When the weather heats up, our thoughts automatically seem to turn to ice cream. Nothing screams summer holiday like a scoop (or four!) of this delicious frozen dessert. Choosing to shun the cruelty of the dairy industry certainly doesn’t mean that you have to go without the good stuff, and – as more and more people make the switch to ethical vegan eating – the aisles of UK supermarkets increasingly offer a tempting selection.
Here are our top picks for vegan ice creams for this summer – let us know if we’ve missed any great brands by leaving a comment below!
Swedish Glace Neapolitan: Perhaps the most widely available vegan ice cream, Swedish Glace is stocked in larger branches of Tesco, Morrisons, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Holland & Barrett. It’s a soya-based Italian-style ice cream that is deliciously creamy and comes in a range of classic flavours.
Bessant & Drury’s Vanilla: This fresh coconut-based dessert is light in texture and was a winner in the 2013 FreeFrom Awards. Stocked in selected Waitrose and Tesco stores and available online from Goodness Direct, it is gluten-, soy- and GMO-free, with no artificial additives.
Booja-Booja Hunky Punky Chocolate: If you’re after something a bit special, these Booja-Booja cashew-based ice creams are raw, organic and seriously decadent. Promising no more than four to five ingredients and with creative flavours, they are definitely a treat worth investing in. Booja-Booja is available in Whole Foods Market and selected Waitrose stores.
Food Heaven Wild Blueberry: This range of dairy-free soya iced desserts by Food Heaven has even beaten off competition from its dairy-laden rivals to win an international award. Pretty impressive! Find it in selected branches of Tesco, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s or in independent retailers.
ZenZen Maple, Pecan & Banana: Find this luxurious yet reassuringly healthy coconut-milk ice cream in selected health-food stores across the country.
Marks & Spencer Lemon Lush Sorbet: OK, so this isn’t technically ice cream – but it is a delicious, fruity, affordable and widely available frozen vegan dessert, so we thought we’d include it anyway. All major UK supermarkets offer their own version of this refreshing treat.
Homemade: The best thing about vegan ice cream is it’s really easy to make at home, with no need for special equipment or multiple ingredients. All you need are frozen bananas and a blender, and you can start from there. Why not try this three-ingredient vegan ice cream recipe. It’s delicious, customisable and so healthy that you could even eat it for breakfast. (You’re welcome.)
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Apologies if all this talk of ice cream has got you craving something sweet, but these delicious desserts are all the more reason to ditch the dairy and look forward to a cruelty-free summer! Why not take our vegan pledge and try it for yourself? You can have as much ice cream as you like. Promise.