Cold Stone Creamery: What’s Vegetarian Editorial Review

Cold Stone is a build-your-own ice cream shop, so nearly the entire menu is vegetarian, and a couple of lanes, the sorbet and the almondmilk dessert, are fully vegan. The chain builds each order fresh on a frozen granite slab in front of you, so you control exactly what mix-ins land in your cup or cone.

What to order at Cold Stone Creamery

Every dairy ice cream flavor, from Sweet Cream and French Vanilla to Chocolate and Cheesecake, is lacto-ovo vegetarian with no meat or fish. If you skip dairy, order the Silk Chocolate Almondmilk Frozen Dessert or any sorbet flavor, like Lemon, Raspberry, Pineapple, or Watermelon, both confirmed vegan. A sugar cone is vegan too, so you can build a full vegan cone from scratch. Most signature Creations, like Founder’s Favorite or Chocolate Devotion, stay meat-free out of the case.

What to watch out for

Gummy Bears are set with gelatin, so they’re never vegetarian, and that rules them out of any Creation, including Beary Beary Blue. Marshmallow and marshmallow cream need a check for the same reason. Waffle cones and waffle bowls contain both dairy and egg. Most OREO, brownie, cookie dough, and cake mix-ins carry dairy or egg, so check each one rather than assuming, and swap gelatin-based candy for sprinkles or chocolate chips if you’re staying vegan. Fruit, nuts, sprinkles, fudge, and caramel mix-ins vary by item, so confirm before you assume one is vegan.