Nothing hits the spot like a frozen drink in the summer. But until recently, there wasn’t a whole lot of frozen drink-making happening in my home. Last month, Ninja released a professional frozen drink maker — the Ninja Slushi — and I was able to get it into my kitchen before it sold out (and then sold out again). Over the course of two weeks, I experimented and made all kinds of drinks with it, from a creamy strawberry milkshake to a coffee frappé. The Ninja Slushi is finally back in stock (for now), so if you’re a fellow frozen drink lover, read on for my full review.
The often sold-out Ninja Slushi has five presets: slush, spiked slush, frappé, milkshake and frozen juice. With the press of a button, you can transform soda, juice and more into a delicious frozen beverage, thanks to Ninja’s RapidChill Technology.??
What I liked about it
The frozen drink options are endless
There are certain guidelines you need to follow (more on that later), but one thing I love about the Ninja Slushi is that you can get as creative as you want with your drinks. Through the brand’s RapidChill Technology, the Slushi transforms everyday drinks into full-flavored frozen ones without the use of ice or blades. The five programs — slush, spiked slush, frappé, milkshake and frozen juice — allow you to make a variety of frozen drinks in as little as 15 minutes. Since getting it, I’ve made multiple drinks in the Slushi, including a virgin strawberry daiquiri, a frappé, a vanilla milkshake (I highly recommend making this if you get one) and a kombucha slushie. All of them came out great and, perhaps best of all, required very little effort on my part.
Getting started is as simple as pouring your liquid(s) of choice through the port — you’ll need at least 16 fluid ounces — and hitting the appropriate preset. Diet soda and beverages with little or no sugar won’t freeze in the machine on their own, but you can add sugar back in to make up the difference. Regular soda, kombucha and juice work just fine. The included recipe booklet is a great place to start if you’re searching for inspiration, but some of the most satisfying frozen drinks I made called for just one ingredient. My first-ever drink in this bad boy was a mango slushie made from just mango juice. It was so refreshing, and the consistency was thin enough that you could easily sip it through a straw if you wanted to (I personally didn’t) but thick enough that it still felt like you were drinking a frozen drink.
I also used a bottle of Barq’s Root Beer, an Italian blood orange soda from Trader Joe’s and a spiked can of iced tea and lemonade to make drinks. Because the machine uses a chilling cylinder to freeze your drinks and doesn’t require ice, nothing I made was watered down and everything had its full flavor.
It’s very user-friendly
The Ninja Slushi isn’t out to make life more complicated. It has a very simple, easy-to-use control panel and other features that eliminate all the guesswork. Depending on the type of drink you’re making, the Slushi will start at a different default temperature, which is demonstrated by the LEDs on the control panel and outlined in the very helpful quick-start guide.
If the consistency of your slushie is off, you can easily adjust it via the control panel:?increase the temperature for a thicker drink or decrease the temperature for a thinner drink. I like my drinks on the more sippable side, so I left the machine at the default temperature most of the time. But while testing out the appliance, there were a couple of times I wanted something thicker or vice versa and was able to adjust accordingly.
It’s important to mention that there needs to be sugar in the recipe for the Slushi to work properly (the included recipe book says “all inputs must contain at least 4% sugar”). If the machine detects your sugar levels are off, it will beep and flash the lights to let you know. This goes for a drink’s alcohol levels as well. For context, any alcoholic drinks you freeze (like wine) should contain between 2.8% and 16% alcohol. If you’re making a cocktail, the maximum amount of alcohol you can add is 4 ounces for every 24 ounces of the total recipe. But if you do have to make any adjustments or decide you want a larger serving size, you can easily pour additional liquid in through the top of the machine. I didn’t run into issues with the sugar or alcohol levels in any of my drinks, but it’s those types of features that make the Ninja Slushi so great to use.
Once the drink is ready, it beeps to let you know, which I really appreciate because I don’t have to set a timer or stand around waiting. I can go do other things and then come back to a perfectly frozen drink.
It’s great for entertaining
I haven’t had a ton of people over since getting the Ninja Slushi, but I already know it will come in handy when I do, especially since we’re all trying to enjoy the last bit of summer. The vessel can hold up to 64 ounces of liquid so you’re able to make a big batch of drinks for all your guests to enjoy. This means you can spend less time in the kitchen making drinks with a blender and more time enjoying your friends’ and family’s company. The Ninja Slushi also has a self-serve handle, which allows your guests to serve themselves and top up their drinks whenever they want. Since the machine is designed to keep your drink at your desired temperature for up to 12 hours, you can leave it running and come back to a perfectly frozen drink later.
Cleaning it is a breeze?
The Ninja Slushi is as easy to clean as it is to use. For starters, the vessel, the auger (the blue, swirly component that mixes your drinks), the condensation tray and the two-part drip tray are removable and dishwasher-safe. Even though I prefer to wash things by hand — Dawn dish soap and the soft side of a sponge will do the trick — it’s still nice to have that option.
To wipe the sides of the machine and the freezing cylinder, I use a clean, damp cloth. The frozen drink maker also has a rinse cycle, which I found really helpful, especially when I made thicker drinks, like milkshakes. To use the rinse cycle, you add hot water to the vessel and let it swish around for a minute before emptying it through the spout. Be warned, the water splashes out quickly, so you’ll want to pull the handle slowly so you have more control over it. The rinse cycle can be used as many times as you want, but you should still wash each component after use.
What I didn’t like about it
It’s heavy — and will likely need its own spot?
There’s no other way to say it: The Slushi is heavy. When I first unboxed it, I struggled to get all 24 pounds of it on my countertop. This is not something you can easily pull down from your storage shelf whenever you need it. In fact, the appliance is better off in a permanent spot of its own, which is fine if you have the counter space for it or an at-home bar. Though it’s heavy, it’s actually pretty compact, so it thankfully didn’t take up too much space on my countertop. At first, I wasn’t sure if it would fit under my built-in kitchen cabinets, but I was relieved when it slid in perfectly — though I have to slide it out to latch the vessel in and out and to pour in the liquid.
You can’t make a single serving
The minimum fill line is 16 ounces, which produces enough drinks for two to three people. Depending on how you look at it, this could be a positive or negative thing. If you entertain often or have a big family, you won’t mind (and will appreciate the large 64-ounce capacity). But if you just want to make a single-serve frozen drink for yourself, it’s annoying, especially if you know you won’t be able to drink it all. Even though the Ninja Slushi will keep your drink at the temperature you set for 12 hours, I don’t like the idea of keeping my machine plugged in and running for hours, especially when it’s just for me.
All recipes have to contain sugar
As I mentioned before, there has to be at least 4% sugar in all of your recipes. You can use sugar-free and low-sugar drinks, but you’ll have to add sugar back in (such as allulose powder, maple syrup or agave) for the mixture to freeze. While I didn’t try using diet soda in my machine, Ninja’s Test Kitchen website has plenty of low-sugar and sugar-free Slushi recipes.
Bottom line
I already have a few Ninja appliances, including the original Ninja Creami, but the Ninja Slushi might be my new favorite kitchen gadget. Being able to create delicious frozen drinks at home with the press of a button is a little luxury I never knew I needed. I plan on using it year-round and already know it will come in handy the next time I have guests over.
