The Wicked Vice That Isn't So Evil:
Nondairy Ice Cream

People choose nondairy ice cream more often than ever now, for a variety of reasons. Some have decided to give up animal products and want to see what the vegan ice cream world holds for them, others have discovered a dairy allergy, many want a more healthful alternative to cow's milk ice cream, and some are just curious.

The more the merrier, and whatever brings them to our section of the freezer aisle works for me! In the 1990s, dairy-free ice cream was almost always made with soy milk and it typically had a grainy texture and a mouth feel that was nothing like "real" ice cream.

Now, you can find nondairy ice cream made with almond milk, coconut milk, rice milk, and greatly improved soy milks, all in normal grocery stores. Find a specialty store and you'll find even more types, including cashew and hemp milk varieties and dozens of sorbets. 

To give you some guidance on the best brands, I put together this list of some of the most common types of nondairy ice creams available in most stores. And please, if you have other favorites, comment below to help people find more options. 

Larry & Luna's Coconut Bliss

I have to start with the best... Larry and Luna's Coconut Bliss is absolutely one of my favorite nondairy ice creams that we can buy in stores. It's made with coconut milk and has a phenomenally creamy texture and a nice array of flavors. Their dairy-free ice cream is also free of soy and gluten, which is amazing for people with allergies and food preferences.

As the first big brand I recommend to people who want to try vegan ice cream for the first time, I have to honor it first on our list.

Larry and Luna's Flavors:

• Cappuccino
• Cherry Amaretto
• Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge
• Chocolate Peanut Butter
• Chocolate Walnut Brownie
• Dark Chocolate
• Ginger Cookie Caramel
• Lunaberry Swirl
• Mint Galactica
• Mocha Maca Crunch
• Naked Almond Fudge
• Pineapple Coconut
• Vanilla Island

When I pick ice cream, I tend towards the fruity flavors, and theirs are good. But, because the coconut milk gives it such a creamy texture, you really have to go with a good creamy or chocolatey version when you try their brand.

They also have two bars; naked coconut and dark chocolate. The dark chocolate bar reminds me of fudgesicles from my childhood. 

Turtle Mountain: Makers of Soy Delicious, So Delicious, and Purely Decadent

Turtle Mountain is a mammoth, behemoth maker of vegan nondairy ice creams. Over the years they've evolved their flavors and textures and have honed in on customer favorites. You can typically find the same flavors in either the coconut, soy, or almond milk bases, which helps people with allergies and food preferences. 

They changed their brand name from Soy Delicious to So Delicious in the early 2000s and they consistently get rave reviews and ratings from people who are new to vegan ice cream. While you might have favorites amongst some of the smaller boutique ice cream makers, it's really cool that most stores will carry at least one of Turtle Mountain's brands.

Oh and p.s. you can usually score a coupon or two by jumping over to their website and/or liking their facebook page. 

So Delicious Soy Milk Quart Flavors:

• Chocolate Peanut Butter
• Chocolate Velvet
• Creamy Vanilla
• Mint Marble Fudge
• Mocha Fudge
• Neapolitan

The favorite flavor seems to be chocolate peanut butter. We love how smooth and creamy the mix is, and how the peanut butter tastes like freshly ground peanuts. 

So Delicious Coconut Milk Flavors in Pints:

• Cherry Amaretto
• Chocolate 
• Chocolate with no sugar added
• Chocolate Brownie
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl
• Coconut 
• Coconut Almond Chip
• Cookie Dough (gluten-free)
• Cookies-n-Cream
• German Chocolate
• Green Tea
• Mint Chip
• Mint Chip with no sugar added
• Mocha Almond Fudge 
• Passionate Mango 
• Pecan (no sugar added)
• Pomegranate Chip
• Toasted Almond Chip (no sugar added)
• Turtle Trails
• Vanilla Bean 
• Vanilla Bean with no sugar added

I've had a good number of these flavors, and all have had the amazingly soft and creamy texture of coconut milk ice cream. Some I find to be slightly too sweet (although I admittedly don't have a huge sweet tooth). Ice cream preferences are so subjective that I don't think it's fair to say one is better than the other. Try for yourself!

So Delicious Almond Milk Ice Cream in Pints:

• Butter Pecan
• Cherry Amaretto
• Chocolate
• Cookies-n-Cream
• Mint Chip
• Mocha Almond Fudge
• Vanilla

There are several other nondairy ice cream novelties like ice cream sandwiches and bars made with either coconut milk, almond milk, or soy milk:

So Delicious Ice Cream Novelties with Coconut Milk:

• Minis Coconut Almond Bars
• Minis No Sugar Added Fudge Bars
• Minis No Sugar Added Vanilla Bars
• Minis Vanilla Bars
• Banana Split Minis Sandwich (LOVE these!)
• Chocolate Almond Minis Sandwich
• Coconut Minis Sandwich
• Minis Organic Fudge Bars

So Delicious Novelties with Soy Milk:

• Creamy Fudge Bar (organic)
• Neapolitan Sandwich (organic)
• Vanilla Sandwich (organic)
• Kidz Assorted Fruit Pops
• Fudge Bar (Multipack, Sugar Free)
• Sweet Nothings Fudge Bar (Single or Multipack)
• Sweet Nothings Mango Raspberry Bar

So Delicious Novelties with Almond Milk:

• Mocha Almond Fudge Bar Minis
• Vanilla Bar Minis
• Mini Vanilla Sandwiches

The other nondairy ice cream brand also made by Turtle Mountain is Purely Decadent. These soy milk based ice creams are typically higher in fat, hence the decadence. We all know how that goes though, and this brand lives up to the expectation. It's delicious!

