5-Minute Slushies (Slushy Magic)

4.80 from 48 votes
94 Comments

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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.

5 minute slushies in colored cups with straws.
Featured With This Recipe
  1. DIY Slushy Magic Slushies
  2. How Does It Work?
  3. What is Needed to Make Homemade Slushies?
  4. More Magic Slushy Tips
  5. Frequently Asked Questions
  6. More Frozen Summer Treats
  7. How to Make Magic Plushies
  8. 5-Minute Slushie (Slushy Magic) 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:

  1. Pick your flavor: Start by choosing your desired juice or soda.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
5 minute magic slushie


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

Can I use diet sodas or juices for this recipe?

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.

Why did my slushy come out so salty?

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.

How do I make sure the slushy doesn’t come out runny?

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

4 DIY magic slushies in rainbow colored cups with straws.

5-Minute Slushie (Slushy Magic)

4.80 from 48 votes
Make your own DIY Slushy Magic at home! No blender needed. All you need are 3 simple ingredients and 5-minutes.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Servings 1

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.
    Bag of Ice and Salt
  • 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.
    Small Bag of Juice
  • 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.
    Bag of Juice in Bag of Ice
  • 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.
    Shaking slush bags together
  • Pour slush into a cup and serve immediately.
    Cup of slush

Nutrition Information

Calories: 114kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 5745mgPotassium: 250mgFiber: 1gSugar: 24gVitamin C: 2.2mgCalcium: 20mgIron: 0.3mg

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About the author

Erica Walker

Erica lives in Boise, Idaho with her husband, Jared, an attorney, and her three beautiful girls. Beyond the world of recipes, she loves adventuring with everything from kayaking, to cruising, to snowboarding and taking the family along for the thrill ride.

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    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.

  2. 5 stars
    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!

  3. 5 stars
    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! 😀

  4. 4 stars
    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!

  5. 5 stars
    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👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💓💓💓💓💓💓💗💗💗💗💗💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💌💌💌💌💌

  6. 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?.

    1. 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

      1. The sugar substitutes in sugar free juice and soda affect the freezing temperature, so you won’t be able to freeze the liquid.

  7. Hi! Do you know if this works with water? I’m planning on adding kool aid liquid to the water to make slushies.

  8. 5 stars
    WOW! At first, I didn’t think it would work but it turned out great! This recipe is GOLD!