MSU Dairy Store

Classic Big Ten agriculture dairy store with some great ice cream options. The store does draw a crowd, but the team is good at moving the line. There are a bunch of non-ice cream treats available as well.

Very good ice cream. Toffee latte flavor very scrumptious. Creamy ice cream with a great texture. Very nice cow plush too. Overall, very nice.

We love coming here to get some delicious ice cream on the weekends. They always have new seasonal flavors at the Dairy Store, and the fresh made waffle cones are SO good! There is usually a line, but it moves pretty fast.

Really good ice cream: tasty sweet, and you get plenty for your money. It's a popular place, so the lines can be long and the nearby parking can fill up. Students man the counter and register, but I've never received anything but friendly service.

Wolverine loves MSU dairy! I’m a U of M alum but that can’t stop me from loving great ice cream. I love coming here for the interesting flavors along with the classics. Definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area.

Tasty ice cream. I love that they make their own fresh waffle cones, It would be nice if the waffle cones didn't leak like crazy. My bf had to toss half of his due to the mess. A mini marshmallow would solve that issue.

I have been to Country Dairy, House of Flavors, Moomers and several other smaller ice cream places. This is by far the best ice cream I have ate in Michigan. I kid you not. It is creamy and incredibly delicious. It was so good that we went back again the same day. Twice in one day is unheard of for me. I used to work with ice cream. Frozen custard and I am familiar especially with Chocolate Shoppe out of Wisconsin. I know ice cream and I am highly critical. How it tastes, the consistency, the flavor, the quality and quantity of ingredients, all the way to if it has been exposed to heat for too long. It is a science. They have it! 5 stars all the way. One of the biggest failures for a store is if there is iced water in the ice cream, so for a store that had college students working it and not have any ice from scoops or the sides of the freezer is very well done, I applaud them! Don't forget to check out the observation deck

A must-visit ice cream+ store if you are visiting MSU campus! I had the Spartan Swirl milkshake (I believe this ice cream flavor used to be called the “Sesquicentennial Swirl” previously). It was really good! They also have a dozen other flavors and they are all good. During the academic year they also have soup during lunch! There is no seating inside so you just have to grab and go or eat/drink outside. No cash.

An agricultural university with its own dairy? This is one of your must visit spots if you are visiting MSU. They have ice cream by the scoop in addition to pints you can take home as well. They also have frozen meat for sale and these are some really good deals for some local meat. It does get busy so expect a line around lunch time or the evening. It's staffed with students so please be patient and don't be rude. It's an MSU affiliated storefront so expect a lot of Green, spartan helmets, and S's all over. This is the perfect place to unwind the days. Spartan Swirl ice cream is a must. I'm a sucker for cake ice cream.

Woah, this place is popular. We dropped in less than 15 minutes after opening and there was a line out the door. It took us about 25 minutes to make our way to the front and finally have a chance to eat some deliciously sweet ice cream. We were tempted to get the waffle cones, which were being made fresh off the iron, but we opted to get a double in a cup with the Buckeye Blitz and Izzo's Malted Madness. Double ($5.00) - We started with the Malted Madness on the top. The ice cream is creamy and exceptionally malty. We found the texture to be quite stretchy and almost a little gummy, like it's half way to being a mastic ice cream. Perhaps the malt interacts with the ice cream base to create this unique texture? We found the ice cream to be a bit too sweet for our tastes, and although we were promised chocolate covered malt balls mixed inside, we were unable to find any. There were a small number of ice crystals frozen inside the ice cream. Surprising, given the high turnover. (3/5) On the bottom, we had the Buckeye Blitz, which we found to be superior (sorry Tom!). The ice cream is exceptionally peanut buttery and absolutely loaded with mini peanut butter chocolate buckeyes. If you like peanut butter cups, you will love this ice cream. The ice cream texture here is more normal, being rich and creamy super premium with relatively low overrun, but still has a bit of that stretchiness. I'd be interested in seeing the ingredients list, because I feel like some of the texture is due to added stabilizers. The sweetness is a bit less than the Malted Madness but still too sweet for our tastes. Again, though, some mouthfuls had ice crystals embedded inside, which is not the greatest. (3/5) Overall MSU Dairy Store is an ice cream shop that doesn't don't do anything particularly well, at least for the two flavors we tried. It's still a good place to stop by if you're looking for a really sweet treat and can tolerate some iciness. Note they don't accept cash, and no longer offer the change-over tubs due to "allergy concerns." We saw the server using the same scoop for each ice cream flavor, so that was a bit confusing to us. Note: Parking is currently a bit complicated since the pay-by-plate lot in front is partially under construction and has very limited spots. Bathrooms: MSU Dairy Store is in an academic building and shares bathrooms with the students.