Purely Decadent Pint Flavors:

• Chocolate Obsession
• Cookie Avalanche
• Cookie Dough (Gluten Free)
• Mint Chocolate Chip
• Mocha Almond Fudge
• Peanut Butter Zig Zag
• Pomegranate Chip
• Purely Vanilla
• Turtle Trails

Purely Decadent Novelties:

• Creamy Fudge Bars
• Mini Neapolitan Sandwiches
• Mini Vanilla Sandwiches

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Taste the Dream:
Rice Dream, Soy Dream, and Almond Dream

Taste the Dream also makes their vegan ice creams with either rice milk, soy milk, or coconut milk. They are all made without refined sweeteners, lactose, trans fats, and they are obviously dairy-free.

People tend to say that Taste the Dream's nondairy ice creams are more likely to give them gas, and have a slightly "off" texture, although they have worked hard to improve the texture in recent years. 

Rice Dream pint flavors:

• Cocoa Marble Fudge
• Cookies 'n Dream
• Mint Carob Chip
• Neapolitan
• Strawberry
• Vanilla

Rice Dream Novelties:

• Chocolate Nutty Bars
• Vanilla Nutty Bars
• Vanilla Bars with Chocolate Coating
• Vanilla Frozen Pies
• Chocolate Frozen Pies
• Mocha Frozen Pies
• Mint Chocolate Frozen Pies
• Rice Dream Bites

Soy Dream pint flavors:

• Butter Pecan
• Chocolate Fudge Brownie
• French Vanilla
• Vanilla Fudge
• Vanilla

Soy Dream Novelties:

• Soy Dream Vanilla Lil´ Dreamers

Almond Dream Pints:

• Vanilla
• Chocolate
• Praline Crunch
• Cappuccino Swirl

Almond Dream Novelties:

• Chocolate Bites
• Vanilla Bites

Although I appreciate Taste the Dream making the Almond Dream line of nondairy ice cream, the ones I've tried have been so cloyingly sweet as to be inedible for me. My husband ate them and enjoyed the flavor, but I couldn't finish my serving.

Tofutti

Tofutti is also a big-name nondairy ice cream maker. In the past, not all their products were fully vegan though, so make sure to read the ingredients. Evidently they focus more on making products for lactose-intolerant people than for vegans.

Tofutti was one of the first brands on the vegan ice cream market and I honestly think they developed a bit of a bad reputation back then. I know they were one of the first ones I tried and I was really disappointed, so I haven't come back. That's probably not fair as they've made strides in the texture department.

Tofutti flavors in pints:

• Vanilla
• Chocolate Supreme
• Wild Berry Supreme
• Almond Bark
• Vanilla Fudge
• Chocolate Cookie Crunch
• Better Pecan

Tofutti Cutie Flavors:

• Vanilla
• Chocolate
• Key Lime Pie
• Mint Chocolate Chip
• Wild Berry
• Cookies 'N Cream
• Totally Vanilla

Tofutti Cones:

• Yours Truly Vanilla
• Yours Truly Caramel Sundae
• Yours Truly Triple Chocolate Happiness

Tofutti Novelty Bars:

• Black Gold
• Cafe Latte
• Chocolate Covered Flowers
• Chocolate Fudge Treats
• Coffee Break Treats
• Hooray Hooray Bars
• Marry Me Bars
• Totally Fudge Treats

Chicago Soy Dairy: Temptation

Temptation, made by Chicago Soy Dairy, is another tasty option for nondairy ice cream. Many of their flavors have nice chunky bits of goodness. Fyi, this is the same ice cream you can get in the well-loved shakes at The Chicago Diner. 

Temptation's flavors come in pints:

• French Vanilla
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
• Peach Cobbler
• Strawberry
• Mint Chocolate Chip
• Organic Fair Trade Certified Chocolate
• Organic Fair Trade Certified Coffee 
• Organic Fair Trade Certified Green Tea

What's really neat is that they actually sell vegan ice cream mixes in case you can't find Temptation at your grocery store. It comes in vanilla and chocolate (so you can make swirls!). It's also fat-free, organic, all natural, and of course--- dairy-free.

It's easy to make too. All you do is dissolve the mix in water and then dump it into a soft serve machine.

There's also mix to make the ice cream from home. This is so great for those of us who can't find Temptation at a store and would love to experiment a little with flavors and mix-ins.

Good Karma: Organic Rice Divine

Good Karma makes a delicious nondairy ice cream called Organic Rice Divine. It is dairy-free, vegan, organic, and gluten-free.

Rice Divine Flavors:

• Carrot Cake
• Very Vanilla 
• Very Cherry
• Key Lime Pie
• Chocolate 
• Chocolate Chip
• Mudd Pie
• Mint Chocolate Swirl
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge
• Banana Fudge
• Coconut Mango

They also have some dairy-free ice cream bars in very vanilla and  chocolate chocolate.

Double Rainbow Soy Cream

Double Rainbow Soy Cream nondairy ice cream can be found at the grocery store, as well as at ice cream parlors that serve Double Rainbow ice cream. Yes, this company does make both dairy ice cream and nondairy ice cream. Hopefully the flavor makes up for that lapse in judgment!

The Soy Cream Flavors:

• Blueberry
• Butter Pecan
• Chocolate Chocolate Chip
• Coffee Almond Fudge
• Cookie Vanilla
• Mint Chocolate Chip
• Vanilla Bean
• Very Cherry Chocolate Chip

The Sorbet Flavors:

• Chocolate
• Coconut
• Lemon
• Mango Tangerine
• Marion Blackberry
• Rainbow- pineapple, orange and raspberry sorbets

Now to your favorites...

If you know of a great nondairy ice cream that I haven't mentioned, let us know about it. We would love to hear your comments on what you like about it, its texture, flavors, taste, etc.

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