Late last year, ice cream giant Ben & Jerry announced plans to rework their non-dairy line of ice creams, moving away from almond milk and sunflower butter to oat milk. I was thrilled. I was even more thrilled when I hopped on over to the VegNews website yesterday and saw that the first new flavor they are launching in the oat milk line is Strawberry Cheezecake!
Before we go any further, yes, I am fully aware that ice cream - vegan or not - is not a health food. Did You Bring the Hummus is a celebration of veganism, not diet culture, so you can always expect to find the discussions to be a good mix of indulgent and health promoting.
Anyway, back to ice cream.
From the time I went vegetarian in 2001 I happily tested out vegan ice creams whenever I could find them. I had a few I absolutely loved, Tofutti Berry Supreme and the Tofutti Cuties as well as Almond Dream Praline Crunch. I remember eating Rice Dream as well but the flavor is escaping me.
Then coconut milk ice cream came on the scene and you know, try as they might, no matter what flavor that coconut ice cream flavor is, it still tastes like coconut! In the mood for chocolate ice cream, better want chocolate coconut, fudge brownie swirl? More like coconut fudge brownie swirl...you get the picture. However, coconut milk ice cream more often than not hit that that cold, creamy, silky texture you look for in a good ice cream. So, despite never being in the mood for chocolate coconut ice cream, that's what I ate.
What came next? Cashew based ice cream. All of the good qualities of the coconut milk ice cream without the overpowering flavor. If you were having chocolate cashew ice cream, it tasted like chocolate, not cashews! Here I thought, we have a winner!! SOOOOOO good.
In recent years, oat milk has been everywhere. It is creamy, delicious, works well in coffee (unlike almond milk!), bakes just fine, and is all around your milk that does it all. So it just makes sense that it's making its way into ice creams too. (By the way, Ben & Jerry isn't the first, So Delicious, Oatly, Planet Oat, and others already have oat milk ice cream lines.) Oat milk ice cream also allows for more inclusivity as those with nut or soy allergies can likely indulge (considering the mix-ins as well.) I am not an inclusivity expert, but, I did speak with one on my podcast in July 2023. If you're curious about food sensitivities, inclusion in this space, and how to keep yourself or those you love safe, check out my interview with Food Inclusivity Mentor, Heather Landex, here.
If you missed my latest post about my love for oats, check it out here.
I will definitely be picking up a Strawberry Cheezecake pint when I see it! What is your favorite vegan ice cream?
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I think there are more and more commercial vegan options than ever before. Some are good and some they need to take back and try again. Enjoy your Strawberry Cheezecake!
I have never tried a vegan ice cream. But I feel hopeful on your behalf that Ben & Jerry's will make a good one. I love ice cream!
OMG strawberry cheezecake with oat milk sounds delicious! I am a coconut lover so I add coconut to just about everything. If I have a non- milk in the fridge it's usually coconut milk or oat milk.
Strawberry Cheezecake - you're killing me! No ice cream for this girl for a good while. You go ahead and enjoy though! Let us know what it tasted like!