Orange Julius Slushies

Now you can indulge in an orange julius that’s actually good for you —- In the fun, refreshing form of a slushy! These easy drinks are refined sugar-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, and only call for a few basic ingredients. — A perfectly cold and citrus-y summer drink!

Hey, hey, hey y’all! Guess what?! IT’S FRIDAY!!!

And I have an amazing drink for you to start your weekend off right.

There’s no booze this drink, but hey, you could always mix a little of your favorite in. No objections here. It IS Friday after all. 😉

Par-tay, people.

 I just recently found out that an orange julius happens to be a favorite drink of my mom. — I’ve never been one to deprive my family of their favorite foods, so clearly I jumped at the opportunity to make a homemade orange julius for my lovely mama. 🙂

This is probably gonna shock you, but hang on: I have never had an orange julius in my life. Yes, it’s true. And right now I’m crying on the inside for all the years that were orange julius-less for me.

Say that ten times fast: Orange julius-less, orange julius-less…..

But I didn’t want to make just any orange julius. Guys, did you know it’s practically SUMMER already?? This gave me the perfect excuse to combine a slushy and an orange julius into one amazing drink.

Amazing, I tell you.

My mom LOVED these slushies. She said that they tasted exactly like an orange julius and loved how they were partially frozen into slushies.

Something tells me that I will be making these slushies A LOT this summer. They’re so easy to make, I don’t think I’ll have a problem with that. 😀

These slushies are perfect for summer which is RIGHT around the corner, because….

A: They’re loaded with tons of refreshing orange citrus flavor. — SO summery.

B: They’re unbelievably cold, refreshing, and so amazing on a hot afternoon (actually pretty much anytime)

And C: They’re So. Easy. — Because I’m betting I’m not the only one who has crazy-busy summers. Who has time to spend all day in a hot, steamy kitchen? Not this girl!

It will take less than 5 minutes to blend your OJ ingredients. You’ll need to grab orange juice concentrate, (don’t try to sub diluted orange juice for the concentrate—the orange flavor won’t be nearly as strong) water, almond milk, (or any milk you prefer) xylitol, (sugar is a fine substitute) vanilla extract,  (don’t leave this out — it adds an amazing flavor!) and lastly, ice cubes.

Seriously, that’s all! That means you are literally only 6 ingredients away from a perfect homemade orange julius. 

Now, after everything is blended, you’re going to pour the OJ liquid into a container and freeze until solid. — This took mine about 2-1/2 hours to freeze completely.

Then, you’re gonna break this frozen mixture into chunks and add it back to blender to blend with just a little more milk. This will magically transform your orange julius into a slushy.

Ta-da!

The tropical-orange flavor shines through beautifully in these slushies and one sip was all it took to make me really feel like hopping on a plane and going to the beach. No oceans in Wisconsin. So sad. 

Also, it makes me want to plop a little paper umbrella on top of these slushies and pretend that I’m just a super-cool, uber-rich person with my fancy orange julius slushy. 😀

Ooh, la la.

The texture of these slushies is so smooth and not at all gritty or chunky. To me, the texture looks like soft-serve ice cream. ♥

Oh, and did I mention that they are completely dairy-free, gluten-free, AND refined sugar-free?? ZERO guilt, whatsoever. 😀

I plan on more than making up for all that time I didn’t have an orange julius in my life. — I’m totally making these slushies all summer long.

These two little monkeys (my 2-year old niece, Josie and of course, Rachel) were watching my photoshoot of these slushies the entire time with very mischievous looks on their little faces. I’ll bet you anything that if I had turned my back for even one second, two of those slushies would have disappeared just like that.

Once I did finish with the photoshoot and placed two of these slushies in front of them, you wouldn’t have BELIEVED how fast they slurped those things down.

Their comments? “that’s dee-wishus.” 😀

Happy Weekend!!

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Orange Julius Slushies

Now you can indulge in an orange julius that’s actually good for you —- In the fun, refreshing form of a slushy! These easy drinks are refined sugar-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, and only call for a few basic ingredients. — A perfectly cold and citrus-y summer drink!

Prep Time 2 hours 10 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes

Servings 5 -6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 12 oz can frozen orange juice concentrate
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups unsweetened almond milk divided (or milk of your choice)
• 1/2 cup xylitol or sugar
• 1 cup ice cubes
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• Place frozen orange juice, water, 1 cup milk, xylitol, ice cubes, and vanilla in a blender. Blend on high speed until smooth and ice chunks have disappeared. Pour into a 4 qt container and freeze until solid, about 2-3 hours.
• Break frozen orange julius into chunks and place in a food processor or blender. Pour remaining 1 cup milk over top and blend or pulse on high speed until thick and smooth. (the texture should resemble soft-serve ice cream) Serve immediately, while still partially frozen.

Notes

Store slushies in freezer up to 1 week. Let thaw 10-20 minutes before serving.

Still hungry for summer? You’ll love these other summery recipes.

Skinny Peanut Butter Banana Milkshakes

Summer Fruit Salsa With Cinnamon Chips

Whole Wheat Strawberry Shortcakes