Have you ever tried the melt-in-your-mouth ice cream beads called Dippin’ Dots? If you have, you would know how their exciting combination of flavors creates a party in your mouth. If you haven’t, you’re in for a big treat.
Wondering if you can possibly enjoy Dippin’ Dots as a vegan?
Let’s break into the world of this unique frozen dessert and find out if Dippin’ Dots have dairy in them or they are vegan-friendly!
Are Dippin’ Dots Vegan?
Dippin’ Dots may have started with cryogenically frozen ice cream only, but today, they offer four different types of frozen desserts, all in the form of those tiny, melt-in-your-mouth beads. These include:
- Ice Cream
- Ice
- Frozen Yogurt
- Sherbet
Are Any of These Dippin’ Dots Vegan?
If you have been vegan for any length of time, you would know the drill by now – we have to take a look at the ingredients of each Dippin’ Dots variety to figure out if they are vegan-friendly or not. So, let’s get to the work without further ado!
Is Dippin’ Dots Ice Cream Vegan?
The availability of Dippin’ Dots flavors tends to change over time. When writing this article (September 2021), eight different Dippin’ Dots ice cream flavors were available. Let’s look at the ingredients list of them all to find out if any of them are vegan-friendly…
Dippin’ Dots Banana Split Ice Cream Ingredients
Featuring a combination of vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, and banana ice creams, the gorgeous looking and delicious Dippin’ Dots Banana Split ice cream is made with the following ingredients:
The first two ingredients on this list are milk and cream, making the Dippin’ Dots Banana Split ice cream non-vegan.
Dippin’ Dots Birthday Cake Ice Cream Ingredients
Combining two of the most popular desserts in the world – ice cream and cake – this Dippin’ Dots ice cream is a real treat. But is Dippin’ Dots Birthday Cake ice cream vegan? Let’s take a look at what it is made of:
Whoops! There’s milk and cream on the ingredient list, which means it is not vegan.
Dippin’ Dots Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Ingredients
Vanilla ice cream with chocolate chip cookie dough chunks sounds delicious. But, sadly, it’s not vegan at Dippin’ Dots because there is dairy in it…
Dippin’ Dots Chocolate Ice Cream Ingredients
This is classic milk chocolate ice cream, so no surprise here; it’s not vegan.
Dippin’ Dots Cookies’ N Cream Ice Cream Ingredients
The name says it all! Dippin’ Dots most popular ice cream flavor is not vegan. Here’s the list of ingredients for reference:
Dippin’ Dots Cotton Candy Ice Cream Ingredients
The gorgeous pink and blue ice cream beads that make Dippin’ Dots Cotton Candy ice cream are sadly milk-based. Hence, it’s not suitable for vegans.
Dippin’ Dots Ultimate Brownie Batter Ice Cream Ingredients
An ice cream made of brownie batter mixed with big chunks of brownie batter is double the fun. But, sadly, vegans cannot enjoy this scrumptious chocolate treat from Dippin’ Dots because there is dairy in it.
Dippin’ Dots Strawberry Ice Cream Ingredients
This classic berry flavored ice cream from Dippin’ Dots isn’t vegan either.
Are Dippin’ Dots Ice Creams Vegan?
Sadly, none of the Dippin’ Dots ice cream flavors is vegan-friendly. These include the ice cream flavors currently listed on their website as the flavors on vacation (not currently available). Presuming that they will likely come back in future, I took a quick look at their ingredients as well.
They all are made with the same base ingredients, which include milk and cream. Dippin’ Dots doesn’t offer any dairy-free ice cream.
Are you badly craving some ice cream? Refer to this PETA-approved list of vegan ice cream brands to satisfy your craving.
Note
It’s important to note that although milk and cream are the key culprits that make Dippin’ Dots ice creams non-vegan, frozen desserts also include several ingredients that have a controversial status in the vegan community. These include sugar, natural and artificial flavors, and artificial colors.
Not sure what’s wrong with these ingredients? Here’s a quick roundup for you:
- Sugar – It is commercially refined using bone char.
