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Clean and Scentsible

DIY Slurpees

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Have some fun making your own DIY slurpees! The kids will love this cool and tasty treat and you can even throw a little science lessen in there!

DIY slurpees made with orange soda.

DIY Slurpees

My kiddos {and hubby!} are absolutely obsessed with slushies, so I thought these DIY slurpees would be a fun treat. They work through the process of supercooling, so it can be a fun little experiment too!

Sine these drinks do maintain the carbonation of the soda, they don’t have the exact same flavoring as the slurpees that you would buy at the store. But, they have that same icy texture of a slurpee and are just as refreshing. Plus, the process of making them is pretty cool!

DIY slurpee made with orange soda.

It can take a little bit of experimenting to get the best results, but that’s half the fun. Even if it “fails” you’re still left with a nice, cold soda to enjoy. If you prefer a thicker slushie, the second recipe at the bottom of the post, may be more to your liking.

What is supercooling?

These DIY slurpees work due to a phenonmenon called supercooling. Supercooling occurs when you chill a liquid below its freeing point without it becoming solid. So how do these DIY slurpees work?

DIY slurpees made with orange pop.

When you shake up the soda before putting it in the freezer, the pressure in the bottle is increased. This naturally lowers the freezing temperature and, more importantly, removes any large bubbles from the soda that could act as sites for the ice crystals to form. As your soda sits in the freezer, the temperature will eventually drop to that supercool state. When you then remove it from the freezer, release the increased pressure, and shake it around, the carbon dioxide bubbles are released again. The crystals can then start to form around these bubbles and create that slushie-like consistency.  Science can be pretty cool sometimes!

DIY slurpees made from root beer.

How to Make DIY Slurpees

Are you ready to make your own DIY slurpees? You can use any flavor of soda that you prefer, so pick your favorite! For some reason, we seemed to have better luck with the darker sodas such as root beer or coke, but this really shouldn’t have any effect.

Shake

Take a 500 mL {16 oz} plastic bottle of pop and shake vigorously for 5-10 seconds to increase the pressure in the bottle. This will help to lower the freezing point a little bit and also eliminates any large bubbles that could act as sites for ice formation.

Freeze

Place the bottle in the freezer for approximately 2 1/2 – 3 1/2 hours. The goal is to get the soda as cold as possible without actually freezing it. The closer you can get to this “magic” point, the better your slushie will turn out. Try not to move the soda around during this process as it will make it more likely that it will just freeze.

We started checking on our pop bottles every 15 minutes after the 2 hour mark to try and find that perfect time.  It actually took a couple of failed attempts {when the pop actually froze} before we settled on about 2 hours 45 minutes. Just remember that this time will vary from freezer to freezer {and even with different locations within the same freezer} so be consistent with where you put the pop bottles. You might need to do a little bit of experimenting!

Slurpee Magic

Remove the bottle from the freezer.  In one continuous movement, unscrew the bottle cap just enough to release some of the pressure, quickly tighten it back up. Turn the bottle upside down or shake it a little and you should see the ice crystals magically starting to form.  Pour into a frosted glass.

DIY Slurpees using orange soda.

And this is what you get.  A nice, cool DIY Slurpee!

Alternate DIY Slurpee Method

While I think the process of making the slurpees using the supercooling process is pretty cool, here’s another method that’s totally fool proof. Simply freeze half of the bottle of soda {approximately 1 1/4 cup} in ice cube trays and keep the rest of the soda in the fridge. Once the soda cubes are frozen, blend the soda cubes with the remaining soda in a blender plus 4-6 additional ice cubes. You’ll get a delicious slushie every time. Easy peasy!

DIY slurpees made from root beer.

I hope you have as much fun with this as we did. The whole science behind it would be a fun idea for older kids to research and might be a cool idea for a science fair project! This also works with Gatorade and other sports drinks, And if you want an adult version, it will work some alcoholic drinks too {those with lower alcohol content}.

More Summer Drink Recipes

For more delicious summer drink recipes, check out these posts…

Strawberry frozen slush drinks in two cups.

Sparkling Strawberry Slush

Glass of raspberry watermelon slush with a slice of watermelon.

Raspberry Watermelon Slush

Strawberry lemonade float with fresh strawberries and lemonades.

Homemade Lemonade Floats

DIY slurpees made with soda.

DIY Slushies made with root beer.

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Comments

  1. Daniela @ put a bird on it says

    May 21, 2014 at 4:17 am

    These look so yummy! First time on your blog. Love it!

    xo
    Daniela
    Put A Bird On It
    http://iputabirdonit.blogspot.com

    Reply
    • Jenn Lifford says

      May 22, 2014 at 5:18 am

      Thanks Daniela! Happy to have you drop in!

