making yogurt since 1977; before the standalone counter-serve shops opened, Busken Bakery served soft serve tart froyo in 1977 at their first location. Busken Bakery sold Yagööt in 2014. Flavors include Italian cocoa, coconut, white peach, black raspberry, key lime pie, etc. The froyo is made with yogurt from local farmer-owned co-ops and is hormone free, probiotic, 99% fat free, kosher, and gluten-free.

Yoga-urt

Yoga-urt is Los Angeles’ first and only organic, vegan, kosher, gluten-free, and soy-free froyo concept – and all branches are IFYA Swirl of Honor member shops. The first shop opened in Kenneth Village, a Glendale, California neighborhood, in 2015. Making the froyo is a laborious process, starting with making almond milk. The froyo is made with proprietary recipes. They also make their own sauces and gluten-free waffle cones. We’ve tried all the flavors and our favorites are Sweet Greens, Vanilla Harmony, Pistachio Passion, and True Tahini. The froyo tastes fresher and less processed. Even the toppings are healthier.

Yogurt Mill

• 2509 Oakdale Rd, Modesto, CA 95355
• 801 W Roseburg Ave, Modesto, CA 95350
• 3900 Pelandale Ave #60, Modesto, CA 95356
• 2591 Geer Rd, Turlock, CA 95382
• Froyo truck

The Central Valley’s Favorite Frozen Yogurt was founded in 1984 and is still owned by the same couple, Larry and Soshie. They make their yogurt fresh daily, have their own bake shop, and create the most decadent shakes that combine froyo and baked goods. Three of the locations even have a drive-thru and one is self-serve.

The Yogurt Pump

• 106 W Franklin St, Chapel Hill, NC 27516

Loving known as YoPo and THE Place to Chill on the Hill, Yogurt Pump started in 1982 and reached institution status. Yogurt Pump was voted ‘Carolina’s Finest’ for thirteen years running.” It was the first froyo shop in North Carolina. They’ve kept their old-school ‘80s décor and commitment to quality froyo, counter-serve style. And yes, they develop some of their own flavors.

Yotopia

• 132 S Clinton St, Iowa City, IA 52240

Yotopia, Iowa City’s first self-serve froyo shop, opened in 2011. The froyo is made with yogurt from an Iowa dairy farm, Country View Dairy, and they’ve developed their own froyo recipes. They also have smoothies, shakes, froyo pies, Greek yogurt parfaits and more. Back in 2014, Yotopia won our Creative Froyo Flavor Awards contest with their flavor entry, Strawberries & Cream.

Yumilicious

• 190 E Stacy Rd. Suite 1336, Allen, TX 75002
• 820 W. Stacy Road, Suite 616, Allen, TX 75013
• 5005 S. Cooper St. Suite 167, Arlington, TX 76017
• 2700 W. Anderson Ln. Suite 227, Austin, TX 78757
• 1805 N. Collins St., Suite 131, Arlington, TX 76011
• 5521 Greenville Ave. Suite 111, Dallas, TX 75206
• 700 E. Campbell, Suite 150, Richardson, TX 75081
• 295 W Byron Nelson Blvd, Suite 204, Roanoke, TX 76262
• 3800 McKinney Ave. Suite 160, Dallas, TX 75204

Founded in 2008 in Dallas, Yumilicious was originally known as Yogolicious. The name was changed to Yumilicious in 2009. Yumilicious is a self-serve froyo concept known for unique flavors like Avocado Tart, Rosebud, Peach Habanero, and Bora Bora. Their froyo is real yogurt and it’s made with rBST free milk. They also have boba tea, shakes, froyo pies, and more.