Some many, many moons ago, I came across Ninja's viral frozen drink maker, the Slushi, at a product showcase. As soon as I saw what it could do, I knew I wanted to give it a damn good whirl. So when the opportunity arose to get hands-on with the Ninja Slushi in Australia, I jumped on it, believing I knew what I was getting myself into… but boy, was I so wrong.
Ninja has been known for its virality in recent years, with each new product becoming a smash hit online and then selling out in a flash. This tale was no different for the brand's own slushy maker. After launching in the US and UK in July 2024, the Ninja Slushi reportedly clocked up a 50k waitlist before releasing in Australia in February this year, selling out within minutes.
I've been a Ninja fan for some time now. From owning a Ninja bullet blender a decade ago, to nabbing a crisp new Ninja Creami during Amazon Prime Day sales last year, it's safe to say that I'm easily influenced by the brand (and equally so by its novelty gadgets). I'm even a big fan of its sister brand, Shark, too. Entering into Slushi testing, I had a strong sense I would grow to love the device, even if it didn't live up to the hype. But I had to stop and remind myself of one thing I know is crystal clear — I can't stand slushies.
It's not just a texture thing for me — it's the icy cold, frostbite-like nature of a frozen beverage that I've always failed to get behind. No matter how much I've tried, I can never finish a Maccas frozen Coke without feeling chills or goosebumps, even on a scorching hot summer's day. Before getting hands-on with the Ninja Slushi, I was worried it would have little to no use case in my house, as I was certain I wasn't going to make much with it — and I surely couldn't justify its AU$499.99 price tag.
But after remembering how much I enjoyed the frozen margarita I was served during the SharkNinja showcase, I decided to be a little more open-minded about the whole thing, and that's when I really started putting the Slushi to the test.
Let the experimentation begin!
As I began my tests, I knew early on that I needed a buddy in my quest. Calling upon my colleague (and fellow Tom's Guide AU contributor) Lindsay Handmer, we got to churning and discovered several hiccups along the way.
Over a massive month-long test period, we tried any and every fun recipe we could find. For me, the most important thing was to try every mode on the machine, so we could truly understand what the Slushi had to offer.
The machine has different temperature and texture controls that churn beverages in up to 60 minutes at max capacity, with five preset settings — Slush, Spiked Slush, Frappé, Milkshake, and Frozen Juice. (Our review unit was shipped from the UK, so the Spiked Slush setting has been replaced by “Frozen Cocktail”).
The classic frozen Coke
For the first test, I decided to try a very basic, yet classic favourite of a Coke slushy. Using the Slush setting and the recipe supplied with the machine, we poured in around 1L of the soft drink and let the machine do its thing. After 20 minutes, the machine beeped, informing us that our concoction was ready. At first glance, the slush looked similar to a regular frozen beverage — icy and a touch runny after dispensing. However, the slushy was dispensed too frozen, leaving us to eat the goop with a spoon, instead of slurping it up.
While the slush was manageable to eat, it didn't deliver the slurpability one requires out of a Slurpee. So, we decided to test and adjust, and for a regular, no-frills soft drink slush, we had the best results when we changed the temperature settings to 5 illuminated bars, instead of the preset of 6.
- In summary: experiment with temperature settings and don't rely on Ninja's presets!
Cocktail time!
When we moved into frozen cocktail territory, our results took more of a turn. The fix wasn't as straightforward as changing the temperature settings and was reliant on what was in our premix, rather than the machine's presets. During our first spiked slush trial, we used a pre-made mojito mix, popping it into the vessel and pressing the Frozen Cocktail button. The mix took longer than we had expected to churn — around 45 minutes — before we realised that the ingredients were warmer than they needed to be.
Ninja does explicitly advise that ingredients need to be cool and refrigerated before slushification commences, and while we admit that we messed up here, the Slushi still proved capable of turning some slightly warm premix into the frozen cocktail of our dreams. Much like the initial test slush, we found this slush to be even icier, as the preset cranks up the freezing temp to freeze the alcohol. After this cocktail trial run, we again adjusted the temperature to 6 bars and found our consistency to deliver some icy (but not melty) results, which, of course, were delicious.
- In summary: Refrigerate your alcohol!
Just a hint of sweetness
Despite having some relatively good successes with our early tests, as we journeyed on, we ran into a slight halt when it came to low sugar slush. According to Ninja, every frozen concoction needs sugar to help the mixture freeze. If you want a diet drink slush, Ninja suggests adding some allulose syrup to your mix. If you're going completely sugar-free, agave syrup has been suggested by some online users, but hasn't appeared in many of Ninja's recipes. In the supplied recipe book, Ninja quotes a mixture of lemon juice, salt and erythritol powder, which is a low-calorie sweetener.
Instead of sticking to a tried and true method, we decided to think outside the box and invest in some sugar-free cane syrup, as it was significantly cheaper than the substitutes Ninja suggested. This again was a minor fail on our part, as the syrup we had selected failed to meet the minimum sugar requirements needed to freeze our mixture of sugar-free lemon squash. After nearly two hours of churning, changing temperatures and trying all presets for one mixture, the only saviour for the mix was adding in some alcohol and around 4 grams of white sugar. After these measly additions and using the frappe setting, the slush finally stuck and decided to churn into icy goodness.
In essence, we concluded that despite costing AU$40 for a bag of erythritol on Amazon, if health-conscious users really want to make the most out of their Slushi purchase, they'll need to invest in what Ninja says is best — and that isn't always the cheapest option.
- In summary: healthy drinks = more investment
Final thoughts on the Ninja Slushi
After all that trial and error, if you're a frozen drink connoisseur who lives and breathes slushies, you'll get a kick out of this fun machine. There are many great recipes online and customisation options to try, much like the Ninja Creami. It's great at whipping things up quickly, taking no longer than 20 minutes for most mixes, and it would be a treat at parties or family gatherings. But you could easily purchase a blender and some ice for much less than the inflated price tag, and get similar results.
Ultimately, if you're considering the investment, the decision is yours. But for me, there's no denying that the Ninja Slushi is in my kitchen for the long haul.
