Ice cream, in all its glorious forms, holds a special place in our hearts. From the simple elegance of vanilla in a cone to the decadent richness of dark chocolate, there’s an ice cream flavor for every mood and craving. And while traditional ice cream is a treat many enjoy, the rise of veganism and dairy sensitivities has opened up a world of delicious plant-based alternatives. Among these, vegan soft serve stands out for its smooth, creamy texture and instant gratification. If you’re on the hunt for “Vegan Soft Serve Near Me”, you’re in luck! More and more ice cream shops, both local and national, are now offering incredible vegan options that are just as satisfying as their dairy counterparts.
A close-up of a hand holding a cone of creamy vegan ice cream, highlighting its smooth texture and appealing swirl.
The beauty of soft serve is its accessibility and the joy of indulging in a treat on the go. Whether you’re looking for a quick dessert after dinner, a refreshing snack on a hot day, or a fun outing with friends, vegan soft serve hits the spot. And just like traditional ice cream, vegan versions are becoming increasingly diverse and innovative, offering a wide range of flavors and textures.
This guide will explore some fantastic places where you can find creamy, dreamy vegan soft serve and similar frozen desserts. While focusing on the Austin, TX area as highlighted in the original article, the principles and types of places discussed are relevant to anyone searching for “vegan soft serve near me” in any city. You’ll discover local gems and familiar national chains that are making waves in the vegan dessert scene.
Local Austin Hotspots for Vegan Frozen Treats (and Inspiration for Finding Local Spots Near You)
Austin, Texas, known for its quirky spirit and independent businesses, boasts a thriving vegan food scene. This extends to frozen desserts, where you’ll find shops that are not just tolerating vegan options, but celebrating them with creative flavors and high-quality ingredients. While the following shops are based in Austin, they exemplify the types of places you can look for when searching for “vegan soft serve near me” in your own locality.
An inviting storefront of a vegan ice cream shop with outdoor seating, showcasing a vibrant and welcoming atmosphere for dessert lovers.
Gati Ice Cream: Thai-Inspired Coconut Milk Dream
Originally born as the in-house ice cream for Thai Fresh, Gati Ice Cream quickly gained a cult following for its rich, coconut milk-based scoops. The demand became so high that Gati blossomed into its own standalone shop, a testament to the deliciousness of their vegan creations. Drawing inspiration from Thai flavors, Gati offers a unique menu that rotates through 40 different options. Expect to find exciting tastes like pandan, tamarind, coconut ash, and Japanese red beans, alongside more familiar favorites.
For those who love visually appealing and uniquely flavored treats, the “Cookie Monster” is a must-try. This vibrant blue ice cream gets its color from butterfly pea tea extract and is swirled with generous chunks of gluten-free cookies. Everything at Gati is vegan and gluten-free, ensuring that everyone can indulge without worry. While not strictly soft serve, the creamy coconut milk base and innovative flavors at Gati provide a similar level of indulgence and satisfaction, making it a perfect destination for anyone seeking a unique vegan frozen treat experience. When searching for “vegan soft serve near me”, consider looking for shops specializing in unique international flavors or plant-based bases like coconut milk, as they often deliver equally satisfying creamy textures.
A colorful display case filled with various flavors of vegan ice cream at Gati Ice Cream, highlighting the diverse and tempting options available.
Luv Fats Ice Cream: Decadence in Every Scoop
Luv Fats Ice Cream lives up to its name by embracing “good fats” like coconut, avocado, olive oil, and cocoa butter to create incredibly decadent vegan ice cream. The result is a velvety smooth texture, as rich and satisfying as softened butter. Starting as a popup and farmers market vendor, Luv Fats quickly gained popularity and opened its own brick-and-mortar location. The walk-up window is consistently busy, a clear indication of the neighborhood’s love for these frozen treats.
