Tyler McFarland on May 8, 2021
Updated on November 8, 2023 Reviewed and fact-checked Found a mistake? Let us know!
In my 14 years as a vegan, I’ve been to many ice cream places that offer just 1 token vegan ice cream flavor. Don’t get me wrong—it’s appreciated—but it doesn’t really leave you many options. Bruster’s, on the other hand, is quit a bit better for us vegans.
Bruster’s has 8 flavors of dairy-free coconut ice cream, 14 vegan flavors of Italian ice or sherbet, and 9 vegan flavors of sorbet. Their Cake Cone is vegan, and you can also get their vegan ice cream in a “Float” or “Freeze” form.
Below, I’ll list every vegan flavor at Bruster’s, along with a few confusing menu items that are NOT vegan. Keep in mind that not every flavor is offered every day. But these are the flavors to keep an eye out for.
The following vegan menu was compiled with the help of the nutrition information on the Bruster’s website. Bruster’s publishes full ingredient lists for each of their flavors. Therefore, I can make the following recommendations with a high degree of confidence.
That said, restaurant menus change and often vary by location. I recommend double checking any important information with staff at your location!
1. Non-Dairy Ice Cream Flavors
The following are Bruster’s non-dairy ice cream flavors. These are made with coconut milk. On any given day, there will only be a few of these available to choose from. But this is the list of flavors in rotation:
- Banana
- Chocolate
- Chocolate Chip
- Cookies ‘n’ Cream w/ OREO
- Mint Chocolate Chip
- Strawberry
- Strawberry/Banana
- Vanilla
These can also be substituted into the menu items like floats, freezes, and so forth. Just ask for the dairy-free ice cream rather than the normal ice cream.
Note: The “Graham Central Station” flavor is the only non-dairy flavor that isn’t strictly vegan. It contains honey.
2. Italian Ice & Sherbet Flavors
Oddly, Bruster’s combines their Italian ice and sherbet flavors into the same list. This complicates things a bit, since Italian ice is typically vegan, while sherbet is not.
Indeed, Bruster’s states clearly that their Italian ices are 100% dairy-free. So I’m guessing the following list is mostly or entirely Italian ice. That said, because of the combined list, it’s possible some of these flavors are vegan sherbet.
Anyway, here are the vegan flavors from the list of “Italian Ice & Sherbet” they have:
- Banana
- Blue Pop
- Cherry
- Cotton Candy
- Dewey Mountain
- Grape
- Lemon
- Peach
- Pina Colada
- Sour Apple
- Strawberry Daiquiri
- Strawberry Kiwi
- Super Hero
- Watermelon
Non-Vegan Sherbet Flavors: Black Raspberry, Raspberry, Cranberry, Lime, Orange, Strawberry.
3. Sorbet Flavors
“Sorbet” is generally a term that indicates there is no dairy. And that rule holds true at Bruster’s.
In fact, it looks like all of Bruster’s current sorbet flavors are 100% vegan. These are the exact ones they had when I checked:
- Black Raspberry
- Coconut
- Lemon
- Mango
- Mango Dragon Fruit
- Peach
- Pineapple
- Strawberry
- Strawberry Lemon
4. Cake Cone
Bruster’s has a Cake Cone and a Waffle Cone, but only the Cake Cone is vegan. The Waffle Cone contains egg and milk (details below). It’s too bad.
Anyway, here are the ingredients for the Cake Cone:
Cake Cone Ingredients: Enriched Wheat Flour (Enriched With Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Tapioca Flour, Sugar, Vegetable Oil Shortening (Soybean And/Or Canola Oil, Modified Palm Oil, Soy Lecithin, And/Or Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil), Leavening (Sodium Bicarbonate, Ammonium Bicarbonate), Salt, Natural Flavor, Annatto (Vegetable Color).
5. Drinks
There are several interesting drinks you can get at Bruster’s:
- Freezes – For a vegan “Freeze,” pick any of the vegan Italian Ice / Sherbet flavors above, and it will be combined with Sprite! Fruity and very sweet!
- Floats – For a vegan “Float,” you’d get the vanilla coconut ice cream, and then pick any flavor fountain drink to be mixed with it!
- Sodas – If you just want a soda separate from your ice cream, they’ve got that at Bruster’s, too. I would expect the normal mix of Coca-Cola products.
Is Bruster’s Waffle Cone Vegan?
Bruster’s Waffle Cone is not vegan, as it contains whole egg, butter, and buttermilk. This means the only vegan cone option at Bruster’s is the Cake Cone.
Here are the full ingredients for the Waffle Cone:
Waffle Cone Ingredients: Enriched Bleached Wheat Flour (Enriched With Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Sugar, Vegetable Shortening (Partially Hydrogenated Soybean And Cottonseed Oils), Whole Egg, Artificial Flavor (Including Maltodextrin, Modified Cornstarch, Butter, Buttermilk), Dextrose, Soy Lecithin, Artificial Vanilla Flavor.
More Vegan Guides to Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt
I’ve made vegan guides to nearly 100 restaurant chains. Check out the vegan options at some of these other ice cream and frozen yogurt shops:
Two More Recommendations for Your Plant-Based Journey
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2. This is the best vegan multivitamin I’ve found in my 14 years of being vegan. It has vitamin B12, vitamin D, omega-3—and nothing else. Translation: It only has the nutrients vegans are actually low in. Read my full review of Future Kind’s multivitamin here (with 10% discount).
I’m Tyler McFarland, the editor and main author here. When I first went vegan 13 years ago, convenience products like veggie burgers and soy milk were a lot harder to find. Now they’re everywhere!