- Natural and Artificial Flavors – The term natural flavors is broad and encompasses both animal and plant sources. This means you cannot truly determine the vegan status of natural flavors unless you know their sources. Artificial flavors are vegan on their own, but they are tested on animals.
- Artificial Colors – Artificial colors are also tested on animals; a practice vegans strongly stand against.
Refer to my article Are Sour Patch Kids Vegan for a more detailed discussion on these controversial ingredients.
Is Dippin’ Dots Frozen Yogurt Vegan?
Called YODOTS, Dippin’ Dots frozen yogurt is available in seven different flavors (as of September 2021). These include:
- Banana Split
- Chocolate & Vanilla
- Cookie Dough
- Cookies’ N Cream
- Cotton Candy
- Rainbow
- Strawberry Cheesecake
While it doesn’t come as a surprise, it’s still sad to know that none of these flavors is dairy-free. In other words, these are all non-vegan
Is Dippin’ Dots Sherbet Vegan?
There are three sherbet flavors listed on the Dippin’ Dots website:
- Lemon-Lime Sherbet
- Orange Sherbet
- Redberry Sherbet
Let’s take a look at their ingredients list to find out what they are made of…
Dippin’ Dots Lemon-Lime Sherbet Ingredients
I couldn’t find the list of ingredients for these citrusy frozen treats. However, the product page has an allergen alert stating that it contains milk, which means it’s not vegan-friendly.
Dippin’ Dots Orange Sherbet Ingredients
Dippin’ Dots website doesn’t provide the list of ingredients for these gorgeous orange-colored sherbet beads. However, they also come with the same allergen alert as that of lemon-lime sherbet.
Dippin’ Dots Orange sherbet is not vegan either.
Dippin’ Dots Redberry Sherbet Ingredients
Fortunately, I was able to track the list of ingredients for Dippin’ Dots Redberry sherbet. But, sadly, it isn’t a vegan-friendly ingredients list. Take a look yourself…
Is Dippin’ Dots Ice Vegan?
There isn’t much available out there for vegans in the category of frozen desserts. Let’s find out where Dippin’ Dots ice fits in this non-vegan-friendly world of frozen sweet treats.
Dippin’ Dots offers a fantastic variety of ice beads. Let’s take a quick look at their ingredients to determine if any of their flavors are vegan-friendly.
Dippin’ Dots Blue Raspberry Ice Ingredients
These beautiful ice blue colored and raspberry flavored ice beads are made with the following ingredients:
Yay! No dairy here, which means this Dippin’ Dots ice flavor can be termed vegan-friendly.
Dippin’ Dots Lemon Ice Ingredients
These citrusy ice beads are made of:
Dippin’ Dots Frozen Confetti with Popping Candy Ingredients
This Dippin’ Dots ice variety features a combination of blue raspberry and lemon ices, both of which are vegan-friendly. However, it comes with the allergen warning, saying the product Contains Dairy.
Wondering where does the dairy come from? The list of ingredients tells that Popping Candy is the culprit!
Dippin’ Dots Lime Ice Ingredients
This bright green colored frozen dessert from Dippin’ Dots is not only appealing to the eye but is also dairy-free.
Dippin’ Dots Strawberry Ice Ingredients
Here’s what this berry-flavored ice is made of:
It’s dairy-free!
Dippin’ Dots Liberty Ice Ingredients
Dippin’ Dots Liberty Ice combines lemon, blue raspberry, and strawberry flavored ice beads, all of which are dairy-free.
Dippin’ Dots Rainbow Ice Ingredients
This stunning, multi-colored ice is a blend of lemon, lime, blue raspberry, strawberry, and orange ice beads. Here’s its list of ingredients, as given on the website:
Dippin’ Dots Rockin’ Cherry Ice with Popping Candy Ice Ingredients
This Dippin’ Dots ice comes with the dairy warning. They don’t provide the list of ingredients for it, but it can safely be presumed that it comes from the Popping Candy (just like the Frozen Confetti ice).
