I Tried the Fun Ninja SLUSHi Max Ahead of Summer – It's the Perfect Quiet Hosting Upgrade for Fast, Cool Drinks and Now a Countertop Staple

My love story with slush drinks started when I was five, and my parents would take me to the local play centre. So, when I learned 20 years later that I could make them in my own kitchen with a Ninja SLUSHi Max, I jumped at the opportunity to review this countertop addition.

After testing it for a few weeks in my home, I can firmly say that it is one of the most enjoyable 'novelty' appliances I have ever tried. It slushes quickly, creating wonderful, customisable drinks without the need for ice or noisy blenders, and is the perfect pre-summer investment to impress guests all season long.

With only a few minor snags that ultimately docked just half a star, this fun kitchen investment is one of the best Ninja appliances for families and regular hosts. Here's how I got on with the Ninja Slushi Max.

Product Specifications: Ninja SLUSHi Max

Design and First Impressions

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I will admit that I was concerned by the size and weight of the Ninja SLUSHi Max when it first arrived on my doorstep. The box was huge, and the large numbering on the side let me know that it was 44lbs (20KG). Luckily, I lift weights regularly, meaning I was able to move it from the front door to the kitchen, but this is a bulky box to manoeuvre alone if you are not used to lifting weights.

Even then, I still needed a second pair of hands to unbox the appliance. The box is held together with two plastic straps, which must be cut off. Once removed, the top section of the box slides off, leaving the SLUSHi nestled in a cardboard base. I needed my partner's help removing the outer cardboard box to cut the straps, and again to slide this base out as I lifted the main unit.

I am thrilled to say that without all this robust packaging, the machine is lighter, at 31.99 lbs. Most of this packaging was recyclable cardboard, besides the straps and the tape.

Inside the box, there was the unit and four instruction sheets. One booklet was the regulatory information, and the other three were guides. The full instruction manual and recipe book were accompanied by a condensed QuickStart guide, which contained the essential reading. Finally, there was a troubleshooting sheet with tips for achieving the perfect consistency.

The appliance itself is large, which was expected, given that this is the Max edition, but it's not so big as to completely take over my small kitchen. All in all, I think it is very chic, especially in the gray and gold 'Mocha' colorway. It was also covered in the signature Ninja stickers full of tips taken from the manual. I decided to leave most of these on for quick reference, but otherwise, they peel off easily.

Once in position, the machine must sit on the flat surface for two hours to allow the refrigerant to settle before first use. For easy moving, you can lift the front of the machine and slide it back and forth without damaging your counter.

Performance

The Ninja SLUSHi Max has six main drink settings: SlushAssist, which detects the liquid used and chills accordingly; slush, frozen cocktail, frozen cocktail max, milkshake, and frozen juice.

The unit then has an adjustable dial with 15 more temperature settings so you can achieve the perfect consistency, from cooler and more icy, to less icy and more pourable. When slushing, the machine registers around 70 decibels, around that of a normal conversation. This is not too distracting, and closing the kitchen door when I was in the room next door dulled it enough to not be heard over the TV. I was very impressed.

It is important to note that, as with any slush, be it homemade or commercial, it is a high-sugar drink. As the SLUSHi Max makes clear, this appliance does not work with diet or low sugar drinks without added sugar or syrup. We are not making health drinks here; they are truly indulgent, as the sugar content prevents the liquid from freezing solid. The unit has a built-in 'add sugar' or 'add liquid' warning system, which I put to the test.

Otherwise, I focused on the SlushAssist and milkshake settings for my tests, using fruit juice, low-sugar drink mixes, and dairy, respectively. I did not test the cocktail setting, as I do not personally consume alcohol.

The Slushie Test

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The primary function of the SLUSHi Max is to make slush drinks, so a fruit slush was my first test.

After rinsing the machine out, I poured 34fl oz of a pre-mixed coconut and pineapple juice into the top spout, turned the machine on, and hit the SlushAssist button. This programme starts by 'sensing' the liquid, mixing it around without cooling. During this time, the machine is registering the sugar content (it must be at least five grams per 100ml of liquid, which my carton juice was), and picking the right temperature for the type of liquid.

After a few minutes of sensing, the machine switched straight to 'slushing' mode, indicated by the text on the LED screen. I was getting on with making some lunch while this worked, and was surprised at how quickly it was done. I did not fill the machine up to the max line, of course, but for 34fl oz it took less than 15 minutes to form a thick slush. The more liquid, the longer it will take. A max fill of an alcoholic beverage can take up to one hour, according to the manual.

The slush was so thick that I actually found myself turning the fine-tuning dial down slightly towards the thinner mix, and let the machine do its thing. A few minutes passed, the 'enjoy' light came on, and it was much easier to dispense and enjoy. It was exactly the quality I would expect from a commercial vendor.

