Little Man Ice Cream
2620 16th Street
303-455-3811
Little Man Ice Cream is a wildly popular spot inspired by vintage Coney Island hot dog stands. For every scoop of ice cream purchased, the company matches it by donating a scoop of rice or beans or other essentials to communities in need around the world. There are both dairy and vegan options here, with the latter including chocolate salted Oreo, rocky road, horchata, piña colada and banana chip.
Sweet Action Ice Cream
52 Broadway
303-282-4645
All ice cream at Sweet Action is made by hand and the whole operation is entirely powered by wind. Whenever possible, the shop sources ingredients for ice cream from local farmers and bakers. A handful of vegan options are clearly marked on the menu and include flavors such as coffee and doughnuts, chai, Spitzenburg cider sorbet and ginger lime sorbet.
Snowlab
4360 East Evans Avenue
720-772-8475
For an unusual twist on ice cream, Snowlab has it covered. The shop makes shaved snow, which originated in Taiwan. The base is soymilk, so it’s naturally vegan, and the result is a creamy, ribbon-like dessert. Snowlab makes classic flavors like Oreo, vanilla, coffee and strawberry, but also offers unique lychee, jasmine tea, taro, and black rice horchata flavors.
High Point Creamery
3977 Tennyson Street (and other locations)
720-638-8697
High Point Creamery has three bustling locations — in RiNo (inside Denver Central Market), Hilltop and Berkeley. All three offer traditional ice cream in creative flavors, but are also committed to putting as much thought into dairy-free options. The menu changes, but you can find vegan ice cream and sorbets like coconut crème brûlée, cucumber lime sorbet and mango sorbet.
Sweet Cow
3475 West 32nd Avenue (and other locations)
303-477-3269
Sweet Cow is a Colorado ice cream staple with multiple locations in Denver as well as in nearby Louisville and north and south Boulder. Menus rotate daily, so you’ll want to check out what’s available before you head in. But you can always bet that you’ll find a few vegan flavors as well as sorbet. Recent vegan treats spotted on the menu include chocolate coconut, coconut mango, Dutch chocolate, chocolate Oreo, Thai iced tea, chocolate raspberry, almond joy, Ozo coffee, and peanut butter Oreo.
Watercourse
837 East 17th Avenue
303-832-7313
Watercourse may be the go-to spot for vegan breakfasts and comfort food throughout the day, but they’re also whipping up ice cream and creamy shakes for dessert. The bananas foster dessert is vanilla ice cream, banana bread, rum caramel, and candied walnut. A classic ice cream sundae is available with vanilla ice cream topped with berries, banana, cookies, and chocolate. Orange dreamsickle, peanut butter and chocolate, and matcha shake are just a few of the shakes available.
Sweet Cooie's had vegan choices in Congress Park.
Westword
3506 East 12th Avenue
720-550-7140
Sweet Cooie’s offers both traditional ice cream and some dairy-free options In both cases, the frozen desserts are made by Little Man Ice Cream, although Cooie's has a few house specialties of its own. For vegan options, choose from chocolate, horchata, peanut butter Oreo, and chocolate salted Oreo. Best of all, every scoop helps give back. For each scoop of ice cream sold here, a portion of the sale goes to support women’s education locally and around the world.
Nooch Vegan Market
10 East Ellsworth Avenue
720-328-5324
Nooch, Denver’s all-vegan grocery store, of course has plenty of completely vegan ice cream options in the well-stocked freezer, including Nicecream Sammies and Best One Yet from Colorado. But you can also get cones and cups of serving up housemade soft-serve in the store, too. Pop in for an old-school vanilla or chocolate cone while the weather's still warm.
Facebook/Nicecream Sammies
Various locations
Locally made Nicecream Sammies are not only vegan, they’re also organic, raw, and gluten free, with no refined sugar. Choose from tasty flavors like Peanut Butter Sammie with Chocochunk Nicecream, Fudgie Batter Sammie with Raspberry Nicecream, Cookie Dough Sammie with Salty Sweet Nicecream, Cookie Dough Sammie with Cocoa Nicecream, and Fudgie Batter Sammie with Cocoa Nicecream. You can find the frozen sandwiches in Denver at Nooch, in Boulder at Lolita’s Market and Deli, Organic Sandwich, and Blooming Beets Kitchen, in Longmont at Twisted Roots Yogurt and The Mountain Fountain, and more spots you can find on the company's website.
Best One Yet
Retail locations and an ice cream Vespa
Instead of chasing around an ice cream truck like back in the day, Best One Yet will have you hunting down the city’s only ice cream Vespa. Both on the Vespa and in retail stores, you’ll find vegan ice cream that's gluten-free and made with organic coconut milk and organic cane sugar. Check Best One Yet's website and social media feeds for current locations, or grab some in Denver at Nooch, in Boulder at Lolita’s Market & Deli, in Longmont at Treat Snackhouse and in Niwot at Niwot Market.