      Reply
  2. Maryann @ Domestically Speaking says

    May 21, 2014 at 5:39 pm

    What a fun summer project! The kiddos and I will definitely have to try this one. Have fun at D-Land!

    Reply
    • Jenn Lifford says

      May 22, 2014 at 5:18 am

      Thanks Maryann! Having tons of fun!

      Reply
  3. Krista says

    May 24, 2014 at 5:29 am

    How fun is this? My boys will love it – thanks Jenn!

    Reply
  4. Kristen Duke says

    May 26, 2014 at 2:29 am

    Who knew it was that easy to make slurpees?! My kids would LOVE this!

    Reply
  5. Trish - Mom On Timeout says

    May 26, 2014 at 7:28 pm

    We are SO trying this Jenn! So fun!

    Reply
  6. Rachel Kathyg @ onlinesisterhood says

    May 26, 2014 at 11:00 pm

    Looks really easy AND yummy. pinned to try. found at the scoop linky. Have a great week.

    Reply
  7. Kathy says

    June 8, 2014 at 9:02 pm

    I’m wondering if this would work with diet soda too. I’d love a good slushie every now and then but with 140 calories in 12oz. that’s too much to consume.

    Reply
    • Jenn Lifford says

      June 16, 2014 at 5:48 am

      I haven’t tried it with the diet soda but have read that it works too. Good luck!!

      Reply
  8. LAUREN says

    June 11, 2014 at 4:03 am

    THIS. IS. AWSOME. Doing this this weekend for suuure! Thanks for the tip!

    Reply
    • Jenn Lifford says

      June 18, 2014 at 3:10 am

      Hope it worked out for you! It took a little experimentation but was lots of fun!

      Reply
    • Tanisha says

      May 2, 2015 at 3:40 pm

      How do you do it

      Reply
      • Jenn Lifford says

        May 2, 2015 at 4:02 pm

        Just follow the tutorial in the post. If you have any specific questions, just let me know. 😉

        Reply
  9. Mandi says

    July 23, 2014 at 9:06 pm

    I am wondering if that vigorous shaking and freezing causes the pop to get flat?

    Reply
    • Jenn Lifford says

      July 25, 2014 at 4:40 am

      No, it doesn’t really go flat – you actually need the carbonation to create the freezing effect. Of course, it is in a slushie form so it doesn’t have that same fizzy taste as if it is just cold.

      Reply
  10. Po @ Frost and Serve says

    April 8, 2015 at 7:05 am

    Glad I found this on Pinterest! I’ll definitely try it out. I live in a tropical country so the heat is KILLING US -____- This is the perfect (and fun) remedy for it! Thank you! <3

    Reply
    • Jenn Lifford says

      April 9, 2015 at 4:09 am

      Ohhh, I’d love to live in a tropical country! It is a fun way to beat the heat though! 😉

      Reply
  11. Debi @ Surroundings by Debi says

    April 25, 2015 at 4:07 pm

    What a fun idea! Thanks so much for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop!

    Reply
  12. Lexi says

    April 25, 2015 at 5:24 pm

    Such a fun idea. Can’t wait to try it.

    Reply
    • Jenn Lifford says

      April 25, 2015 at 6:35 pm

      Have fun with it!

      Reply
  13. Tiffany says

    April 25, 2015 at 10:33 pm

    Hi, Jenn ~ I love this project, and my kids will love it even more! We’re all fans of Slurpees–especially in the summer–so I’m pinning this to my “Summer Fun” board. I’ll surprise the kiddos with it one of these summer days when all I’m hearing is, “I’m boooored!” :0) Thanks for the summer sanity saver!

    Reply
    • Jenn Lifford says

      April 27, 2015 at 5:49 am

      Yep! It’s nice to have some tricks up your sleeve for those moments!!

      Reply
  14. Cindy @ Hun... What's for Dinner? says

    April 26, 2015 at 8:24 pm

    What a fun idea for the summer. I will have to try this for sure. I am featuring you this week, over at Simple Supper Tuesday. We hope you can join us again, starting Monday night at 8pm EST.

    Reply
    • Jenn Lifford says

      April 27, 2015 at 5:45 am

      Thanks so much! Hope you have a great week!

      Reply
  15. Cydnee/tampa Cake girl says

    April 30, 2015 at 3:31 am

    Great recipes! Loving the different flavors! Thank you very much for joining in the celebration of #purebloglove, we enjoy having you each week. I hope to see you on Thursday at 8PM, EST through Sunday night. ~Cydnee

    Reply
  16. Ally says

    June 5, 2015 at 6:01 am

    I tried this at home with my dad, the ending result was yummy and I recommend this to others. It is perfect for summer time also!

