Opinion Inside scoop: Best dairy-free & vegan ice cream in Australia

From vegan Magnums to classic vanilla ice cream, and even decadent tubs of Ben & Jerry’s – the freezer section is packed with plant-based options.

If you’ve checked out the frozen section at your local supermarket recently, you’ve probably noticed that the dairy-free dessert zone is finally taking up the space it deserves!

No longer confined to just one little row in the freezer, the vegan ice cream scene has truly exploded in recent years, with even big names like Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum, and Connoisseur now in on the action.

Whether you’re looking for an authentic-tasting vanilla to pair with home-made apple pie, a refreshing popsicle for a hot summer’s day, or just something fudgy to spoon straight from the tub – there’s a delicious vegan option for even the direst of ice cream needs. 

And the best news is, these ever-more-popular dairy-free options are not only kinder to cows, they’re kinder to your body and the planet, too.

Here’s the scoop on some of the best dairy-free ice cream brands available in stores today: 

Ben & Jerry’s 

Chock-full of chunks and swirls in all the right places, Ben & Jerry’s dairy-free ice-creams are out of this world. It’s probably a good thing they’re not the cheapest option, because it would be far too easy to polish off a pint at every sugar craving! 

All made with oat milk, almond milk, or sunflower butter, your vegan flavour options include: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Salted Caramel Brownie, and Chocolate Fudge Brownie.

There is clearly no wrong choice here, but Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough does deserve an extra-special mention… They are really not skimping on that cookie dough.

Blue Ribbon

Beloved Aussie ice cream brand, Streets, recently added a brand-new vegan option to their classic Blue Ribbon range – Plant-Based Creamy Vanilla! It’s dreamily smooth, tastes just like the classic vanilla ice cream you remember, and is all but guaranteed to become an instant family favourite.

Cold Rock 

Can you believe that even the beloved ice creamery, Cold Rock, has plant-based options now? And that includes plenty of vegan-friendly mix-ins and toppings.

The Dark Chocolate, Cinnamon Donut, Lemon Sorbet, and Mango Sorbet ice cream flavours at Cold Rock are all dairy-free, and in 2023 they even launched a vegan ice cream cake to celebrate World Vegan Day! 

Punnily called the ‘Do or Do-Nut’, this ridiculously decadent-looking ring cake – featuring all kinds of chocolatey, Biscoff-y, Oreo-laced goodness – is available to order online and in-store.

P.S. Cold Rock’s cookie dough tubs are vegan, too! 

Connoisseur

The fancy folks at Connoisseur have come out with some incredible plant-based alternatives too, and they are everything you’d expect from these sophisticated ice cream specialists. 

You can find their 1L tubs of Hazelnut Chocolate ice cream (swirled with a rich Ghanaian chocolate sauce and studded with roasted hazelnuts) and 4-packs of Vanilla Brownie ice cream sticks in Woolies, Coles, and even at some servos and IGAs.

Just look for that lovely minty-green colour in the freezer, and you’ll know you’ve struck gold.

COYO

A relatively wholesome choice that still delivers on taste, COYO’s rich, creamy, organic coconut ice creams are free from gluten, refined sugar, and preservatives. They also contain a prebiotic and probiotic boost – which means they hold the power to nourish your good gut bacteria and satisfy your sweet tooth, all in one fell scoop 😉 

COYO offers a range of well-crafted classic flavours, including Vanilla Bean, Cookies & Cream, Double Chocolate, and Salted Caramel.

They’re all genuinely amazing, but I highly recommend that last one if you’re partial to the aromas of a toasty espresso.

Golden Gaytime

Remember these iconic summer gems? In response to popular demand, Australian ice cream brand, Streets, launched a plant-based version of their classic Golden Gaytime a few years back, saying, “This isn’t any ordinary flavour launch, this is about opening up our product to more Australians … no matter your dietary needs or choices.” 

After inviting nostalgic Aussies to try and “taste the difference” for themselves, word quickly spread that the plant-based Golden Gaytimes taste practically identical to the original. A worthy addition to the frozen dessert section if ever we saw one.

Magnum

Vegan. Magnums. Need I say more? Probably not, but I will anyway – because it’s worth noting that there’s not just one plant-based version of Magnums available these days, but three!

You can find Magnum’s dairy-free Classic and Almond multipacks in most Coles and Woolworths stores across the country, and yes, they are just as mouth-watering as they sound.

Nature’s Kitchen

If you’re looking for a vegan Vanilla bean, a Cookies and Cream ice cream, or even plant-based boysenberry sticks, look no further than Coles’ plant-based brand, Nature’s Kitchen. While these flavours may sound simple compared to some of the more lavish offerings on this list, don’t let that put you off. Nature’s Kitchen may not be going for complicated, but they’ve undeniably mastered the classics. 

All of these flavours* are coconut-based, making them extra smooth, creamy, and scoopable – just the ticket for a comforting, laid-back dessert. 

Pana Organic

If you’re already familiar with Pana Organic, then you won’t be surprised to see them on this list of legends. First, they brought the world a decadent range of organic chocolates, and now they’ve mastered ice creams too.

One look at Pana Organic’s ice cream range and it’s clear they had some fun in the kitchen, offering some utterly lovely flavours, such as single-origin chocolate, Madagascan vanilla bean, and peanut butter & chocolate. They even hav new flavours coming soon — Pistachio & Chocolate and Black Forest — coming soon!

Proud & Punch

Proud & Punch’s feel-good plant-based pops are 100% Aussie born and bred – made right here in Melbourne, in fact, using wholesome ‘real’ ingredients like almond milk, coconut cream, melt-in-your-mouth dates, and bananas fresh from Queensland.

With a whole spectrum of light yet somehow still super-indulgent flavours (like Banana and Chocolate, Caramel Date Night, Pining for Lime, and Coconuts for Mango), we’d say Proud & Punch have well and truly succeeded in their goal of creating frozen treats that are simple, yum, and good for both you and the planet.  

So Good

If you’re like me and sometimes get major cravings for a good old-fashioned vanilla or chocolate ice cream, Sanitarium’s So Good range has got your back. Made with a smooth and velvety soy protein base, these are the perfect ice creams to serve with cake, pie, or berries for dessert – or just by themselves…

Plus, they just so happen to be low-fat, gluten-free, and cholesterol-free, too. Take that, dairy ice cream! 

Spoiled for choice

You know you’re living in the future of plant-based food when the question is no longer “where do I find dairy-free ice cream” but rather “which one do I try first”.

And with more Aussies choosing dairy-free options than ever before, you can bet we’ll see this selection of vegan-friendly ice creams keep growing.

After all, as long as shoppers keep asking for (and loving) the dairy-free desserts on offer, these keen companies will continue innovating and adding even more plant-based products to the supermarket shelves. They may even have to replace some dairy products to do so. 

I can almost see it now: A not-too-distant future where plant-based ice creams are the norm, and those old-school cow-derived pints have been relegated to a little sliver of the freezer section!

Header image: © Ben & Jerry’s