Luv Fats is known for its innovative flavor combinations, such as chocolate chai and bananas foster. To elevate the experience further, top your scoop with a dollop of their signature toasted marshmallow cream for a whimsical presentation that is as delightful to look at as it is to eat. While not traditional soft serve, the incredibly creamy and rich texture of Luv Fats ice cream provides a similar mouthfeel and level of indulgence, making it a worthy alternative for those searching for “vegan soft serve near me”. When you’re looking for vegan soft serve alternatives, consider ice cream shops that emphasize rich and creamy textures, often achieved through the use of healthy fats.
A scoop of rich, creamy vegan ice cream from Luv Fats, topped with toasted marshmallow cream, showcasing its decadent texture and appealing presentation.
Pressed Freeze: Healthy Indulgence in Soft Serve Form
If you’re looking for a sweet treat that aligns with a health-conscious lifestyle, Pressed Juicery offers a fantastic option. Their “freeze” is essentially a vegan soft serve smoothie, made from the same wholesome ingredients as their cold-pressed nut milks: almonds, dates, vanilla, and salt. This base is naturally sweet and creamy, providing a guilt-free indulgence.
Pressed Freeze offers seasonal flavors like ube in the summer and pumpkin spice in the fall, providing exciting variety throughout the year. Each order includes three toppings, allowing you to customize your treat with options like crumbled cookie bits, almond butter, and vegan marshmallows. Because the base is made from nutritious ingredients, Pressed Freeze offers a “healthy” take on soft serve, perfect as a post-workout snack or a lighter dessert option. For those specifically searching for “vegan soft serve near me” with a focus on health and natural ingredients, Pressed Freeze is an excellent example of a place that blends indulgence with wellness. Consider juice bars or health-focused cafes in your search, as they often offer similar healthy soft serve alternatives.
A cup of Pressed Freeze vegan soft serve with various toppings, highlighting the healthy and customizable nature of this frozen treat.
Lick Honest Ice Creams: Honest Ingredients, Delicious Vegan Options
Lick Honest Ice Creams lives up to its name with its commitment to real ingredients and honest flavors. With three locations in Austin, Lick offers accessible and delicious frozen desserts for everyone. Their vegan selection, made with a creamy coconut milk base, is just as luscious and silky smooth as their dairy counterparts. While their vegan options may vary, Lick consistently offers fantastic seasonal specialties, such as egg(less) nog and sugar plum in the winter, demonstrating their commitment to creative and inclusive flavors.
While not solely focused on soft serve, Lick’s commitment to quality and their creamy coconut milk base ensures a texture that rivals the best vegan soft serve. When searching for “vegan soft serve near me”, consider ice cream shops like Lick that prioritize high-quality ingredients and offer a dedicated vegan menu, as they are likely to have creamy and satisfying dairy-free options.
A scoop of vegan ice cream from Lick Honest Ice Creams, showcasing its smooth texture and the brand’s commitment to quality ingredients.
Amy’s Ice Creams: Austin Classic with Vegan Choices
Amy’s Ice Creams is an Austin institution, scooping up fun and flavorful ice cream since 1984. With 12 locations around the city, Amy’s is easily accessible and always offers at least one vegan option. Currently, their vegan base is oat milk, available in chocolate or vanilla. What makes Amy’s unique is their “crush-ins,” where toppings are smashed into your ice cream on a chilled table. This not only blends the flavors throughout but also softens the ice cream to a perfect, melt-in-your-mouth consistency. The interactive experience of watching your custom creation being made adds to the fun.
While Amy’s vegan options may not always be strictly soft serve, the “crush-in” process creates a softer, more easily enjoyable texture, similar to soft serve. For those searching for “vegan soft serve near me” with a fun, customizable experience, Amy’s Ice Creams and similar shops offering mix-in options are worth checking out.
Amy’s Ice Creams employees preparing a customized vegan ice cream with “crush-ins” on a chilled table, highlighting the interactive and customizable experience.
Masa y Mas: Fro-Chata Vegan Soft Serve Fiesta
Masa y Mas offers a unique and delightful vegan soft serve experience with their “Fro-Chata.” This creation starts with a horchata base made from oat milk, rice milk, and coconut milk, perfectly capturing the flavor of the classic Mexican rice milk drink. The texture is subtly grainy, a pleasant reminder of the ground rice in the horchata. The sweetness is well-balanced with a hint of cinnamon spice.
