Craving something sweet near a St. Paul park? The best dessert food trucks St. Paul MN currently lists are Spoonful, an Asian-inspired dessert truck serving ice cream in coconut shells, and 9 Yum Yum Ice Cream, a seasonal ice cream truck.
Spoonful ranks first because it has a published menu, an address, weekly hours and a public rating. 9 Yum Yum ranks second as the clearest ice cream truck serving the city. Our hub on dessert food truck minneapolis and St. Paul options covers both cities, while this list stays on the St. Paul side.
What counts as best on this list
Dessert trucks are a small slice of the St. Paul food truck scene. The savory trucks Visit Saint Paul highlights, such as a brick-oven pizza bus and a hibachi truck, outnumber the sweet ones. That makes clear criteria more useful than a long, loosely ranked roundup. Each truck here is judged on the following points.
- Dessert focus. Sweets are the main product, not a side item on a savory menu.
- St. Paul connection. The truck is listed as based in St. Paul or as serving the city.
- Published menu. Flavors or items are named publicly, so you know what you are walking up to.
- Listed schedule. Hours or an operating season are available, which separates a truck you can plan around from one you can only hope to run into.
- Public rating. A rating counts where one exists, but it is a signal rather than a verdict when the review count is small.
Spoonful meets every one of these points. 9 Yum Yum meets the dessert, location and season points, but not a published flavor list or a rating, which is why it sits second.
The dessert trucks at a glance
The table below puts the two trucks side by side on the details that decide a visit.
| Truck | What it is | Where and when | Planning use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spoonful | Asian-inspired dessert business, run as a food truck and a pop-up | Listed at 1590 White Bear Ave, Saint Paul, MN 55106; Tue-Fri 11 am-7 pm, Sat 12-7 pm, closed Sun and Mon | Best for a planned weekday or Saturday dessert trip |
| 9 Yum Yum Ice Cream | Ice cream food truck serving Saint Paul and surrounding areas | Community events across the Twin Cities, April to November | Best for summer events and neighborhood gatherings |
Figures come from the Spoonful MapQuest listing and the 9 Yum Yum Ice Cream truck listing.
1. Spoonful: ice cream in coconut shells
Spoonful is an Asian-inspired dessert business that operates as both a food truck and a pop-up location, according to its MapQuest listing. The same listing gives a Saint Paul address on White Bear Ave and names its signature item: ice cream served in coconut shells, in coconut, ube and pandan flavors. Chicken wings and egg rolls are also on the menu. That makes it a sensible stop for a group that wants a savory bite alongside the sweet one.
The listed hours run Tuesday to Friday from 11 am to 7 pm and Saturday from 12 to 7 pm. It is closed Sunday and Monday. The same page shows a 4.4 rating from 6 reviews, which is encouraging but rests on a small number of voices.
Who it suits (Spoonful)
Spoonful suits anyone who wants a dessert that looks and tastes different from a standard scoop. Ube and pandan are a good fit for adventurous eaters, and the coconut flavor is the gentler entry point. The coconut-shell presentation also makes it a natural pick for photos.
Limits to know (Spoonful)
Because Spoonful works as both a truck and a pop-up, the White Bear Ave address is the listing to start from rather than a guarantee of where the window will be on a given day. Anyone planning a Sunday or Monday outing needs a different option, since those days are listed as closed. No prices appear in the listing, so budget on the spot rather than in advance.
2. 9 Yum Yum Ice Cream: the seasonal ice cream truck
9 Yum Yum Ice Cream is an ice cream food truck serving Saint Paul and surrounding areas, according to its food truck listing. It answers the question of whether ice cream trucks serve St. Paul: yes, and this one is explicitly tied to the city. The truck says it can be found at community events across the Twin Cities from April to November.
Who it suits (9 Yum Yum Ice Cream)
This truck suits families, block parties and community gatherings in the warm months. Its event-based pattern fits a Saturday in a park or a neighborhood celebration better than a spontaneous midweek craving.
Limits to know (9 Yum Yum Ice Cream)
An event-based truck has no fixed storefront to visit, so you find it by following where it is announced. The April to November window also means it is a warm-season choice. If the goal is a truck at your own party rather than a walk-up stop, how to book a dessert food truck explains how that arrangement works.
Where sweet trucks park in St. Paul
Visit Saint Paul says food trucks in the city are found near area parks or perched in random spots around the city throughout the week. That is the honest picture for dessert trucks too: there is no single dessert row, and the pattern is loose rather than fixed. The same page notes that trucks also serve at breweries throughout Saint Paul, which makes a brewery stop a reasonable place to look for a sweet finish.
Some trucks do keep a regular base. Black Market StP, for example, posts up in the parking lot at the corner of Cherokee and Smith avenues, at the West Side end of the High Bridge, per the Visit Saint Paul listing. Trucks like Spoonful, whose listing shows an address, fall in the same category.
Visiting the other city instead? Where to find dessert food trucks in Minneapolis covers its locations and schedules, which differ from the St. Paul pattern.
Savory trucks to pair with dessert
If your group wants a meal before the sweet course, Visit Saint Paul’s list has options that do not compete with the dessert trucks. Brick Oven Bus built a massive brick oven inside a former school bus and serves pies. Hibachi Daruma offers a choice of chicken, shrimp or teriyaki beef, each served with veggie fried rice and hibachi vegetables.
These are mains, not desserts, so treat them as the first half of an outing. They are listed as separate trucks, so check each one’s location before assuming they share a lot with a dessert truck.
A quick checklist for choosing
- Check the day first. Spoonful works Tuesday to Saturday. 9 Yum Yum depends on event dates in its April to November season.
- Decide how adventurous to be. Pick Spoonful for ube or pandan. Pick the ice cream truck for a familiar cone.
- Choose walk-up or hosted. A standing address suits a spontaneous trip. An event-based truck is the stronger candidate for a gathering you are organizing.
- Add a savory stop if needed. Hunger for a full meal points to Spoonful’s wings and egg rolls, or one of the savory trucks above.
Frequently asked questions
Is Spoonful a truck or a fixed shop?
It operates as both a food truck and a pop-up location, with a Saint Paul address on White Bear Ave in its listing.
Do ice cream trucks run in St. Paul during winter?
9 Yum Yum lists community events from April to November, so the colder months fall outside its stated season.
Is a 4.4 rating enough to call a truck the best?
Not on its own. Spoonful’s 4.4 on MapQuest comes from 6 reviews, so it is a positive sign but a small sample. Menu, hours and fit for your plans matter as much.
