These DIY Slushy Magic Slushies are the COOLEST summertime treat. They can be made in minutes and kids are crazy for them. They’re like MAGIC!
DIY Slushy Magic Slushies
These DIY Slushy Magic Slushies are the coolest things ever! You throw together the ingredients, shake and BAM! Instant slushy. They’re a huge hit with my children and they taste just like those sugary slushies you get at the gas station. They’re the perfect fun drink for those hot summer days when plain juice or soda doesn’t seem cold enough to quench your thirst and when you don’t want to deal with melted messy popsicles. No blender, no big mess, no big chunks of ice, just smooth slushy goodness. This also is a great summer activity where you can get the kids involved. They will love the MAGIC!
What Do I Need for Magic Slushies?
You can make these with fruit juice or with soda (my very favorite is making it with vanilla Dr. Pepper) or whatever you like best! You can buy the Slushy Magic Kit online for upwards of $10 OR you can make your own DIY Slushy Magic at home for a few cents. This is so easy to do, even a 3 year old can do it… really! You literally can be drinking a slushy in 5 minutes from now. I bet you have everything you need right at this moment. All you need is ice, salt, juice, and a couple Ziploc bags. That’s it!
More Magic Slushy Tips
- Keep in mind that when you are shaking the bags.. they get SUPPPERRRR cold. Especially when my kids are shaking them, I like to wrap them in a hand towel or dish towel so their little hands don’t freeze.
- If yours doesn’t seem to be getting cold enough– add another teaspoon or so of salt and maybe a couple more ice cubes.
- The amounts I put below seemed just about right for us but if you are in a place where it is really hot you may want to add a little more ice and salt.
- Some favorite recipes include grape juice, Sprite, apple juice, Gatorade.. the possibilities are endless. They really are like MAGIC!
More Frozen Summer Treats
- Magic FROZEN Butterbeer Recipe (from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter): Made in the same fashion as this DIY Magic Slushy. These taste EXACTLY like the frozen butter beer at Harry Potter world. You will be amazed! So so so tasty!
- Pink Lemonade Ice Cream Pie: Another refreshing summertime to cool you down after a day of playing in the sun. This Pink Lemonade Ice Cream Pie has been a favorite in our family for YEARS!
- Frozen Hot Chocolate: Your favorite snowy-day treat can now be your favorite SUNNY day treat! These taste just as good (if not better) than the Serendipity hot chocolates in New York (believe me, I have tried the kind in NYC and these taste just like it)!
- Disneyland Mint Juleps: One of our favorite drinks at Disneyland! These can easily be made at home with our delicious copycat recipe. Tastes JUST like the real thing! You can close your eyes and be magically transported to New Orleans Square with just one sip.
How to Make Magic Slushies
Ingredients
- Ice cubes about 10-12 big pieces
- 1 Tbsp. Kosher salt table salt is fine, too
- 1 cup juice or soda (not diet)
Instructions
- Place ice cubes and salt in a quart-sized Ziploc bag.
- Place juice in a smaller sandwich-sized Ziploc bag, press out all the air and seal tightly.
- Place bag of juice IN the bag of ice and seal.
- Shake for about 3-5 minutes or until juice is slushified (I made that word up-- it just seems so fitting)-- if it gets too cold, wrap a dish cloth around it and continue shaking.
- Pour slush into a cup and serve immediately.
Kate | HappyForks.com says
What a smart idea! Easy to catch kids attention and get them involved. But what is a role of the salt in the bag with ice cubes? Just curious.
Erica says
haha I knew this was going to be asked 🙂
The short answer: Because salt makes ice/water have a lower freezing point– in short, it makes it colder so the juice can freeze faster.
The long answer: http://www.espsciencetime.org/student_life.cfm?subpage=295673
Kate | HappyForks.com says
Interesting! Thanks. I think I should go back to school again 😉
Kristie says
We have used diet drinks and it works okay, just not as well. We bought the magic slushy drink mix to make a slurpee drink for my diabetic son who can’t drink slurpees. I like your idea of making your own kit. Thanks for sharing!
Dianne says
Thanks for sharing!!! I love your idea. My kids will be so happy…
I am a good mother.
Kym Viola says
Do you think this would work with wine? There are special mixes out there for that, but I’m wondering if this would work just as well. What do you think? Have you ever tried it?
