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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.
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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.
There is no wrong answer here! You can also call this drink a slushee or slurpee.
According to “Scientific American” a slushy is “a dense, ice-cold beverage that resembles the thickness of melting snow. Slushies can be made in two ways: You can flavor finely crushed ice or you can alter the freezing process of flavored water so that loose, icy crystals form. Shaking the liquid while keeping it at the freezing point does just that”. We use the latter method to make these slushies because we have found the texture is most like snow.
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.