Updated January 2023! Salt and Straw began in Oregon, but this ice creamery has rapidly expanded. They now have around 20 scoop shops in Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Anaheim (yes, Disneyland!), San Diego, and Miami serving small batch, artisanal ice cream made from local ingredients. And they also ship nationwide. Salt & Straw always has at least two vegan options, and in January, they feature a full dairy-free line. It used to be called Vegandulgence but it’s now the Dairy-Free Decadence series.
Salt and Straw Dairy-Free Decadence Series Hits Every January
For the month of January, all Salt and Straw stores and their online shop feature a new selection of five vegan flavors. All five varieties are vegan and highlight different non-dairy bases. We’re keeping track of the featured flavors below. Availability of these flavors often starts in late December and lingers into February, particularly for online orders.
- 2023: Bananas Foster, Chocolate Sorbet, Toasted Oat Milk & Cookies, Peanut Butter Brittle Caramel Fudge, Red Velvet Cake w/ Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2022: Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Petunia’s Rainbow Sprinkled Babycakes, Coconut Cream Pie Cupcake with Lemon Curd, Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcake, Renewal Mill’s Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcake
- 2021: Peanut Butter Strawberry Crumble, Bourbon & Caramelized Honeycomb, Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies & Cream, Coconut Rice Pudding, Banana Avocado Sorbet
- 2020: Lemon Cheesecake Crumble, Banana & Peanut Butter Tofu Pudding, Sunflower Butter Cups, Toasted Oat Milk & Cookies, Rocky Road w/ Aquafaba Marshmallows
- 2019: Toasted Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies, Elvis’ Peanut Butter Banana Split, Candied Apricot Faux-yo, Aquafaba Marshmallow Oatmeal Moon Pies, and Heidi Ho’s Lemon Cheesecake
But don’t worry, even if you miss this special time of year, Salt & Straw shops offer at least a couple dairy-free and vegan flavors at all times …
Vegan Flavors to Enjoy Year Round at Salt and Straw
Even after the big January series, you can count on Salt and Straw to have three dairy-free and vegan flavors on hand. They have “vegan menus” to help customers order their most indulgent experience. Here are ingredients on some repeat flavors, to give you an idea.
Salt & Straw Classic Dairy-Free Flavors
- Freckled Mint Chip: water, coconut cream, sugar, tapioca syrup, dark chocolate (cacao beans, sugar, coconut oil, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla beans), vanilla extract, salt, xanthan gum, sunflower oil, natural green color (spirulina extract, fruit juice), peppermint oil.
- Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies & Cream: coconut cream, water, sugar, powdered sugar, tapioca syrup, earth balance (vegetable oil blend, water, salt, natural flavor, pea protein, sunflower lecithin, lactic acid, annatto extract), cocoa powder, single-origin chocolate (cacao beans, sugar), hazelnut butter, gluten free flour blend (sweet white rice flour, potato starch, whole grain brown rice flour, whole grain sweet white sorghum flour, tapioca flour, xanthan gum), salt, sunflower oil, clear vanilla extract, baking soda, baking powder.
- Roasted Pineapple Coconut Sherbet: coconut cream, sugar, water, tapioca syrup, pineapple juice, lemon juice, xanthan gum, malic acid, salt
- Marionberry Coconut Sherbet: coconut cream, water, marionberries, sugar, tapioca syrup, lemon juice, xanthan gum, malic acid, citric acid
- Boysenberry Oatmilk Sherbet: water, berries (boysenberries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries), sugar, tapioca syrup, coconut oil (allergen-free), oat flour, sunflower oil, lemon juice, gum arabic, oat fiber, natural gums (locust bean gum, guar gum), salt, vanilla extract
- Wynwood Brewing Mango Habanero IPA Sorbet: water, mango puree, sugar, tapioca syrup, wynwood brewing’s laces ipa, habaneros, orange juice, lime juice, salt, xanthan gum, citric acid, citra hops
Salt & Straw Dairy-Free FAQ
- Are the Cones at Salt & Straw Vegan? We were told in-store that their sugar cones are dairy-free and vegan, but the waffle cones contain dairy.
- What Vegan Ice Cream Base does Salt & Straw Use? They mix it up, but usually use oat milk, coconut cream, or an avocado base.
- Do They Taste Dairy-Free? I sampled a sorbet, which was a premium sorbet, and their Strawberry Coconut, which was a creamy dairy-free ice cream with a coconut base. It was good, but definitely heavy on coconut flavor. If you are averse to coconut, I would hold out for their oat milk varieties, which aren’t as common.
- Does Salt & Straw Let You Sample Flavors? Yes! When we were there, they actually had staff come out into the line to offer whatever samples you want – no waiting!
- How Often do they Change Flavors? They have classics, like their Vegan Freckled Mint Chip, on quite regularly, but will launch limited edition flavors every month or so.
Where to Find Salt and Straw
There are about 20 Salt and Straw shops, located in Oregon, Washington, California, and Miami. One of their shops is at Disneyland. If you don’t live near a Salt and Straw, you can order their pints online via their website below. They have a choose your own flavor pack for home delivery, and they ship throughout the U.S.
Website: saltandstraw.com
Not Vegan Friendly
There are 3 or 4 flavors that are dairy free (vegan) but they do not advertise that their cones are not vegan at all, and did not tell me that they were not vegan when I bought vegan ice cream. The icecream has too much extract in it and it tastes rather artificial. Try Kate’s instead if you’re in PDX!
Response from Go Dairy Free
As noted and verified in our guide, the sugar cones do not contain dairy, but the waffle cones do. We verify this information with corporate. Most ice cream shops do not advertise or display whether or not their cones are vegan, which is why we do this research!
Good
They haven’t mastered dairy-free ice cream, but their vegan flavors are pretty good and fun. When you’re craving something unique, they’ve got you covered.
Not enough non-dairy variety
I’m not a chocolate, peanut butter, lemon or strawberry person, so their flavors usually don’t do much for me. We found Frankie & Jo’s in the Seattle area and ALL of their ice cream is plant-based and doesn’t all taste like coconut (which I am also not a big fan of all coconut milk based ice cream tasting like!). I will drive way out of my way just to go to a Frankie & Jo’s location. My husband, who can eat dairy, really loves the plant-based flavors too!
Response from Go Dairy Free
We have Frankie & Jo’s listed here -> https://www.godairyfree.org/dining-out/frankie-jos-seattle – you are more than welcome to leave a review on that one too 🙂
For More Dairy-Free Guidance, Get Go Dairy Free!
