When I look back at my time in high school, I remember sugary afternoons walking home and stopping at the corner store to pick up a pint of Ben & Jerry’s. The best part was digging for huge chunks of chocolate, nuts, and swirls of flavor. I’ll admit I sometimes left half a pint melted in the carton — not my proudest moments.
Fast forward to now: Ben & Jerry’s has released their first vegan-certified line of flavors and the internet has been buzzing. Their PR team invited me to cohost the first national tasting event in Los Angeles, and I couldn’t say no. I was eager to sample the new offerings and share them with fellow bloggers and ice cream fans.
I had the chance to try all four flavors before the event. They are: PB & Cookies, Chunky Monkey, Coffee Caramel Fudge, and Chocolate Fudge Brownie. True to Ben & Jerry’s style, these aren’t simple or timid flavors — they’re full of chunks and swirls of indulgent goodness.
If I had to choose a favorite, it would be PB & Cookies: a cookies-and-cream base loaded with large chocolate cookie sandwich pieces and generous ribbons of salty peanut butter. It reminded me of a peanut-butter Girl Scout cookie — rich, nostalgic, and downright dreamy.
The tasting was held at Mohawk Bend, a great venue, and we were joined by Kirstin Schimoler, Ben & Jerry’s flavor guru, who answered questions about the non-dairy desserts and explained how the vegan line was developed.
Ben & Jerry’s invested a surprising amount of time and energy into these four flavors — from ingredient quality and sourcing to texture and flavor development. They took the process seriously, and in many ways they’ve raised the bar compared with some existing vegan ice cream brands.
All ingredients in the new line are certified vegan through Vegan Action and non-GMO certified. Key ingredients like cocoa, sugar, bananas, coffee, and vanilla are Fairtrade certified. Where palm oil is present, it’s sustainably sourced, and the company is actively seeking alternatives. For the Chocolate Fudge Brownie flavor, Ben & Jerry’s worked with Greyston Bakery in New York to create vegan brownies. Overall, the line took about three years to develop, and the team settled on an almond milk base as the best foundation for these flavors.
Texture-wise, this is the best non-dairy ice cream I’ve tried. While I still have favorite flavors from other brands, these pints achieve an excellent balance of fat, sugar, and air. They’re not health food — ingredients are indulgent — but that’s not the point of a treat like this. What matters is having a widely available, delicious vegan option. These will give vegans and lactose-intolerant people more choices and may help change perceptions about how tasty cruelty-free treats can be.
Yes, Ben & Jerry’s is owned by Unilever, and that raises questions for some people. Still, since launching these flavors, Ben & Jerry’s has seen increased interest from other companies in creating quality vegan products. Greater availability of vegan options signals growth in the market and meets rising consumer demand. I want to see more accessible options, especially in places where vegan choices are limited or stigmatized.
These flavors should appear in stores and scoop shops nationwide within weeks, if they aren’t already in some locations. I’ve even spotted them at local Targets, Vons, and independent scoop shops in Los Angeles ahead of broader distribution. I highly recommend trying them if you get the chance.
I cohosted the Los Angeles tasting party with Ben & Jerry’s and was compensated for my time and this post. All opinions are honest and my own.