The 50 Best Ninja Slushi Recipes

The Ninja Slushi turned my kitchen into a low-rent Orange Julius stand, and I regret nothing. Over the past year I have run everything from kid-friendly juice slushes to full frozen cocktails through it, and these are the 50 I keep coming back to. No blender, no bag of crushed ice, no guessing. You pour a liquid base in, pick your setting, and let it churn into slush.

A couple of ground rules that apply to almost all of them: use full-sugar (sugar is what lets it freeze into slush), keep boozy batches in the machine's alcohol range or they stay liquid, and pour your base in at room temperature since the machine does the chilling. New to it? Start with the temperature settings guide so the bars make sense.

Here are the best Ninja Slushi recipes, sorted by what you are in the mood for.

Non-Alcoholic Slushies

Family-friendly and the ones I make most. Great for kids, hot afternoons, and anyone who does not want a buzz.

• Harry Potter Butterbeer Slushie My daughter is nine deep into her Harry Potter phase, so this Harry Potter Butterbeer Slushie in the Ninja Slushi was non-negotiable.
• Frozen Coke Zero Confession: I drink an absurd amount of Coke Zero, so a Frozen Coke Zero in the Ninja Slushi was always going to happen.
• Tropical Pineapple Mango Dole Whip We got back from a Disney trip and my kids would not shut up about Dole Whip, so I made this Tropical Pineapple Mango Dole Whip in the...
• Orange Julius Slushi Anybody who hung out at a 90s mall remembers the Orange Julius, and this Orange Julius Slushi in the Ninja Slushi nails that frothy...
• Two-Ingredient Frosted Lemonade (Crystal Light) I needed a Chick-fil-A frosted lemonade fix on a Sunday, which if you know, you know, so I made this Two-Ingredient Frosted Lemonade in...
• Dreamsicle-Creamsicle Bliss First sip of this Dreamsicle-Creamsicle Bliss and my daughter said it tasted like the orange push-pops from the ice cream truck, which...
• Kombucha Slush Honestly didn't expect much from a Kombucha Slush, figured it'd be a health-kick experiment, but my kid drank half of mine before I...
• Frozen Strawberry Lemonade Slush My daughter set up a lemonade stand last July, sold maybe four cups, and came inside defeated.
• Classic Cola Slush Took exactly one ingredient to make my brother say "this tastes like the gas station ones, but better." Pour cold full-sugar cola into...
• Vanilla Cream Soda Slush Cream soda was my grandfather's drink, the one he kept in the garage fridge, so making a Vanilla Cream Soda Slush in the Ninja Slushi...
• Watermelon Mint Cooler Slush Had half a watermelon going soft on the counter and didn't want to waste it, so I strained the juice, hit it with fresh lime and a...
• Mango Pineapple Tropical Slush Booked a beach trip, then it got cancelled, so we made the Mango Pineapple Tropical Slush in the Ninja Slushi and pretended the backyard...
• Peach Raspberry Sunset Slush Named this one the Peach Raspberry Sunset Slush because of how the colors layer before you stir, peach on the bottom, raspberry bleeding...
• Coconut Water Electrolyte Slush After a brutal Saturday softball game I wanted something cold that wasn't pure sugar, so I ran coconut water with a little pineapple...
• Arnold Palmer Slush My dad orders an Arnold Palmer at every restaurant like it's still 1998, so making an Arnold Palmer Slush in the Ninja Slushi for him...
• Cherry Limeade Slush There's a drive-in near us that does a cherry limeade I'd drive twenty minutes for, so I tried to copy it in the Ninja Slushi and...
• Grape Soda Slush One ingredient and suddenly I'm eight years old again.
• Blue Raspberry Lemonade Slush Blue raspberry isn't a real fruit and I don't care, it tastes like every good summer of my childhood.
• Green Apple Sour Slush Anyone who grew up on those sour green apple candies knows the exact pucker I was chasing here.

Creamy & Dairy Slushies

The frothy, creamsicle, milkshake-adjacent side of the Slushi. Whole milk and a little fat are what make these so good.

