Ice cream. Who doesn’t want ice cream though? Everyone loves it, including vegans.
Of course, only when it’s vegan-friendly. Can Uncle Louie G ice cream satisfy your vegan ice cream cravings?
Uncle Louie G is famous for its gourmet Italian ice cream with different flavors to choose from. Although the majority of its ice cream is made with real milk, cream, and skim milk, the ice cream giant also cares for its vegan customers. Fortunately, it offers vegan-friendly ice cream flavors that we’re rooting for.
I know it can be challenging to find vegan ice cream in restaurants or even in your local grocery stores. No worries. We’ll help you with it, especially at Uncle Louie G.
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Uncle Louie G Makes You Feel Like A Kid Again
It was in the middle of temperatures soaring high in Brooklyn, New York when Louie G started his own Ice Cream and Italian Ices. To beat the heat in the summertime of 1959, Louie G introduced his homemade ice cream to everyone in the community. In just a short span of time, word spread throughout the area and he managed to grow his ice cream business.
Then the kids started calling him Uncle Louie G as a sign of respect for a man who always has a taste for everyone in the community. To this date, Uncle Louie G has more than 45 locations through franchising in eight different states.
Each of these locations has maintained Louie G’s original Italian ices and ice cream recipes. With the growing demand, Uncle Louie G makes sure that you get to taste its heavenly flavored homemade ice cream. Yes, we meant a free taste as long as you keep smiling!
Uncle Louie G Vegan Options
Uncle Louie G’s homemade ice cream may have included a few kinds of animal-sourced milk such as skim milk. But good news to all vegans, it has a separate menu for its vegan ice cream. These are dairy-free, kosher-certified, sugar-free, and most of all, vegan!
Let’s dig into its vegan-friendly menu, and find your new favorite vegan ice cream flavor.
Vegan Ice Cream
It’s available in different sizes such as Kiddie, Regular in Cup or Cone, Large in Cup or Cone, Pint, and Quart.
- Vegan Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
- Vegan Cookies & Cream
- Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream
- Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream
- Vegan Coffee Ice Cream
Non-Dairy Italian Ices
Uncle Louie G is winning on its non-dairy Italian Ices. With more than 20 flavors, you can be sure that these are non-dairy, sugar-free, and Kosher-certified.
- Black Razzberry
- Blue
- Bubble Gum
- Cantaloupe
- Cherry
- Cotton Candy
- Honey Doo
- Kiwi
- Lemon
- Lime
- Mango
- Orange
- Passion Fruit
- Peach
- Pineapple
- Rainbow
- Root Beer
- Strawberry
- Sugar-Free Chocolate
- Sugar-Free Cherry
- Sugar-Free Lemon
- Sugar-Free Rainbow
- Tropical Rainbow
- Watermelon
Other flavors of more than 50 are already non-vegan and contain dairy.
Pro Tip: Ask the crew to wash any scoopers that may have been used for other non-vegan items to ensure that there’s no cross-contamination. The authorities have instructed Uncle Louie G about this, and for sure, they’re aware of your request.
What Is Italian Ice?
Unlike the traditional ice cream that contains dairy products, Italian Ice typically doesn’t involve anything but juices, flavored syrups or concentrates, and purées. Its process though is similar to making ice cream where you mix all the ingredients and then freeze.
You might also wonder about shaved ice. While it’s somehow similar to Italian ice when it comes to taste or texture, its process is also different. Shaved ice, as we’ve discussed in this article, is made by shaving frozen ice cubes into very fine pieces. Then it’s flavored with flavored syrups and toppings.
Italian Ice was introduced by Italian immigrants in the U.S. It was inspired by a Sicilian frozen dessert called Granita with a smooth and crystallized texture.
How Healthy Are Ice Cream And Italian Ice?
Good news. Both ice cream and Italian ice are good sources of vitamins and minerals. Not so good news. They both contain sugar, calories, and fat if any.
Ice Cream
Ice cream is just like getting your own favorite meal for the day that you won’t even stop eating if possible. It’s definitely a good treat, especially when the sun is scorching hot. However, it’s packed with calories that you may have to watch out for.
Even those ice creams that are promoted as low-fat and no-sugar-added are still loaded with calories due to their sweeteners. According to a study, sugar alcohols as sweeteners used in ice cream can increase the risk of digestive issues, including gas and bloating.
Most ice cream contains up to 24 g of sugar in just 1/2 cup of serving. Take note. It’s only half a cup. That’s a lot of sugar to take, right?
It’s worth noting that you should limit your sugar intake to only 50 g of your recommended daily calorie intake of 2,000. Imagine if you eat more than a cup of ice cream a day? That’s a lot of calories to burn then.
