Being vegan or dairy free is a far stretch from having to kiss your yogurt and ice cream loving days goodbye. A few years ago I had major FOMO that it seemed like Manhattan was the only place I could get my ice cream fix without compromising my lactose sensitive diet. Now delicious tasting vegan ice cream is no longer hard to find, but instead hard to decide where to begin.
Yogurt options have also expanded and improved vastly over the past few years. When I first eliminated my daily Greek yogurt from my diet, I was disappointed with the dairy free alternatives. Recently I have rekindled my love of yogurt with some great new vegan options. Here are my favorites based on taste and ingredients.
NICE CREAM
Banana "whips" from HipCityVeg located in Philly and DC
Washington DC/Philly Winner
HipCityVeg- HipCityVeg is DC and Philly's By Chef Chloe. The entire menu is vegan and delicious. Their banana "whips" are customizable sundaes made with just banana. They also serve a milkshake made with soy ice cream.
Vegan Banana Nut, Salted Caramel and PB Chocolate Chip with Cacao Nibs at Van Leeuwen
NYC/LA Winner
Van Leeuwen- In the cities of endless dairy free ice cream options, this one takes the cake (or cone in this instance). The consistency of their vegan ice creams taste almost identical to regular ice creams and their flavors are top notch. With a list ranging from salted caramel (my fave) to banana nut, there's something for everyone. In addition to weekly regular ice cream flavors, they have a special vegan flavor. The best part is the fact that they have scoop truck locations that serve their vegan flavors as well!
Gluten free brownies in vegan banana based chocolate ice cream perfection
Midwest Winner
Nana Creme- This awesome banana based vegan ice cream line has ice cream, cookie dough and ice cream cookie sandwiches available in organic grocery stores in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Missouri, as well as online. I am currently obsessed with their Brownie Nana Creme.
Online Winner
DF Mavens- this former NYC storefront has their delicious almond, coconut or soy based dessert bars or pints available online for purchase
Nationwide Grocery Stores Winner
Coconut Bliss- of all of the lines that seem to be commonly available in most Whole Foods I have been to, this is by far the best ingredients and flavors. My favorite is their chocolate chip cookie pint.
Just a few frozen bananas + peanut butter and cacao nibs
DIY
Yonanas- This device makes helps you turn froze fruit and your choice of condiments into a bowl of nice cream. I love mixing frozen bananas, raw peanut butter and topping it with cacao nibs.
YOGURT
Kite Hill- Kite Hill yogurts are made with almond milk and are completely dairy free. The pros of this brand are the consistency which is similar to regular yogurt. Another pro is that they are made with probiotic cultures, which are great for digestive health. The reason I have not stuck to this brand as my go-to yogurt is because all of their yogurts, including the plain one, are made with cane sugar. I do not think yogurt needs sugar, but a healthier alternative would be to add raw honey to yogurt.
So Delicious- So Delicious has majorly improved their yogurt. I tried it years ago and was not a fan, but decided to give it another go recently. I love the unsweetened coconut yogurt. They have different flavors, but the unsweetened option has minimal sugar and tastes coconutty with a great consistency.