This Trader Joe's Vegan Dessert Ranked Last In Our Taste Test, It's Just Bland

Trader Joe's regular selection is full of desserts to buy and desserts to avoid. But for dairy and egg-free diets, Trader Joe's also offers plenty of vegan options — each equally as varied in flavor, texture, and impression. Our taste tester sampled eight Trader Joe's vegan desserts, ranking them on merits of personal preference, taste, complexity, and texture. While we didn't necessarily dislike any of the, last place went to the bland yet inoffensive Vanilla Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert. 

Essentially a vanilla ice cream with a coconut milk base, the Vanilla Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert purports to have vanilla bean paste and visible specks of vanilla bean riddled throughout. Despite the visual, our taste tester couldn't taste much of it. They couldn't really taste any of the coconut either, which is surprising considering how much it tends to come through in coconut milk-based ice creams. The nondescript flavor was sweet with a hint of vanilla, but it doesn't live up to even a fraction of vanilla's aromatic potential. Still, they enjoyed the ultra-creamy soft-serve consistency. 

While our taste tester appreciated the texture and wasn't offended by the flavor, this frozen dessert's mediocrity landed it in last place.Customers have expressed their disappointment in how little of the coconut base shines through in this ice cream, too."It does not have as much of a prominent coconut flavor as the chocolate coconut milk ice cream IMO (which I love and prefer to the vanilla)," wrote one such TJ's shopper on Reddit. "It's creamy and there's no coconut flavor, just vanilla," wrote another. 

While some have made their disappointment in Trader Joe's Vanilla Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert known, many have also gone out of their way to compliment it. In fact, some see its lack of coconut flavor as a positive and actually appreciate that it's all but non-existent. Plus, they were impressed with the low calorie count compared to other non-dairy ice creams. "580 calories for the pint?! Sweet! I can polish it off in one sitting!" joked one user on Reddit. The merits of this bland, dairy-free frozen dessert are clear — but still, embellishments come recommended. 

Coincidentally, Trader Joe's Vanilla Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert is the worst Trader Joe's ice cream flavor, but still enjoyable. So, while you might not get a strong flavor from it, it's still a solid option for a foundation. A chef gives 13 ways to transform store-bought vanilla ice cream by simply swirling, layering or mixing different ingredients into it. For example, you can toast and chop nuts before mixing them into Trader Joe's Vanilla Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert. A swirl of peanut butter or fruity compote would also bring much-needed complexity to this fairy tasteless product. You could even amp up the flavor by turning it into an affogato.

Of course, you can also get creative and elaborate by using Trader Joe's Vanilla Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert to build an ice cream sundae. Try Tasting Table's ultimate sundae recipe and use any store-bought ingredients you have on hand. Alternatively, you could soften the vanilla ice cream and turn it into something different entirely, such as a three-ingredient orange creamsicle cake.