MSU Dairy never disappoints! I haven't been here in years but the quality has stayed the same! However they do rotating flavors every day and have significantly reduced the amount of flavors they offer. They no longer take cash here and there are no tables inside to sit at. There's only a bench and a picnic table outside. We got: - Spartan Swirl single scoop in a waffle cone - Coconut single scoop in a waffle cone - Mackinac island fudge and mint chocolate chip in a waffle cone - Cookie dough in single scoop The total was $16! MSU Dairy is so affordable and on one of my favorite ice cream places in Michigan.

The Dairy Store never disappoints!! I have loved every flavor I've ever tried. This time was Electric Espresso. I was a bit worried it would be too sweet, but it was perfect as always! The waffle cones made it even better.

Love MSU Dairy! Last time I went, I got the strawberry ice cream. So delicious. This was made with real strawberries and had the perfect ratio of ice cream to fruit. Their ice creams generally have a higher fat content than your average ice cream - making it a unique, delicious treat! This ice cream shop is also special because it's used by MSU to train and teach current and future dairy industry professionals using the latest technology. Lines can be long, though when I went, there was no wait. I got to sample as many ice cream flavors as I wanted before committing to a flavor. The vibe is casual. There is small, metered parking lot available. Great ice cream shop, will definitely be back!

Perfect summer day for ice cream and this place will form a line out the door. It wasn't too long, and it was nice to see other items that can be purchased in the shop. If you are here you gotta appreciate the school named ice creams. Of course that meant for me that I had to pick up the Spartan/sesquicentennial Swirl. I mean cake and ice cream combined in one that seems like it should be a given everywhere but it's not. I appreciate that the MSU Dairy Store recognizes this. It was very delicious but I do prefer more of a fruity and or nutty ice cream combination. I will have to come back and taste test at another time. I saw that they had waffle cones and the regular cake cones but I did not see sugar cones unless they ran out. I think the girl scooping might have been tired as she asked if I just wanted a mini instead of a single not wanting to scoop more.

Enjoyed a college tour and then went to the famous MSU Dairy Store. You can find it in the Animal Science building near the auspiciously named Meat Laboratory. I'd heard great things for many years and never made it over. We were disappointed to learn that all of their cheese was sold out by checking on their website. But we were able to enjoy the yummy ice cream. I worried about the $4 scoops, but they were huge. Somehow my lils convinced Mom to buy them 2 scoops of Cookie Monster and Mint Chocolate Chip, and the other had Cookie Monster and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. Our oldest and I had the Beaumont Bliss which was salted caramel with brownie chunks and fudge swirl. My wife had the Buckeye with peanut butter chunks. She liked hers and the oldest and I liked ours. They were quite good but there was a lot going on. When I sampled my son's Cookie dough I had buyer's remorse. It was fantastic. I usually love to just go with vanilla to measure against other places. Based on the vanilla in the Cookie Dough ice cream I would not have been disappointed. Sometimes simpler is better. Long ago, I had some ice cream at the Clemson equivalent of the MSU Dairy Store. They have their own similar agriculture programs and I marked it as some of the best ice cream I ever had. My small sample of the Cookie Dough puts MSU right up there. The original Ben and Jerry's probably still owns that category, but the freshness at MSU wins special consideration.

In my opinion this place is overrated. Their ice cream is good but the lines can be super long and slow. The building we wait in is not air conditioned so it gets super hot in the summer. The ice cream itself is good but not worth the wait.

I always appreciate this place has a vegan sorbet option. It's typically a raspberry sorbet and it's super smooth and delicious

Over-hyped ice cream. Over-hyped because it is local, just like brands such as Bell's watered-down ales. Ice cream isn't horrible, but it is really nothing special, and the flavors remind you of Blue Bunny. Things like cheap oreos and blue food coloring. The worst part is that they do not accept cash. They are anti-privacy.

Super friendly service! Happy to share samples and smiles. I thoroughly enjoyed the toasted coconut almond. Kudos to the staff for being the best part of the visit.