Dippin’ Dots Strawberry Lemonade Ice Ingredients
As the name suggests, this is a blend of strawberry and lemonade ice beads. There is no list of ingredients available on the Dippin’ Dots website for it. However, considering that most of their ice varieties are dairy-free (and those containing dairy come with the allergen warning), we can presume that this blend doesn’t have any milk-based ingredients.
Dippin’ Dots Sour Blue Razz Ice Ingredients
This is a sour-y version of the blue raspberry ice. We don’t have the ingredients list for it. However, it doesn’t contain the dairy warning, which means it’s dairy-free.
Dippin’ Dots Orange Ice Ingredients
No dairy here as well!
Dippin’ Dots Purple Ice Ingredients
This raspberry flavored ice seems to be dairy-free. There is no list of ingredients available on the Dippin’ Dots website, but there is no dairy warning either.
Dippin’ Dots Black Ice Ingredients
This is probably the least exciting option in the Dippin’ Dots ice category because it’s just plain, sweet ice. However, it can go well with other strong-flavored ice beads. More importantly, it’s dairy-free.
Are Dippin’ Dots Ice Beads Vegan?
The majority of Dippin’ Dots ice options are dairy-free. Hence, they can be termed vegan-friendly.
However, it’s important to note that they all contain sugar, artificial and/or natural flavors and colors, which, as discussed earlier, are considered controversial ingredients in the vegan world. So, the decision to consume Dippin’ Dots ice or not lies with you.
Conclusion – Does Dippin’ Dots Have Vegan Options?
The answer to this question depends on what veganism means to you. If you are okay with consuming the controversial ingredients – sugar, natural and artificial flavors, and artificial colors – you can enjoy Dippin’ Dots ice, except the Frozen Confetti with Popping Candy and Rockin’ Cherry Ice with Popping Candy flavors. All of Dippin’ Dots ice flavors, except these two, are dairy-free.
Sadly, all the Dippin’ Dots ice cream and sherbet flavors are non-vegan due to dairy; the brand does not offer any dairy-free ice cream or sherbet.
Another important thing to note is that all the Dippin’ Dots frozen desserts are prepared in the same facility. Here’s what the brand says about it…
To sum it all up, the decision to consume Dippin’ Dots (non-dairy ice) or not lies with every individual vegan.
Frequently Asked Questions
· What flavors of Dippin’ Dots are vegan?
None of the Dippin’ Dots ice cream and sherbet flavors are vegan-friendly, as they all contain dairy. However, the brand does offer several dairy-free ice flavors. Read the article to find out what other ingredients they contain and if they are vegan-friendly.
· Are Cotton Candy Dippin’ Dots vegan?
Dippin’ Dots offer Cotton Candy flavored ice cream and frozen yogurt, both of which contain milk. Hence, they are not vegan.
· Does Rainbow Ice Dippin’ Dots have dairy?
Dippin’ Dots Rainbow Ice doesn’t contain dairy.
· Are Rainbow Ice Dippin’ Dots vegan?
Rainbow Ice Dippin’ Dots ingredients do not include any animal ingredients. However, it does contain a few controversial ingredients.
Dippin’ Dots Rainbow Ice can be termed vegan-friendly for those who do not mind consuming controversial ingredients. However, those hardcore vegans who strictly avoid such ingredients may prefer to avoid this sugary frozen treat.
· Which Dippin’ Dots flavors are dairy-free?
All of Dippin’ Dots ice flavors, except the Frozen Confetti with Popping Candy and Rockin’ Cherry Ice with Popping Candy, are dairy-free.
· Are Dippin’ Dots vegetarian?
Yes. All Dippin’ Dots ice cream, sherbet, frozen yogurt, and ice varieties are vegetarian.
Did you find this detailed vegan breakdown of the Dippin’ Dots menu helpful? Interested in a similar analysis of other brands and restaurants known for their ice creams and find out if their menus include vegan-friendly options? Check out my article Dairy Queen Vegan Options!
