I'm lactose intolerant. I feel your pain.

I find that the best tasting and creamiest alternative to cream is coconut milk. I've made a few recipes where I've swapped the cream for coconut milk. I've even made fudgesicles with it!

Otherwise, I eat sorbets.

I really really enjoy the Tofutti Marry Me bars. They're a little pricey, but worth it. I recently have found that I can't eat ice cream anymore (sad!) but I can eat frozen yogurt in moderation, without a problem. That might help you, too?

I cannot say I have ever attempted to make non-dairy ice cream from scratch, however a mashed up frozen banana is not as lame a substitution as it sounds.

Turtle mountain and Coconut Bliss both make AMAZING coconut milk ice cream. Whole Foods sells it and there are some really great flavors. I think it is better than conventional ice cream!

Make this: http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/07/chocolate-sorbet/. You won't even miss the milk! And I agree on the coconut milk, it is delicious. One can, some simple syrup, and the zest and juice of a couple of limes is insanely good.

I dislike most soy and rice ice creams, but I do like the "Tofutti Cuties." They're mini ice cream sandwiches and they are delicious!

Frozen fruit is great, too. Watermelon cubes, bananas rolled in chocolate sauce, and grapes dusted with sugar are all delicious and all dairy-free (provided you don't use milk chocolate).

OMG "So Good" Coconut Milk Ice Cream is also THE BEST. I agree that coconut milk ice cream is even better than the real thing.

if you're making your own, coconut milk works really really well, better than soy. rice doesn't really work, and rice dream is kinda gross. but there's a product called mimicreme made from cashews that makes -great- ice cream. really really really good.

as for storebought, i'd go for turtle mountain, soy or coconut.

and there's a vegan ice cream cookbook called The Vegan Scoop. I haven't made much from it, but Wheeler's ice cream (the owner of wheelers, which is in boston, is the author) is really really amazing.

Blend bananas, the softer the better, with almond milk and vanilla extract until smooth. Put in the fridge for an hour or so. Transfer to an ice cream maker, I have a cuisinart, and leave the machine on for at least 25 minutes. Take out and enjoy immediately. You can store it but it gets super hard and isn't as creamy later, but still tastes good. Its great not only for those who don't do dairy, but it has no sugar in it as well. I like to serve with toasted almonds on top.

Enjoy!

You have several options (depending if your issue with dairy is from lactose intolerance or something else):

1. Use coconut milk. Coconut milk has less fat than cream but more than whole milk. I use Chaokoh brand.

2. Use lactose-removed whole milk.

3. Use goat's milk (same fat as whole milk).

I highly recommend David Lebovitz's blog http://www.davidlebovitz.com/ and his books. I have The Perfect Scoop and Ready for Dessert and they are both fantastic. There are a lot of excellent recipes in his blog, too.

4. Sorbets. Now that summer is here, it's a perfect time to start with sorbets.

I second the recommendation for Tofutti Cuties. My family prefers these to "real" ice cream sandwiches. Trader Joes makes a great Chocolate Cherry Chip soy ice cream, and a few other flavors, which are quite good, and not as expensive as many other ice cream alternatives. Coconut milk ice cream and sorbet are also great alternatives.

I'm lactose intolerant too, but the amount of lactose that is too much for you depends on your stress level. I have found that with time, ice-cream makes me happy enough to decrease stress levels to a point where I can eat ice-cream again. And yes, sorbet's always a great answer, too.
Good luck!

This recipe is excellent!

http://veganfeastkitchen.blogspot.com/2008/07/easy-vegan-chocolate-gelato.html

I'm experimenting with dairy free ice creams this year, since several of my friends are Vegan. There's a number of blogs out there dedicated to Vegan food, and some that are even dedicated to vegan ice cream in particular. There are also a number of vegan cookbooks that might be helpful for you. Thus far, I've had good luck subbing half almond milk and half coconut milk. The flavor is great!

Texturewise, I've read arrowroot powder being recommended, but I haven't been able to find any in my local markets, so I can't attest to it's usefulness.

The "Just One Ingredient" recipe above is great. And super easy. I then modified it by adding Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter. It's so good. I want to try adding strawberries next. :)

Definitely get "The Vegan Scoop." I use it all the time and every recipe is a winner.

double rainbow.

The best options are Coconut based IMO (and I've tried a lot!).
Best brands by far are Coconut Bliss (made in Oregon), and So Delicious's Coconut Milk ice creams

the double rainbow chocolate sorbet is AMAZING. it is so chocolatey. you can find it at trader joes. their mint chocolate chip soy cream ice cream is also quite good.

you can probably take any froyo recipe out on the web (i'd be weary of many of the ice cream recipes because they have to be cooked) and sub in a soy yogurt or coconut milk. if you do a fruit, it should mask that soyish taste.

