DIETARY-FRIENDLY GELATO: VEGAN SORBETS, EGG-FREE & GLUTEN-FREE 🍨🌱
At il laboratorio del gelato, we keep ingredients simple so flavors shine. Here's your guide to our dietary options for events and everyday scoops.
Our Sugar Choice: Cane Sugar
Our sweet cream gelato base, used for all flavors, includes natural cane sugar. Cane sugar provides a clean sweetness and silky texture.
- We do not produce sugar-free gelato.
- None of our flavors are specifically "low-sugar."
- We never use calorie-free sweeteners.
- Our fruit sorbets contain natural fruit sugars, plus cane sugar to balance tartness.
📏 For reference: a 4 oz. cup of gelato or sorbet contains roughly one tablespoon of added sugar (~48 calories), in addition to the natural sugars found in the ingredients.
Vegan & Dairy-Free = Sorbet Only
All dairy-free options are sorbets. They are naturally vegan — made with fruit, water, and cane sugar. Light, refreshing, and bursting with real flavor.
When catering, we recommend pairing classic gelato with at least one vegan sorbet so every guest feels included.
Egg-Free Philosophy (and the Few Exceptions)
We often get asked: "Does your gelato contain eggs?"
Our gelato does not include eggs — eggs can mute flavors. Without them, our flavors stay true and bright.
Exceptions that do contain egg:
- Zabaglione
- Meringue flavors
- Amaretto Crunch flavors
- Eggnog
If you want to avoid eggs entirely, we'll customize your menu accordingly.
Gluten-Free Options
Most of our gelato is naturally gluten-free. However, certain flavors do contain gluten:
- Amaretto Crunch, Chocolate Amaretto Crunch, Hazelnut Amaretto Crunch
- Graham Cracker, Cheesecake, Chocolate Graham Cracker
- Malt, Milk Chocolate Malt
- Guinness, Bourbon, Bourbon Pecan, Dark Chocolate Bourbon, Dark Chocolate Bourbon Pecan, Baileys
- Cookies & Cream
⚠️ Note on spirits: Many liquor makers don't disclose recipes. If you are extremely sensitive to gluten, we also advise avoiding Walnut Nocello, Sambuca, Rum Raisin, and Vanilla Rum — since we cannot confirm if those spirits are gluten-free.
What's the Difference Between Ice Cream and Gelato?
Gelato is the Italian word for ice cream, but there are important differences:
- Lower butterfat: Our gelato has more whole milk and less cream than American-style ice cream.
- No eggs: Eggs tend to mask flavor. Without them, our flavors shine brighter.
- Dense churning: We churn gelato slowly, incorporating very little air. This makes it denser and creamier, with a more intense flavor.
- More product, less air: If you melted a cup of our gelato and compared it with a typical ice cream, you'd notice the gelato remains significantly fuller because less air is spun into it.
Serving with Care
For catering, we use separate scoopers for each flavor, and our staff always wear gloves. If your event has severe allergy concerns, let us know so we can take extra precautions.
Planning a Guest-Friendly Menu?
We'll build a spread with classic gelato and vegan sorbets so everyone gets a scoop.