Dairy-free creamy popsicles are hard to find, but Steel City Pops has you covered with options like the dairy-free peanut butter popsicle with dark chocolate drizzle.
My dentist can attest: I love desserts. Whether it's cheesecake or ice cream, I will pine for sugary treats, even if it hurts later.
It's not easy for people who are vegan, lactose-intolerant or suffer from dairy allergies to find great desserts in Dallas. Options are usually limited to a handful of menu items, and sometimes they simply aren't as tasty as their creamier counterparts. I'm looking at you, ice cream.
So instead of subjecting yourself to a potential stomachache, as I've done for years as a lactose-intolerant dessert lover, curb the symptoms altogether with these dairy-free desserts.
Dairy-free cheesecake is a lactose-intolerant's heaven. Here's the cookies and cream cheesecake drizzled with vegan chocolate and cinnamon sauce from Be Raw Food and Juice.
Cheesecake is traditionally made with cream cheese and milk, so it's not the ideal dessert for anyone wanting to avoid dairy. At Be Raw Food and Juice, a vegan cafe in Dallas, chefs make substitutes for dairy-filled desserts. Their cheesecake is made with cashews and maple syrup, and it's also low glycemic, making it a good alternative for anyone watching glucose intake. Popular cheesecake flavors are lemon, chocolate and cookies and cream.
With the exception of three drinks on the menu -- the Thai tea, Vietnamese coffee and caramel macchiato -- Dottea Bubble Tea and Coffee is dairy-free. This Dallas drink shop mixes in a non-dairy powder as a substitute for dairy products, which actually results in a creamier consistency. Popular flavors include the almond milk tea and the yo-matcha milk tea says Edward Maksimovich, a Dottea employee. I also recommend the "New-tella" coffee, which is a chocolate-infused coffee milk tea that is just as tasty.
These "Skoop" desserts from Nekter Juice bar are totally dairy-free. And totally good.
Ice cream can be a touchy subject for anyone avoiding dairy, but it doesn't have to be. Nekter Juice Bar, home of loaded acaï fruit bowls, now offers "Skoop," a frozen treat similar to ice cream. Skoop is made from cashew milk, coconut sugar, agave nectar and honey, and it comes in two flavors: coconut vanilla and chocolate. Servers scoop it out of designated "Skoop" machines and top it with ingredients like berries or coconut flakes. It looks and tastes like ice cream and feels so light -- I could have sworn it was gelato made by an Italian Nonna.
Locations that offer Skoop: 3309 Dallas Parkway, Plano. 8403 Pickwick Lane, Dallas. 629 Stayton St., Fort Worth. 4601 West Freeway, Fort Worth. Coming soon with Skoop: 8255 Preston Road, Plano.
Reverie Bake Shop's vegan, and therefore dairy-free, s'mores cupcake is a must for any dessert lover.
Richardson's Reverie Bake Shop is plant-based and vegan, so the entirety of the menu, which includes breakfast, pies and cakes, is totally dairy-free. Cody Taylor, one of the bakery's employees, says a customer favorite is the s'mores cupcake, a chocolate cupcake with a creamy marshmallow filling. Reverie also offers dairy-free versions of desserts that are known for using milk, like vegan cannolis and tres leches cakes.
1930 N. Coit Road, Richardson.
Speaking of allergies, many of Spiral Diner and Bakery's desserts have nuts in them, like this Turtle Brownie Sundae. Be sure to ask for no nuts if necessary.
Spiral Diner and Bakery, one of D-FW's first vegan food chains, had one of their chocolate vegan pies hit the big screen at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, so their desserts are pretty good. The bakery sells shakes, cheesecakes and cookies -- all vegan and dairy-free desserts that traditionally would require milk or butter. If you're craving ice cream, try the Turtle Brownie Sundae: a pecan brownie topped with "I Scream," spicy pecans, caramel and chocolate sauce, coconut whipped cream and a cherry. It's all vegan and dairy-free. And delicious.
1314 West Magnolia Ave., Fort Worth. 1101 North Beckley Ave., Dallas. 608 E. Hickory St., Denton.
The safest dessert anyone avoiding dairy can eat during the summer? A popsicle. Try this strawberry lemonade number from Steel City Pops.
An easy way to avoid dairy in desserts is to opt for a water-based option like a popsicle. Luckily, Steel City Pops is in no shortage of them. The fruity popsicles fit the dairy-free bill, but they also offer dairy-free banana and peanut butter for anyone wanting a creamier dessert. Classic fruity flavors are strawberry lemonade and watermelon, but they've also got quirky options like cantaloupe and Arnold Palmer.
2012 Greenville Ave., Dallas. 6025 Royal Lane, Dallas. 9440 Garland Road, Dallas. 908 Currie St., Fort Worth. 337 Coneflower Drive, Garland. 1151 E Southlake Blvd., Southlake.
Unrefined Bakery's ginger molasses and chocolate chip cookies are among the many dairy-free options.
The lemon cupcake and the "Loaded Monkey" cupcakes at Unrefined Bakery are delicious options for anyone with dairy or gluten allergies.
Unrefined Bakery is a "gluten-free, soy-free, non-GMO and organic bakery" -- and the menu is also 98 percent dairy-free, says Caitlin Hurst, manager of the Frisco location. Only a few items on Unrefined's menus contain dairy (specifically, the muffins and the cupcakes with cream cheese frosting), but the shop has plenty of other options like lemon cupcakes. One of their specialty items, the Loaded Monkey cupcake, has a vegan and dairy-free version: it's banana-chocolate chip cake filled with chocolate-peanut butter fudge and iced with peanut butter "unbuttercream," a buttercream substitute made of organic fats and sugars instead of butter.
6464 E Northwest Highway, Dallas. 3411 Preston Road, Frisco. 3426 Greenville Ave., Dallas. 6055 Sherry Lane, Dallas.