Best Dairy-Free Vanilla Ice Cream (2026 Taste Test Guide)

Introduction

As a teen with allergies to dairy and eggs, it is always really hard to watch everybody enjoy classic ice cream flavors while I eat the same fruit-flavored sorbets over and over again.

Often, dairy-free vanilla ice creams will have too strong a coconut flavor (due to the coconut base) or a lack of richness. However, I believe I found some very solid dairy-free vanilla ice creams.

After trying dozens of the most popular vanilla ice creams, I have compiled a list of the best dairy-free vanilla ice creams.

Best overall flavor: Double Rainbow Vanilla Bean Soy

For the last four or five years, the Double Rainbow Vanilla Bean Soy has been my go-to vanilla ice cream. In my opinion, this soy-based ice cream offers the strongest vanilla flavor and does not have the strong coconut taste that many other dairy-free options have.

It also offers a very soft and creamy texture, similar to its dairy counterparts. If you are like me and do not like the coconut taste, then this is a great option.

Unfortunately, Double Rainbow is a smaller business and is not available as widely as other brands like Oatly. You can often find this vanilla ice cream at stores like Sprouts or Draeger's (in California).

Sadly, the Double Rainbow ice cream often comes at a pretty steep price compared to other options. Double Rainbow offers pints directly from their site for $14.50, while Instacart offers the same pint for about $7.50.

Runner-up: Oatly Frozen Dessert Vanilla

Oatly has played a large role in the oat milk-based desserts that have grown in popularity due to their healthiness and allergen-friendliness. Alongside their vanilla flavor, Oatly also offers a wide variety of other specialty flavors, including chocolate, mint chip, salted caramel, and more.

Adding to the appeal, Oatly is widely available throughout the United States and can be found in most stores like Safeway, and runs for a much lower cost than Double Rainbow's offerings.

However, Oatly's vanilla ice cream does not quite have the same creamy texture that I enjoy in Double Rainbow's offerings. I often use Oatly in milkshakes where I do not care as much for the texture or flavor of the ice cream.

Another bonus to the Oatly vanilla ice cream is that it does not have the coconut aftertaste that many of the coconut ice creams have.

Easy to find: So Delicious Vanilla Bean Dairy Free Coconut Milk Frozen Dessert

For the longest time, So Delicious has been one of the leaders in providing dairy-free desserts. For a while, they made a soy-based vanilla and chocolate ice cream; however, once things started to shift from soy to coconut, their desserts really only feature a coconut or cashew milk base.

The So Delicious Vanilla Bean offers a pretty solid creamy texture, but it definitely has a strong coconut aftertaste that detracts from the vanilla bean flavor.

However, because of the texture and the widespread availability of the So Delicious Vanilla Bean ice cream, it remains a top option for those looking for dairy-free alternatives.

Honorable mention: Trader Joe's Dairy Free Vanilla Ice Cream

For a limited time, Trader Joe's was selling a coconut-based dairy-free vanilla ice cream. However, in recent months it has been hard to find this vanilla ice cream in stock.

This was another option that I would often use in milkshakes since it was very easy to get. Trader Joe's also offered this pint for a very reasonable price of $4.29 per container — about half the price of Double Rainbow.

As with most coconut-based ice creams, though, there was a fair bit of coconut aftertaste with these ice creams.

Wrap up

Over the last few years, we have seen a lot of new companies offering really good dairy-free options. However, we have also seen some of the best options slowly disappear — in my opinion, the So Delicious soy-based ice creams were among them.

The category also seems to be shifting more toward oat milk bases, with Oatly being the most popular dairy-free option.

If you have any other recommendations that I should check out, please reach out using the contact form.