The best of gluten- and dairy-free ice cream

Without further ado:

1. Ben & Jerry’s: I figured I’d start with the most familiar brand first. That’s right kids! Ben & Jerry’s has begun offering dairy-free versions of some of their flavors, a few of which are also gluten-free. If you’re looking for the purest or most natural ingredients, this may not be for you. But if your only concern is dairy then look no further than B & J’s Chunky Monkey, Fudge Brownie, Coffee Caramel Fudge and PB & J Cookies flavors. Look for the ones with “dairy-free” on the label and you’re good to go! Not all of those are gluten-free, so you have even fewer choices on that front. But it’s definitely something! I don’t know if they’ve hit all the stores yet but keep an eye out.

2. So Delicious: This brand of ice cream does both dairy-free and gluten-free very well. They offer multitudes of flavors made from a variety of non-dairy milks. Some are made from almond milk, some cashew, coconut or even soy (although many people also avoid soy for various reasons so the other types will often specify soy free). In my experience just about every flavor is gluten-free, but you should check the ingredients just to be sure. Flavors that are not obviously gluten-free will usually specify on the lid. For example the almond milk cookies and cream flavor is gluten-free, a fact that is made obvious by the yellow band around the lid that reads “gluten-free” in red writing. Because otherwise you might pass up something with “cookie” in the title. You can find this brand at Safeway and even sometimes at CharMar!

3. Coconut Bliss: This brand is probably the most natural. Each flavor is generally made with all organic ingredients. All of the flavors are dairy-free and made with coconut milk. Most, if not all, are gluten-free and soy-free as well. They’ve got a pretty decent variety online, but you can also find them at Safeway though there are usually fewer flavors.

These are the three brands I know that are usually the most available in this area. As I said, if you’re looking for the most natural and simplistic kinds, you might want to pick one of the latter two brands over Ben & Jerry’s.

Also be warned: These brands are relatively expensive because of the nature of their ingredients. This might be something you want to keep to once in a while (not to mention from the unfortunate fact that it’s never a good idea to eat too much ice cream). But hey at least you know there’s something out there that may fit your dietary needs. Feeling like you have options is always nice. Here’s to warmer weather approaching!