Erica says
I am thinking because alcoholic drinks have a lower freezing point, it may not work. You can try it and let us know though!
lucy says
this doesnot work we tried this with orange juice and literatlly shook for twenty minutes and it was just foamy juice
Erica says
That is so werid… I have never tried it with orange juice though so maybe that is something worth noting? We have just used juices that aren’t pure fruit juice.. and sodas. I wonder if that makes a difference?
farley says
this doesn’t work you lied to two very desperate 6 year olds
Favorite Family Recipes says
Hi Farley- I am so sorry this didn’t work for you. There could have been a number of reasons this didn’t work. You may have no had enough salt or enough ice. What kind of juice were you using? If if doesn’t start freezing within a couple minutes it’s because the juice isn’t getting cold enough. You may want to add more salt and ice– the more frozen the ice, the better (bagged ice might not always work because it seems to melt faster). We always use the big cubes directly from our freezer. We haven’t had problems with this recipe before so I don’t know what else to suggest. Sorry!
Ashley Gomez says
It doesn’t work with Dr. Pepper or V8 Splash Watermelon Cherry either. 🙁
Lisa says
I just tried it with Dr Pepper and it worked just fine for me
Krista Gambella says
Does sea salt work?
Erica says
I haven’t tried it with sea salt but I don’t see why it would make a difference. If you try it, let us know if it affects the recipe at all!
Mina says
Hi I’m sorry but this just doesn’t seem to work maybe I’m doing something wrong but I tried so many times and with different drinks but it never worked ????
Favorite Family Recipes says
Hmmm … are you using enough ice and salt in the outer bag? You need it to get REALLY cold so you may want to add more of each. Be sure to use plenty of salt so it gets cold enough. HOpe this helps!
Isabelle Joannette says
Love making these with my kids. Instead of pouring juice in a baggie I use a juice pouch. Shake for 5 minutes and then just cut open top of pouch. Perfect every time!
Danyka says
Thanks it worked great but it was too salty I put some more of the same juice in and it worked
Beverly Campbell says
The salt and ice cubes are in the outer bag and the juice goes in the inner bag. Hope this helps.
Veronica Covington says
This was so easy and worked wonderfully! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Danyka says
And also all fruit juice like oasis works
Jane says
I was really craving a slushee and I saw this recipie… I had my doubts but in the end…AHHHH it works! I used Hawaiian Punch for the slushy, the only thing is that the serving size is rather small so if your looking for a long lasting slushee I think I would add some more juice but yay I’m happy!
Favorite Family Recipes says
Hi Jane! So glad you liked it! The serving size is small– we found it to be just right for a kid just wanting a quick treat but you can absolutely add more juice to make it a more refreshing drink for an adult. Thanks for your comment!
Brooke Martin says
Try using rock salt too. 🙂 lots of ice.
Favorite Family Recipes says
Rock salt.. great idea!
Rebecca Kohlhepp says
Lol did this in school to make ice cream put the ice. Cream mix and a sandwich bag then ice and salt in the other wrap i big towel around it then theyed have 2 kids jump rope stype swing it then so long later you had icecream was fun you can also do it by just shaking the bag up but school wanted to make it a group activity
Favorite Family Recipes says
What a fun way to make ice cream! We haven’t tried making ice cream this way yet, but I totally want to. Thanks for the comment! 😀
Janet says
My brother’s family made ice cream like this, but I believe they put the bag of ingredients in a coffee can and ice and rock salt in the can. Then they sat in a circle and rolled it back and forth to each other until it was done.
Erica Walker says
I remember doing this when I was in elementary school! Ice cream made like that tastes sooo good!
Christine says
I tried but it didn’t work !!! ☹️ Maybe I didn’t put enough salt . But the thing is the salt became one . Like it chunked together so I’m pretty sure why it didn’t work that well. I’ll try again with all the helpful advice . Thanks favfamilyrecipes.com!!😇❤️
Erica Walker says
Hi Christine- I am so sorry this didn’t work for you!The salt definitely shouldn’t be chunking together. That could be part of the problem. What kind of salt did you use?
Maddison says
Perfect fingers crossed this works for my party
Erica Walker says
The trick is making sure the juice gets cold enough, if it doesn’t seem to be working you will need to add more salt and possibly more ice. You want the juice surrounded by ultra cold ice.