If you’re a fan of America’s top three favorite ice cream flavors, then you might also be a fan of Neopolitan Ice Cream. This staple ice cream flavor that we all grew up devouring features chocolate ice cream, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream side by side. It’s a tri-flavored tradition, the only real question being which do you eat first—the chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry ice cream? Or are you the type of person who likes a bite with all three flavors combined?

Whatever your preferred method of eating this sweet treat, there’s no doubt that Neopolitan Ice Cream is delicious. But just where did this iconic ice cream flavor come from? More importantly, why is it called Neopolitan Ice Cream?

Neapolitan Means “a Native or Inhabitant of Naples, Italy”

So does this mean our beloved Neopolitan Ice cream is always made across the pond in Naples? 

Not exactly.

The name Neopolitan, when referring to Neopolitan Ice cream, has more to do with the inspiration behind this particular flavor than it does with where the ice cream itself is made.

To understand where this ice cream flavor originated, it’s important to first understand that Italy is a place well-known for its ice cream and gelato. Some might even say that Italy is the historical birthplace of what we know today as modern ice cream. Because Italy was the epicenter of trade and therefore a place where ideas were frequently exchanged, Italian chefs were some of the first in the world to see ice cream as a worthwhile and exciting treat. Italy, therefore, was where many ice cream developments originated, including new ways of making ice cream and new recipes that would change the dessert forever!

Where Neopolitan Ice Cream Originated

In Naples, some clever culinary masters decided that they needed to create a new form of ice cream that would challenge the fast-paced and ever-changing world of fashion in Italy during the 19th century. Their solution was an ice cream treat that combined not only two flavors, but three. These chefs created Neopolitan ice cream which was introduced to the Italian public in the early 19th century.

The ice cream treat was made by combining three different flavors—most often chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry—into one block of ice cream. Although we all know and love this traditional flavor combination, Neapolitan ice cream can actually be a combination of any three flavors!

When immigrants to the United States arrived from Naples into the late 19th century, they brought some of their delicious ice cream recipes with them. Spumoni, a molded ice cream treat that contained three flavors of ice cream with nuts or fruits layered between each flavor, was introduced to America by these immigrants. While not exactly the Neopolitan ice cream most are familiar with today, this was the precursor to the widely known ice cream flavor sold in most stores.

Spumoni morphed into Neopolitan ice cream when the three most popular ice cream flavors in America were used to create the treat (minus the fruits and nuts, of course!)

When it comes to the history of popular ice cream flavors, there’s almost always an interesting story involved. For Neopolitan ice cream, the history is hinted at in the name itself, and it’s a treat we’re very happy was shared across the sea all the way from Naples, Italy.