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Craving a refreshing slushy but don’t have a slushy machine? No worries! With a few simple ingredients, a couple Ziplock bags, and some ice, you can create a delicious homemade slushy in just 5 minutes.
Featured With This Recipe
DIY Slushy Magic Slushies
Every summer, we’re all about making the most of our time outdoors. These DIY Slushy Magic Slushies are a fun way to cool off and bring your kids together for some delicious treats!
My kids love making slushies at home and experimenting with different flavors. It’s an excellent opportunity for kids to get involved in a fun activity that is simple yet rewarding. These are also great for summer parties or picnics when you don’t want to deal with melting popsicles or ice cream desserts that must be refrozen before serving.
The MAGIC of this slushie recipe is when you add ingredients and shake them up. You end up with an instant slushy drink that everyone will enjoy!
How Does It Work?
A slushie’s science involves lowering the freezing point of a liquid. The salt in the outer bag lowers the temperature at which the mixture freezes. When the liquid is supercooled below its freezing point, agitating it creates tiny ice crystals throughout the liquid, giving it a slushy texture. So, when you drink a slushie, you’re enjoying a tasty mix of icy crystals and yummy flavors. It’s a cool and refreshing treat that’s perfect for a hot day!
What is Needed to Make Homemade Slushies?
You can make these easy homemade slushies 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 this homemade slushie recipe 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 of Ziploc bags. That’s it!
Ingredients and Supplies:
To make a 5-minute bag ice slushy, you’ll need the following ingredients and equipment:
- Your choice of juice, soda, or flavored beverage (prepared Kool-aid or drink mixes work great)
- Two sturdy, resealable Ziplock-style plastic bags (one small and one large)
- Ice cubes
- Salt
- Gloves (optional, to protect hands)
Preparing the Slushy:
Follow these simple steps to create a refreshing slushy in no time:
- Pick your flavor: Start by choosing your desired juice or soda.
- Bag of Ice: Take the larger resealable plastic bag and fill it halfway with ice cubes. Add salt over the ice cubes to speed up the freezing process.
- Small Bag Insertion: Place the sealed small bag containing the flavored drink mixture into the larger bag of ice. Ensure both bags are sealed tightly.
- Shake and Massage: Hold onto the sealed ends of both bags and gently shake and massage the bags for about 5 minutes or until the liquid mixture inside the small bag has transformed into a slushy consistency. The bag gets VERY cold so we recommend using winter gloves to prevent injury. The ice will help rapidly chill and freeze the mixture.
- Check Consistency: After 5 minutes, carefully remove the small bag from the larger bag of ice. Open the small bag and check if the mixture has achieved the desired slushy texture. If needed, continue massaging the bag for a little longer until you reach the desired consistency.
- Enjoy: Transfer the slushy to a glass or slushie cup, grab a straw, and indulge in the refreshing taste of your homemade slushy. Sip, savor, and beat the heat with this quick and refreshing summer treat.
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 and Sprite, apple juice, strawberry lemonade, cherry lime juice, mango juice, coconut and pineapple juice, or Gatorade. The possibilities are endless. They really are like MAGIC!
- Garnish with sliced strawberries or a wedge of pineapple.
Frequently Asked Questions
Diet soda has a MUCH lower freezing point than regular soda or juice so it will take a lot longer to freeze. It’s best if you use regular soda or juices for optimal freezing.
The salt should go in the outer bag, along with the ice. Don’t add any salt to the juice or soda. Just use it for keeping the ice super cold. To avoid any salt seeping into the juice make sure to use heavy duty Ziploc bags.
The trick is making sure the juice or soda 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.
READ NEXT: How to Make Koolickles (Kool-Aid Pickles)
More Frozen Summer Treats
Need more refreshing drinks and smoothies? Check out our absolute favorite recipes, including our creamy Peach Smoothie or this delicious Melonade (Watermelon Lemonade). Here are some more of our favorites:
How to Make Magic Plushies
5-Minute Slushie (Slushy Magic)
Video
Ingredients
- 6 cups ice cubes (or enough to fill about half a gallon-sized bag)
- 1-2 tablespoons Ice cream salt (Kosher salt or table salt work great too)
- 1 cup juice or soda (not diet)
Instructions
- Place ice cubes and salt in a quart-sized Ziploc bag.
