This Citrus Slush Mocktail is so delicious and refreshing, you'll want another glass! With fresh lemon, lime and orange juice, it is not your average frozen lemonade. It's super easy to make, and the whole family can enjoy it!
This tart and tangy drink is perfect for summertime, but it's also great for citrus season in the winter. You can also choose to serve it without ice if you prefer! Just top off the mixture with some chilled seltzer water instead of blending with ice.
Looking for more mocktail ideas? Check out this tasty Grapefruit Mocktail with cinnamon syrup, or this Ginger Beer mocktail with blueberries. Also, this Cranberry Orange Mocktail is always a crowd pleaser!
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need to have on hand for this drink:
- Lemon juice - of the three citrus fruits, the lemon is the backbone and strongest flavor in the drink. Preferably freshly squeezed!
- Lime juice - the lime juice adds some more zip and tanginess. Use freshly squeezed lime juice if you can.
- Orange juice - orange juice is less tart and more sweet than the other citrus fruits. Ideally use freshly squeezed, but if you can only get a bottle, that is OK.
- Simple syrup - use a store bought simple syrup, or make your own (info in my How to Make Simple Syrup post).
- Water - preferably filtered or bottled water for the best taste.
Substitutions
Here are some ways you can substitute the ingredients in this drink:
- Citrus juices - if you don't have access to the fresh fruit, use bottled citrus juice. It will have a bit of a different flavor with less of a citrus tanginess, but it'll still be good.
- Syrup - instead of simple syrup, you can use maple syrup or agave nectar.
Variations
Here are some variations on this recipe:
- Spiked Citrus Slush - if you're looking to add some of the hard stuff to this drink, just omit the water, add 1½ ounces of your favorite liquor and just reduce the amount of ice you use a little bit. I recommend vodka, tequila, or gin.
- Berry Citrus Slush - add in 2 fresh strawberries before you blend it up. You can also add a strawberry slice to your garnish.
- Lower sugar/Keto friendly - this drink does have naturally occurring sugar in the juice, but you can definitely make it lower in sugar. Just switch out the simple syrup for a syrup made with a sugar free sweetener. You can purchase an allulose liquid sweetener, or find more info on how to make your own in my How to Make Simple Syrup post.
Equipment
The main thing you'll need for this recipe is a blender. Any blender should work great. I used this Americana brand personal blender, but a regular sized blender will work too. Instead of filling the entire blender with ice, just fill it up to the 12 ounce mark.
You'll also need serving glasses (about 6 ounces in capacity), and a jigger or measuring cup to measure the ingredients. If you're using fresh citrus, also have a knife and cutting board for the citrus fruits and garnish, plus a citrus juicer.
Instructions
Start out by cutting up your citrus fruit if you're using fresh citrus. For the garnish, cut slices from the middle part of the fruit, and then set the slices aside while you juice the rest of the fruit.
Measure and add in the lemon and lime juices to your blender cup.
Add in the orange juice and the simple syrup.
Add in the water, and then fill your blender with ice to the 12 ounce mark.
Blend everything together. If you need to, pause the blender and shake up or stir the contents so that all of the ice gets blended in evenly with no leftover chunks.
Use a spoon to help you add the slush to your serving glasses.
Optional garnish: take the fresh citrus slices you set aside at the beginning and stack them on top of each other. Cut a slit from the middle through the outer peel. Twist them together and set them on top of the drink before serving.
Hint: You can make the citrus garnish with a slice from each fruit, or just with one or two fruits. I personally like it with just the lemon and lime, but it's also nice to add in an orange slice if you like to nibble on the garnish!
Frequently Asked Questions
There are a couple of main ways to make a slush drink. The easiest (like in this recipe!) is to combine juice, syrup and ice and blend it in the blender. Another way is to pre-freeze your juice and blend it with water or other liquids. A third way is to make it granita-style, where you freeze a tray of mixed liquid and scrape it up with a fork every 15 minutes until it gets to the texture you like.
Once you make this drink, you can definitely freeze it to save it for another time! Just keep in mind that it will freeze all the way through. So, you'll want to defrost it a little bit before trying to blend it back to a slush consistency. You may want to freeze it in an ice cube tray, which will make it easier to defrost and blend up later.
Top tip
If you have a larger capacity blender, you can easily make a big batch of these drinks. If you do, you might want to switch to a juicer machine rather than a hand press to juice all of your citrus! Just multiply all of the measurements by 4 and fill the blender with ice to get 48 ounces (just tap on the 4x button above the ingredient list in the recipe below). Perfect for a birthday party with kids or a summertime baby shower!
📖 Recipe
Citrus Slush Mocktail
Equipment
- 1 Knife and cutting board
- 1 Blender
- 2 Serving glasses (around 6 ounces in capacity)
Ingredients
Drink
- 1 ounce lemon juice (preferably freshly squeezed - about ½ of a medium lemon)
- ½ ounce lime juice (preferably freshly squeezed - about ½ of a medium lime)
- 1½ ounce orange juice (preferably freshly squeezed - about ⅔ of a medium orange)
- 2 ounces simple syrup
- 1 ounce water
Garnish (optional)
- 1 slice of fresh lime
- 1 slice of fresh lemon
- 1 slice of fresh orange (small orange)
Instructions
Drink
- Add the lemon juice, lime juice, orange juice, simple syrup and water to a blender.
- Fill the blender with ice until about the 12 ounce mark.
- Pulse the blender until the mixture is smooth, without any big ice chunks. If you need to, shake or stir the mixture with a spatula. If the blender is getting stuck, you can add a little bit more water.
- Pour or use a spoon to add the slush to your serving glasses.
Garnish (optional)
- Stack up your citrus slices on top of one another and cut a slit from the center out through the edge of the peel.
- Making sure the slit is lined up on each slice, twist the slices together.
- Rest the twisted slices on top of the drink. The slush should be thick enough that it will stay on top with no problem.
- Serve the drink. You can even serve it with a spoon if you'd like!
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