According to Wikipedia, Dippin’ Dots is an ice cream snack created by flash freezing ice cream mix in liquid nitrogen. The treat is made by Dippin’ Dots, Inc., headquartered in Paducah, Kentucky. Because the product requires storage at temperatures below −40 °F (−40 °C), it is not sold in most grocery stores, as most cannot meet such extreme cooling requirements. Dippin’ Dots are sold in individual servings at franchised outlets, many in stadiums, arenas, shopping malls, and in vending machines, as well as at theme parks. In this article we seek to answer the question “Are Dippin’ Dots Vegan?” along with many other commonly asked questions about Dippin’ Dots.
A full vegan-friendly analysis of all Dippin’ Dots varieties can be found in the following sections.
Controversial Vegan Ingredients
Before we start our vegan analysis, we would like to make note of the controversial ingredients that are assumed to be vegan in this analysis. Even though we consider them to be vegan, we will still highlight these ingredients if they appear in any posted ingredient lists. These controversial ingredients include:
Sugar
In almost all candy products, one of the first few ingredients is Sugar. Sugar is a controversial product in the vegan community because refined cane sugar is processed with bone char to achieve the pure white color. The sugar itself does not contain any bone char particles, but is not vegan due to the processing methods used. Since the type of sugar is typically not stated, it is assumed to be vegan in this analysis. If you choose to avoid non-vegan sugars than all of the products in this analysis should be avoided. A full rundown on if sugar is vegan can be found in our article titled “Is Your Sugar Vegan? Lets Find Out!“
Natural and Artificial Flavorings
Natural flavors can come from both animal or plant sources, but the natural flavors in candies are typically from plant sources. Those natural flavors from animal-origin will be highlighted if known.
Colors
Some food colors are controversial in the vegan community. This is because food colors are often tested on animals. In this article we assume all food colors are vegan, unless the color itself is from an animal or insect origin (e.g. Carmine).
Ice Cream Dippin' Dots
Ice Cream Dippin' Dots Base Ingredients
Milk, Cream, Sugar, Natural Flavors, Vanilla, Less Than 0.5% Of (Guar Gum, Carrageenan, Locust Bean Gum, Dextrose). [Source]
Are Ice Cream Dippin' Dots Vegan?
Dippin’ Dots flavors are broken down into 5 categories (Ice Cream, Ice, No Added Sugar, Sherbet, and Yogurt) based on the base ingredients used. The Ice Cream category consists of 13 flavors at the time of this writing. These flavors are:
- Banana Split
- Birthday Cake
- Brownie Batter
- Bubble Gum
- Chocolate
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
- Cookies ‘n Cream
- Cool Mint Crunch
- Cotton Candy
- Pumpkin Spice Pie
- Spookies ‘n Cream
- Strawberry
- Vanilla
Unfortunately, the base ingredients for Ice Cream Dippin’ Dots include both Milk and Cream. Therefore, all flavors of Ice Cream Dippin’ Dots are NOT vegan.
Ice Dippin' Dots
Ice Dippin' Dots Base Ingredients
Water, Corn Syrup Solids, Sucrose, Natural Flavors, Yellow #5, Citric Acid, Cellulose Gum. [Source]
Are Ice Dippin' Dots Vegan?
Dippin’ Dots flavors are broken down into 5 categories (Ice Cream, Ice, No Added Sugar, Sherbet, and Yogurt) based on the base ingredients used. The Ice category consists of 8 flavors at the time of this writing. These flavors are:
- Blue Raspberry
- Frozeti Confetti with Popping Candy
- Lemon Ice
- Liberty Ice
- Lime Ice
- Orange Ice
- Rainbow Ice
- Strawberry Ice
All of the Ice Dippin’ Dots flavors, besides Frozeti Confetti, contain very few ingredients besides except those in the base ingredients. Unfortunately, the Frozeti Confetti Dippin’ Dots contain a milk ingredient in the popping candy. However, the remaining Ice Dippin’ Dots flavors contain no animal products and are vegan!
Dippin' Dots No Sugar Added
No Sugar Added Dippin' Dots Base Ingredients
Milk, Nonfat Milk, Maltodextrin, Whey, Sorbitol, Mono and Diglycerides, Cellulose Gum, Locust Bean Gum, Cellulose Gel, Aspartame, Carrageenan, Artificial Flavors. [Source]
Are No Sugar Added Dippin' Dots Vegan?
Vanilla is the only flavor of No Sugar Added Dippin Dots. Like the ice cream flavors, the No Sugar Added Vanilla contains multiple dairy based ingredients (Milk, Nonfat Milk, and Whey). Therefore, the Vanilla No Sugar Added Dippin Dots are NOT vegan.
Dippin' Dots Sherbet
Sherbet Dippin' Dots Base Ingredients
Skim Milk, Water, Sugar, Corn Syrup Solids, Non-Fat Milk Powders, Guar Gum, Carrageenan, Powdered Sugar, Soybean Oil, Citric Acid, Coconut Oil, Red 40 Lake, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Mono And Diglycerides and Soy Lecithin. [Source]
Are Sherbet Dippin' Dots Vegan?
There is also only one flavor of Sherbet Dippin’ Dots: Redberry Sherbet with Sour Patch Kids. Unlike most sherbets, the Dippin’ Dots Sherbet contains Skim Milk and Non-Fat Milk Powders. Therefore, the Redberry Sherbet Dippin’ Dots are NOT vegan.
Dippin' Dots Yogurt
Yogurt Dippin' Dots Base Ingredients
Skim Milk or Milk, Sugar, Corn Syrup, Cream, Natural Flavors, Vanilla, Less Than 0.5% Of (Locust Bean Gum, Guar Gum, Carrageenan, Dextrose). [Source]
Are Yogurt Dippin' Dots Vegan?
Dippin’ Dots flavors are broken down into 5 categories (Ice Cream, Ice, No Added Sugar, Sherbet, and Yogurt) based on the base ingredients used. The Yogurt category consists of 5 flavors of “YoDots” at the time of this writing. These flavors are:
- YoDots Cookies ‘N Cream
- YoDots Cookie Dough
- YoDots Cotton Candy
- YoDots Rainbow
- YoDots Stawberry Cheesecake
Summary
If you’re a vegan looking for some Dippin’ Dots, make sure to steer clear of all of the varieties except the Ice Dippin’ Dots. All of the Ice Dippin’ Dots are vegan-friendly except the Frozeti Confetti with Popping Candy flavor. All the other categories of Dippin’ Dots are not vegan. If you liked this article, you can read about other vegan snack options here.