I repeated this test later with a protein drink mix that I knew was too low in sugar. I added three tablespoons of granulated sugar to the drink mix and mixed it up before adding it to the machine, and chose SlushAssist once again. The process began as usual, and after a few minutes, it became noticeably louder. A few seconds later, the 'add sugar' light came on.

As per instructions, I dispensed some of the liquid, added another tablespoon of sugar, mixed, and added it back in before resuming the programme. This time, the machine 'sensed' the mix for a lot longer before returning to slushing. In the end, however, the programme was completed, and the slush was perfect. The troubleshooting was quick and relatively fuss-free. I was very impressed.

The Milkshake Test

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I am a milkshake snob, and I must say that the milkshake setting let me down a little. If you are looking for a super smooth, indulgent shake, this is not the machine for you. Instead, I would suggest sticking to the usual method of milk and ice cream in a blender such as the Ninja BlendBoss I reviewed.

I followed a recipe in the included booklet, mixing whole milk, whipping cream, and vanilla flavoring in a bowl before pouring it into the machine. The fact that you have to mix the ingredients before adding them annoyed me, as you have to mix enough liquid to reach the minimum fill, and you have to use a large bowl. This made a complete mess when I went to add it to the machine, and I resorted to spooning it in. It is by no means as smooth as using juice.

Once it was finally in, I used the dedicated milkshake setting and left it to run. This took a little longer than the juice, at around half an hour for 27fl oz. When it came to dispensing, it was far too thick and took forever (see the video below), and I had to turn the dial to adjust several times before it actually came out into my glass. When it did, it was very icy and slightly clumpy. If you have ever run the experiment of making ice cream by hand, shaking a bag of cream and milk in a bag of ice, it was not too dissimilar to the results of that.

It was far from the thick, silky, smooth experience I would hope for, and while not unpalatable, I cannot see myself using the machine for dairy again.

Cleaning and Maintenance

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Cleaning the Ninja SLUSHi Max was surprisingly simple, albeit a little cumbersome in my small sink.

The appliance has a built-in 'rinse' setting, which runs the motor without cooling, allowing you to pour in warm water into the empty barrel and dispense, removing the bulk of residue from your drink. I used this after every cycle, filling it to the max line, and dispensing into a large mixing bowl.

In the case of cleaning after juice, this worked wonders at removing all of the residue, meaning that handwashing in the sink was easy. The unit comes apart quickly, sliding the back handle forward to release the mixing unit, which slides off the front. The auger (mixing paddle) then also slides off, and the base condensation tray slides out too. It is truly effortless.

I used a soft cloth and non-toxic dish soap (such as Attitude from Walmart) to wipe out the interior and the stainless steel cooling unit, which remains attached to the main unit. Once dry, everything slides back into the place the way it came off. It is that easy.

After using dairy in the machine, however, the process was a little more irritating. I used the same steps; however required two rinse cycles before removing the components. Beyond that, I had to make an effort to get all of the milk from every small gap. If the milkshake had been restaurant-quality, I would not have minded, but it seemed like a waste of energy.

What Shoppers Say

The overall rating on the Ninja website largely agrees with my experience, with 4.3/5 stars on average.

Of the five-star reviews, customers praise how easy the SlushAssist setting makes the process, removing the guesswork entirely. They also love how easy it is to clean.

One shopper commented that it was 'great for alcohol' with the machine able to slush drinks with up to a 20% alcohol content. 'I have the original Ninja SLUSHi, and I just received the new one. I used them both at the same time with same ingredients. I will say that the new Ninja Max performed much better when slushing alcohol and was much faster. I did not have to dilute the alcohol and was able to get a sorbet-type consistency.' I am glad to hear this, when I cannot test this function myself.

One-star reviews usually comment on customer service, which is not something we take into account for appliance reviews. Otherwise, one user claimed their machine overheated and shut off several times during use. This is not something I have had an issue with, and it is the only example I can find of this complaint.

The story is much the same on the Ninja SLUSHi Max Amazon listing, with overjoyed users loving the increased capacity and speed of slushing.

Should You Buy The Ninja Slushi Max?

All in all, I would recommend the Ninja SLUSHi Max to anyone who is looking for a fun and useful hosting addition to their kitchen this summer. It is big and really only serves one function, but it is a very fun addition for anyone with the space. I personally have a tiny kitchen, but love it so much that I am willing to go through boxing it up at the end of the summer season to store elsewhere over winter.

It is best suited to people who host regularly and people with larger households, where the extra-large capacity and quick cooling times are perfect for catering to a crowd. At $369.99 at the time of writing, it is not the most affordable novelty kitchen 'toy', but I think it is a fun investment if you have the budget and know you will get good use out of it.

What Else to Shop

To help you add to the experience and make the most of your new investment, I have selected six of the best accessories for your SLUSHi.

All prices correct at time of publication.

While planning ahead for summer, brush up on the summer hosting mistakes to avoid to keep things running smoothly.

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