Albuquerque doesn't let go of summer easily. Even in September, with Balloon Fiesta crowds filling the skies and mornings finally cool enough for a jacket, afternoons still climb into the 80s and the Sandias shimmer like they haven't gotten the memo that fall arrived. Around here, that's when ice cream stops being a treat and starts being a survival strategy. We've spent years showing buyers around this city block by block, and somewhere along the way our "let's grab a scoop while we drive the neighborhood" habit turned into a running list of the spots we actually trust. So we put it down on paper. These are the eight shops we send friends, clients, and our own kids to — organized by neighborhood, not by chain size, and picked because each one does something the others don't.

1. Frost Gelato — Uptown / ABQ Uptown

Frost has been the go-to for real, Italian-style gelato in Albuquerque since it opened at ABQ Uptown back in 2013, and it's held that reputation for a reason. Everything but the milk and sugar is imported from Italy, and the case rotates through more than fifty flavors alongside a rotating lineup of sorbets — meaning the pistachio actually tastes like pistachio, not almond extract wearing a costume. It's dense, it's rich, and a small cup goes further than you'd expect. Grab a bench outside near the shops and let it melt slowly; that's really the whole point of gelato anyway. Regulars tend to land on sea salt caramel or the seasonal marble black cherry, but the staff will hand you a sample spoon for almost anything in the case if you ask.

2. Burque Licks — Nob Hill (Lomas & Washington)

This one's the newest name on the list and already the hardest to keep off it. Burque Licks is a second-generation, family-run shop that opened in 2025 near UNM, and it earned a devoted following almost overnight, largely on the strength of flavors that could only come from here. The Burque Butter Crunch folds toasted toffee and Hatch green chile into a brown-butter base, and it works in a way that sounds odd on paper and makes complete sense in the first bite — that push-pull between cold cream and warm chile heat is the whole reason it went viral with locals. Sandia Chip (watermelon with dark chocolate shards) is the other standout, and there's a genuinely large rotating menu of vegan flavors too. The shop itself is impossible to miss — bright, colorful, with an ice-cream-shaped bench out front that's become a bit of a photo spot in its own right.

3. Olo Dessert Studio — Nob Hill (Route 66 / Central Ave)

Olo has been a Nob Hill fixture since 2010, and it runs on a self-serve, pay-by-the-ounce model that makes it dangerously easy to build a sundae the size of a hubcap. Soft serve, frozen yogurt, sorbet, and gelato all rotate through the machines, and the topping bar is the real draw — fresh fruit, house-made sauces, candy, cereal, the works. It's a favorite for families and college students alike (it sits right along the UNM corridor), and there's a genuine coffee and bakery counter too, so it works as a study spot as much as a dessert stop. If you're there in the depths of winter, ask about the cold-weather pricing — a nice touch that rewards the people willing to brave a frozen yogurt run in January.

4. I Scream Ice Cream — Northeast Heights (Carlisle Blvd)

Walking into I Scream feels a little like stepping into somebody's basement rec room from 1985, in the best way — retro toys, vintage memorabilia, and an owner named Bill who treats regulars like old friends and new customers like regulars-in-training. The ice cream itself (Blue Bell, scooped generously) is almost beside the point of the visit, though the flavor combinations people build here get genuinely inventive — strawberry cheesecake and rum black cherry topped with graham cracker is a real thing someone ordered and loved. It's the kind of low-key, unpretentious shop that doesn't show up on many "trendy" lists, which is exactly why locals keep it close to the chest.

5. Lil Mm Gelateria — Northeast Albuquerque (Copper Ave)

Tucked next to the go-kart track off Copper, Lil Mm doesn't have the visibility of the Uptown shops, and that's part of its charm — you mostly hear about it from someone who already knows. The chocolate gelato is the flavor people bring up unprompted: dense, glossy, closer to pudding than to anything you'd expect from a scoop shop. It's a smaller operation with a shorter flavor list than Frost, but what's there is consistently excellent, which is really the whole gelato philosophy — fewer flavors, done properly, beats fifty mediocre ones.

6. Chocolate Cartel — Old Town & multiple ABQ locations

Chocolate Cartel has been part of Albuquerque's dessert scene since 2009, and while it built its name on handmade chocolates and truffles, the gelato case deserves equal billing. The Old Town location in particular makes for a natural stop after wandering the plaza — order a scoop to go and eat it on one of the benches under the cottonwoods while the mariachi music drifts over from a nearby restaurant patio. It's an easy pairing for visiting family or anyone showing a newcomer around the city's oldest neighborhood, since you get the historic charm and the dessert stop in the same ten-minute walk.

7. La Michoacana De Paquime — International District

If your idea of frozen dessert leans toward paletas and raspados rather than a scoop in a waffle cone, this is the stop. La Michoacana specializes in Mexican-style ice cream and hand-crafted paletas in flavors you won't find at the Uptown shops — tamarind, mangonada with chile-lime, coconut, fresh strawberry with real fruit chunks throughout. There's usually an aguas frescas cooler running alongside the ice cream case, and the prices make it easy to grab treats for a whole carload of kids without wincing at the total. It's a genuine taste of the International District's Mexican-American culture, not a novelty version of one.

8. Pink Pony Soft Serve — Near Menaul Blvd

Pink Pony is proof that a shop doesn't need square footage to earn a following. It's a tiny walk-up spot tucked around the corner from a Menaul-area strip mall — a handful of stools at the window, maybe a couple of chairs — and it does exactly one thing, soft serve, extremely well. The lines can get long on a hot evening, but the staff moves fast and the swirl comes out dense and properly cold rather than the watery version you get at some drive-thrus. It's a good reminder that in Albuquerque, some of the best treats come from the smallest storefronts.

 

Why This List Matters to Us

We didn't put this together because we're dessert critics — we put it together because these eight shops are part of what makes living in Albuquerque feel like living somewhere, rather than just occupying a zip code. A green chile ice cream flavor that only makes sense here, a family-run gelato counter that's been open since before some of our clients were born, a paleta cart that connects a neighborhood to its roots — that's the texture of a city, and it's the same texture we point out when we're driving buyers through Nob Hill, the International District, or the streets around Old Town. Homes don't exist in a vacuum, and neither does a good afternoon. If you're weighing a move to Albuquerque, or you already live here and just needed a reason to get out of the house this weekend, start with a scoop from one of these and work your way down the list. We'll be doing the same.

— The Sandi Pressley Team, Coldwell Banker Legacy

 

Quick Questions About Albuquerque Ice Cream & Gelato

What's the best ice cream shop in Albuquerque? There isn't one single answer — it depends on what you're after. Frost Gelato and Lil Mm Gelateria lead for authentic Italian-style gelato, Burque Licks and I Scream Ice Cream lead for creative, made-from-scratch flavors, and Olo Dessert Studio is the top pick if you want a build-your-own sundae experience.

Where can I get green chile ice cream in Albuquerque? Burque Licks in Nob Hill is the shop most associated with it right now — their Burque Butter Crunch pairs brown butter and toffee with Hatch green chile.

Is there real Italian gelato in Albuquerque? Yes — Frost Gelato (Uptown, with multiple locations around the city) and Lil Mm Gelateria (Copper Ave) both make gelato with imported Italian ingredients rather than just churning American-style ice cream and calling it gelato.

Where can I find paletas or Mexican-style ice cream in Albuquerque? La Michoacana De Paquime in the International District specializes in paletas, raspados, and aguas frescas alongside traditional Mexican-style ice cream flavors.

 

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