5 Best Dairy-Free Vegan Ice Cream Brands Review

Gone are the days that if it’s non-dairy ice cream it was more likely to be soy ice cream. But now vegans and everyone else looking for dairy-free, lactose-free or egg-free ice creams are so lucky to enjoy a vast array of delicious vegan ice cream flavors that can challenge dairy ice creams head-on!

In this vegan ice cream brands review, we talk about flavors, taste test, quality standards, and where to buy. We just didn’t pick the best vegan ice cream brands for this review, but the best which are widely available as well.

So let’s check the top vegan ice cream brands for desserts, and especially for your summer cravings!  

1) So Delicious Dairy-Free Ice Cream Review

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Chocolate Velvet Flavor

Creamy Vanilla Flavor

Flavors:

Cashew Milk Ice Cream Range: 1 Chocolate Cookies N’ Cream 2 Very Vanilla 3 Cappuccino 4 Creamy Cashew 5 Dark Chocolate Truffle 6 Salted Caramel Cluster 7 Snickerdoodle 8 Creamy Chocolate 9 New Chocolate Drizzled Bananas Foster 10 New Peachy Maple Pecan

Coconut Milk Ice Cream Range: 1 Chocolate 2 Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl 3 Coconut 4 Cookie Dough (Gluten Free) 5 Mint Chip 6 Mocha Almond Fudge 7 Vanilla Bean 8 Cookies ‘n Cream Gluten Free 9 Oh-so Strawberry 11 Oregon Mixed Berry 12 New Blueberry Cardamom 13 New Cold Brew Coffee 14 New Toasted Coconut Key Lime  

Almond Milk Ice Cream Range: 1 Chocolate 2 Mint Chip 3 Mocha Almond Fudge 4 Vanilla 5 Cookies ‘n Cream Gluten Free

Soymilk Ice Cream Range: 1 Chocolate Velvet 2 Creamy Vanilla 3 Peanut Butter Zig Zag 4 Cookie Dough Gluten Free

Certified Vegan? Yes by Vegan Action

So Delicious Dairy-Free is a popular brand and has been supplying scrumptious ice creams to those who live dairy-free for almost 30 years. They use organic ingredients as much as they could and the entire line of foods is certified vegan, Non-GMO Project Verified or enrolled. They also should be applauded for not using any artificial flavors, colors, hydrogenated oils or trans-fats.

So Delicious Taste Test

Cashew Milk Salted Caramel Cluster

This one definitely looked like a dairy-based ice cream with a creamy & softer looking texture. The moment we put that first spoonful into our mouths, we were still & silent in awe and continued indulging ourselves. Guess that says it all!! Cashews, chocolate, caramel, and salt with no doubt were a winning combination! If you have any idea of introducing a vegan ice cream to a non-vegan then this one is highly recommended! The taste held so true to its brand name, it was so delicious!  

Coconut Milk Blueberry Cardamom

This could be a new flavor altogether even for a dairy ice cream lover. We had no idea what to expect. But boy, it was really good! The taste of blueberries was so authentic. In fact, you can feel the pieces of blueberries. Add to that was the cardamom which did the spicing up of the flavor. We’re so glad that we gave it a try and now it’s going to be one of our favorites!   

Cashew Milk Dark Chocolate Truffle

Again the texture was much like any other dairy chocolate ice cream. Good thing about this one is that you get the taste of both chocolate & cashew milk flavors. The chocolate flakes were generously included and this certainly can be a good addition to your sweet tooth.   

Coconut Milk Mint Chip

We used to love chocolate chip mint ice cream when we were non-vegans. So our expectations were high on this one! The texture is not exactly like dairy ice cream as we recall and slightly thinner but it’s certainly not bad for a coconut based ice cream. It was minty and liked the fact that there were a good amount of chocolate chips to enhance the flavor. No disappointment at all and would buy it again!

Coconut Milk Cookie Dough

This one had lots of cookie dough in it. The texture again is not exactly as thick & creamy as a dairy-based ice cream but that’s obvious, isn’t it? It’s coconut-based! So while it was melting we could really feel the cookie dough at play with sugary bits. We liked everything about it and finished the whole thing in no time 😉

2) Ben & Jerry’s Non-Dairy Ice Cream Review

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Flavors: 

1 Cinnamon Buns® 2 Peanut Butter Half Baked® 3 Caramel Almond Brittle 4 Cherry Garcia® 5 Chocolate Fudge Brownie 6 Chunky Monkey® 7 Coconut Seven Layer Bar 8 Coffee Caramel Fudge 9 P.B. & Cookies

Certified Vegan? Yes by Vegan Action

Ben & Jerry’s is a well-established brand that has been providing ice cream since 1978. They use almond milk as their base for all the vegan ice cream flavors which are 100% certified vegan.  

