When I got a Ninja Creami Deluxe last summer, I was impressed with its ability to make ice cream. But I’d owned ice cream makers before, and while it was a good machine, it didn’t initially wow me beyond how much fruit I could functionally add to each batch. Then I used it for frozen alcoholic drinks, and I was sold. I’d never loved the texture of homemade frozen drinks in a blender, and I’d looked into home slushie machines to no avail. They were either inexpensive blenders or multi-thousand-dollar investments. So I was perfectly happy with the frozen bevvies I crafted in the Creami Deluxe last summer, even though I was a little resentful about the 24-hour advance notice needed to make two drinks. I figured that was as good as my frozen mixology life could get.

Fast forward to this summer, when I posted a photo on Instagram of a recent frozen cocktail I’d made in the Creami Deluxe. I clicked on the Ninja Kitchen IG after tagging them and saw that my dream was coming true: They were releasing a slushie machine — the new Ninja Slushi. I acted quickly to get my hands on one to test, and my goodness, am I glad I did! It has been sold out almost constantly since its launch, but it’s finally back in stock. So slushy lovers everywhere better run and grab one before it sells out again. Seriously, run.

Ninja Slushi Professional Frozen Drink Maker

The Ninja Slushi requires no thinking ahead, though it works slightly faster if your ingredients are already cold. When it arrived, I was taken aback by the Slushi’s weight. This guy is heavy. I lugged it onto my kitchen counter, and there it will stay until winter because its 25-pound heft isn’t easy to lift and lower regularly. On the plus side, it requires very little assembly – you basically just need to wash and dry several parts, then put it all back together. I’m not mechanically savvy, but I had no issues.

I’ve since tried the Slushi’s various functions, from frappes to frozen juice slushies, and they’re all great. But where the Slushi really shines is in making frozen cocktails that are, hands down, exactly the same as you’d get in a bar. You can make as little as 16 ounces at a time, or as much as 64, but I’ve found that a full batch freezes into a more appealing texture. It’s taken the machine running anywhere from just shy of 15 minutes for 16-ounce slushies to about 45 minutes for a well-frozen, full 64-ounce container. And since they’re made without ice, the drinks have an incredible mouthfeel and melt very slowly, unlike frozen slushies from a blender.

You need sweetness at a level of 4% sugar in your liquid slushy mix for everything you make to freeze properly, but since that can be naturally occurring from fruit juice, I haven’t had any issues so far or found anything to be too sweet. It also won’t freeze anything over 16% alcohol content, which means that as someone who’s generally a fan of strong drinks like old fashioneds and Oaxacan Negronis, I stay surprisingly hydrated as I imbibe. 

I also love that the Slushi can run continuously for up to 12 hours and can be topped off endlessly along the way. That means that my pool parties can start early, and end late — and it’ll keep churning out fabulous cocktails the whole time. If you want to switch things up mid-way, the Slushi’s rinse function is super quick, and it cleans the machine out well enough in one rinse cycle that no flavors are left behind. I’ve gone from a bourbon-based drink to a tequila one, for people who each didn’t like the other spirit, with no complaints.

My one qualm with the Ninja Slushi is that it’s a bit noisier than advertised. They say it’s about as loud as a refrigerator running, but I find that to be untrue (unless your fridge has some major problems). The Slushi is nowhere near as loud as a blender, and it’s but a tiny fraction of the decibel madness of the Creami. Still, it is at least two to three times as loud as a fridge. I have no problem turning the music up a notch, though, for drinks as good as the Slushi makes.

Shop More Ninja Favorites

Ninja Creami Deluxe

Ninja Compact Kitchen System

Ninja Nutri-Blender Plus

Ninja 4-Quart Air Fryer

Ninja DualBrew Pro