If you like ice cream but don’t want to (or can’t) have dairy, vegan ice cream is a dessert necessity. The Sporked team sidled up to the tasting table and tried such a wide variety of dairy-free ice creams that I now consider myself an expert on the subject. We sampled every base, mix-in, and flavor you can think of.
The goal was to find some completely animal product-free ice creams that channel the decadence of classic ice cream. It was also important to me to suss out the ideal base for frozen vegan desserts. After extensive testing, these are our (very delicious) findings.
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- Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert
If you’re looking for a vegan ice cream that could fool even the biggest dairy lovers, look no further than Ben & Jerry’s Non-Dairy Phish Food Frozen Dessert. This tastes so shockingly close to Ben & Jerry’s regular Phish Food that I was shaken to my core. It’s creamy and chocolatey and there are plenty of mix-ins. In all honesty, this ice cream has no flaws and I wouldn’t change a thing. Good job, Ben and Jerry!
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Target
- Black Tea and Boba Coconut Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert
We tasted and reviewed this ice cream when it came out earlier this year and we were all blown away by it. Now I buy this Black Tea and Boba Coconut Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert every time I go to Trader Joe’s. The ice cream tastes exactly like milk tea. The boba is somehow chewy and not hard or frozen. There’s some kind of sticky, caramel-y swirl. All of these components come together harmoniously to make one of the most delicious ice creams I’ve ever tasted. Go buy this!
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Trader Joe’s
- Cado Deep Dark Chocolate Non-Dairy Avocado Frozen Dessert
This chocolate ice cream is truly deep and dark, just like the name promises. It’s smooth, creamy, and rich. It tastes like it’s made with full-fat dairy and there’s no weird aftertaste. It’s just 100% pure chocolate deliciousness. Some of Cado’s other flavors were not good, but they knocked it out of the park with Deep Dark Chocolate. Who knew chocolate avocado ice cream could be so good?
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Target
- So Delicious Dairy Free Salted Caramel Cluster Frozen Dessert
So Delicious makes such good vegan ice cream products and I recommend trying every single one of them. Their cashewmilk-based Salted Caramel Cluster tops my list, though. The light coconut flavor pairs wonderfully with the caramel and cashew. But it’s not so coconut-y that it overpowers the other flavors in the mix. It’s sweet, but not too sweet. It’s crazy creamy. This is such a balanced ice cream and a real palate pleaser. Get this and thank me later!
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Target
- Alden Organic Dairy Free Double Strawberry Frozen Dessert
Alden’s Organic Dairy Free Double Strawberry Frozen Dessert is the best strawberry ice cream I’ve tasted—like, ever. It was as good as if not better than pretty many of the strawberry ice creams we tasted in our regular dairy strawberry ice cream taste test. It’s jam-packed with strawberries, it’s super creamy, and it’s very delicious. I would opt for this over even the fanciest dairy-based strawberry ice creams. It’s really that good.
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Instacart
- So Delicious Dairy Free Chocolate Cookies ‘n’ Cream Frozen Dessert
I’ll say it again: So Delicious makes some of the best ice cream out there (dairy-based brands included). This Chocolate Cookies ‘n’ Cream flavor is so perfectly chocolatey. The cookies are soft but not too soft. It’s way better than regular cookies and cream. The chocolatey base makes me wonder why I haven’t been dipping my Oreos in chocolate milk instead of regular milk my entire life. This ice cream is not only a delicious dessert but an important reminder that we should all be consuming more chocolate milk.
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Target
- WildGood Caramelized Fig Frozen Dessert
WildGood Caramelized Fig Frozen Dessert tastes exactly like fresh figs sauteed with brown sugar and butter and poured over creamy vanilla ice cream. It’s such an elevated ice cream flavor that makes you feel sophisticated when you eat it. It might not be for everyone because the texture is a little chewy, much like a fig. But I love figs and I loved this ice cream. The unique flavor is incredible and I will be incorporating it into my dessert repertoire.
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Instacart
- Planet Oat Blueberry Oat Crumble Oatmilk Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert
Planet Oat Blueberry Oat Crumble Oatmilk Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert was such a surprise! I’m not even that into fruit and I was obsessed with this ice cream. There are big pieces of oat crumble in the mix that make this taste like an actual blueberry crumble. The oatmilk base pairs well with the crumble flavor without just tasting like oats. I ended up bringing home this pint of ice cream and snacking on it for the rest of the week.