Coconut milk ice cream is amazing, but for both convenience and deliciousness nothing beat a blended frozen banana (or a frozen banana on a stick dipped in chocolate and rolled in peanuts, but that is another story) with maybe a little chocolate syrup or peanut butter or honey blended in with it. SO. GOOD.

Almond milk! Add sugar and a little almond extract to taste, and churn like ice cream. Really really tasty with a shot of espresso poured over.

I make a lot of ice creams with soy milk & added protein

http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/08/protein-ice-cream.html

I am lactose intolerant as well. I find that I really love goats milk ice cream. Laloo's is one incredible brand. But at least in my area its really difficult to get my hands on it. So I find that my favorite brand of non-dairy ice cream would have to be So Good's coconut milk ice cream and their ice cream sandwiches. Addicting. But the thing is, they're only good if you like the taste of coconut, because it is a pretty big factor in there.
I absolutely hate rice ice cream with a passion. I think its disgusting and grainy and watery.
Soy ice cream is alright but it'll get a weird gummy texture on the top of it if you don't eat it all in one sitting and I'm not a big fan of the 'soy' taste that comes through in every flavor.
I've never tried making non-dairy ice cream, I have made sorbets though and they have been delicious.

Though I would have to agree with a commenter above, sometimes I give in and eat my family's ben and jerry's- it all depends on your stress level.

I just took some "ice cream" to a lactose intolerant friend who just got out of the hospital. We had Hagen Dasz chocolate sorbet with home-made-one-ingredient banana ice cream. Delicious.

I agree with everyone on the coconut milk... so creamy and delicious! I would also recommend Vice Cream: Gourmet Vegan Desserts by Jeff Rogers if you are into making your own. Most of the recipes call for cashew milk, which is super fast and easy to make if you can't find it in the store.

I make mango smoothies with coconut milk and mango nectar when I want something really thick and sweet - otherwise I tend to go with Ciao Bella coconut sorbet with a dusting of nutmeg over the top. So simple - so yummy :)

Hubby is also lactose intolerant..he just substitutes the same amount of Lactaid for milk.

The brand So Good is absolutely delicious - especially the butterscotch flavour! They also make cones, fashioned after Drumsticks. Yum! I feel your pain - am also unable to eat dairy, and not by choice. (BTW - if you drink coffee, you might also want to check out Silk Soy Non-Dairy Coffee Creamer - excellent!)

I will add another vote for Tofutti Cuties! And I seem to be in the minority, but I don't really care for the coconut milk ice cream. The one we always buy is the So Delicious Soy Milk Ice Cream (Mocha Swirl is my favorite, but Butter Pecan is also very good, and vanilla is excellent with pies, or with chocolate sauce and some soy whipped cream (soyatoo brand, mmmm), or in root beer floats, etc.). I find that brand of ice cream very tasty and satisfying, but not too high in fat. If you want to splurge a little more, their "Purely Decadent" line is even better--creamier, I think, more like real ice cream. See here for the different products described: http://www.turtlemountain.com/products/products.html

I third The Vegan Scoop book recommendation!

David Lebovitz's the Perfect Scoop has an amazing chocolate sorbet- no dairy, intense dark chocolate, and velvety smooth. Plus, it's really easy to make. I'd highly recommend it.

You know, I just made Bittman's Chcoolate Tofu Pudding with slightly less silken tofu than called for, and I can't help but think that it might churn into a great vegan ice cream...

smallkitchcara, I was just thinking the exact same thing!

Yep, Vegan Scoop is great. I borrowed my dad's and now I'm going to buy my own copy. I made the Earl Grey Tea Ice Cream and adapted the basic vanilla recipe to make my own maraschino cherry pecan ice cream.

Also, if you use instant pudding made w/ soy/rice/almond milk instead of cow's milk and put that in an ice cream maker it will turn soft-serve-like and taste like a pudding pop. I did that with pistachio and it was pretty good.

I love sorbet by ciao bella, especially coconut and chocolate. They're incredibly rich.

This post came at such a great time. I just found out that my young daughter is lactose intolerant. Thanks for all the rec's!

I can't believe no one's recommended hemp milk ice cream. The Tempt brand is very good, particularly the Coconut Lime flavor which is amazing. I don't like the chocolate. Rice ice cream--nasty. Soy ice cream--has that soy aftertaste, some of it is ok but none of it tastes like regular ice cream. If you want nondairy ice cream that tastes like the real thing go with hempseed milk, coconut milk, or almond milk ice creams. Haven't tried cashew milk ice cream but I hear it's good. Cashew milk cheesecake is amazing.