While visiting last month - this was the ONE place I wanted to visit. I mean who doesn't love fresh ice cream even when it is the middle of January. Admittedly with the windchill it was probably in the teens but that did not stop this intrepid Yelper for dragging (not kicking and screaming) her husband to one of MSU's food havens. It was definately worth the walk and cold weather for some of the freshest ice cream around. The flavors are a play on the university, its more prominent locations and faculty (hello Coach Izzo) and you can't beat it when the milk is coming from the other side of the building. I got the classic MSU flavor - Spratan - green and bold like the school colors. Pretty tasty and what was great was it was so cold back on the walk to our room that I actually had time to enjoy it. I won't kid you - you will not find low fat ice cream or yogurt at the MSU dairy story but isn't that what good ice cream is made of???

Took the kiddos for a quick trip to check out MSU's campus and vibe... This is a MUST DO when in East Lansing! I could tell it's a special place, too, because generations of Spartans were getting their ice cream "on"here... Delicious ice cream... will definitely stop when the weather warms up again. Yum!

We'd heard a lot about the Dairy Store and knew we needed to check it out! It's a small space with a small front parking area (though there is more available around back). The line easily looped around the room and out the front door of the building. They offer additional products, such as cheeses, in cases around the wall as you wait to get to the case of the good stuff! We also found some tasty looking ice cream sandwiches in the freezer case and opted for one. The sign indicated that the cookies were from their bakery. We couldn't resist trying out the Mountain Moo - it was seriously bright green and tasty. There are some benches available out front of the building too, and we were fortunate to be there in pleasant weather to enjoy.

I think I've eaten more ice cream this summer than any other in my life, and it's not even technically summer yet! But you can't skip a visit to the MSU Dairy Store when visiting East Lansing; that's the rules and I don't make them. Nate and I stopped in for a scoop of Sesquicentennial Swirl, although it's called "Spartan Swirl" now - it's cake batter ice cream with frosting and cake pieces. It's been my favorite since 2005 and I will be devastated if they ever discontinue it. Nate was bummed that they didn't have his favorite black cherry, but he got the strawberry cheesecake instead. It was super decadent and rich, maybe even a little too rich - a smaller portion would have sufficed. I had to have the green waffle cone - yes, I did it for the 'gram. It's just so photogenic with the green swirls of the ice cream. The single scoop is really two huge scoops, so you may want to share or get a kid's cone. They also sell cups of mac and cheese, which I've never had but that seems like a huge oversight on my part. I definitely will be getting some next time. You can buy cheese at this store as well as pints or quarts of ice cream to take home. Oh and they have an ice cream cart that you can rent for events! There's not a ton of places to enjoy your treats on site, so we just took our cones on a walk to the Comm Arts building around to corner to reminisce about our time there while attending MSU approximately 1,000 years ago.

When on campus, grab the Spartan Swirl or the Cookie Monster-comes with green waffle cones! Yummay! The waffle cone tasted fresh and not hard/brittle. Plenty of options to choose from and I'm assuming they're all just as good as what we got!

One of the best ice cream shops I've ever been anywhere. First time we went I only ordered one scoop because the portion was huge! I also got it on the green waffle cone! I love the fact that the flavors are not overly sweet at all. Very fresh, a lot of flavors and clean. Sometimes if you go a little later during the day they might run out of a flavor. You can't beat the price as well. Lines are always long but it goes by super quick. Worth the wait! One of the places to stop by during a nice Summer evening or Winter(if you love ice cream lol).

What a treat! I'm glad I didn't attend MSU because I would've gone to the Dairy Store EVERY DAY. Some of our alum friends were showing us around campus & we stopped in! So why is there a Dairy Store on campus? Per their website, its because dairy manufacturing has a long tradition at MSU! They have a whole Dairy Foods complex outfitted with a processing plant and all - really to teach courses and conduct research etc. It was pretty busy on a Saturday but the line moved! I had the peanut butter wave milkshake (Dark Chocolate ice cream with peanut butter swirl -- $6). The person working kindly split it into two cups for us! It was super rich and decadent. FYI - they use Reddi-wip here! My husband had the Spartan Swirl (Cake batter ice cream with a green frosting swirl and green cake pieces). Very good but very decadent! They also had hot mac & cheese as well as blocks of cheese for sale. What a fun campus treat! Parking was out front & free.

Always amazingly good! Celebrating National Ice Cream Day @MSUDairy! With two of my favorite flavors.

