Being vegan is very beneficial to the body, both physically and mentally, and is also great for the environment. Regardless of your reasoning behind becoming vegan, we know that it can be a bit tough transitioning. A lot of your favorite foods are no longer a part of your diet, which is a bummer. Thankfully, there are lots of vegan substitutes for your favorite foods including ice cream!

We are huge fans of ice cream, and we believe that you deserve to enjoy a frozen treat every so often. Here at Beach Town Pops, we believe a scoop of ice cream is not complete without some delicious toppings to add more flavor and texture. That being said, we came up with a list of vegan toppings. Not going to lie, some of these are a little out there and may sound weird, but trust us, they are delicious!

[ Additional read —> The Best Ice Cream Scoopers That We Love to Use ]

Crunchy Toppings

We’re going to start with some classic snacks that can double as ice cream toppings. Salty goes amazingly well with sweet, which is why we love to add potato chips, pretzels and French fries to our ice cream! These salty snacks go well with pretty much any flavor of ice cream and the crunch adds a great texture with the creamy ice cream. Some potato chips and pretzels are not vegan, so always make sure to check the labels.

Potato Chips - Savoursmiths Truffle & Rosemary - Wild, earthy and decadent black Italian summer truffle complimented by fresh sprigs fragrant rosemary. They proudly declares themselves an “audaciously luxurious snack brand.” And they’ve got the chips to prove it. The brand’s crisps are made with potatoes from the Cambridgeshire family farm. Meticulously cooked in small batches, the result is decadent chips that are all natural and also happen to be gluten free. Their seven delectable flavors include “Somerset Cheddar and Shallot” and “Wagyu Beef with Honey and Mustard” – some of the most surprising and creative choices we’ve found.

[ Additional read —> Are Vegan Ice Cream Alternatives Truly Healthy? ]

Pretzels - Pretzelphoria makes gourmet flavored pretzels using artisan spice blends and high quality chocolate from America's oldest chocolatier, Wilbur Chocolate Factory. Based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, they deliver their delicious snacks nationwide. We recommend Holy Molé. A blend of cinnamon and chili peppers make this Pretzel a favorite for those who enjoy the rich, flavorful spiciness found in homestyle Mexican cooking. They’ve combined delicious chocolate nibs, guajillo peppers from Mexico and spicy cinnamon from Vietnam to create a special blend of perfect sweet and spicy flavor that will remind you of your favorite Mexican dishes.

Popcorn: Another great crunchy snack you can add to your ice cream is popcorn! Whether it’s caramelized or simply flavored with powder seasoning, give this a shot and you will love it! Sweet, salty, crunchy, creamy: what more could you ask for.

Garrett Popcorn Shops - Their first shop opened in downtown Chicago in 1949, the tempting aroma of cooking caramel wafting onto the city’s street. They’ve been bringing Chicago’s original, gourmet popcorn mix to fans around the world ever since! We recommend The Garrett Mix: a blend of their famous CaramelCrisp and CheeseCorn recipes.

Wasabi Peas: Have you ever tried wasabi peas? Why not add them to your ice cream? Yes, they’re intense! But the creaminess off the ice cream will dilute the punch of spice, but not enough for you to miss out on the taste.

Pickles: Ok, here us out. It isn’t as bad as it sounds! Pickles with ice cream sounds like a pregnancy craving but the tang and sourness of the pickle go incredibly well with ice cream. Plus, it adds a bit of crunch too!

[ Additional read —> Best Ice Cream Makers for Homemade Frozen Treats & Fun ]

Kaylin and Kaylin Pickles - Frustrated by the shortage of good tasting pickles on the West Coast, owner Scott Kaylin set out to create his own perfect pickles. These New York style pickles are gluten free and vegan and come in unique flavors such as Jalapeño, Kosher Dill, Half Sour, Horseradish, Mustard, Spicy Dill and Honey Mustard. Happiness in Every Crunch. Located at The Original Farmers Market in The Grove in Beverly Hills. We especially love them because they are local to LA and we are too! :-)

Coffee: Though it has a strong flavor, adding coffee grounds will give that delicious taste of coffee to your ice cream. Coffee lovers: this one’s for you!

