8 dairy-free ice creams ranked from genuinely disappointing to better than any real ice cream I've ever had

Look, I've been vegan long enough to remember when dairy-free ice cream meant sad frozen bananas or chalky soy disasters that tasted like regret. But we're living in a golden age now.

The options have exploded, and honestly, some of them are so good that my non-vegan friends actively choose them over regular ice cream.

I spent the last month testing every major brand I could find. Some were transcendent. Others made me question my life choices. Here's how they ranked, from the ones that belong in the clearance bin to the ones that made me eat an entire pint in one sitting.

8. So Delicious Cashew Milk (Salted Caramel Cluster)

I wanted to love this. Cashew milk should be creamy and rich, right? But somehow this tastes like someone described ice cream to an alien who then tried to recreate it from memory.

The texture is weirdly gummy, and the salted caramel flavor tastes more like burnt sugar mixed with regret. The cashew clusters are fine, but they can't save what's essentially frozen disappointment. I've had better luck with other So Delicious lines, but this particular flavor and base just doesn't work.

If you see this on sale, save your money for literally any other option on this list.

7. Breyers Non-Dairy (Vanilla Peanut Butter)

Breyers jumped into the plant-based game, and you can tell they're still figuring things out. The almond milk base is thin and icy, like they forgot ice cream is supposed to be creamy. It melts into a weird soup almost immediately.

The peanut butter swirl is the only redeeming quality, but even that can't mask the fact that the base tastes vaguely of sadness and almonds that never wanted to be ice cream. It's not offensive, just aggressively mediocre.

This is the ice cream equivalent of a participation trophy. It exists, and that's about all I can say for it.

6. Halo Top Dairy-Free (Sea Salt Caramel)

Halo Top made waves with low-calorie ice cream, and their dairy-free version tries to do the same thing. The problem? When you remove both dairy and most of the fat, you're left with something that tastes like frozen air with delusions of grandeur.

The texture is chalky and somehow both dense and insubstantial at the same time. The sea salt caramel flavor is there, technically, but it's like watching a movie with the volume turned way down. You know something's happening, but you can't quite connect with it.

If you're really committed to low-calorie desserts, this might work for you. But life's too short for ice cream that tastes like compromise.

5. NadaMoo! Coconut Milk (Birthday Cake)

NadaMoo sits right in the middle of this ranking because it's perfectly fine. The coconut milk base is creamy enough, and you can definitely taste the coconut, which is either a feature or a bug depending on your feelings about coconut.

The birthday cake flavor has those little cake pieces and rainbow sprinkles, which adds some fun texture. But the overall taste is just okay. It's sweet, it's cold, it's ice cream-adjacent. Nothing wrong with it, nothing particularly exciting about it either.

This is what you buy when your regular favorite is out of stock and you need something that won't disappoint but won't blow your mind.

4. Oatly Frozen Dessert (Strawberry Swirl)

Oatly took their oat milk magic and applied it to ice cream, and the results are pretty solid. The oat base is surprisingly neutral, without that overwhelming oat-y taste you might expect. It's creamy and scoops well straight from the freezer.

The strawberry swirl is real fruit, not that artificial candy flavor, which I appreciate. It tastes like actual strawberries had a meeting with cream and decided to become frozen dessert. The texture is smooth without being gummy.

My only complaint is that it's maybe a bit too light? Sometimes you want ice cream that feels decadent and heavy, and this is more on the refreshing side. Still really good though.

3. Coconut Bliss (Dark Chocolate)

Now we're getting into the territory where I'd choose these over dairy ice cream any day. Coconut Bliss nails the coconut milk base in a way that feels rich and indulgent without being too coconut-forward.

The dark chocolate flavor is deep and actually tastes like quality chocolate, not that weird cocoa powder situation some brands do. It's the kind of chocolate that makes you slow down and actually taste it instead of just shoveling it in.

The only reason this isn't higher is because the coconut flavor is still noticeable, and sometimes I want chocolate ice cream that doesn't remind me of tropical vacations. But honestly, that's a minor complaint about an otherwise excellent product.

2. Ben & Jerry's Non-Dairy (Phish Food)

Ben & Jerry's came to the plant-based party fashionably late, but they brought their A-game. The almond milk base is creamy and rich, and you genuinely can't tell it's not dairy unless someone tells you.

Phish Food is loaded with chocolate, caramel, marshmallow swirl, and fudge fish. It's chaotic and excessive in the best possible way. Every bite has something different happening, and the base is good enough to stand up to all those mix-ins without getting lost.

This is the ice cream I buy when I want to remember why I fell in love with ice cream in the first place. The only thing keeping it from the top spot is the next entry, which somehow manages to be even better.

1. Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams (Cold Brew with Coconut Cream)

I need you to understand something: this isn't just the best vegan ice cream I've ever had. It's better than most dairy ice cream I ate in my pre-vegan life. Jeni's uses a coconut cream base that's so rich and smooth it feels almost illegal.

The cold brew flavor is sophisticated without being bitter, sweet without being cloying. It tastes like the best iced coffee you've ever had decided to become dessert. The texture is dense and creamy, scooping like a dream and melting slowly on your tongue.

Yes, it's expensive. Yes, the pints are smaller than some other brands. But this is ice cream as art, as experience, as the thing you eat when you want to feel something. I've watched non-vegan friends try this and immediately ask where they can buy it.

Final thoughts

The vegan ice cream landscape has come so far that we can actually be picky now. We're not just grateful for anything that's frozen and plant-based. We can have standards, preferences, and strong opinions about coconut milk versus oat milk bases.

The bottom tier options on this list exist mostly as reminders of how good we have it now. The top tier proves that plant-based ice cream isn't trying to be dairy ice cream anymore. It's become its own thing, with its own strengths and possibilities.

My advice? Skip the disappointing stuff and invest in the good ones. Life's too short for mediocre ice cream, vegan or otherwise. And if you haven't tried Jeni's yet, do yourself a favor and fix that immediately.