Dairy-Free Almond Milk Gelato
Nutty and clean rather than creamy, sweet at the front and dry at the finish, with the almond holding on well after the cold has left the tongue.
Free calculator
Vegan gelato calculator
Vegan gelato replaces milk, cream and milk powder with plant drinks, nut pastes and plant fats. Without lactose and milk proteins, the solids and the fat have to come from somewhere else, and each plant base brings different ones.
The balancer has three vegan bases, each with its own ranges: a creamy base for nut, oat, soy or coconut gelato, a chocolate base with plant fat, and a fruit base for fruit paired with plant fat or protein. A plain fruit sorbet with no added fat is already vegan and uses the Sorbet type.
Open the vegan gelato balancer
Free. You will be asked to sign in or create an account.
Target ranges for the three vegan bases
Percentages are of the total mix. POD and PAC are summed per 1000 g of mix, with sucrose at 100. MSNF stays near zero because there is no milk.
| Indicator | Vegan Creamy Base (nut, oat, soy) | Vegan Chocolate Base | Vegan Fruit Base (fruit with plant fat) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total solids% of mix | 35 to 42% | 36 to 43% | 30 to 38% |
| Sugars% of mix | 17 to 24% | 19 to 27% | 20 to 27% |
| PODper 1000 g of mix | 130 to 195 | 160 to 220 | 180 to 250 |
| PACper 1000 g of mix | 220 to 310 | 240 to 320 | 250 to 330 |
| Fat% of mix | 7 to 13% | 5 to 12% | 3 to 8% |
| MSNF% of mix | 0 to 1% | 0 to 1% | 0 to 1% |
| Water% of mix | 58 to 65% | 57 to 64% | 62 to 70% |
| Protein% of mix | 1 to 3.5% | 1 to 3.5% | 0.5 to 2% |
| Display case | -14 to -11 °C | -14 to -11 °C | -14 to -11 °C |
| Confidence | Medium | Low | Low |
Vegan Chocolate Base: Few published numbers for this base. A dairy-free chocolate sorbetto without plant fat belongs in Water-Based Chocolate.
Vegan Fruit Base (fruit with plant fat): Estimated between Sorbet and Vegan Creamy Base: no source publishes numbers for this base. A plain fruit sorbet is already vegan, so use Sorbet for it.
About these numbers
The creamy base has medium confidence. The chocolate and fruit bases have low confidence: few numbers are published for them, and the fruit base is an estimate between Sorbet and the creamy base, not a published figure.
How the balancer helps
- Checks total solids, sugars, fat, MSNF, water, protein, POD and PAC against the range of the vegan base you pick, as you type.
- Flags hidden dairy: MSNF above 1% means something in the recipe still carries milk solids.
- Counts plant fat and protein from each ingredient, so you see when an oat or coconut base falls short on protein.
- Lets you switch between the three vegan bases, or to Sorbet and Water-Based Chocolate, and watch the verdict change.
Example recipes
Balanced recipes of this base from the recipe collection, with grams and the full balancing panel.
Vegan Creamy Base (nut, oat, soy)
Vegan Oat Milk Vanilla Gelato
It coats the palate before it cools it, vanilla arriving just behind, then settles into a warm cereal background that keeps going once everything else fades.
Vegan Coconut Milk Gelato
Melts slow and warm instead of finishing clean the way a sorbet does, rich enough to pass for dairy, with a toasted edge from the shredded flesh.
Vegan Chocolate Base
Vegan Chocolate Gelato
Thick and slow to melt for something with no dairy in it: bitter cocoa first, then a low coconut warmth that fills in behind and stays on the palate.
Vegan Cookies and Cream Gelato
Biting through the biscuit is unchanged; what shifts is the base under it, lighter and cooler in the mouth, with a coconut note sitting behind the vanilla.
Vegan High Protein Chocolate Gelato
Firm from the freezer, it softens into a coating richness that carries deep, dry cocoa, and the bitterness runs long with no dairy sweetness behind it.
Vegan Fruit Base (fruit with plant fat)
Vegan Passion Fruit Coconut Gelato
Sharp tropical fruit up front, then a soft coconut roundness underneath, light on the tongue and melting clean with a tart finish that lingers.
Questions
Which vegan base should I pick?
The creamy base for nut, oat, soy or coconut gelato; the chocolate base when chocolate or cocoa is paired with plant fat; the fruit base for fruit with coconut, nuts or oat drink. A fruit sorbet with no added fat is already vegan and uses Sorbet, and a dairy-free chocolate sorbetto without plant fat uses Water-Based Chocolate.
What are the ranges for a creamy vegan gelato?
Total solids 35 to 42%, sugars 17 to 24%, fat 7 to 13%, protein 1 to 3.5%, POD 130 to 195 and PAC 220 to 310 per 1000 g of mix, for a display case at -11 to -14 °C.
Why is vegan gelato harder than dairy gelato at the same PAC?
Plant fats such as coconut are very solid in the cold. The Corvitto method subtracts 1.4 times the fat from PAC; the app does not, so aim for the upper half of the PAC range (220 to 310) when fat goes above 10%.
Where do the solids come from without milk?
From fibre, starch, plant protein and nut solids. Oat and coconut bases do not reach 1.5% protein without a protein isolate, which is why the creamy base sets its protein floor at 1%.
Balance your vegan gelato
Open the balancer with the vegan base already selected. The app is free: create an account and start balancing.
Open the vegan gelato balancerOther calculators
Ranges for every base
The ranges of every base in one table, with the sources behind each one, a CSV download and a citation block.