    Reply
    • Jenn Lifford says

      June 5, 2015 at 4:12 pm

      Glad you liked it! 🙂

      Reply
  17. GEORGIE says

    July 2, 2015 at 10:16 am

    great idea

    Reply
  18. Nancy says

    December 1, 2015 at 12:59 am

    I love cold cherry Coke zeros. This would be great to try in a slushi! Thanks.

    Reply
    • Jenn Lifford says

      December 1, 2015 at 7:21 pm

      Yes! Those would be good.

      Reply
  19. Charlene Asay says

    May 4, 2016 at 10:03 pm

    OOO Yum. These will be great for the hot summer days ahead of us.

    Reply
  20. Leigh says

    May 6, 2016 at 1:31 pm

    This is fascinating! Forget the kids, I need to try this myself!
    Blessings, Leigh

    Reply
    • Jenn Lifford says

      May 12, 2016 at 12:00 am

      Haha! Hope you can try it! 🙂

      Reply
  21. Frugal Hausfrau says

    May 10, 2016 at 4:44 am

    What a fun idea!! Love it! Looks delish and thanks for sharing on Throwback Thursday!

    Mollie

    Reply
  22. crystal says

    May 10, 2016 at 3:42 pm

    No idea you could do this. I bet my kids would love it! Thanks for stopping by the #HomeMattersParty hope to see you back!

    Reply
  23. Adelina says

    May 12, 2016 at 3:56 pm

    We discovered this by accident one winter when we left a soda in the car. It was the coolest thing to watch. Thanks for sharing on Weekend BItes

    Reply
    • Jenn Lifford says

      May 13, 2016 at 5:48 am

      Oh that’s funny!!

      Reply
  24. Carlee says

    May 13, 2016 at 12:33 am

    What a fun treat on a hot day! Congrats on your feature at Throwback Thursday, pinned!

    Reply
  25. Sarah says

    July 7, 2017 at 12:52 pm

    Does the soda need to be room temp to start or already cold from the frig? Just wanna know which ones to grab at the store. Thank you! Excited to make it!

    Reply
    • Jenn Lifford says

      July 7, 2017 at 12:57 pm

      It doesn’t matter. It’s the freezing time that’s important. 🙂

      Reply
  26. Heidi says

    July 20, 2017 at 4:36 am

    It really didn’t work for us.

    Reply
    • Jenn Lifford says

      July 21, 2017 at 9:45 pm

      It took us a few times to get it exactly right too. You need to figure out how long it needs to be in the freezer for before it actually freezes. If it’s too runny than it just needs a little bit longer. It can take a couple of attempts but even the failed ones were fun for the kids!

      Reply
  27. Jenny Walters says

    June 10, 2019 at 5:12 am

    My kids are going to have so much fun with this! What a fantastic idea. I had never heard of this before. It will keep them away from the icecream. We went to DisneyLand last year for the first time and had an absolute ball.

    Reply
    • Jenn Lifford says

      June 13, 2019 at 12:01 pm

      Disneyland is always amazing! Definitely the happiest place on earth. 🙂
      Hope you can give these a try with your kids – it’s a pretty cool little experiment.

      Reply
  28. Katy says

    June 14, 2019 at 3:47 pm

    Yum! Such a fun idea to try with my son! We would love if you would share at our weekly link-up party Handmade & Otherwise (Fridays 8am-Mondays 8pm).

    Reply
    • Jenn Lifford says

      June 17, 2019 at 8:55 pm

      Hope you’re able to give it a try!

      Reply
  29. Holly says

    October 11, 2019 at 1:19 am

    Did you break the seal on the lid before freezing? I’m worried about it exploding in the freezer?

    Reply
    • Jenn Lifford says

      October 11, 2019 at 9:06 am

      No, you can’t break the seal as you want the pressure to actually build up in the bottle. I’ve never had issues with it exploding – likely because it doesn’t actually get to the freezing point.

      Reply
  30. Harriet says

    August 31, 2020 at 3:56 pm

    These look delicious, I think I will be making a lot of these as the weather starts to heat up!.

    Reply

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Put Your House on a Diet

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Meet Jenn

Hi there! I'm Jenn, mommy to two busy {and very cute!} boys and wife to a very tolerant hubby. I love all things crafty and creative and have created this blog to share my ideas and favorite finds. I hope you enjoy your visit! Read More…

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