Desserts are arguably one of the most difficult things to find as a vegan. I can go to almost any restaurant and eat some form of meal—not always a balanced meal, but a meal. Increasing numbers of restaurants are starting to put specifically labeled vegan entrees on their menus, which I, along with most other vegans, thank restaurants for doing.

On top of that, it seems almost every restaurant is now catering to the gluten-free crowd in every single part of their menu—appetizers, sides, entrees, and desserts. If restaurants are capable of making gluten free everything, why can’t they make vegan everything? This is especially frustrating because gluten free items require not only special ingredients, but they also require extra effort to ensure that nothing is ‘contaminated’ by gluten, meaning those who cook and serve the food have to have separate pans, utensils, cutting boards, gloves, etc. Making something vegan is as easy as not putting cheese on a pizza.

Now, I know, I shouldn’t be out here being too picky about what I get when I’m asking for something unusual already. I understand that the offering of anything vegan on a menu is something to be grateful for, and I am. But, honestly, making vegan food doesn’t need to be hard or expensive, seeing as most restaurants already have a mountain of vegetables, pasta, rice, and sauces on hand for their other dishes, so it’s often not asking much of a restaurant to leave the meat and cheese off the salad or out of the pasta dish.

Offering vegan dessert doesn’t have to be complicated either. Am I asking bakeries and restaurants to start using aquafaba or to master the flax egg? No. Making a traditional cake or cookie recipe vegan can be as simple as swapping out a dairy product for coconut oil or non-dairy milk, two options easy to find at almost any grocery store.

Would I be asking for more vegan desserts if gluten free desserts weren’t available seemingly everywhere? Of course. I love dessert and I don’t always want to have to make it myself (like most people) nor do I want to eat only Oreos for dessert for the rest of my life.

However, because restaurants and bakeries are making efforts to cater to one dietary restriction, I don’t understand why they can’t cater to another, especially one that calls for a few simple ingredient swaps, not an entire extra section of the kitchen or specific utensil kit only for gluten free items.

Also, shockingly, vegan desserts don’t have to taste bad. In fact, almost every time I’ve baked a vegan goodie and given it to a non-vegan friend, they’ll muse, “it doesn’t even taste vegan,” as if all vegan food has to taste like grass. Vegan desserts are often richer and more moist because they have more oils in them in place of eggs, and that’s if you can tell a difference between a vegan dessert and a non-vegan dessert.

Vegan desserts are also appropriate for lactose intolerant folks! This is why non-dairy ice creams (which I completely recommend to everyone) are sold at grocery stores that are usually not very vegan friendly. Lactose intolerant people deserve ice cream too!