- Place juice in a sandwich-sized Ziploc bag, press out all the air and seal tightly. If it isn't sealed tightly enough, salt will get in and it won't taste good.
- Place the small bag of juice IN the larger bag of ice and seal. The larger bag will be holding the ice, salt, and the baggie of juice. *PLEASE NOTE: You will have two separate bags – a quart bag with ice and salt, and a sandwich bag with juice.
- Shake for about 3-5 minutes or until juice gets slushy. If your hands get too cold, wrap a dish cloth around the bag or use gloves and continue shaking.
- Pour slush into a cup and serve immediately.
I love it but the salt went in the slushy.
Oh no! Maybe the bag of juice wasn’t fully sealed? Sometimes cheaper brands of zip top bags don’t seal as well.
it did not work we did is for ten mins
Well, I rated it this because it really helped my problem! I am IN LOVE with slushies, and I’ve been trying FOR AGES to make my own slushies. This morning, I even tried to crush the ice! I’ve even tried to blend it! (but it didn’t work🤣) So I looked on my computer and saw this! it has been sooooo useful! I am BEGGING for more useful LIFE HACKS like this ( if you even count this as a life hack! ) anyways THANK YOU!!!!!!!!! 🥰🥰😍😍🤗🤗🤑🤑🤑 ( my mind is blown)🤯🤯🤯🤯
This was good, but the slushie is a little bit runny but otherwise it is a good recipe. AND it was really refreshing. just what i needed! ; )
Love this. Love it so much, I need to make WAY MORE than just one cup at a time. Can we?
We’ve only made it with these ratios so I can’t say for sure. I think a bigger batch would take a lot longer to freeze. Let us know how it goes if you try it!
I love that it requires ingredients that you probably have on hand and is simple enough that children can do their own.
I followed the instructions just with two small bags and it came out nice. Next time I’m going to shake it for longer. I had some doubts about this but it worked thanks : D
I think this is a good recipe, although mine did not become slushie-y. It was just cold orange juice. Also do you have to use a quart size bag or can you use gallon?
Which bag are you wanting to replace with a gallon size?
I did exactly what your directions called for and it came out perfect! Thanks 😊
What happened to the plastic bag with juice…how does the juice mix with the ice…how do the two connect, theyre in seperate bags
You don’t mix the juice with the ice. The ice and salt make the juice cold enough that it freezes! I hope this helps!
i thought it was going to work but it came out pretty bad, it was horribly salty
Hi! So it sounds like you added the salt to the juice. The salt is supposed to go in the outer bag with the ice. I hope this helps!
I have been trying so many recipes and this one finally is slushee-e it’s perfect!!!
Why not diet?
Diet soda has a MUCH higher freezing point than regular soda or juice so it will take a lot longer to freeze.
The best slushie ever! So much better than store bought and fun to make too!
My kids love these slushies, 5 times a day they are asking to make them. Thanks for this recipe.
SO easy to make and delicious! My kids went crazy for these.
Thank you for this!!!!
Saves me a trip to Burger King to get my kid the frozen Fanta!
A little salt seeped into my juice bag….probably due to my aggressive shaking 😅 but kids didn’t seem to notice.
Oh wow! This was such a huge hit and my teens haven’t stopped making slushys since they’ve seen this recipe! So refreshing and painless too! Thank you for such an easy recipe!
My kids really enjoyed tis super easy summer treat! Thanks for the recipe!
Yes! These are so perfect for the upcoming summer months! My kids love these! Thank you for these easy and fun directions! On the list: Mellow Yellow, Orange Crush, Grape Fanta, and my kids want to see if it will work with chocolate milk, too. Finger’s crossed! 😀
one word.
yum 😽
First time I tried this, didn’t work, second time, it did! The only downsides is that when you have a large amount of liquid , you have to shake longer so def more than 5 mins. It also melts really fast and has a strange texture but over all its really good!
Such a fun recipe to make with the kids! They love it!