Ben & Jerry’s Taste Test

Chunky Monkey

Besides the almond milk, this one comes with banana, fudge chunks & walnuts. For starters, the texture looked like any other real dairy ice cream. The consistency was really creamy and we loved the banana taste of it. Seriously this was a clear winner and has to be one of Ben & Jerry’s best! It made us wonder why on earth the world would still need dairy ice cream anymore hurting the animals when you have vegan ice creams of this quality.

P.B. & Cookies

Peanut butter being an icon among Western spreads who can reject an ice cream with peanut butter? It comes with a combination of almond milk, Oreos (yes, they’re vegan) and the beautiful peanut butter swirls. What can we say, it was simply amazing and goes on to show how far vegan ice creams have come. People, c’mon you still need those animal abusing dairy ice cream?? You know what, we feel even if you don’t like peanut butter you may just like this flavor, just our gut feeling. It was an endless wow and the pieces of Oreos, peanut butter swirls and everything else that have gone into it were a delightful treat. We just couldn’t resist but to eat the whole thing that was so creamy, well whipped with a perfect base! Another flavor you can give with confidence to your non-vegan guests or friends!

Coffee Caramel Fudge

The texture was very similar to dairy ice cream. The big caramel swirl and the fudge pieces were so appetizing! It was sweet but not overpowering and was another good addition to vegan ice creams.

Chocolate Fudge Brownie

This one felt more like a chilled brownie batter than an ice cream. But it was all full of chocolate goodness without a trace of almond milk flavor. So if chocolate flavors are your thing, then this is something you should try. We doubt it will disappoint you!

3) NadaMoo! Vegan Ice Cream Review

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Where to Buy (click the link):

• Store locator  (NadaMoo! site)
• Delivery  (NadaMoo! site)
• You may also find these at Whole Foods Market

Flavors:

1 Chocolate Peanut Butter 2 Birthday Cake Cookie Dough 3 Rockiest Road 4 That Snickerdoodle Dough 5 Himalayan Salted Caramel 6 Chorale Cherry Fudge Brownie 7 Pistachio Nut 8 Lotta Mint Chip 9 Vanilla Ahhh 10 Gotta Do Chocolate 11 Cookies And Cream 12 Mmm Maple Pecan 13 Chocolate Almond Chip 14 Creamy Coconut 15 Java Crunch 16 Caramel Cold‑brew & Cookies 17 Cookie Dough Fudge 18 Strawberry Cheesecake                

Certified Vegan? Yes

This is a bit on the pricey side but it is something you would expect from a premium ice cream brand. After tasting few of their flavors it was obvious that the guys at this family-owned business certainly know to do ice cream right!

The quality of their brand is well backed by the list of certifications for USDA organic, Non-GMO, gluten-free, and fair-trade.

NadaMoo! Taste Test

Vanilla Ahhh

Ahhhhhhh the coconut-based vanilla flavor felt so good and that’s exactly what we expected from this rich premium vanilla ice cream. The creamy fluffy texture showed great quality and it was so easy to scoop due to its well-whipped consistency and balanced density. No strong coconut flavor and it was so luscious!

Lotta Mint Chip

The texture looked so nice, creamy & fluffy. A great first impression! The notes of mint were sharp than you would normally associate with a dairy mint chocolate chip ice cream, but it was so real and nothing artificial about it! The other plus for this one was that we never felt any coconut flavor in it which could have spoiled the mint flavor. We got so excited and couldn’t leave anything to spare!! Probably one of the best vegan mint chocolate chip ice creams out there.

Chocolate Cherry Fudge Brownie

We could feel the pieces of brownies while tasting it. It does give off its coconut vibe to it. The consistency is not too dense and again looks to be a well-whipped ice cream. The flavors were so natural and easy going on us that were soothing and palatable.      

Himalayan Salted Caramel

wOw, this was all about caramel goodness!! It was so different from the other vegan caramel versions we’ve tried and looks like they took this one to a whole new level of caramel deliciousness. It was rich, decadent and full of caramel flavor consistent in every scoop.