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Instacart
- 365 Berry Chantilly Cake Almondmilk Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert
If you’re a fruity, light, vanilla-y dessert person, grab a pint of this. The 365 by Whole Foods Berry Chantilly Cake Almondmilk Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert is like the most beautiful bakery cake you’ve ever tasted in ice cream form. I don’t even like fruity desserts (chocolate or death, imo), but I thought this was spectacular. It tastes exactly like berry chantilly cake! And even though it’s cake themed, it’s gluten-free!
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Amazon
- So Delicious Dairy Free Vanilla Bean Frozen Dessert
So Delicious does it again! They had the best vanilla ice cream we tried during this taste test. It’s super creamy and not watery at all, which plant-based ice creams can often be. There’s a very light coconut taste that compliments the vanilla. It has actual, visible vanilla beans speckled throughout the base. This would be so delicious (sorry) scooped on top of a chocolate brownie or doused with piping hot fudge.
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Target
Best of the Best
Best Unique
Best Chocolate
Best Mix-Ins
Best Strawberry
Best Cookies & Cream
Best Elevated
Best Unique (Runner-Up)
Best Fancy
Best Vanilla
Other Products We Tried: So Delicious Dairy Free Coconut Milk Frozen Dessert, Chocolate; So Delicious Dairy Free Vanilla Bean Coconut Milk Frozen Dessert; Oatly Vanilla Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert; Oatly Chocolate Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert; Must Love Bananas Cashew Cookie Dough Frozen Dessert; Wildgood Pistachio Frozen Dessert; Mauna Loa Rocky Road To Hana Macadamia Milk Frozen Dessert; Cosmic Bliss Organic Dark Chocolate Frozen Dessert 365 by Whole Foods Market Non-dairy Frozen Dessert, Almondmilk – Mint Chocolate Chip; 365 by Whole Foods Market Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert, Almondmilk – Vanilla Bean; 365 by Whole Foods Market Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert, Almondmilk – Berry Chantilly Cake; Forager Project Organic Vanilla Bean Dairy Free Cashewmilk Frozen Dessert; NadaMoo! Pistachio Nut Frozen Dessert NadaMoo!; Organic Mint Chip Dairy-Free Frozen Dessert; NadaMoo! Organic Cookies & Cream Dairy-Free Frozen Dessert; Cado Non-Dairy Avocado Frozen Dessert Mint Chocolate Chip; Van Leeuwen Sicilian Pistachio Non Dairy Frozen Dessert; Van Leeuwen Oat Milk Brown Sugar Chunk with Cookie Dough Brownies & Candied Oat Clusters Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert; Breyers Non-Dairy Cookies & Crème Frozen Dessert; Trader Joe’s Strawberry Non-Dairy Oat Frozen Dessert; NadaMoo! Organic Vanilla Bean Dairy-Free Frozen Dessert, Oatly Mint Chip Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert
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The black tea boba ice cream from TJ’s is so well executed! The salted caramel bars and ice cream sandwiches from So Delicious are my ultimate go to for ice cream tho. I’ve been wanting to try the Kind ice cream bars, people say they are like a healthier vegan version of a Snickers ice cream bar.
We need to see Jasper,Jade, and Barbara sample puppy ice cream and see which one they love the most. Ben and Jerry’s has their own flavors for dogs and I bet they wouldn’t be horrible for human consumption.
We need to see Jasper,Jade, and Barbara sample puppy ice cream and see which one they love the most. Ben and Jerry’s has their own flavors for dogs and I bet they wouldn’t be horrible for human consumption either. Not that I have ever tried to eat pups-cream.
Just tried the SoDelicious Wondermilk Chocolate Chocolate Chip. Life changing!!! Most Vegan Ice Cream tends to be too Coconut flavored or the texture is off, this is the closest I’ve found to real Ice Cream, in flavor and in texture. Yummy.
Thank you so much for doing some Vegan/non-dairy lists! I really need to try that Cado avocado ice cream.
Awesome list, I wish more than one were available in my country. However, I don’t see So Delicious Oatmilk frozen desserts. The vanilla bean flavor is fantastic!
Nada Moo is one of my favorites! I love their cookies and cream flavor. They are local to Austin, TX (they have a scoop shop downtown) but have expanded to sell their pints all over the country in grocery stores!