Ice cream to die for. Every flavor we tried was unique and delicious. Be prepared for a long line but it's worth it. Parking in short supply but again, worth the struggle.

Stopped in for ice cream before a show at the Wharton Center. I just found out about this place. It appears clean and staff were attentive and polite. I didn't get pics, cause I was managing a few people. I tried the Spartan flavor (cake batter and frosting), it was good but very sweet. I ended up with the Beaumont flavor; my husband got peppermint and the malt ball; and my mother-in-law got the malt ball. All flavors were great and we'd totally go again!!! We went in December, so we didn't sit outside in the show. It would have nice to have some indoor seating. They also sell soup and Mac & cheese.

We really enjoy the dairy and look forward to coming here as a family a couple times a year to get some sweet treats. Since we are living through some tough times, I am especially grateful that the dairy is still open to customers, and has a great new modified means to get your treats. You must order online, they do not take credit card payments over the phone. On the other hand, their site is so user friendly! You pick out what you want, then call their number and they bring your treats directly to your car! We were able to get two single scoops of their classic ice cream in a cup and two cookie ice cream sandwiches. They have great prices as well! A family of four only cost us $13! The single scoops are $3 and the sandwiches are $3.50. These are better prices than your name brand stores, yet fresher with great ingredients. The cups come sealed, and they bring out spoons sealed in plastic. I do not believe you can get a cone right now. When we normally come here, I do love to indulge in their house made waffle cones. They are amazing. And double scoops are usually also a great price. You can't go wrong with any of their flavors! But for now, I believe they have a limited menu. All of our favorites were on the menu, so they must be the most popular! They also sell their cheese and other packaged goodies online to be delivered to your car. Check out the web site, it is very easy to navigate. I really look forward to coming back and being able to walk around the campus and heading to the student union for a cone when things are back and open.

Some of the best ice cream I've ever eaten. You need to get the waffle cone. It has this perfect chewy crunch to it. Spartan Swirl was my favorite flavor. Worth the long line.

My team is out here in Lansing for two months and we FINALLY had the chance to check out the dairy store. My coworker had been talking it up since the end of spring 2019 so my body was ready. After work we had a great, but rushed, dinner and called an Uber to get to the store right before they closed at 8. (Props to Jacob our Uber driver.) The poor ice cream workers looked crestfallen as me and my 3 colleagues dashed into the store right before closing, but they were so helpful and nice even though we came close to closing time. Hopefully we conveyed how stoked we were about the ice cream. The guy helping me was nice enough to let me try 3 flavors - blue berry pie (seasonal), lemon custard (seasonal), and strawberry cheesecake. All were delicious but no way I was eating 3 scoops of ice cream after a massive dinner, so I got only 2. They were yuge, but I wasn't about to let a cow down. So we took our ice cream to the observation deck and looked out the area where the magic happens. We also watched a very informative video about how ice cream was made. Then we walked the halls and looked at the students' science research which was also very informative. All in all, if you're looking for some solid ice cream and a cool experience (literally, hehe) check out MSU Dairy Store! But don't be like us and come right before they close. Shout out to the closing team tonight and thanks for being so great!

Msu dairy is amazing. I love how fresh the ice cream always tastes and how it's so authentic to MSU. It's always busy in the summer (during COVID I haven't had a chance to stop by) but I have consistently heard good things since they opened again.

This ice cream at the Dairy Store is wonderful! There is none better at commercial ice cream stores. We stopped on a warm (not hot) summer day and ordered waffle cones filled with a featured ice cream. As we enjoyed it we noticed that the ice cream was melting quickly and dripping out of the cones and onto clothing and hands and arms!! We did our best to finish, a little worried that as seniors we had forgotten how to manage an ice cream cone. It wasn't until later that we remembered that the servers were MAKING waffle cones as they served them and the cones were warm when the ice cream was added! Whew.. mystery solved!

Went there on a very hot summer day. Awesome Icecream, and great staff (students). Must be something in the dairy! I would totally recommend on a hot day on campus at MSU.

Big scoops for 4$ Best value Best ice cream Sometimes line is long which sucks but that's the price of besting the best

Great ice cream and great service! Friendly staff helped scoop my ice cream and their menu was very large.

Best ice cream in town. My favorite is the Spartan Swirl. Also really tasty are the grilled cheese Sammies.

Yum. That's all I need to say y'all. Sesquicentennial Swirl will always reign supreme in my book. But I was a student. I enjoyed grabbing lunch here and now as an adult being able to take my kiddos for a fun afternoon really brings the experience full circle.

