Oatly’s Vegan Soft Serve Heads West: Here’s Where to Find It

Oatly’s oat milk soft serve is making its debut at the San Francisco location of Gott’s Roadside restaurant. Located inside of the historic Ferry Building, Gott’s menu will now include Oatly’s rare soft serve in three flavors: Vanilla, chocolate, and a chocolate-vanilla swirl. The restaurant launch follows Oatly’s recent partnership with Northeast-based frozen yogurt chain 16 Handles, which marked the first time the soft serve became openly available.

“We are thrilled to be the first location in San Francisco to offer Oatly’s vegan soft serve,” Gott’s Culinary Director Jennifer Rebman said. “We are committed to offering quality products at Gott’s, and Oatly has created an iconic summer treat that is 100-percent plant-based, tastes amazing, and is a perfect addition to our soft-serve line-up.”

Gott’s has been steadily adding to its plant-based offerings, marketing this menu towards a growing number of vegetarian, vegan, and flexitarian diners. The restaurant became one of the first fast-casual establishments in the country to include the Impossible Burger in 2017. Now, Gott’s remains a pioneer for plant-based foods, upholding its reputation by partnering with the oat milk giant. The soft serve can be purchased in small ($3.99), medium ($4.99), and large ($5.99) sizes, and comes with a variety of toppings for any customer’s preference.

Earlier this month, Oatly teamed up with New York City-based 16 Handles to begin featuring the new vegan soft serve at all 32 locations. Before the partnership, 16 Handles did feature several oat milk-based soft serve flavors, but the Oatly sponsored soft-serve delivers two new vegan flavors including iced latte and vanilla. The companies announced that beginning on July 6th, the chain will also offer chocolate and chai tea flavors.

“We’ve been expanding our non-dairy offerings for years,” 16 Handles CEO Solomon Choi told VegOut. “So when the 16 Handles culinary team had the chance to work with our favorite oat milk brand, we jumped at the chance.”

Before 16 Handles and Gott’s, the vegan soft serve debuted exclusively at two Major League Baseball (MLB) stadiums in the United States. The Swedish oat milk company launched the vegan soft serve at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL (home of the Chicago Cubs) and Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX (Home of the Texas Rangers). The vegan soft serve is offered in vanilla and chocolate flavors at most concessions across both stadiums.

In May, Oatly entered the public market after the company’s initial public offering (IPO) on Nasdaq. The IPO raised $1.4 billion dollars, resulting in a 30 percent share spike. The share price was initially valued at $17 per share and has now reached $26 a share.

Califia Farms Almond Creamer is made with real almonds and coconut cream to give a rich, full-flavored texture and has 2 grams of added sugar. The consistency is so thick it’s more like a heavy cream rather than a creamer substitute. Regardless, it froths up well and is very creamy. The almond taste is noticeable but the creamer isn’t bitter or grainy. You don’t need to use a lot of it; a little goes a long way!

Silk Original Dairy-Free Original Soy Creamer has only 1 gram of added sugar, but sadly it does not froth up well when I heated it due to a thinner, more watery consistency. It didn't combine well with coffee, no matter how much was added. Because of the underwhelming flavor, this was my least favorite.

This Natural Bliss Coconut Milk Creamer/Sweet Cream is the best one I’ve found for both frothing and taste, especially if you miss the consistency and flavor of half-and-half. It’s creamy and has a hint of coconut, but no overwhelming coconut flavor. Note: it is made with pea protein, unlike the other ones, which is probably why it’s thicker. Always check ingredients if you have food allergies because unexpected ingredients such as peas can be hiding in the product, and you would never know by the taste.

So Delicious has been marketing dairy-free frozen desserts, yogurt alternatives, and smooth plant-based beverages for over 30 years. Besides the coconut milk, they also have “Original,” “Snickerdoodle.” “Caramel” and “Creamy Vanilla” flavors. I only sampled the coconut milk flavor. This is the only one in this taste test with 0 grams of added sugar. It has a very rich coconut taste and froths up nicely in coffee like milk. It’s not as thick as some of the others but is a good alternative to ultra-sweet creamers if you want to be careful about your sugar intake. The coconut flavor is powerful but not overwhelming.

Natural Bliss Oat Milk Creamer, Vanilla Natural Flavor, with 4 grams added sugar is similar to Coffee Mate’s Coconut creamer but without the coconut flavor. It’s super-rich and creamy with a hint of oat flavor but not bitter at all. My new favorite! This is the best one I’ve found for frothing and taste especially if you miss the consistency and flavor of half and half. It’s like the real thing as it’s creamy, fluffy and not grainy. Remember to shake it up before putting in your frother. Use a little and be happy with your non-dairy latte!

The Original Oat-Ly Oat Milk Barista Edition contains 4 grams of sugar but its full-flavored taste makes it a rich choice. It doesn’t market itself as a creamer but it does advertise as the choice for the barista community. It’s slightly less frothy than real milk when mixed but the flavor is pleasant, not bitter, and I would choose it again.

Silk Oat Yeah Oat Milk Creamer, the Vanilla One has 4 grams of added sugar and is also at the top of my list. While it’s sweet, it’s also incredibly rich which means you can use less of it in your coffee. It was thick and creamy when frothed and it adds a fluffy cap to your coffee as lattes make with real cream. Note that pea protein is an added ingredient in this creamer as well. This can rival the real thing but choose this one only if you like a strong vanilla aftertaste!

The Silk Almond Creamer Vanilla boasts that it’s “America’s #1 Almond Creamer. But with 4 grams added sugar you may want to use it sparingly. It did taste sweet and was nice and thick, so someone who likes rich creamers will love it. The vanilla aftertaste was pretty strong. And it's a little too syrupy sweet for my taste.

Nutpods is the closest you'll get to the real thing! Tasters immediately gave this dairy-free creamer a 5 out 5. The texture is smooth and mixes with coffee instantly. Unlike soy creamers, this almond and coconut-based creamer doesn't separate once your done stirring. Nut Pods is the most comparable to half and half in the whole list of creamers!

Forager is cashew milk and coconut cream based that mixes for a unique and flavorful taste. The consistency was on the thinner side, and if you're a heavy cream or half-and-half devotee this is probably not the creamer for you, although those who like a lighter flavor will enjoy it.

This creamer is rich, round and doesn't taste too overtly of coconut. You only need a splash to achieve a nice, creamy effect in your coffee, and there's no watered-down consistency, so if you swear by heavy cream or half & half, give this Trader Joe's option a try! At only $1.69 per carton, this product is a steal.

The thickest consistency of the bunch, resembling a heavy cream rather than half and half. Malk has only 5 ingredients, making it super clean and healthy! The almond flavor might be overpowering to those who like less flavor in their creamer. Add the Maple Pecan flavor to your coffee for an even sweeter taste.