The last time I ate “real” ice cream was at my nephew’s birthday a decade ago. One bite of cookies and cream sent me running for the bathroom, my lactose intolerance announcing itself with the subtlety of a fire alarm. That night, I stood in the Whole Foods freezer aisle, mourning the loss of my favorite dessert while squinting at pints labeled “frozen dessert” instead of ice cream, as if the universe was already lowering my expectations.
With National Ice Cream Day approaching this Sunday, I decided to take things into my own hands. My kitchen counter became a testing ground: 10 carefully selected pints of vegan ice cream slowly softening while I recruited taste testers and frantically took notes. I’d even bought a box of waffle cones from Target (the ‘favourite day’ brand is accidentally vegan!)—if we were going to do this, we were going to do it right. My dad—who once drove 40 minutes for his favorite gelato—was eyeing the whole operation with deep skepticism. “Frozen almond milk,” he muttered, shaking his head. “What’s next, frozen air?”
By the end of our marathon tasting session, he was scraping the bottom of his third bowl, carefully constructing a two-scoop cone like we were at his beloved gelateria, asking where I bought “that peanut butter one.” Sometimes the best vindication comes with a spoon—or in this case, a crispy waffle cone.
The testing panel
Beyond my gelato-traditionalist father, I assembled a crew with various frozen dessert needs:
- My best friend Marcus, lactose intolerant for a decade, who’d “given up on ice cream that doesn’t taste like frozen coconut water”
- My neighbor’s 8-year-old daughter Emma, brutally honest and unimpressed by health claims
- My partner, who insists all vegan ice cream has “that weird aftertaste, almost chalky”
We blind-tasted everything, scoring on creaminess, flavor authenticity, melt quality, and that intangible “would I buy this again?” factor. Some pints were demolished. Others… well, even my compost bin deserves better.
The rankings
After methodically tasting 10 of the most promising vegan ice creams available at Whole Foods, Target, and my local grocery store, clear winners emerged. Here’s how they stacked up:
The mind-blowing favorites
Ben & Jerry’s Non-Dairy Phish Food
This was the pint that made my dad suspicious I’d accidentally bought dairy. The chocolate ice cream base is legitimately chocolatey (not that weird cocoa-powder-and-sadness flavor), studded with gooey marshmallow swirls and fudge fish. It’s excessive in the best Ben & Jerry’s tradition. Emma declared it “better than regular” and meant it as the highest compliment.
The almond milk base completely disappears behind the carnival of flavors. At around $6 a pint, it’s not cheap, but it’s worth every spoonful of vindication.
So Delicious Snickerdoodle Cashewmilk
“This tastes like Christmas,” Marcus said, and he wasn’t wrong. Huge chunks of actual snickerdoodle cookies swim in a cinnamon-laced base that’s so creamy, we double-checked the label. The cashew milk creates a neutral canvas that lets the warm spices shine without any nutty interference.
This was the sleeper hit none of us expected. Even my partner, Mr. Weird Aftertaste, went back for seconds.
Van Leeuwen Peanut Butter Brownie Honeycomb
Premium price, premium experience. This $9 pint tastes like it costs $9—in the best way. The peanut butter isn’t shy, the brownie chunks maintain their chew, and the honeycomb pieces add textural interest without being tooth-breakingly hard. The coconut cream base is rich enough to make you forget it’s plants all the way down.
“This is what I thought vegan ice cream would taste like in the future,” Marcus said. “And the future is now, I guess.”
The surprisingly excellent
Jeni’s Lemon Bar Non-Dairy
Jeni’s knows what they’re doing. The lemon curd ribbons through coconut cream that somehow doesn’t taste like sunscreen (looking at you, other coconut-based pints). Crumbly shortbread pieces complete the illusion. It’s sophisticated, balanced, and makes you feel fancy eating ice cream on your couch at 10 PM.
McConnell’s Dairy-Free Passion Fruit Lemon Swirl
The dark horse winner. This oat milk-based bright spot tastes like sunshine and possibility. The passion fruit could have been overwhelming, but the lemon swirl keeps everything in check. Marcus proclaimed it “what Otter Pops wish they were when they grow up.”
