Can You Put Ice Cream In A Cooler?

Last updated on August 18th, 2022 at 06:32 am

You’re hosting a party and one of the items on your grocery list is, of course, ice cream. I mean, what’s a party without some of the sweet and soft frozen dessert? 

Yes, ice cream is a favorite party treat as you pick up a couple tubs of the yummy stuff. Knowing you have a long trip home, you brought along a cooler for all the cold food items you purchased. 

This causes you to think, can ice cream be kept in a cooler or will it melt?

Ice cream can be put in a cooler. In a cooler with ice, ice cream will last for about 2 to 4 hours. Ice eventually melts and so will your ice cream but it can be put in the cooler to help it to last for a few hours.

You can put ice cream in a cooler in order to transport it or keep it cold for a special event that is outdoors. Ice cream will only stay frozen for 30 minutes to 2 hours in a cooler without ice but this all depends on how much ice cream there is along with how good the cooler is. 

There are some things you will need to do to transport ice cream without it melting. Line the inside of the cooler with aluminum foil to keep heat out and the cold in. A thermal bubble wrap can also be used to keep the ice cream cold. 

You will also want to choose the right kind of cooler. It is better to invest in a more durable and insulated cooler in order to keep the ice cream cold. 

Something you can try to keep your cooler cold while you are outdoors is to bury it in the ground especially if you are camping for a few days. The soil helps to maintain the cold temperature longer so choose a shady pot and keep your ice cream cool. 

The last thing is to empty water as it melts inside the cooler. The water could transfer warmth to the ice cream so removing the melted ice can help the ice cream stay cooler longer. 

It is best to put ice cream at the bottom of the cooler to keep it colder so it doesn’t change in temperature with all the opening and closing of the cooler lid.

Can You Transport Ice Cream In A Cooler?

You have the honor of picking up some ice cream and driving it to the park for a party. This may seem like a simple task but then you start to think about the ice cream melting. You do not want this to happen, to avoid delivering melty ice cream to the celebration, you decide to put it in a cooler. 

Can you transport ice cream in a cooler?

Ice cream can be transported in a cooler. Using a lot of ice and an insulated cooler will help the ice cream last longer. Ice cream kept in a cooler will start to melt after a few hours and so it is a good idea to keep filling it up with fresh ice.

According to Aloha Dreams,“…If the trip from the store to your event is more than 30 minutes, plan on picking up a couple blocks of dry ice…to keep the ice cream solidly frozen for the trip.    You’ll also want to make sure you have a full cooler when using dry ice…a five pound block of dry ice will keep four gallons of ice cream cold for at least five hours.  Just keep your cooler sealed tight.” Dry ice can be used in keeping the ice cream from melting. This is because dry ice has a much lower temperature than water ice and when it lets it will turn into gas leaving now watery mess behind.

You can transport ice cream in a cooler but you will need to use some precautions to help keep it cold. Like we said before, invest in a durable and insulated cooler. Lining the cooler with aluminum foil or some thermal bubble wrap can help as well. 

Another thing you could do is to pre-chill the cooler and the ice cream as well. This way they are well-chilled going into the already cold cooler. You really want to use some ice in the cooler with your ice cream and it is recommended to use ice blocks instead of cubed ice. 

Small cubes of ice will melt a lot faster than a large block will. It could also help if you wrap your cooler in a wet towel to keep all the cold air inside. 

As long as you keep it cold, you can transport ice cream.

How Do You Keep Ice From Melting In A Cooler?

Ice cream is supposed to be kept at 0 degrees Fahrenheit. This is easy to do when you are just taking it out of the freezer and plopping some into a bowl but keeping the ice cream in a cooler is a different story. 

You have to keep ice in the cooler with the ice cream but how can you keep the ice from melting?

Ice melts and if you have ice cream sitting in the ice inside a cooler, it will end up melting, too. There are some things you can do to keep ice from melting in a cooler. Insulate your cooler for best results.

To keep ice from melting inside of a cooler, wrap the ice itself in aluminum foil or put it in a vacuum insulated container. Dry ice is also great to use instead of normal ice because when regular ice melts it becomes, well, water and when dry ice melts it becomes a gas evaporation away for mess-free cleanup. 

If you don’t want your ice to melt in a cooler, you can also use ice packs instead. These will keep the ice cream inside cold without that watery mess later. It is a good idea to organize your cooler so you know where everything is so you don’t have to dig around to find certain things as much, letting less cold air out.

The article, How Long Will Ice Cream Last In a Cooler: Keep It Frozen Longer explains that, “A high quality cooler like a Yeti, with thick insulation, will keep ice cream frozen for longer…assuming your Yeti is pre-chilled…If you don’t want to buy a bag of ice just to store some ice cream then prep some frozen water bottles or frozen ice packs and put them in your cooler. The more ice packs you use the longer your ice cream is going to stay frozen.”

Final Thoughts

You can put ice cream in a cooler. If you follow some of the simple steps mentioned in this article, you will be able to keep the ice cream cold while it is being transported as well as when it is at the party. 

It is recommended that you invest in a good cooler. One that is durable and insulated will keep the ice cream in a cooler so it doesn’t end up melting by the time you drive. 

So, if you need to keep ice cream in a cooler, you can… for a few hours.