The best dairy-free Jersey Shore frozen treats to cool you down before the end of summer

One of the most iconic moments of a Jersey Shore summer is walking out of your favorite ice cream shop, cone in hand, hurriedly lapping it away before it drips down your arm.

But ice cream is not for everyone. People all over are cutting dairy from their diets.

Whether you're entirely vegan, or just can't have dairy, here are some non-dairy frozen treats you can enjoy before summer is through:

Betty's Ice Box in Asbury Park

Betty's Icebox is in its 10th season of serving natural, vegan ice pops and shave ice on the Asbury Park boardwalk.

The shave ice this shop serves inside Convention Hall's Grand Arcade is much different than classic Italian ice that New Jerseyans are used to.

It's much more similar to the original shave ice Japanese immigrants brought to Hawaii, made by shaving ice flakes off a larger block of ice — a truly refreshing treat in the summer.

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One of the shop's most popular items, which made an appearance on Food Network in 2020, is the colorful watermelon shave ice, served in a small watermelon and dotted with chocolate chips to resemble seeds.

Recently Al Roker paid a visit to the Icebox to make that same shave ice, plus best-selling rainbow pride ice pops.

The pride pops are primarily lemon-based, and frozen layer-by-layer with naturally-colorful ingredients like cherry, orange, lemon, lime, blue raspberry and grape — ensuring that every layer has its own exciting flavor.

Go: Inside the Grand Arcade, 1300 Ocean Ave., Asbury Park; bettys-icebox.square.site.

Cookman Creamery in Asbury Park

Most creameries and sweet shops feature a few vegan or non-dairy items.

But you'll seldom find a spot that has an entirely separate, plant-based vegan ice cream menu.

All of Cookman Creamery's vegan varieties are homemade in small batches, using plant-based ingredients like organic coconut cream, almond butter, cashew butter, oat milk and tahini.

The idea is to be as natural as possible, sweetened with pure cane sugar, some agave, real fruits and hand-cooked chocolates.

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Some everyday flavors include classics like oat milk-based vanilla and almond butter-based dark chocolate, but the summer menu also features some zany tastes, like organic coconut cream-based Key Lime Pie (with graham crust), almond butter-based Blue Pancake (with blueberry puree and maple syrup) and cashew butter-based Cashew Cherry Bourbon (with Bordeaux cherries, and cooked Bourbon).

The shop also specializes in vegan ice cream cakes and pies.

Go: 711 Cookman Ave., 732-361-5215, cookmancreamery.com/vegan.

Mochinut in Manalapan

While there are plenty of things on Mochinut's menu that aren't vegan or dairy-free (those Korean corn dogs sure are good though), the new shop does offer entirely dairy-free ice cream.

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And it could've fooled this reporter, because it was some of the creamiest soft serve I've tasted.

The coconut milk-based flavors are melon, strawberry, butter cream and vanilla. If you're not vegan, try one of the fluffy, rice flour-based mochinuts while you're there — which are considerably light on the stomach for a donut.

Go: 335 Route 9, Manalapan; 732-792-3730, mochinutmanalapan.com.

Ralph's Italian Ice, Multiple Locations

Ralphs "famous" Italian Ice started a revolution when, after immigrating from Italy in the 1920s, Ralph Silvestro opened the very first Staten Island location in the 1940s.

Now, there are nearly 100 stores and franchises in the tri-state area, one of the most famous and close-to-heart for New Jerseyans being the one on the Asbury Park boardwalk.

Try classic flavors like peach, mango and lime, or be delighted by a different flavor, like Cherry Cola, Root beer and Bubble Gum.

Go: For information on specific Ralph's locations, visit ralphsices.com.

Skipper Dipper in Long Beach

It wouldn't be a Long Beach Island summer without Skipper Dipper, a local favorite that's been in business for more than four decades.

The shop serves nearly 30 flavors of hard ice cream, and 40 flavors of soft serve, including oat-based vanilla and chocolate vegan soft serve, and pineapple Dole Whip.

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The soft serve is also fat-free, cholestrol-free, gluten-free, and peanut- and tree nut-free.

Go: 9305 Long Beach Blvd., Long Beach Township; 609-492-9680, skipperdipper.com.

Strollo's Lighthouse Italian Ice, Multiple Locations

The true founder of Strollo's — Tony Strollo — brought over the nearly 100-year-old Italian Ice recipe from Italy in the 1930s.

His son Ray then took that recipe, and started the first Strollo's in Long Branch in the 1970s, sparking an Italian ice empire.

Any summer, visitors can see lines surrounding any location, to try flavors like lemon, blue raspberry and pistachio. Some other interesting flavors to try, that we've never seen anywhere else, are cappuccino, and cantaloupe.

Go: For information on specific Strollo's locations, visit strolloslighthouse.com.

The Sweet Shack in Bayville

This sweet spot serves delectable craft espresso drinks and over 40 flavors of ice cream, with multiple non-dairy options.

Try the soft-serve Dole Whip in flavors like pineapple, raspberry, cherry and watermelon (they're serving pineapple and watermelon right now); Italian ice; and vegan ice cream made from a cassava or coconut and oat base.

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For a fully vegan treat, order your ice cream in a brightly colored waffle cone from Brooklyn-based The Konery (they come in flavors like salted blue corn, red velvet and birthday cake).

Go: 1035 Atlantic City Blvd., 732-279-6180, thesweetshackbayville.com.

Gabriela L. Laracca joined the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey in 2021 and eagerly brings her passion for cuisine and culture to our readers. Send restaurant tips to glaracca@gannett.com.

Sarah Griesemer contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Italian ice at the Jersey Shore? Vegan ice cream? Here's where to find