So Delicious Salted Caramel Cluster Cashewmilk
Sometimes you want chunks of things in your ice cream. This delivers with cashew pieces, chocolate chunks, and a caramel swirl that would make a Snickers jealous. The base is creamy enough to make you forget the C-word (cashew), and the mix-ins are distributed generously enough that no one fights over the last bite.
Cado Deep Dark Chocolate
Yes, it’s made with avocado. No, you can’t taste it. What you can taste is pure, unapologetic chocolate intensity that made Emma say “this is real chocolate ice cream” with the authority only an 8-year-old can muster. At $6 a pint, it’s reasonable for the quality.
The “pretty good” tier
Target’s Favorite Day Non-Dairy Vanilla: Shockingly decent for a store brand at $5. Won’t blow your mind, but won’t disappoint either. Perfect for à la mode situations.
Planet Oat Vanilla: The Switzerland of vegan ice cream—neutral, reliable, there when you need it. The oat base gives it a creamy mouthfeel without any weird flavors.
Oatly Chocolate: Like frozen chocolate oat milk, which sounds obvious but works better than you’d think. Kids love it.
The disappointments
Breyers Non-Dairy: Tastes like frozen almond milk mixed with hope and artificial vanilla. The 1.5-quart size means more disappointment for your dollar.
Several coconut-based pints: Unless you want your dessert to taste like frozen piña colada mix, skip anything where coconut is the first ingredient and the main flavor event. (Looking at you, store-brand coconut vanilla.)
The revelations
After 10 pints and countless spoons, patterns emerged. Cashew milk creates the most neutral, creamy base—it’s the Switzerland of plant milks. Oat milk is naturally sweet and creamy but can taste “cardboardy” in lesser brands. Coconut only works when heavily flavored (otherwise, hello piña colada). And almond milk? Hit-or-miss—Ben & Jerry’s has cracked the code, but others haven’t.
The best vegan ice creams lean into mix-ins: chunks, swirls, ribbons. It’s not cheating—it’s smart recipe development that gives your taste buds something to focus on beyond the base. Price turned out to be meaningless; some $9 pints tasted like frozen disappointment, while Target’s $5 option held its own. The sweet spot hovers around $6-8.
And here’s the ultimate test: Good vegan ice cream melts like dairy ice cream. The bad ones either puddle immediately or eerily hold their shape like edible Play-Doh. Van Leeuwen and So Delicious passed with flying colors, creating that perfect creamy puddle that made my dad nostalgic for his favorite gelateria.
Final bites
Standing in my kitchen, surrounded by 10 empty pints and very full stomachs, watching my dairy-devoted dad ask for “just one more spoonful” of cashew-based ice cream, I realized something: we’ve been having the wrong conversation about vegan ice cream.
The question isn’t “How close can we get to dairy?” anymore. It’s “What can we create that’s delicious on its own terms?” The best pints in our tasting weren’t trying to be imposters—they were confidently being excellent frozen desserts that happened to be plant-based.
When Emma ranked So Delicious Snickerdoodle above her usual cookies and cream, when Marcus nearly cried tasting real ice cream texture after a decade of substitutes, when my skeptical partner admitted the “weird aftertaste” might have been in his head—that’s when I knew vegan ice cream had grown up.
The future of frozen desserts is already in your grocer’s freezer. And honestly? It tastes pretty incredible. Some of it even tastes like ice cream—the real kind, the kind that makes you close your eyes on the first bite, the kind worth driving 40 minutes for.
Though next time, my dad can drive himself to Whole Foods. He knows what aisle the Van Leeuwen is in now.
The champion pints
For Chocolate Lovers: Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food or Cado Deep Dark Chocolate
For Fruit Fans: McConnell’s Passion Fruit Lemon Swirl
For Texture Seekers: So Delicious Salted Caramel Cluster
For Skeptics: So Delicious Snickerdoodle—even dad approved
For Special Occasions: Van Leeuwen Peanut Butter Brownie Honeycomb
For Everyday: Planet Oat or Target Favorite Day (your wallet will thank you)
For Sophistication: Jeni’s Lemon Bar
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