DELISH! These slushies are going to be enjoyed all summer long!
it’s so salty 🧍🏻
but i liked the part where i got to smash ice 🦵
girl what you dont mix the liquid with the salt
bestie pardon me?
this recipe is amazing it was so good i can´t wait to make another one it is so good i LOVE this recipe🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💐💐💐💐💐💐🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🥀🥀🥀🌷🌷🌺🌺🌸🌸💝💝💝💘💘💘💘💖💖💖💖💖💗💗💗💗💗💓💓💓💓💞💞💞💕💕💕💌💌👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👍👍👍👍👍🤛🤛🤛🤜🤜🤜🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🍹🍹🍹🍹🍹🍹🍹🍹🍹🍹🍹🍹🍹🧊🧊🧊it was so so so so so so so good who ever made this recipe THANKYOU it was so good👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💓💓💓💓💓💓💗💗💗💗💗💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💌💌💌💌💌
It’s like a party but in your MOUTH!!!
I’m trying to see how can you prevent the content from being removed on a youtube video due to copyright. I really just want to see what material can you use so that youtube will not remove the content. Like with music, should you use music from like a CD instead of downloading it from like itunes? Can you give me any suggestions?.
We pay for a subscription for background music for our videos. This video may help you with the questions you have:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYurafmTwcw
Why can’t it be made with sugar-free juice mix ? Or diet pop ? Can you tell those of us that can’t have sugar but crave slushy how we can do this in a sugar-free option. Thank you . Be safe. God bless
The sugar substitutes in sugar free juice and soda affect the freezing temperature, so you won’t be able to freeze the liquid.
Hi! Do you know if this works with water? I’m planning on adding kool aid liquid to the water to make slushies.
I think that should work!
It was kind of a hit and miss with this recipe but when it worked it worked well
Wow! Very easy and yummy! I did it with lemonade.
WOW! At first, I didn’t think it would work but it turned out great! This recipe is GOLD!
Hi, I thought it was great too!
This is the greatest idea ever!!!!! 🙂
i used apple juice and it was just all, liquid i thought it would actually work
Had mad doubts. Awesome recipe and will definitely use it again! I feel like the angrys need to read the recipe a FEW more times so they can get it!!
this doesn’t work for me either very disappointed it did nothing i wasted a good drink. then i tried it and i could taste the salt.
It sounds like you may have been confused on the directions. The salt does not go in the drink. The Kosher salt and ice are mixed together in one plastic bag, then the juice is poured into a separate plastic bag. The sealed juice bag goes INSIDE the ice/salt bag.
This worked perfectly.
Perfect fingers crossed this works for my party
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.
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!!😇❤️
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?
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.
I remember doing this when I was in elementary school! Ice cream made like that tastes sooo good!
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
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! 😀
Try using rock salt too. 🙂 lots of ice.
Rock salt.. great idea!
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!
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!
And also all fruit juice like oasis works
Thanks it worked great but it was too salty I put some more of the same juice in and it worked
The salt and ice cubes are in the outer bag and the juice goes in the inner bag. Hope this helps.
This was so easy and worked wonderfully! Thank you so much for this recipe!
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!
I love this idea! Thanks for sharing.
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 ????
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!
Does sea salt work?
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!
I used one tablespoon of Trader Joe’s sea salt and it worked perfectly for me.
this doesnot work we tried this with orange juice and literatlly shook for twenty minutes and it was just foamy juice
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?
this doesn’t work you lied to two very desperate 6 year olds
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!
Just tried this for the first time today with orange juice (not from concentrate) and it worked perfectly following the instructions exactly (maybe the other poster did not add salt?)… Thanks!!
thats a little mean iv used this for 5 years and its worked every time
It doesn’t work with Dr. Pepper or V8 Splash Watermelon Cherry either. 🙁
I just tried it with Dr Pepper and it worked just fine for me
I am so glad it works with Dr.P. . Im making this!
I also tried it with root beer and it did not work. It definitely got colder but it wasn’t at all frozen
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?
I am thinking because alcoholic drinks have a lower freezing point, it may not work. You can try it and let us know though!
Thanks for sharing!!! I love your idea. My kids will be so happy…
I am a good mother.
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!
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.
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
Interesting! Thanks. I think I should go back to school again 😉
Why can’t you use diet soda?!
I’m not exactly sure, something to do with the artificial sweetener makes it not ice up as well!
Amazing recipe used it for pineapple juice. Loved it!