Are these the hottest vegan ice cream bars on the market right now? Keep reading! In this Magnum Non Dairy ice ream bar review, I give my input as a vegan, and get into the nutrition (as a dietitian-I can’t help myself 😉 )
Disclaimer: This review includes information and the authors own personal opinions. It is not personal dietary advice. Talk to your doctor about any health concerns or dietary changes. See our disclaimers for more details.
What Are Vegan Magnum Bars?
Magnum Ice Cream is a popular ice cream brands that is known for their chocolate covered bars.
While they only sold non vegan products for a long time, according to some sources, they launched vegan products in the US in 2019 (1).
With the rise of veganism, and demand for plant based and dairy free products, it’s no wonder that they have expanded their line!
The current vegan, non dairy flavored bars available include:
- Non Dairy Sea Salt Caramel bar
- Non-Dairy Hazelnut Crunch bar
- Non-Dairy Almond bar
- Non Dairy Mini Variety Pack (includes the non-dairy classic and almond flavored bars)
I got the mini variety pack for this review, so I’ll be going over the non dairy classic and almond flavored bars next!
Magnum Dairy Ice Cream Bar Review
Taste
Here’s a YouTube video of myself trying out these ice cream bars!
Taste Score: 4/10
While I did enjoy the Belgian chocolate shell, overall, these bars were not that tasty.
I thought the ice cream was ok, until I got more into the bar. Then it became overpowering! possibly because I was eating more of the ice cream without the chocolate shell.
The ice cream had this watered down plant based milk taste that I thought was unsweetened almond milk (P.S. I drink unsweetened almond milk, and do like- just not in ice cream 😉 )!
The ice cream texture was nice and smooth though. But the flavor was just a bit unfavorable for my preference.
Both the classic and almond flavors tasted the same, but the non-dairy almond flavor had crunchy bits in the shell which added a bit of texture (but that’s about it)!
Ingredients
Here’s the ingredients listed as per the picture above from the back of a Magnum Non-Dairy Mini package! (FYI-ingredients may change)
“Classic Mini Ingredients: water, sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, glucose-fructose syrup (wheat, corn) coconut oil, less than 2% of fructose, pea protein, sunflower lecithin, locust bean gum, guar gum, sea salt, vegetable juice (for color), vanilla bean speaks, natural flavor, fruit juice (for color), citric acid.”
Almond Mini Ingredients: water, sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, glucose-fructose syrup (wheat, corn), coconut oil, almonds, less than 2% of fructose, pea protein, sunflower lecithin, locust bean gum, guar gum, sea salt, vegetable juice (for color), vanilla bean speaks, natural flavor, fruit juice (for color), citric acid.”
The ingredients look almost the same, except, it would appear that almonds were added to the Almond Mini for that ‘crunch’ I noted in the chocolate shell.
Speaking of the chocolate shell, although the package says that the cocoa is rain forest certified, its questionable whether or not the cocoa is sourced from areas that where slave labor is prevalent (learn more here).
I wish I would have looked this one up on Food Empowerment Project’s chocolate list. I’d personally choose a different ice cream next time.
Nutrition
Here’s some of the nutrition facts for one mini bar as calculated from the picture above (the back of a Magnum Non-Dairy Mini package! (FYI-nutrition facts may change)):
Per one mini bar (ranges depend on variety and were rounded up):
- Calories: 140-150
- Saturated Fat: 6 grams
- Sodium: 15-18 milligrams
- Carbohydrates: 15 grams
- Added Sugars: 11 grams
- Protein: <1 – 1 gram
For an ice cream bar, I wouldn’t consider these vegan bars as high calorie, compared to most other bars. Although-these are ‘mini’ bars – so what would you expect? (I’d expect less volume over all!)
The saturated fat is still quite high at a significant 6 grams per bar. That’s about 46-55% the recommended saturated fat limit by the American Heart Association (about 11-13 grams for a 2000 calorie diet) (2). So that contributes a huge chunk!
For reference, one of my preferred vegan ice creams Cado’s Deep Dark Chocolate Avocado Frozen Dessert only has about 1.5 grams of saturated fat per serving!
Generally speaking- saturated fat is important to keep low because of it’s association with increasing increased LDL – a risk factor for heart disease.
Added sugars are also quite high at around 11 grams per serving. But I have definitely seen bars with higher amounts of sugar- of course, they are probably larger than a mini size.
So overall, I wouldn’t call this dessert ‘healthy’ (but did you really expect it to be?)!
Portion
Even though these are “mini” size, I thought they were a satisfying’s portion!
You’ll see a comparison of the size compared to my small hand below.
To me, it was visually appealing dessert.
Price
Here’s a comparison of prices (of course, prices may change):
I don’t know about you, but this seems a bit pricey, at nearly a dollar or more per bar.
Yet, it’s quite comparable to other vegan mini ice creams, like So Delicious Dipped mini coconut almond bars (about $5.99 USD at Target).
Would I Buy Magnum Dairy Free Ice Cream Again?
No, I wouldn’t buy these again (personally)! Primarily because I didn’t enjoy the ice cream flavor, how expensive they are, and that cocoa sourcing may be from areas where slavery is more present.
Pros
- Chocolate shell was tasty
- Ice cream had a smooth consistency
Cons
- Ice cream tasted like watered down almond milk and was overpowering.
- High in saturated fat
- High in added sugars
- Cocoa sourcing may be from areas where slave labor is prevalent.
- Expensive
What are your favorite plant based or certified vegan ice cream bars? Let me know
And if you’ve made it this far… would you fancy reading some more vegan food reviews from yours truly? Here are some more!
–Lenny and Larry’s Cookies Review
–Lenny and Larry’s Protein Bar Review
–Sunrise Energy Bars Review
–Harvest Snaps Review
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