19 Ben & Jerry's Dairy-Free Ice Cream Flavors, Ranked Worst To Best

Ben & Jerry's is one of the most recognizable names in the ice cream industry. In 2016, the brand started with four non-dairy flavors made with almond milk. Four years after its initial vegan ice cream release, the brand opened its offerings to include sunflower butter, which its website claims "provides a decadently neutral blank canvas for our wacky vegan flavors without any other flavors coming through." The sunflower butter flavors do not contain nuts or peanuts but are processed on shared equipment as nut allergens.

The brand has since expanded to 19 non-dairy and certified-vegan pints that contain no genetically modified ingredients and are made with Fair Trade-certified vanilla, sugar, coffee, bananas, and cocoa. In addition, several of the brand's flavors can be found in dairy varieties, thus making Ben & Jerry's one of the most approachable vegan ice cream brands on the market today. Here are our favorite and least favorites of the euphoric non-dairy collection.

We're going to start by saying that mint ice cream isn't our go-to flavor. But, we were faced with a promise when we saw Ben & Jerry's collaboration with music star Chance the Rapper: Milk Chocolate Chance. The rapper's love of mint and brownies inspired the flavor of this novel sunflower butter pint.

Ben & Jerry's mint ice cream is not our favorite collaboration for this flavor. It has a strong mint taste that is very off-putting and inconsistent with the brownies. Like other Ben & Jerry's flavors, the brownies are well-distributed and present throughout the ice cream, but we can't overlook the plasticky taste of the mint base. The fudgy brownies help carry the ice cream, but we would nix the mint if given a chance.

The "Milk" & Cookies flavor is a spinoff of the dairy-based flavor, made with a vanilla base, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate sandwich cookies, and a cookie swirl. This sunflower butter ice cream contains no nut allergens.

Several reviewers have found the sunflower butter's taste and texture to be most apparent in this ice cream compared to others. Not only does the taste of the sunflower come through, but the ice cream has an off-putting texture that isn't as smooth and creamy as other non-dairy ice creams. However, the interspersion of the cookie pieces and delicious cookie swirl help improve the overall ranking of the ice cream. There are a ton of cookie chunks — which don't get soggy surrounded by ice cream. Overall, we would recommend fixing the base but not touching the mix-ins. 

Netflix & Chill'd is all we could have ever wanted in a whole pint of ice cream and more. The base of this ice cream is a peanut butter ice cream swirled with pretzels and fudge brownies. We would have liked to see more representation from a caramel ribbon, but we can settle for the complex additions that make this ice cream unique. Another exciting component of this ice cream is that there are elements of sweetness and salty throughout — mainly through the saltiness of the peanut butter and the sweetness of the brownies.

We do have to note the slightly poor distribution of fudge and pretzels in the ice cream. The chocolate fudge, though, receives some merits for its intense flavor and sturdy texture. Overall, this is a good flavor in concept, but its formula needs to be returned to the drawing board.

If you're eating the chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream from Ben & Jerry's, you likely aren't as adventurous of an eater as you think. However, although you might like to play it safe when ordering from a scoop shop or getting a pint at the grocery store, you can rest assured knowing that you are getting the best chocolate chip cookie dough out there. The cookie dough chunks are well distributed, and plenty in each pint.  Plus, the ice cream and the dough have the same taste and texture as the dairy-based version — which is perfect for lactose intolerant or vegan folks. You can even buy just the vegan cookie dough pieces from the company.

Our biggest qualm with chocolate chip cookie dough is that it's too vanilla for our taste. It's not as exciting as other options from Ben & Jerry's, and we need excitement.

Cherry Garcia is probably one of Ben & Jerry's most recognizable flavors — now made with almond milk. You'll find swirls of fudge pieces with hunks of dark, sweet cherries. It's a classic flavor of ice cream, and there is very little difference in flavor between the dairy-based and non-dairy ice cream flavors.

At this point, if you like Cherry Garcia, you likely know who its namesake, Jerry Garcia, is. There are many better vegan options out there, and we've found that this ice cream could include more cherries with the same amount of fudge. No one likes to get cheated out of the flavorful bits in their ice cream. It's also fundamentally a too simple ice cream compared to the brand's other flavors.

The Ben & Jerry's chocolate fudge brownie is undoubtedly one of the densest ice creams you'll ever eat. The company's brownies are sourced from Greystone Bakery in New York City, which helps employ low-income residents.

The chocolate ice cream is a bit bland, so a lot of weight is put on the brownies for support. It is important to note that the brownies in this ice cream are chewy and almost mousse-like rather than just pieces of cake that fall apart when you touch them. The brownies are like dense chocolate fudge that doesn't always soften when spooned into your mouth. However, the distribution of the brownie chunks in this flavor is sublime and perfect for any dairy-free chocolate lover. It's not the most adventurous flavor, but it is consistent.

