
July 9, 2013
updated
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Try this Homemade Icee recipe for a refreshing treat you can make at home! It has less sugar and you can pick the flavor!
The best part: you only need a blender and your favorite fruit juice, plus, I’ll show you how to achieve that smooth-ice consistency.

2 Ingredient Icee at Home
Making icees at home is a great way to enjoy a treat and cool down on a hot summer day. This recipe only needs 2 ingredients and will save you money and a trip to the convenience store.
This recipe can be bade with your fravorite fruit juice or even light lemonade mix really quickly in a blender.
You will be blending ice, so if your blender is less than stellar, this is my top blender pick for ice. You can also check out my full review of inexpensive blenders here.
Homemade Icee Ingredients
To make an icee in a blender, you’ll need crushed ice and real fruit juice. Since these are made without artificial syrups, opt for a juice that is strong in flavor. Full list of flavors below.
- Ice: crushed ice works best in less powerful blenders or full ice cubes.
- Juice: pick a strong flavored juice for make this icee tastier.
Tip: If you don’t have a crushed ice setting, fill a zip bag with ice cubes, zip it closed, and place it on top of a towel on a wooden board. With a meat mallet or rolling pin, beat the large pieces of ice into smaller pieces.

Best Juice for Icees at Home
Fruit juices with a strong flavor and higher viscosity (stickiness) are best for homemade icees. Here are a few options to try:
- Pomegranate juice: a tangy-sweet beverage with rich purple color. Its flavor and consistency are my first choice for homemade slushies.
- Blueberry juice: has a consistency similar to pomegranate juice but has a delicious blueberry flavor.
- Grape juice: make sure to use red grape juice as white grape can be a little too light.
- Cherry juice: if your kids love tart flavors, cherry is the way to go! It has an intense red color on the ice, making it a nice alternative to pomegranate.
- Apple juice or cider: deliciously sweet and cider is great for the fall!
- Pear juice: usually sold in glass bottles in the drinks aisle is delicious in an icee.
- Peach juice: sweet and with a nice texture, this juice is great for icees.
- Juice concentrate: more potent than regular juice and usually frozen. Use 4 ounces of concentrate + ½ cup of water per cup of ice.
How to Make an Icee in a Blender
Using a blender that can crush ice is the trick to making perfect homemade icees, and the step-by-step process is a breeze!
- Measure the ingredients
Make sure you have 1 cup of ice and ⅓ cup of fruit juice. - Combine and blend
Add the ingredients to your blender, cover with the lid, and process until you have a slushy-like consistency. - Serve & sip
Pour the icee into your favorite glass, add a straw, and sip away!
That’s it! If you want to make more than one icee, simply double and triple the recipe as needed or adjust it in the recipe card below.
More Fun Summer Treats
In the market for more easy frozen treat ideas? My Greek Yogurt Popsicles and Greek Yogurt Fruit Bark are sweet alternatives to the originals and are made with wholesome ingredients.
These mini ice cream sandwiches dipped in chocolate hit the spot for a more dessert-like option, and my Homemade Pineapple Whip is also a favorite for good reason.

Real Homemade Icee
Ingredients
- 1 cup crushed ice
- ⅓ cup 100% fruit juice
Instructions
- In a blender, combine ice and fruit juice. Blend until you have an even slush consistency.
Libby
Thank you
Hannah
I <3 THIS DRINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
katherine
my mom doesn’t buy me icees because they have too much sugar, now i can’t wait to make this!
great recipe!
Laura Fuentes
Enjoy!!
Norma Yera
This was great.I just smashed up ice a bit in a Zip lock bag before putting in my b lender…as I’ve killed a few blenders before. lol I’ll be busy making these for my grands this summer. Thanks so much.
Laura Fuentes
your grands are going to love it. hurray!
jamarys hwang
hi. would u thicken the juice to pour over sno cone?
Laura Fuentes
to pour over a snow cone, I use regular grape or pomegranate juice.
jamarys hwang
thx
Matt Robinson
Both of our sons LOVE icees and we give in a little too often. I have to admit, I love them too. The simplicity of this is awesome and I can’t wait to make them with them. Thanks!
Laura Fuentes
Glad you liked these Matt!
Denise
Mine turned out too watery the first time… so instead I froze my 100% juice in cubes. My blender is pitiful, so I put the cubes in a baggie and smashed them with my mallet. My son loved to eat the “purple snow” with a spoon. In hindsight, I will save some juice to pour over the top to make is slushy….
Thank you for the recipe… I NEVER would have thought to do this without it!!!
Laura Fuentes
maybe because my blender is SO CRUMMY it came out perfect? either way, the concept is simple. a little bit of juice to a lot of ice. 🙂 thank you for coming by!
Katie
Pomegranate… yum! Made homemade “smoothies” for breakfast – fresh strawberries, oj, ice… Blend! Delish.
Sarah
This is fantastic. If only my blender would crush ice consistently. As a closet Slurpee addict, it may be worth a new one just for this! Thanks!
Tammy
It’s so refreshing to see another Mom that feels the same way about feeding our children the “junk”! I have a child with life threatening food allergies and when you start reading labels you really start opening your eyes to what is in the food you are eating and really start making better choices. Thank you for this idea! I love it and will be trying it. Maybe a lemonade icee? Sounds great for summertime! 🙂
Laura Fuentes
yes, I would rather not make junk a regular thing at our house… 🙂
Jasmin
It’s not all that bad it’s made out of juice it’s not like icecream or sugar
Laura Fuentes
the real icees are not made out of juice. they are made of high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, and artificial sweeteners. Those are things I rather not feed my kids. I’m not concerned with ice cream that is made with real ingredients. Artificial ones, yes.
brooklyn
I just wrote it down I am gonna try it and see if I like it the way it sounds it sounds good I hope I enjoy it
Rachael
How have I not thought of this? Genius! Icees are my kids guilty pleasure (although the guilt is all mine, mind you!)
Laura Fuentes
haaahaaa. now you an make them at home and save money too Rachael!
Stephanie
Yum this looks delicious! I will have to make this for my kids!
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc.
My kids will LOVE This