Trinity Coffee CBC - The Los Angeles San Pedro-based Trinity CBC’s name stands for coffee, brew, and cultura. It’s a spirit that owner Paul Bobadilla embraces daily as the sole proprietor of the business, turning out house-roasted beans and drinks like bottled cold brews such as cafe de olla, horchata, and lavender with oat milk. Batches of the good stuff can be found in different locales throughout LA County, like at The Heights Deli & Bottle Shop (with locations in Lincoln Heights and Glassell Park) and Bagels Galore in San Pedro.

[ Additional read —> Our Favorite Cookbooks for Ice Cream and Popsicle Recipes ]

Sauces

Now let’s talk about sauces to put on top of your ice cream. We’re not talking about the typical chocolate or caramel sauce because they’re pretty generic. Our recommendations require work, but we think it’s totally worth it.

Green Tea Sauce: If you’re a fan of tea, here’s an idea for you: creamy green tea sauce. Whether it’s regular green tea or matcha green tea, you can make a creamy sauce by boiling together coconut cream, lemon juice and honey along with the green tea bags or matcha green tea. To thicken up the sauce, simply add cornstarch and water to your liking and voila! The result will be a delicious sauce to poor on top of your ice cream. In all honesty, we prefer matcha green tea over green tea bags because it’ll have more flavor.

Simple Blackberry Sauce: Bring blackberries, lemon juice, salt and basil to a simmer, blend and add sweet agave to your liking. Push the sauce through a mesh and you have yourself a delicious blackberry basil sauce. It isn’t a typical mix of ingredients but the combo tastes great and goes perfect with a scoop of classic vanilla ice cream.

Olive oil: It makes everything better, including ice cream! We know that it sounds very strange, but the peppery and grassy tastes of olive oil mix nicely with smooth creamy ice cream. An even more out-of-the-box sauce is balsamic vinegar, which is sweet and tart. You can also add some strawberries to make it even sweeter!

Temecula Olive Oil Company - Fresh Blood Orange Olive Oil - They co-mill their premier extra virgin olive oil with fresh blood oranges (often described as an orange kissed by a raspberry). All of their oils are always fresh, and current harvest. Their labels are harvest dated so you can control the freshness. Paleo, Vegan, Keto, Gluten Free, what could be better?

Red Curry: It isn’t typically used for dessert, but we want to change your mind on that. You’ve probably heard of chia pudding, and that’s pretty much what this is. About an hour before eating your frozen treat, mix together coconut milk, red curry paste, maple syrup and chia seeds. Leave this mixture in the fridge for about an hour (or overnight) and you’ll get a savory, sweet and spicy chia pudding to put on top of your ice cream.

Mike's Organic Curry Love - Made with Lemongrass, Filtered Water, Rice Vinegar, Galangal, Virgin Coconut Oil, Garlic, Shallots, Chili Peppers, Salt.

We can’t forget about chocolate! Melt your favorite vegan chocolate in a saucepan and add coconut oil if it’s too thick. Drizzle your chocolate sauce on top of your ice cream and then add the secret ingredient: chili powder. if you didn’t know, chocolate and chilis go great with each other because the spice really brings out the richness of the chocolate and enhances the flavor. If you’re not a fan of chili, you can use that same chocolate sauce to make chocolate covered toppings such as hemp seeds, goji berries, and quinoa! You will get the crunch and sweetness and overall goodness from these flavors.

World Market - Chocolate Of The World Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Bar Set Of 3 - This decadent dark chocolate bar offers a satisfying touch of Himalayan sea salt. A collection inspired by destinations around the globe, the charming packaging showcases traditional Himalayan icons from the Swayambhu temple to the awe-inspiring mountain range.

We consider ourselves ice cream connoisseurs.

Here at Beach Town Pops, we love ice cream as much as you do! We are an ice cream catering service in Los Angeles, and we believe that ice cream should be more that just a lump of cheap artificial ingredients. All of our ice cream flavors are made with organic, cold pressed and gluten-free ingredients. We can cater our gourmet frozen treats to your next party or event. We don’t just have ice cream, we have gelato, sorbet, popsicles and ice cream sandwiches too! And we can’t forget to mention that we have amazing adult-only alcoholic flavors!

When we cater, we can either drop off the goodies or stick around to serve you and your guests. If you decide that you want us at your event, we will come with our ice cream cart, umbrella, menu board and dry ice to keep the frozen treats cold. Want to make your event more memorable? We can custom brand our ice cream cart, popsicle wrappers and ice cream cups with your logo! We can even wear your branded clothing and serve custom flavors to represent your brand. It's true, we are the complete package. Don’t forget to check us out!