Finally, a coffee-inspired flavor and one that is gluten-free too! The Boom Chocolatta Core features a gluten-free chocolate cookie core separating mocha and caramel ice cream with fudge and cookie flakes. The biggest complaint about this ice cream comes with the cookie core. It's gritty, leaves a bad aftertaste, and doesn't make sense with the rest of the ingredients. Some reviewers on Ben & Jerry's site have even likened it to wet cardboard or tree bark texture. We would have liked to see a gluten-free fudge or chocolate core instead of a cookie one.

Ben & Jerry's did some justice for the other flavors in the ice cream, notably the mocha. It has a smooth, chocolatey taste and could have easily replaced the caramel part of the ice cream. The fudge flakes are well-distributed in the ice cream, as well.

The Tonight Dough takes Peanut Butter Half Baked up a notch. This ice cream features caramel and chocolate ice cream, ribbons of chocolate cookie swirls, and a powerful duo of chocolate chip cookie dough and peanut butter cookie dough swirled in. You can probably read our minds when we say that this ice cream is just too complicated to be great. You lose so much of the flavors when you eat this ice cream — but you do get a little bit of everything in each bite.

What we do love about this ice cream is its charitable mission. A portion of the proceeds from each pint is donated to the Serious Fun Children's Network — which provides camping experiences for children with serious illnesses.

Peanut Butter Half Baked dips into the territory of "I didn't know what I wanted to order, so I ordered everything." This ice cream is made of two bases, chocolate and peanut butter almond milk ice cream swirled with brownies and peanut butter cookie dough. Because this type of ice cream is so complicated, it runs the risk of having too many mix-ins compared to the ice cream base. The chocolate ice cream for this flavor is also very bland and doesn't do the ice cream any favors. There is also not enough peanut butter flavor in the ice cream, despite how important the ingredient is in the flavor's namesake. Plus, the brownies don't significantly impact the taste of the dessert — it just muddles it.

One suggestion to improve this ice cream would be to make it a chocolate base with a peanut butter swirl and chunks of peanut butter cookie dough. This new design is more peanut-forward but not too complicated. We will say we appreciate the creativity here, which is why we ranked it a bit higher.

The Bananas Foster Core is a take on a classic New Orleans dessert; it has a sunflower butter-based banana and cinnamon ice cream with almond toffee pieces and a salted caramel core. From a flavor engineering perspective, we don't know why Ben & Jerry's would make this flavor allergen-friendly — up until adding the almond toffee. Plus, the ice cream for this flavor is bland, even if it is difficult to add a banana flavor without crossing over the line of being artificial. Several eaters have noted that the taste of this ice cream is just sweet — without any direction or flavor profile.  That being said, the core is undoubtedly the best part of this flavor.

Instead of buying this flavor, we recommend petitioning the company to replace it with non-dairy Chunky Monkey — which has a much better banana flavor.

Mint and Oreo lovers unite for Ben & Jerry's Mint Chocolate Cookie ice cream — made with a mint base and heavenly hunks of chocolate sandwich cookies. The taste of the mint in this ice cream is less overwhelming than the Milk Chocolate Chance, but it is still present. Plus, the ice cream has many cookie bits, perfect for making it into a milkshake or eating straight from the pint.

Overall, this ice cream was more on the conservative end of Ben and Jerry's flavors, but still an upgrade from any boring mint chocolate chip ice cream. Some folks on the brand's site have detected a sunflower taste coming through, which conflicts with the minty flavor of the ice cream base. The texture of this flavor right out of the freezer is also very hard, and the ice cream is chalky than the almond milk varieties.

Colin Kaepernick's Change the Whirled ice cream is exclusively non-dairy, an ode to social justice activist Colin Kaepernick's decision to eat vegan. This ice cream has a delectable caramel base filled with chunks of fudge, graham crackers, and chocolate cookies. A portion of the sale of this pint is donated to the Know Your Rights Camp, a program designed to empower and educate young individuals of color.

Everything in this pint works together and complements one another. One of the biggest things we noticed was that this ice cream was an actual swirl rather than a scavenger hunt to find different pieces and components of the ice cream. Some reviewers have claimed that this flavor is a bit overwhelming and too sweet — which would be toned down by swapping out the already sweet caramel ice cream base with another flavor.

Stephen Colbert was the driving inspiration behind Americone Dream — made with vanilla ice cream, fudge-covered waffle cone pieces, and a caramel swirl. Some of the proceeds from selling the pints are donated to Colbert's charity, The Stephen Colbert AmeriCone Dream Fund, which helps support causes including children, veterans, and the environment. But is this ice cream itself a boom or a bust?