You can customize your Fro-Chata with toppings like matcha powder or caramel sauce (vegan). While the chocolate sauce isn’t vegan, the rich horchata base is satisfying enough on its own. Masa y Mas’s Fro-Chata is a true vegan soft serve, offering a creamy and flavorful experience with a unique cultural twist. When searching for “vegan soft serve near me”, look for restaurants or dessert shops that offer unique vegan flavors or cultural-inspired frozen treats, as they often provide exciting and delicious soft serve options.
A cup of Masa y Mas’s Fro-Chata vegan soft serve, showcasing its creamy texture and horchata-inspired flavor.
National Chains Stepping Up the Vegan Soft Serve Game
Beyond local shops, many national ice cream chains are now offering vegan options, making it even easier to find “vegan soft serve near me” wherever you are. While specific offerings can vary by location and time, these chains demonstrate the growing accessibility of vegan frozen desserts.
A selection of vegan ice cream pints and cones from national chains, highlighting the increasing availability of plant-based options in mainstream stores.
TCBY: Vegan Froyo from a Classic Brand
TCBY, known for its frozen yogurt, has partnered with Silk to offer a non-dairy chocolate almond soft serve since 2013. This vegan froyo is more sweet and creamy than tart, providing a light and refreshing option, perfect for a hot day. While other creamy vegan options may be limited, TCBY often has a variety of fruit sorbets to complement their non-dairy soft serve.
TCBY’s vegan chocolate almond froyo offers a readily available “vegan soft serve near me” option from a familiar national brand. When searching, remember to check national frozen yogurt chains, as they are increasingly likely to offer at least one vegan soft serve flavor.
The Baskin Robbins logo, representing a national ice cream chain that now offers vegan options.
Baskin Robbins: Mint Chocolate Chip Goes Vegan
Baskin Robbins, another classic ice cream chain, has also joined the vegan movement, offering a non-dairy mint choco chunk flavor. This creamy vegan option features a refreshing mint base swirled with fudge and dotted with chocolate chips, providing a nostalgic ice cream parlor experience for vegan customers. While their vegan offerings may be more limited compared to some other chains, the availability of a creamy vegan flavor like mint chocolate chip at Baskin Robbins is a significant step forward.
Baskin Robbins provides another accessible “vegan soft serve near me” option from a well-known national chain. When searching, don’t overlook established ice cream parlor chains, as many are now beginning to include vegan soft serve or scoopable options in their menus.
Shake Shack: Plant-Based Custard Joins the Menu
Shake Shack, while primarily known for burgers and shakes, has recently introduced a plant-based chocolate frozen custard in collaboration with NotCo. While not their main focus, this addition demonstrates a growing awareness of the demand for vegan desserts, even in less traditionally vegan-friendly establishments. Shake Shack’s vegan chocolate frozen custard offers a convenient “vegan soft serve near me” option, especially for those already visiting for other menu items.
While Shake Shack might not be the first place that comes to mind for vegan desserts, their inclusion of a plant-based frozen custard highlights the increasing trend of diverse food establishments offering vegan options. When searching for “vegan soft serve near me”, consider broadening your search to include restaurants and fast-casual chains, as you might be surprised to find vegan dessert options available.
Your Vegan Soft Serve Adventure Awaits
Finding “vegan soft serve near me” is becoming easier and more exciting than ever. From local Austin gems like Gati and Masa y Mas to national chains like TCBY and Baskin Robbins, delicious plant-based frozen treats are increasingly accessible. Remember to explore local ice cream shops, juice bars, restaurants, and even national chains in your area. Don’t hesitate to check online menus or call ahead to confirm vegan options and flavors.
Ice cream, in any form, is more than just dessert; it’s a moment of joy and simple pleasure. So go ahead, treat yourself to some vegan soft serve and discover your new favorite spot!
