My recipe for how to make a slushie at home is fast and easy. This flavorful, icy drink tastes better than the ones from the store and at a fraction of the cost. The kids will also love being about to pick their own flavor. Ready, set, blend!

Who needs the gas station when you can make the best slushies at home with a simple packet of Kool-Aid. These icy, colorful treats can be made in less than 5 minutes and are great to enjoy on a hot summer day, or really any day of the year.

ICEE, Slurpie, Slushie, whatever you call them, I feel like I have made close to 100 of them over the years. It’s one of those fun treats my kids never get tired of, in fact, they would pick one of these drinks over popsicles any day.

What makes these Kool-Aid Slushies so good

• Budget friendly – These can be made cheap. One Kool-Aid packet makes about 4 large portions.
• Customize flavor – You can make this slushie with your favorite Kool-Aid flavor and it’s easy to make multiple flavors for a crowd.
• Fast to make. You can whip up a frozen drink in about 5 minutes.

Ingredients

One thing you will need is a good blender to crush up the ice for your homemade slushie. This is key to a good frozen drink.

• Ice – This is the base to your slushie recipe. You want the ice to be really cold, straight out of the freezer.
• Kool-Aid – Choose your favorite Kool-Aid flavor, or powdered drink like lemonade.
• Sugar – This adds sweetness to the drinks. You can cut back on the amount of sugar if you prefer.
• Water – Water helps to dissolve the sugar and adds a little liquid to help things blend together.

How to make a slushie with a blender

Scroll to the bottom for full printable recipe, ingredients and video.

1. Mix: Pour the water in a large bowl and add the sugar. Give it a stir to mix. (You can also add the sugar and water directly to the blender, after some testing, I think mixing them together first helps to distribute the sugar.)
2. Blend: Pour sugar water, Kool-Aid, and ice in the blender. Blend until ice is crushed and blended.
3. Serve: Serve immediately before the ice starts to melt.

Variations

There are many different flavors you can make with Kool-Aid but feel free to use any powdered drink mix like:

• Lemonade
• Jolly Rancher drink mix
• Starburst drink mix
• Crystal Light
• Tang powdered drink mix

I have also layered different flavors for a fun taste and look.

These slushie drinks are also amazing with a scoop of ice cream or sherbet added to the mixture. It gives the drink a more creamy texture.

Heather’s recipe tips

• If you need to adjust the texture of the slushie, you can add more ice to make it thicker, or add a little more water to thin it out.
• Use cold ingredients. I like to chill my water before making the drink. It helps to keep it colder longer.
• Save the leftovers. If you have any leftovers, put it in popsicle molds to make another delicious treat.

Can you add alcohol

Adults love these drinks too and if you want to add a little alcohol like vodka, you can pour 1/2 cup in the blender with the other ingredients.

Storage

Unfortunately, slushies are hard to store. If you keep them in the refrigerator the ice will melt and if you store the in the freezer, they will freeze all the way through. These are best enjoyed right after you make them.

Recipe FAQ’s

More delicious drink recipes

• Pineapple lemonade – A tasty mix of tart lemonade with sweet pineapple juice.
• Strawberry lemonade – Beautiful and delicious.
• Iced vanilla latte – Forget the coffee shop, you can easily make this at home.
• Cucumber lemon water – Cool and refreshing infused water.
• Fruit punch – Easy homemade fruit punch.

Let me know if you made this recipe. Be sure to leave a comment and rating below.