They almost taste like the real thing.
Going vegan sounds pretty great…right until you remember the whole “no ice-cream” thing. Talk about a bummer.
Thankfully, your sweet tooth doesn’t have to suffer just because you’re dairy-free. Brands are churning out (get it?) non-dairy ice creams faster than you can, well, scream for them.
But just because they’re vegan or dairy-free doesn’t automatically make them better for you, says Toby Amidor, R.D. and author of The East 5-Ingredient Healthy Cookbook. “These ice creams tend to also have a lot of stabilizers, additives, and sweeteners and aren’t usually lower in calories compared to cow’s milk ice cream,” she says. Because it’s tough to find non-dairy ice creams with a simple ingredient list (read: no preservatives), you’re better off treating them as treats instead of health foods, she says.
Another caveat: Lactose-free is not the same as dairy-free, so vegans and those with a lactose intolerance shouldn’t be browsing the aisles the same way. “Dairy-free ice creams do not contain any trace of milk,” says Amidor. However, lactose-free ice creams do still have milk and other dairy (just with the lactose enzyme broken down), so they’re not vegan-friendly.
That said, check out the eight best non-dairy ice creams out there to satisfy every kind of sweet tooth:
