The Ninja Slushi is the internet’s most coveted kitchen appliance right now, and I’ve spent the last few weeks testing it to see if it lives up to the hype and is worth $270.
Testing how noisy it is, how long it takes to turn soda into slushies, how to clean the Ninja Slushi, plus some easy recipes.
Testing how noisy it is, how long it takes to turn soda into slushies, how to clean the Ninja Slushi, plus some easy recipes.
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TechTranscript
00:00I have had my hands on the Ninja Slushy for a couple of weeks now. I know it's
00:07like the most coveted viral gadget on the internet right now. It's been going
00:11in and out of stock so right off the bat I'll tell you check the link in the
00:15description to see if it's available. But that said, do I think it's worth $270
00:22coming from someone who will always order the slushy drink if it's on the
00:26menu at a restaurant or bar? Let's start with setup and controls. I posted the
00:31unboxing back on TikTok when I first got it in for testing and I'll say I am no
00:36stranger to Ninja appliances so unboxing and getting the Ninja Slushy set up was
00:40familiarly straightforward. I always figured that those fancy slushy machines
00:45at Tiki bars were super pricey and expensive so I didn't expect to have it
00:49up and running in just a few minutes. There are a few parts to know here. There
00:53is the vessel which is basically the main container and the pouring spout is
00:59attached here to it. The auger here, this is how the magic happens. It keeps
01:04turning and eventually the liquid turns to slush. This part comes out here, it's
01:09the condensation tray and it catches any drips as the machine gets cold. But how
01:14does it actually get cold? It gets cold thanks to this 360 degree chilling
01:22cylinder that's attached to the main base. It uses what Ninja calls rapid
01:27chill technology. When it comes to the controls there's not very much going on
01:32here. We have the power button, our five presets, slush, spike slush, frap, milkshake,
01:37frozen juice. We have the rinse cycle button and here we have the meter that
01:42lets you control how slushy you want your slush to be. Kind of like these
01:45volume buttons here let you determine how much you want it to be. Even if you
01:49don't read the instruction book you'd probably be able to figure it out. I
01:52would however recommend the instructions. The quick start guide here comes with
01:57two Kickstarter recipes, one of which is gonna be the fan favorite. It's the one
02:04ingredient soda slush. You can use any full sugar soda. I've already done this a
02:09few times so today we're gonna be using Pepsi Wild Cherry. You're gonna see just
02:14how easy this is to get started. The options for drinks with the Ninja
02:19Slushy are pretty endless though. You can follow the recipe book. I've also looked
02:23up some stuff online and I've also gotten a little creative. I tried frozen
02:26espresso martinis and frozen margaritas as well as a frozen coffee frappuccino
02:31type thing that was just way too early in the morning for me to film. But you
02:35can use you know lemonade mixes, juices, milkshake ingredients. If it's liquid and
02:39it has a high enough sugar content it can be turned into a slushy. The thing
02:43that surprised me most about the Ninja Slushy is how quiet it is when it's
02:47actually in use. My current collection of countertop appliances include my manual
02:52espresso maker, the Breville Infiz, both of which are quite loud when they're
02:57actually being used. I'm sitting literally right next to it and I have
03:01the noise app open on my Apple Watch. I'm going to stop talking and show you what
03:06the sound is like.
03:12It does make some noise, don't get me wrong, but it's very low and it's
03:15consistent enough that it's not so much of a nuisance. Okay it's been about a
03:22half hour and that's looking pretty slushy to me. I'm not sure what's up with
03:26the indicator light but usually that would blink. I like how this looks. I want
03:30to move on with my day so we are going to open up the pour spout. That's really
03:37awkward.
03:40There we go.
03:44I got my Wild Cherry Pepsi slushy. I went ahead and turned the machine off. Now my
03:49biggest concern with any appliance, especially something like the Ninja
03:53Slushy, was that it was gonna be just a major pain in the ass to clean. But I am
03:58pleased to report that the cleaning process isn't as intensive or time
04:02consuming as you might think. First, to empty the vessel of any leftover slush
04:07lodged around the edges, you pour water inside and press the rinse button. You
04:12open the spout, let the water out. I usually use a medium-sized measuring
04:16cup like this one. Turn the machine off and disassemble it by pulling the bail
04:20handle forward. The vessel and auger come off and I rinse those out in the sink
04:24with some water and dish soap. I take a damp paper towel and wipe down the
04:28chilling cylinder and the condensation tray so that everything is dry. And
04:31that's all there really is to it. It's just a few minutes of cleanup. Nothing
04:36out of the ordinary compared to my other appliances. But since there is a lot of
04:40sugar involved, you definitely want to keep it clean. I would not let this sit
04:43out overnight. I would just make sure it's rinsed properly after you're done
04:47so you don't have to worry about it. Now let's talk about some of the things I
04:51don't really like about the Ninja Slushie, starting with the fact that it's
04:55not very ideal for single servings. I'm lucky to live in a household of slushie
05:00lovers, but if you were hoping to go solo on your slushie adventures, the Ninja
05:05Slushie seems like a very big commitment. Not only is it pretty bulky, taking up a
05:10lot of precious counter space on my already crowded counters, but you need a
05:15minimum amount of liquid for the machine to actually work. Recipes max out at six
05:20to eight servings, but bottom out at two to three servings. Meaning even if you
05:24just want one drink, you'll have to use enough ingredients to make multiple
05:29drinks. Or at least to hit that minimum indicator line here on the vessel. Of
05:33course there is nothing that stops you from having seconds and thirds, but at
05:37that point I would probably just go get a Slurpee for less than three dollars at
05:417-Eleven. Something I didn't consider beforehand and has actually been kind of
05:45a pain point for me, is how much sugar you need to have in the Ninja Slushie in
05:51order for it to work. So if you're trying to watch your sugar intake, the Ninja
05:55Slushie is not for you. I'm no scientist, but a very quick Google search taught me
06:00that the syrupy sugars circulating constantly throughout the mixture keep
06:06it from freezing solid. That means if you want to put your favorite diet soda in
06:11the machine, it won't get the results you're looking for. Similarly, you can't
06:15just dump in a bottle of wine and get a wine slushie. You need to add some juice
06:19to it if you want to make, say, a frosé. Ninja's recipe book does do a good job
06:23at breaking down the standard sugar requirements, but as someone who doesn't
06:27like to drink too many of their calories, this is the type of thing that's
06:31definitely a treat. I wouldn't make it more than once or twice a week, which has
06:36been a challenge since I've been wanting to test it as much as I can for this
06:40review. That's compared to something like the Ninja Creamy, where you get kind of
06:44the best of both worlds. You can enjoy the full-fat ice creams, but then also make
06:48something healthier like a low-cal protein ice cream. Overall, if you do like
06:54slushie drinks as a treat, maybe you have kids or people in your household and
06:58you're constantly looking for fun appliances to switch things up, the Ninja
07:02Slushie makes a lot of sense. Again, I know it's hard to get your hands on, so
07:05the link in description if you're interested is down below. The couple of
07:10pain points I mentioned are not deal-breakers. However, they are things
07:13that I think people should keep in mind so they know whether it's actually
07:17something they want to buy or if they just saw it online and thought, oh that
07:20looks cool. Be sure to let me know what you think though in the comments of this
07:24video. I've posted plenty of videos of the Ninja Slushie in action on social, so
07:29be sure to check us out everywhere at Tom's Guide and catch up with what I'm
07:33doing at Kate Kozich. Thanks for watching, I'll catch you next time.