Ninja SLUSHi Frozen Drink Maker – Review

Some household appliances, including the indispensable coffee machine, toaster, oven, blender, to air fryer, are ubiquitous across every home such that there are numerous brands producing variants of these common kitchen electronics. In some ways, this diminishes any potential for brand loyalty because these items all work the same way, are easily replaceable, and offer very little performance variation. But there are also a few brands that stand out because they don’t necessarily follow market trends, and instead present kitchen gadgets that offer a unique feature that few or even no other brands have developed, and SharkNinja is one of them.

While it’s one brand, the Shark label covers products such as vacuums, from cordless, upright to robot, stand fans, steam mops, and air purifiers, while the Ninja label covers mainly unique kitchen appliances. Since my first purchase of the Ninja Foodi indoor grill, I’ve added the Ninja CREAMi ice cream maker, and the Ninja Pro Blender. As someone who loves grilled food but lacks the space for an outdoor BBQ, the Foodi Grill offers grilling capabilities at high temperatures to mirror that of an open flame barbeque, while the Creami eschews the churning type home ice cream makers, and is instead a blender that shaves frozen milk or fruit based concoctions, much like a restaurant-type Pacojet, which purees frozen ingredients into ultra-fine, creamy textures in professional kitchens. And on the basis of satisfaction from both these home appliances, I bought the Ninja blender, instead of something similar from other well-regarded brands including Tefal, Philips, and Kenwood.

So when news of the Ninja Slushi Professional Frozen Drink Maker hit the global market back in 2024, delivering that Icee and Slurpee-like range of slushies in the comfort of your own home, I waited in anticipation for a local launch, and this S$499 appliance is the home appliance that satisfies, and is now the center of any house gathering.

Designed like the slushie dispenser you see at local fairs, restaurants or convenience stores, the Ninja Slushi is a compact vertical standing appliance that measures 16.5cm x 41.4cm, at a height of 43cm. It’s smaller than those found in businesses, because it only has a 2.5l capacity chamber, but make no mistake – this 11kg device takes up room on your kitchen counter top but it also churns out the most delicious semi-frozen beverage.

Out of the box, the top portion of the unit is the removable transparent Vessel that holds the liquid you want to churn, and this is inserted into the Evaporator that’s attached to the main unit. Simply pour in the base liquid you want to make a slushie beverage from, wait around 30 minutes for the Auger to rotate the liquid around the cold Evaporator and pretty soon, the liquid will form little icicles that eventually turns into the frozen consistency that you can slurp with a straw, or consume with a spoon.

What’s unique about this is that there is nothing quite like this in the market for homes. The commercial ones are massive, and if you’re familiar with making a frozen margarita, you’ll also remember the mess that can come out of smashing juice, syrup, tequila and ice in a blender. With the Slushi, it’s as close to plug and play as possible because as with almost every other Ninja appliance, it’s really simple to use. Once assembled, the Vessel comes with a small trapdoor opening used to pour any liquid in, and this can be fruit juices, cordial mixes and even alcoholic mixes. Different types of liquids will freeze up across different timings, but you can make slushies, milkshakes, frozen juices, cocktails and even frappes, that creamy frozen-like treat that’s a cross between a slushie and a milkshake, using the simple presets.

Conventional wisdom will direct you to make slushies from Ribena, orange juice, or lemonade and the secret ingredient here is sugar – the liquid you pour in needs to have sugar, at least 4 per cent or 4g per 100ml, for the machine to work, so you can’t simply pour water in and get a small cup of ice particles. But let’s be honest – those drinks are boring because if you’re Asian, here are a few things that are a must try – Milo, Horlicks, coconut water, teh tarik, milk tea, Nanyang coffee, sugarcane juice and even Pei Pa Koa, the traditional Chinese herbal remedy that soothes sore throats. The list is endless and also because Asia has a long list of unique beverages that have not been turned into slushie offerings, you can now experiment and develop a recipe to your liking.