Wow this place is good!! The ice cream is incredible, the shop is adorable, and the staff is so nice!! I highly recommend the Oreo Cheesecake!

Would give more stars if I could. Best place ever to get ice cream, cheese, milkshakes, etc. so glad they're open now! They're holiday and season drinks are to die for

My brother-in-law gets ice cream from here all the time. Massive cartons for pretty cheap.

This place is soooo good! They change flavors regularly, so I recommend looking on their Instagram for the flavors each week. It is a little frustrating that they aren't open during the first part of the week, but they make up for it with stellar ice cream. My flavor recommendation: sea salt caramel.

Having just visited University of Wisconsin, and now touring MSU, we had to see which ice cream was the Big Ten winner. While I really enjoyed the MSU dairy store flavor choices and texture, the creaminess of UW Madison ice cream was just better. And the view a lot better. So I'd say this is a solid 4 star but not quite as good. Sorry Spartans.

The Special Cheese is here! And Ice Cream! MSU is a land grant institution with an agricultural school that invented its own cheese. And then Sesquicentennial Spartan ice cream is outstanding. A must visit when your on the MSU campus.

AMAZING love supporting local and MSU. this is where I want my money going -- supporting education and entrepreneurship!!!! so yummy

Even on a cold day, the MSU Dairy Store is a must. I had not been in the Union location before and I really wish it existed when I went to State. Either way, I just like to get a scoop of a couple flavors and mix them together. The Izzo and cookie dough was money. This will always be one of my favorite ice cream shops ever. If you're visiting EL and wonder what is on the list of things to do in one day, this HAS to be on it (along with Crunchys, walking down the Red Cedar and lying around by the admin building listening to the river, among many other things of course).

MSU Dairy Store is a staple if you're visiting Michigan State for the first time (or the 100th time!) They have a ton of choices and offer other products to purchase (CHEESE!) The ice cream is creamy and chocked full of delicious flavors. As an alumni, I have to recommended the Sesquicentennial Swirl, however my absolute favorite is the Buckeye Blitz! I have heard great things about the Izzo and Dantonio ice creams as well! Overall, this is a wonderful place, but it can get busy! I recommend going earlier in the day. They are currently only doing curbside pick-ups!

Such good ice cream and such good prices for how much ice cream you get. Coldstone is bottom tier compared to this ice cream. You cant beat the price with this level of quality.

I love this place! It's awesome. And they had a grand closing a while ago. They still sell huge containers of commercial quality ice cream called seconds.

Great freshly made ice cream and cheeses. It is a must stop when visiting campus. Grab an ice cream cone and walk around the beautiful campus.

The Dairy Store on MSU campus should definitely be on your list of sweet treats in the Lansing area. I'd definitely have to say this is probably the best ice cream I've ever had. I quickly learned why the line is out the door and there's mostly standing room inside the location. I decided on the blueberry cream pie in a cup for my selection. Let's just say every last bite was devoured and fully enjoyed. The flavors are unique and fresh. They also have a small selection of food items, although I think the ice cream is definitely the reason to come. Prices are pretty cheap compared to most other places and chain ice cream stores. There is a small parking lot located right outside. Overall, make the trek, stop by the dairy store and be prepared to leave with a smile!

Everything is good, can't go wrong. Ice cream to the grilled cheese sandwiches. Yum!!!

Always have the best quality dairy! Highly recommend... The flavors change and there is always something nee to try.

One of my all-time favorite ice cream shops. Excellent selection, great flavors and fun staff

This is quite literally the best ice cream you'll ever have. Everything is made on the spot, and the product is so rich I've been told it can't be commercially available outside of the university! Regardless, it's easily worth the drive- wherever your origin. And this is a Michigan kid saying this

One of my absolute favorite places - I love stopping here for unique ice cream flavors and bringing folks that haven't yet been exposed to its goodness. I love their B1G line up of flavors. It's also cool to go in the back and watch them work when they are in production. The MSU Dairy Store has pre-packed ice cream, cheese, and cheese curds. The main attraction is hand dipped ice cream of many flavors that is full fat and full delicious. You can get it scooped into a cup, cake cone, sugar cone, or waffle cone. They also have some shakes and smoothies. This is a great place to introduce future Spartans to the wonders of East Lansing!

If you want really good ice cream with a gazillion choices this is the place. Parking is a problem