Best Store Bought Vegan Desserts

Buying vegan dessert is easier than it was five years ago and still harder than it should be. The shelf is crowded with things that are technically plant based and genuinely not good. Here is how to sort it out, by category.

Read three things, skip the front of the package

Is the base an ingredient or a flavor. Coconut milk is a base. Coconut flavor is a shortcut.
Non dairy is not dairy free. Sodium caseinate is a milk protein and it is legal to call a product non dairy while it is in there.
Gelatin hides in texture. Anything jelly, mousse or marshmallow textured is worth checking.

Category by category

Frozen: vegan ice cream

The most developed category. Oat and coconut based pints are widely available and several are genuinely good. The tradeoffs are structural: it needs freezer space, it melts in transit, and it is usually the most calorie dense option on the list.

Refrigerated: coconut yogurt

Fermented, tangy, often sold on probiotic content. It is a yogurt, which means it is a breakfast product that some people eat as dessert. If you want something sweet rather than sour, this is not it.

Refrigerated: pudding and set desserts

The thinnest category, which is why it is the interesting one. Most shelf pudding cups contain milk. Most dairy free versions are a powdered mix set with modified starch. Very little of it is made from real coconut milk.

Shelf stable: cookies, bars and cakes

Easy to find, easy to overdo. Fine as a pantry item, less good as the thing you reach for every night.

The DIY answer

Chia pudding and nice cream are what most people fall back on. They work. They also require you to plan dessert in advance, which is not how dessert works.

What we make and where it fits

KOKONUT is coconut pudding in an 11 oz jar. Coconut water, coconut milk, filtered water, organic coconut sugar, agar agar, sea salt, and the flavor. Plant based, dairy free, gluten free and soy free.

It sits in the fridge, not the freezer. It comes sealed and portioned. And because it is set with agar agar rather than starch, the texture is clean and bouncy instead of pasty.

Nine flavors: plain coconut, black sesame, matcha, Vietnamese coffee, taro, mango, peach, strawberry, and a limited edition peach gum jelly.

Shop bundles or browse single jars.

Questions people ask

What are the best store bought vegan desserts?

It depends on what you want the dessert to do. Frozen pints are the most developed category. If you want something that lives in the fridge, comes portioned and does not melt, set coconut desserts are the better fit.

Where can I buy vegan dessert near me?

Check our store locator for cafes, restaurants and grocers carrying KOKONUT, or order online for chilled shipping.

Are vegan desserts healthier?

Not automatically. Plant based says nothing about sugar or calories. The ingredient list tells you more than the label claim does.