For example, it’s simple enough to buy a 1l tetra pack of Milo for the Ninja Slushie, or add some fresh milk to tweak the recipe. Otherwise, you can opt to make it from scratch the traditional way, from a tin, as that delivers a different taste profile – and what’s stopping you from adding a scoop of Milo powder to the finished drink, for that Milo Dinosaur slushie. Fresh coconut water has a better flavour compared to the supermarket type, and instead of buying multiple fresh coconuts, I simply mix both into the machine and adjust the sweetness accordingly, with more fresh coconut water into the mix.

The good thing about the machine is that beyond the presets of Slush, Spiked Slush, Frappe, Milkshake and Frozen Juice, located on the left front of the machine, the right side comes with adjustable cold settings, between one to 10. If the drink is not churning the water to ice ratio you like, simply dial the cold settings accordingly. Of course, this means that any unique recipe needs your constant attention, to ensure a level of slush consistency.

And some recipes require even more effort, such as picking up fresh sugarcane juice from your local hawker center, teh tarik from your downstairs coffeeshop, or that milk tea from your favourite bubble tea chain. You can also mix up your favourite milk tea or coffee premixes, add a dash of your favourite milk – animal, soy, or nuts – for that creamier flavour. Then there’s the trial and error of mixing your own Pei Pa Koa to the sweetness level and taste you like, to bring you that familiar throat soothing sensation but now in slightly frozen form. 

And if you want to create slushies of carbonated drinks, note that the freezing process removes the fizz, but given how sweet soft drinks are, you can make the slush and top things off with soda water or another can of soft drink, to add some fizz back in.

And because the machine has a 2.5l capacity, it’s also easy to swap drinks. For example, you start with the Milo or Ribena for the children, before putting in the Margarita mix for the adults at home. Now, there are specific guidelines for making frozen alcoholic treats, since alcohol inhibits freezing, but once you get the mix down, of say, rosé wine with some strawberry syrup and lemon juice, you’ll never have to blend a margarita ever again. And like any bartender or beverage butler, it pays to have those extra ingredients on hand – whipped cream to top off that coffee frappe, aloe vera and nata de coco for your juice-based drink, a bottle of maraschino cherries and some green lemons for that alcoholic concoction – the prep work is easy, and the reward are drinks in the comfort of your home. 

Using the Slushi for making alcoholic treats requires a lot more effort and testing, and you have to experiment, but there are simple recipes available, such as mixing pineapple juice, coconut cream, rum and even lemon juice, for a pina colada. And with the easy access port on the unit, I tend to start with regular juices, before adding the alcohol at the end, to ensure that the recipe works. The great thing about the Ninja Slushie, like the Instant Pot, is that these products have taken off in the US and if you’re looking for foolproof recipes for Western beverages, there are forums and Facebook Groups for users to follow.

But like the Creami machine, where you have to freeze the ingredients the day before, there are some limits to what you can do with the Slushi. While the capacity is small, there might be occasions where you are unable to finish everything in the vessel but the churning of liquid to ice has to continue, otherwise the semi-frozen treat will start melting. For ingredients with milk, there will be a point where once the churning crosses it, the beverage turns into this fine ice slush that when placed in a cup, doesn’t crumble as readily so if you drink through a straw, the slush won’t easily melt away, preventing easy consumption through the straw.

Cleaning is simple but can also be a chore as ice will melt and drip, so when you take things apart during clean up, there will be liquid remnants. The machine is too heavy so you can’t disassemble it in the sink. So you have to be careful.

But if you love a milky Hong Kong milk tea frappe made from a pre-mix, which isn’t something you can easily buy, or want to turn that vegetable juice into a cold beverage, you can. Just don’t forget the sugar.

HSALS

Hsals needs more space in his house, and more money in his bank account to pay for all the toys, collectibles and other geek related items that companies are churning out. Free-time? Girlfriend? Who’s got time for those?