I tested budget slushie makers against £350 Ninja gadget – a £10 high street dupe is just as good & the kids'll love it
With school holidays around the corner and temperatures finally set to climb, frozen drinks become a household essential.
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But after concerns over shop-bought slushies, especially those containing glycerol, a sugar substitute linked to making young children unwell, more parents are looking for alternatives.
Enter Ninja's Slushi.
The sleek, high-end gadget went viral, with foodie influencers around the world showing off their bar-quality frozen cocktails and perfectly textured slushies.
The hashtag #ninjaslushie has already racked up more than 15,000 TikTok videos.
It has launched in the UK just in time for the sunshine. But at nearly £350, this machine is anything but cheap.
So, is it worth the hype, or can budget-friendly versions deliver the chill for less?
Lynsey Hope puts them to the test while Fabulous Food Editor Kirsty Spence has two great recipes.
THE first thing that hits you is the price – and then the size.
This is a huge appliance and even getting it out of the box was a mission.
But it is very easy to use. Just add your ingredients to the plastic vessel and choose what type of drink you would like on the control panel.
Mum shares genius hack to make slushies for your kids in seconds
Unlike other slushie makers, this one doesn't need ice. The compressor in the machine cools the ingredients as it churns away.
Once your drink is ready, it will keep it cold for up to 12 hours. You do have to keep it running, though, and it is not silent.
I was very impressed with the drinks that came out.
The texture of the frozen cocktail was restaurant or bar quality, although you do have to select the right temperature.
Even simple tropical fruit juice and cola came out as a perfect slushy for kids.
The recipe booklet was really helpful to get you started.
Any drinks you add to the machine do need at least 5g of sugar per 100ml.
If you want to make diet drinks you must add erythritol – a sweetener – which you can buy online or at supermarkets.
It is £3.35 for 250g at Tesco. You also need lemon juice and salt but the instructions in the manual are easy to follow.
I loved it. The only downside is the size. You need a decent bit of counter space if you want it out all the time and as it is so big, it is hard to store.
The main drinks vessel was also quite hard to clean by hand but it can go in the dishwasher.
Rating: 4/5
CHILLFACTOR SLUSHY MAKER, £9.99, smythstoys.co.uk
IF you only need a single serving, this is a great option and especially fun for kids. But it does require a bit of prep.
You have to put the cup in the freezer for eight to ten hours before you want to make your slushie.
Then simply add a chilled drink of your choice until the cup becomes two-thirds full, screw the lid on and squeeze the cup.
It was pretty easy to do, although my younger daughter did need a bit of help with this step as some of the liquid spilled over the top.
But this simple process freezes your drink into a thick, slushie texture in about a minute.
The children were amazed by how easy it was and loved that they could do it themselves.
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They thought they were getting a cafe-quality slushy at home and yet I could make it healthier, with fruit options and less sugar.
You cannot put the cup in the dishwasher, although it is easy to wash by hand.
You really need to keep it in the freezer so it is always ready to go when you need it.
I found it took up quite a lot of freezer space.
The serving size is also limited. But if you don't want a bulky appliance and want something cheap, this is a fun and wallet-friendly alternative.
Rating: 4/5
LIVIVO ELECTRIC ICE CRUSHER, £39.99, amazon.co.uk
MARGARITAS came out watery and the cola slushies were flat after adding a can of it and some ice.
The steel blades did a great job of chopping up the ice.
But the ice and liquid didn't really blend properly when I poured it out of the machine.
It only took a minute, but I'd rather wait a bit longer and get something drinkable.
None of it can go in the dishwasher, either, and it was a right faff to wash by hand.
While quick and relatively compact to store, it is also very noisy to use.
It probably made around four small cups in one go.
For nearly £40, I did not think much of it.
Rating: 3/5
SLUSH PUPPIE SLUSHY MACHINE, £34.99, robertdyas.co.uk
I ALWAYS wanted this as a child and now in my forties, I was still pretty excited to try it out.
Sadly, my childhood dreams were crushed and I was left disappointed.
All the slushies that came out of this were very watery and didn't have the blended, icy texture I had been hoping for.
It was nothing like you would get from a machine in a cafe, or what I remember as a kid.
And it was pretty noisy to use, although it only took a minute or two to prepare as the plastic mixer quickly ground through the ice.
There are two settings so you can have the ice fine or coarse.
Both were too runny, leaving large uneven chunks in the drinks.
It was easy to clean and relatively compact to store, especially compared to the Ninja.
Rating: 2/5
ANDREW JAMES ICE CRUSHER SLUSH MACHINE, £32.99, amazon.co.uk
HERE is a super-quick and convenient way to make an icy drink.
All you have to do is add ice to the compartment at the top and this is then crushed into the liquid in the main blending container at the simple press of a button.
Quick and easy to do but the quality of the drink wasn't a patch on those from the Ninja.
They were on the watery side and lacked the thick, slushie-like texture.
I tried adding shaved ice afterwards but it didn't blend in very well and spoilt my enjoyment.
The kids still liked it. Having a slushie at home was a real winner, even though it wasn't perfectly blended.
Simple, wallet-friendly but very average.
Rating: 3/5
LYNSEY'S VERDICT: IT'S A DRAW
MOST of us don't have £350 to spend on a whopping great machine, or a place to store it.
So while the Ninja was brilliant, the ChillFactor cup is fun for the kids and costs less than a tenner.
It would make a great gift if you have lots of parties over the summer and it comes in a lovely range of colours.
If the Ninja was cheaper it would definitely be a winner.
But I had to knock a point off because it is so bulky and takes up so much room in my already jam-packed kitchen.
The bonus is that it can also make cocktails and frappes for the grown-ups, which would be difficult with the ChillFactor cup.
If you spend a lot on these overall, it might be a worthy investment.
Two iced coffees a week at £4 a go would cost you £416, so it might save money if you spend a lot on iced drinks out and about.
But if all you are after is a bit of fun on a hot day, the ChillFactor is a brilliant and affordable option.
FROSE
Serves 1
YOU NEED:
60ml Martini Sparkling Rosé
15ml Martini Fiero
30ml water
30ml sugar syrup
30ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
METHOD: Add the ingredients to the slushie machine until blended.
Garnish the drink with a dried grapefruit slice.
Pina colada
Serves 1
YOU NEED:
50ml Bacardi coconut rum
37.5ml Coco Real
37.5ml pineapple juice
METHOD: Combine all ingredients in the machine and blend.
Serve in a highball glass, garnished with a pineapple wedge plus a 'cherry flag' – a cherry and orange slice on a cocktail stick.
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