A La Mode: Ice Cream Flavors That Go Well with Pie

For a lot of us, no slice of pie is complete without a melting scoop of ice cream. And we firmly believe that If you are serving ice cream on top of your slice, it should complement — not clash with — the flavor of the pie. Stick to simple, smooth ice creams without a lot of bells and whistles.

A classic vanilla ice cream works with just about everything, but something with a single nut flavor (like pistachio) is also great with a fruit galette.

If you scoop the ice cream right onto hot pie, the ensuing melt can make the crust soggy and mingle too much with the filling so that there are no longer distinct flavors: pie plus ice cream. Our opinion: Let the pie sit until it’s just warm before serving it a la mode.

Choose (or make) an ice cream flavor that adds another dimension to the pie, even if it’s just a mellow, creamy, vanilla accompaniment. In other words, no pumpkin ice cream with pumpkin pie. Let them play off of each other (like a lemon ice cream with a blueberry pie).