Chill Out in LA: The Best Homemade Slushie Recipes With a Slushie Machine
Los Angeles knows how to serve up summer all year long, and when the temperatures rise, the only thing on everyone’s mind is staying cool. What better way to beat the LA heat than with a tall, colorful, icy homemade slushie? They’re sweet, refreshing, and surprisingly easy to make because you only need a slushie machine, a few ingredients, and a little imagination.
*Editor’s Note: This post is written and sponsored by VEVOR Slushie Machines and includes great recipes for summer slushies and tips to optimize your beverage making.
The Joy of Homemade Slushies
There’s something magical about making your own slushies at home because you can play with different flavors, try out wild combos, and skip the artificial stuff found in store-bought versions. DIY slushies are cleaner, healthier, and way more fun to create, especially when you’re in sunny Los Angeles, where creativity and fresh ingredients are always in season.
In LA, you’ll always find slushies at farmers’ markets, food trucks, and beachside stands, but making it at home means you can enjoy your favorite frozen drinks any time you want, without the long lines or the mystery ingredients.
VEVOR’s slushie machines have single, dual, and triple tank options, perfect for party planners to serve multiple flavors at once, like mango-chili and strawberry-lime. In addition, the machines have adjustable consistency settings that allow you to pick the best texture for your drink, such as icy and thick or smooth and sippable. Similarly, your sluchie machine comes with fast cooling and mixing technology, so you won’t be waiting too long for your drink like in the stores.
The VEVOR’s slushie machine will make your next backyard BBQ, pool party, or quiet day at home so much fun in the LA heat.
The Best Slushie Recipes to Try
The VEVOR slushie machine mixes different ingredients to create refreshing slushie flavors and textures, from tangy to creamy to a little spicy, and the best part is that most of the best slushie recipes use locally available ingredients. Here are our top four slushie recipes:
1. LA Sunset Citrus Slush
The Sunset Citrus Slush is our top pick because it’s bright, tangy, and has just the right amount of sweetness. It pairs well with brunch parties or as a citrus pick-me-up on hot afternoons.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of freshly-squeezed orange juice
- 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons of blood orange syrup or grenadine for its sweetness and color
- 1 tablespoon of honey
- 1 cup of ice
Instructions
- Pour all the ingredients into your VEVOR slushie machine.
- Set the machine to medium consistency and let it work its magic.
- Once it is slushy and smooth, you can serve your drink in clear glasses and show off the sunset colors.
LA citrus sunset slush combines citrus juices to create a bright, refreshing zing, while the blood orange syrup gives the drink that beautiful sunset look that the city of angels boasts of. Furthermore, you can add a splash of Prosecco to your slush to make it a boozy brunch.
2. Strawberry-Basil Breeze
Strawberry-basil is a sweet, refreshing flavor with herbal notes that make your slushie slightly tangy; the perfect wellness treat after your yoga session.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of freshly hulled strawberries
- 2 tablespoons of basil syrup (you can make basil syrup by blending basil with simple syrup)
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
- 1 cup of ice
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients in the VEVOR slushie machine.
- Blend until you get a soft, icy texture.
- Pour the drink into chilled mason jars and serve immediately.
The strawberries in this drink make it feel like a cool summer evening, while the basil gives it a light and refreshing twist, and you can add a bit of sparkling water for that bubbly feeling or top with a fresh basil leaf for that extra herbal scent.
3. Creamy Coconut Piña Dream
This creamy coconut piña slushie is a rich, tropical, and luxurious drink that mingles perfectly with tropical-themed parties at home, beach days, or a hot summer afternoon by the pool.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of coconut milk
- 1 cup of fresh or frozen pineapple chunks
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla syrup
- 1 cup of ice
Instructions
- Put coconut milk, pineapple, vanilla syrup, and ice into the VEVOR slushie machine.
- Blend on high to make a thick, creamy slush.
- Serve in tall glasses or coconut shells.
The creamy coconut piña dream is your vacation-in-a-glass slushie because it is rich without being heavy, and the tropical notes of coconut and pineapple make it feel like a getaway on an island. Moreover, if you’re 21 and over, you can add a shot of rum and voila, you’ve got yourself a piña colada slushie.
4. Hollywood Heatwave (Spicy Mango-Lime)
When you mix sweet mango with lime and a spicy chili finish, you create a fun, unexpected, and addictive slushie that completes taco night.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of ripe mango chunks
- 2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon of agave syrup
- 1 teaspoon of chili-lime seasoning like Tajin
- 1 cup of ice
Instructions
- Add the mango, lime juice, agave, chili-lime seasoning, and ice to the slushie machine.
- Blend until you get the best frozen texture.
- Pour the slushie into cocktail glasses and enjoy.
Hollywood heatwave may only sound hot and spicy, but it’s also a sweet and sour slushie that pairs well with LA’s street food all summer long. Furthermore, you can rim your glass with Tajin to get an extra kick or garnish your glass with a lime wheel or dried chili for a classic Instagram look.
Tips for Perfecting Your Slushies
Making the perfect slushie is part science, part creativity, and when you’re feeling the LA heat, you can get as creative as you want. As for the scientific part, you can follow these tips to get a smooth, tasty drink every time:
- Chill your ingredients first because cold juice, fruit, and mixers blend faster and freeze more evenly, which cuts down the work and creates the perfect texture.
- It’s best to use crushed ice, not whole cubes, because crushed ice freezes quicker and blends more smoothly.
- Think like a mixologist and combine sweet fruits with citrus or herbs to brighten your drink and add a little spice to keep it interesting.
- Do not overfill the slushie tanks to give your ingredients more room to mix and freeze.
- Clean your machine regularly, rinsing and sanitizing it to keep your flavors fresh and avoid build-up.
- Slushie machines have intuitive settings, and VEVOR products make it easy for you to create the best slushies with their easy-to-master adjustable settings.
Conclusion
The best way to cool off in the LA sun is with a homemade slushie using a high-performance VEVOR slushie machine that turns simple ingredients into refreshing and delicious drinks. You can explore thousands of slushie recipes online and get as creative as possible with your flavors to make every sip count and enjoy a cool summer.