Americone Dream is the only flavor with waffle cone pieces as a flavoring ingredient. Ben & Jerry's covers these pieces in chocolate to help prevent them from becoming soggy, but the consensus is that these pieces are more distracting than anything. The caramel swirl is an excellent addition to this ice cream, though, and contrasts the sweetness of the vanilla base and the complexity of the waffle cone pieces nicely.

Lights! Caramel! Action! is one of Ben & Jerry's newest flavors with both dairy and non-dairy varieties. Its caramel-centric flavors include a salted caramel swirl, graham crackers, and chocolate chip cookie dough bundles. Each purchase gives back to Ava DuVernay's ARRAY Alliance, which promotes social justice through art and creative media.

The cookie dough in this ice cream is very present and flavor-forward, but there is not as much caramel swirl or graham cracker essence as we would have liked to see (even so, we do love this pint). One of the ways that Ben & Jerry's could upgrade this ice cream would be to include a caramel ice cream base with additional swirls of salted caramel rather than just a creamy yet decadent vanilla base. A more obvious caramel swirl and possibly substituting the chocolate chip cookie dough with sugar cookie dough would make this ice cream much better.

No fishes were harmed in the making of this non-dairy and vegan rendition of the Ben & Jerry's classic. Phish Food is made with chocolate ice cream, soft marshmallows, a caramel swirl, and fish-shaped pieces of fudge. Each purchase supports the WaterWheel Foundation, which supports initiatives to clean and maintain Phish (and Ben & Jerry's) home state of Vermont.

As with all flavors involving Ben & Jerry's chocolate ice cream, we weren't impressed with the chocolate element of this otherwise-delicious ice cream. There isn't an intense chocolate flavor from the base of the ice cream, so the swirls are forced to take up the extra work. Luckily, the marshmallow swirl isn't super sweet, which in turn helps carry the extra sweetness from the caramel and the decadent fudge fish pieces. If Ben & Jerry's made the chocolate ice cream a little stronger, Phish Food would have come out on top.

The Karamel Sutra Core flavor is, without a doubt, the best of the non-dairy core flavors. The taste has chocolate and caramel base components, both interspersed with fudge chips and supported by a soft caramel core. This gluten-free ice cream can also be found in a dairy variety.

The biggest downside to this flavor is the chocolate ice cream which is, you guessed it, bland. A whole caramel ice cream would have been a more magical eating experience than the hybrid of the two flavors. The fudge adds a bit of oomph to the ice cream, but not enough to distract from the show's star: the soft caramel core. With this innovative placement, you can get a mouthful of caramel in every bite.

P.B. & Cookies combines two of our favorite ingredients with a vanilla base to make a decadent flavor. You'll find gobs of chocolate sandwich cookies and crunchy peanut butter swirls inside every pint. The balance of these two ingredients is simple but just exciting enough compared to other flavors. The peanut butter swirls help thicken up this ice cream and doesn't make it seem like what you're eating is dairy-free.

The cookie distribution in this ice cream is excellent and includes both tiny and large hunks. It's perfect for anyone with the guilty pleasure of dipping their Oreo cookies into peanut butter before eating them. Overall, P.B. & Cookies is a solid choice for anyone looking for something out of their comfort zone, but not delve into anything too wacky.

Coconut Seven Layer Bar has a lot of stuff going on, which makes it such a successful flavor in our opinion. You'll find all the elements of a homemade seven-layer bar inside a swirl of coconut non-dairy ice cream, like fudge chunks, walnuts, caramel, and a graham cracker swirl. The coconut base is a strong undercurrent throughout each scoop, but not so overpowering that it distracts from the other delicious ingredients. Moreover, the caramel is widely distributed and buttery, especially considering it is 100% dairy-free, and the graham cracker crumbs provide the perfect textural contrast for this flavor.

The one downside to this ice cream is that the fudge chunks are complex and difficult to chew. We would have also liked to see more graham cracker representation in the pint.

Oatmeal Dream Pie is one of the nondairy's euphoric new flavors. This collaboration with cookie brand Partake developed a gluten-free ice cream flavor full of gluten-free oatmeal cream pie cookies (like the classic Little Debbie cakes) and a marshmallow swirl.

The one phrase we thought of when we thought of this flavor was "holy euphoria." It is unlike the Oatmeal Cookie Chunk flavor, which was discontinued in 2012, because it doesn't have the cinnamon ice cream or the fudge chunks. Instead, you're hit with many sweet marshmallows and soft buttery oatmeal cookies. We also appreciate that this ice cream is mildly spiced without the cookies being too crunchy or soggy. It's the perfect balance — and one that could only be concocted by Ben & Jerry's.