Who has two thumbs and shouldn’t eat creamy ice cream, but does anyway? This chick.
And I know I’m not alone: An estimated 30 million to 50 million American adults are lactose intolerant, according to the National Institutes of Health.
To add to that NIH stat, many Americans have been warming up to the idea of drinking nondairy milk — even if their lifestyle doesn’t require it. In 2017, research from Mintel showed that U.S. nondairy milk sales grew 61 percent over the last five years. Why are we bringing this up? Because this includes almond, soy and coconut milk as well as other nut-based milks that have gained popularity, like pecan, hazelnut and flax milks. And do you know what nondairy ice creams use as a base? Many of those aforementioned milks.
Regardless of your lifestyle, no one should have to eliminate ice cream from their diet completely. You just have to look in the right places and at the right labels. What you might not realize is there are so many vegan, lactose-free and nondairy ice cream options available, so to help you out, we’ve narrowed down the list to these 10. Trust us; they’re just as good as the real thing.
So Delicious
So Delicious is just that: delicious. You can pick up this gluten-free, vegan ice cream in cashew milk, coconut milk, almond milk or soy milk. Plus, they have 37 different dairy-free flavors, including the classics, like cookie dough and cookies and cream, and more adventurous flavors, like mocha-almond fudge and cold-brew coffee.
Use So Delicious' store locator to find these pints near you.
Luna & Larry’s
You know how we know this is a solid dairy-free dessert? It won an award for it. That's right; Luna & Larry's won the Women's Choice Award three years in a row (2016 to 2018) for America's most-recommended frozen dairy-free dessert. This soy-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, coconut-based ice cream comes in 15 flavors.
Sold on it? Use to track these pints down.
Mr. Dewie’s
Founded in 2011, Mr. Dewie's cashew ice cream is dairy-, gluten- and soy-free and made with no additives or preservatives. Plus, you can always expect natural, organic ingredients in every pint. It comes in 15 delicious flavors, including a few you've likely never tried before, like turmeric spice.
The one downside is these pints are only sold at select retailers, so check the list here to see if one of yours made the cut.
NadaMoo
NadaMoo Started as a small operation Austin, Texas, in 2004 and quickly grew to the popular dairy-free ice cream brand it is today. The only thing more fun than saying "NadaMoo" (an obviously made up word that's parts — "nada" and "moo" — mean "no dairy" in Spanish) is scarfing down one of their 18 cholesterol-free, coconut milk ice cream flavors. Their three newest flavors are caramel cold-brew and cookies, cookie dough fudge and strawberry cheesecake.
To find a NadaMoo near you, use the store locator on their site (you'll find it in the top right corner).
Tofutti
We're sure you've seen this brand everywhere — and it's been around as long as it has for a reason (since 1980!). Their dairy-free premium pints come in six different flavors — vanilla almond bark, "butter" pecan, chocolate, vanilla fudge, vanilla and wild berry.
You can buy Tofutti in-store at Walmart or find a store near you on their website.
Talenti
If you've ever been to Target, you've seen Talenti. These dairy-free sorbettos are dangerously addicting and come in five different flavors: Alphonso mango, chocolate, cold-brew coffee, peanut butter fudge and Roman raspberry. They're all not only dairy-free, but also gluten-free, vegan and kosher, with the exception of the cold-brew coffee flavor, which is not vegan.
Talenti dairy-free sorbettos, $4.99 at Amazon
Halo Top
Of course, one of the most popular light ice creams out there, Halo Top, has dairy-free flavors. Made with coconut milk, these pints come in similar flavors as their dairy ice creams, including birthday cake, sea salt caramel and peanut butter cup. Halo Top has 14 different dairy-free flavors, all of which are vegan and soy-free.
You can typically find Halo Top in plenty of grocery stores, including Target and Giant Eagle, but you can also use Halo Top's store finder to track them down.
Ben & Jerry’s
When Ben & Jerry's released their non-dairy pints line, we jumped from our computer chairs and bolted to the nearest grocery store to try them out. And, well, we have to say: They're so rich and creamy and actually taste like the real thing.
B&J's nondairy pints are made with almond milk, and they're 100 percent certified vegan. They come in nine different flavors, our personal favorite being the Peanut Butter Half Baked flavor.
Use to find a store near you, or head straight to Amazon.
Ben & Jerry's nondairy ice cream, $4.99 at Amazon
Steve’s Ice Cream
Steve's dairy-free ice creams are made with organic coconut cream and come in five different flavors: chocolate salty caramel, burnt sugar vanilla, speculoos cookie butter, wildflower honey-pistachio and blueberry-lemon icebox cake. Aside from being dairy-free, most contain no artificial flavors or colors and are soy-free and egg-free.You can find Steve's at Publix, Wegmans and Shaw's, among other stores.
Snow Monkey
Snow Monkey is one of the best vegan ice creams out there. All their flavors are not only vegan, but also plant-based, nut-free, dairy-free, gluten-free and paleo — thanks to the fact that their ice creams are made only from superfoods, fruit and seeds. That said, this clearly isn't the typical creamy, rich ice cream you know and love — this is considered more of an ice treat. But that doesn't mean it isn't just as tasty. Snow Monkey comes in five flavors: cacao, cinnamon, matcha green tea, goji berry and passion fruit.
You can use their locator to find a store near you.
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