• Gingerbread Custard Shake I made this Gingerbread Custard Shake in the Ninja Slushi for our family Christmas Eve, and it disappeared before the actual dessert...
• Wendy's Frosty Copycat The Wendy's Frosty Copycat in the Ninja Slushi started as a dare from my brother, who swore no machine could match a real Frosty.
• Chocolate Malt Milkshake My wife grew up going to an old-school soda fountain and has very strong opinions about malts, so making a Chocolate Malt Milkshake in...
• Cookies and Cream Shake Made the Cookies and Cream Shake in the Ninja Slushi on a rainy Friday and it turned into a whole movie night.
• Strawberry Cheesecake Shake My sister's birthday is in February and she always wants cheesecake, so this year I made a Strawberry Cheesecake Shake in the Ninja...
• Horchata Frappe My abuela-adjacent friend Marisol took one sip of this Horchata Frappe out of the Ninja Slushi and went quiet, which from her is...
• Cherry Vanilla Cream Shake Tastes like the cherry vanilla ice cream my grandpa kept in the garage freezer, which is the whole reason I kept tweaking this Cherry...
• Bananas Foster Custard Shake Creamy, cold, and just barely scoopable, that first spoonful of this Bananas Foster Custard Shake from the Ninja Slushi honestly stopped...
• Salted Caramel Pretzel Shake Dissolving the sugar in the milk before you pour everything into the Ninja Slushi is what kept this Salted Caramel Pretzel Shake from...
• Brown Butter Pecan Shake Okay so the Brown Butter Pecan Shake idea came to me when I burned some butter by accident and just kind of went with it, and thank...
• Pistachio Rose Cream Slush My wife took one sip of the Pistachio Rose Cream Slush and said "oh, that's actually really good" in that surprised tone she saves for...

Spiked & Boozy Slushies (21+)

Frozen cocktails without a blender full of crushed ice. Keep the alcohol in range or the machine will not freeze it, and please enjoy responsibly.

• Classic Frozen Margarita Threw a backyard taco night and this Classic Frozen Margarita in the Ninja Slushi was the first thing to run dry (21+ only, obviously).
• Moscow Mule Slush My wife loves a Moscow Mule, so I turned one into this Moscow Mule Slush in the Ninja Slushi for her birthday (adults only here).
• Espresso Martini with Baileys Hosted a late dinner and made this Espresso Martini with Baileys in the Ninja Slushi for the after-dinner crowd (strictly 21+).
• Tropical Blue Hawaiian Cracked this Tropical Blue Hawaiian out at a pool day and it turned everyone into a tourist instantly (grown-ups only).
• Frozen Bushwacker First time I had a Frozen Bushwacker was on a beach trip down south, so recreating it as a Frozen Bushwacker in the Ninja Slushi felt...
• Royal Peach Chill Two ingredients, zero effort, and this Royal Peach Chill in the Ninja Slushi became my summer porch drink (adults only).
• Frozen Red Sangria Made this Frozen Red Sangria in the Ninja Slushi for a backyard get-together and it carried the whole party (21+ only).
• Spiked White Russian Slush The Dude would approve of this Spiked White Russian Slush in the Ninja Slushi, and yes I said that out loud while making it (strictly...
• Mudslide with Peanut Butter Whiskey My buddy Dave swore he didn't like peanut butter in drinks, then went back for a second Mudslide with Peanut Butter Whiskey before he'd...
• Frozen Lemon Drop Martini We made this Frozen Lemon Drop Martini for my sister's birthday and she declared it dangerous, which in her vocabulary is a compliment.
• Frozen Mojito Slush Confession, I always thought mojitos were too much work, all that muddling.
• Patriotic Red, White, and Blue Layered Slushy Made this Patriotic Red, White, and Blue Layered Slushy for our Fourth of July cookout and my nephew genuinely gasped at the three...
• Strawberry Cream Chill This Strawberry Cream Chill happened because I had leftover strawberry puree and a bottle of strawberries and creme liqueur staring at me.
• London Mule Slush I'm a sucker for a Moscow mule, so a frozen London Mule Slush with gin instead of vodka was an easy sell to myself.
• The Sunny Dusk The Sunny Dusk started as a dumb idea, Sunny D and whiskey, and somehow became the drink my friends request by name now.
• Aperitivo Orange Spritz My wife came back from Italy obsessed with Aperol spritzes, so this frozen Aperitivo Orange Spritz was my attempt to recreate the patio...
• Elderflower Gin Cocktail Pulled out this frozen Elderflower Gin Cocktail at a backyard get-together and my friend who claims she "doesn't like gin" had two.
• Frozen Pimms Refresher Every English summer I remember involved a jug of Pimm's, so a Frozen Pimm's Refresher felt overdue.
• Peach Bellini Slush Made this Peach Bellini Slush for brunch and it disappeared faster than the actual food, which tells you everything.
• Schilling Blue Raspberry Hard Lemonade Slush Easiest spiked slush I've ever made, and the Schilling Blue Raspberry Hard Lemonade Slush is literally one ingredient.

That is the shortlist. Pick one, pour it in, and if you make a good one I missed, send it in and I might add it. If a batch comes out watery instead of slushy, it is almost always too little sugar or too much alcohol, both of which the machine needs in a specific range to freeze.