So, if you eat ice cream too often, know that the calories are there to help you gain weight. If that makes sense. So, when you worry about gaining a few inches of your waistline, try not to eat too much ice cream.
Italian Ice
If you were to ask me if I prefer Italian Ice to a cup of ice cream, yes I’d take the former. Italian Ice is a better choice compared to any other frozen treats. It contains little to zero fat because it’s non-dairy and definitely vegan-friendly.
The downside is that it contains corn syrup, a sweetener made from corn starch that gives up to 30 g of sugar per cup of Italian Ice. This remains as high as the ice cream’s sugar content.
Therefore, it’s still processed food and gives you calories. The trick is, you should only consume it in moderation.
Vegan Ice Cream Brands
Vegan ice creams don’t contain any dairy products and have lower calories, but keep in mind that they still contain sugar. But it’s always good to choose the lesser evil, right?
So, here’s our list of vegan ice cream brands that you can always consider that their dairy counterparts. These are also recommended by PETA, which is something that we shouldn’t worry about. At least, we’re actually saving our dear animal friends out there!
- JD’s Vegan Dairy-Free Frozen Dessert
- KIND Frozen Plant Based Creamy Frozen Dessert
- Oatly Frozen Desserts
- Perry’s Ice Cream
- Ben & Jerry’s
- NadaMoo!
- Halo Top
- Target-Brand Archer Farms
- Arctic Zero
- McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams
- 365 Everyday Value
- Breyers
- Tofutti
- Dream
- Talenti
- Coconut Bliss
- Ciao Bella
- Double Rainbow
- Trader Joe’s
- Doozy Pots
- Daily Harvest
- O’MY! Dairy-Free Gelato
- Everyday Bliss
- SorBabes
- Alden’s Organic
- Van Leeuwen
- Häagen-Dazs
- Coolhaus
- Enlightened
- Baskin-Robbins
- Brave Robot
- Daiya
- Forrager
- Luna and Larry’s
- Mauna Loa
- Planet Oat
- Ripple
- So Delicious
Shops That Serve Vegan Ice Cream And Italian Ice
Other than Uncle Louie G, there are tons of ice cream shops that serve vegan ice cream that you can enjoy. We’ve also checked out some of the best shops ourselves and these are what we consider guilt-free for vegans.
- Ghirardelli Ice Cream & Chocolate Shop is based in San Francisco with multiple locations
- Dairy Queen (multiple locations)
- Amy’s Ice Creams (multiple locations)
- Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams (multiple locations)
- OddFellows (New York)
- Salt & Straw (West Coast)
- Stewart’s Shops (East Coast)
- Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream (multiple locations)
- FoMu in Allston, Massachusetts
- Sticky Sweet in Portland, Oregon
- Frankie & Jo’s in Seattle, Washington
- 16 Handles (multiple locations)
- Cream (multiple locations)
- Bruster’s (multiple locations)
- Rita’s Italian Ice (multiple locations)
- Pressed Juicery (multiple locations)
How To Make Vegan Ice Cream
Commercial and dairy ice cream is made longer than its vegan counterpart. If you’re into new experiences and adventure, or if you simply love ice cream, you can make one yourself at home. You will need an ice cream machine and Immersion Blender to do this.
Homemade is always the best, and with that being said, check this easy recipe for your vegan ice cream.
Ingredients needed:
- Full fat, canned coconut milk
- Chopped cacao butter
- Coconut oil or VCO
- Raw cashews
- Granulated sugar
- Salt
- Vanilla extract
What you need to do:
- Soak the cashews in a bowl of hot water for an hour. Drain and blend with some water until it’s creamy.
- Add the cashew milk to the coconut milk and mix well.
- Add sugar with water to the saucepan and stir until melted.
- Add salt, cacao butter, and coconut oil to the melted sugar and mix well.
- Pour the melted sugar mixture into the cashew and coconut milk mixture. To blend well, use an Immersion Blender.
- Chill the blended mixture in the fridge for 15 minutes.
- Churn it using your ice cream machine until soft.
- Put it in a loaf pan. Smooth it down, and cover with foil. Put it in the fridge.
- Your ice cream should be set for at least 4 hours, and it’s ready for you to scoop and serve!
Pro Tip: Consume your ice cream within two weeks. Homemade ice cream tends to build up ice crystals when stored for weeks.
Endnotes
Uncle Louie G is winning when it comes to its ice cream and Italian ice, especially since it offers vegan-friendly options. Be sure to consume it in moderation to avoid too many calories. Weight gain is the last thing we would want to happen to us these days. Remember, healthy eating works like magic!