4) Häagen-Dazs Dairy-Free Ice Cream Review

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Where to buy (click the link):

• Store locator  (Häagen-Dazs site)
• May find at Target & Walmart

Flavors:

1 Chocolate Salted Fudge Truffle 2 Coconut Caramel 3 Mocha Chocolate Cookie 4 Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge 5 Coconut Cookies and Crème with Trio Crispy Layers 6 Crunchy Peanut Butter with Trio Crispy Layers

Certified Vegan? No, but it’s vegan as we couldn’t find any animal ingredients as of 15th June 2018  

What is different about this brand from other vegan ice cream brands is that they use a core ingredient, like rich peanut butter, velvet coconut cream or chocolate, for the base of their dairy-free ice creams rather than plant-based milk flavors. This again is a well-known brand which has been there for over 50 years and recently they launched two more non-dairy flavors with Trio Crispy Layers which give a layer upon layer decadent experience.      

Häagen-Dazs Taste Test

Mocha Chocolate Cookie

The consistency was so rich & creamy. It seems like this was intended for dark chocolate lovers than coffee lovers though it says mocha. There was no iciness sometimes you associate with other chocolate ice creams and the consistency with this one was right on the money. It’s a thumbs up from us!     

Chocolate Salted Fudge Truffle

This was a flavor we were anxiously looking forward to taste. Boy, no wonder why we were so excited for this one. A hint of saltiness was coming as an aftertaste at the right amount which was so complimenting to the overall flavor. It was much creamier than the Mocha Chocolate Cookie flavor we tried earlier. Those who crave for some intense chocolate delight, this is for you!

Coconut Caramel

This is certainly not your typical vegan coconut ice cream which actually is a good thing! It was so thick, smooth and creamy than the other coconut-based ice creams we’ve tried. In fact, this is one of the creamiest coconut vegan ice creams we’ve tried. If you’re looking for some alternate flavor for a change this could be a great choice. The caramel swirl was so appetizing as well and there was a good amount of it which was genuine caramel (unlike some artificial caramel you get in some other ice creams), generous and something to admire!  

5) Dream Vegan Ice Cream Review

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Where to buy (click the link):

• Store locator  (Dream site)

Flavors:

Almond Dream® Ice Cream Range: 1 Cappuccino Swirl 2 Chocolate 3 Praline Crunch 4 Vanilla 5 Strawberry 6 Mint Chocolate Chip 7 Toffee Almond Fudge

Rice Dream® Ice Cream Range: 1 Cocoa Marble Fudge 2 Mint Carob Chip 3 Strawberry 4 Vanilla 5 Mint Chip 6 Mocha Almond Fudge 7 Vanilla Bean 8 Cookies ‘n Cream Gluten Free 9 Oh-so Strawberry 11 Oregon Mixed Berry 12 New Blueberry Cardamom 13 New Cold Brew Coffee 14 New Toasted Coconut Key Lime  

Soy Dream® Ice Cream Range: 1 Butter Pecan 2 French Vanilla 3 Vanilla Fudge Swirl 4 Vanilla

Certified Vegan? No, but it’s vegan with no animal ingredients as of 15th June 2018

Since this brand is not vegan certified and has no vegan label on the products we would advise to check the ingredients list every now and then just to make sure. Their Soy Dream® ice cream range is made from certified organic, non-GMO soy and their whole line is free from artificial sweeteners.

Dream Taste Test

Almond Dream® Chocolate

As we opened it, couldn’t tell any difference of its texture from any other chocolate ice cream. We could really feel the almond milk flavor and it was somewhat similar to having a frozen chocolate almond milk though it was a tad sweeter, more chocolaty and less nutty in this case. Oh, it was thicker & creamier as well!     

Rice Dream® Organic Vanilla

Texture looked good considering that it’s a rice-based vanilla ice cream. Not perfectly creamy as dairy ice cream but certainly not bad for a rice-based vanilla ice cream. You can taste both the vanilla & rice favors. It’s not one of those flavors that overwhelms you but may just have it for a change.

Note:

We’ve noticed that dairy-free vegan ice creams taste much better if you let it thaw for 3-4 minutes out of the refrigerator before consumption.

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Image credits: So Delicious Dairy-Free / Ben & Jerry’s / NadaMoo! / Häagen-Dazs / Dream®