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I reviewed the Ninja Slushi when it came out in 2024 and have had a blast with it since. The Slushi is the easiest little machine to use, and I have a hard time finding any real cons about it. Perhaps the Slushi's biggest downfall is that it's such a hot commodity that it can be hard to land on one flavor for a group of people. At least that's the problem Ninja was aiming to solve when it released the Ninja Slushi Twist in May 2026.
What's special about the Ninja Slushi Twist?
Like the original, the Ninja Slushi Twist can turn room-temperature liquid into the perfect frozen slushy consistency in less than an hour, and no ice or pre-freezing is needed. The Twist doubles the fun of the original with two separate vessels for making two separate drinks at the same time.
Those drinks can be the same treat in two different flavors or can be two different recipes completely. Then, they can be dispensed separately or mixed together by swirling your glass with the dial on the drip tray.
Technically, you could sorta kinda mix flavors with a single canister Slushi. It'd just involve combining two recipes beforehand, like mixing two fruit flavors before they go in the Slushi. Except that doesn't fly with a picky strawberry daiquiri or strawberry margarita purist like me, which can make happy hour cocktails feel very boring for the rest of the group. The simplicity of the Slushi Twist's two canisters operating individually is a foolproof way to prevent the friendship-ruining lie that you can "barely taste the pineapple."
I also couldn't help but think about how clutch the Ninja Slushi Twist would be at large family gatherings. I originally convinced a friend's parents to get a Slushi for their beach house. My friend's siblings, nieces, and nephews come over all the time, and the Slushi has been a year-round hit. (The kids are always psyched to help with the recipe process — I would have probably been more excited about fractions at 10 years old if I were getting a slushie out of it.)
The Slushi Twist would allow the adults to make their margs and the kids to make their age-appropriate Baja Blast slushies at the same time, rather than one group having to wait for the first batch to finish.
The Slushi Twist slushes smarter and faster
Just like the original Slushi, you can make slushies, frappés, milkshakes, and cocktails (with or without alcohol) in the Ninja Slushi Twist. But instead of pushing a button to tell the Slushi what kind of drink you're making, the Slushi Twist already knows what to do. SlushAssist technology senses the mixture of ingredients in the vessel and chooses an optimal slush time and temperature for you.
I followed the included booklet's recipe for three servings of frosé, which just involved rosé, cocktail juice, and some simple syrup (I mimicked that as best I could on the other side with white wine and pineapple juice). I'd have to manually select "spiked slush" on the original Slushi, but here, I just pressed the "Dual SlushAssist" button in the middle and let the Twist take the wheel. Less than 30 minutes later, both wine slushies were ready — and dare I say, an even smoother consistency than that of my favorite rooftop bar's.
You don't necessarily have to make the same type of concoction on both sides of the Slushi. Perhaps half of your brunch guests are craving espresso martini milkshakes, while the others would prefer frozen mimosas or bellinis. SlushAssist should recognize that one side's ingredients require a warmer temperature to preserve a creamy texture that can be poured and won't be chunky.
If you're only using one side of the Twist, you can just press the SlushAssist button on that side. Just one of the 72-ounce vessels is more than enough for me if I'm making a protein shake or fun drink by myself.
I also appreciate the Slushi Twist panel's addition of the specific "add water" and "add sugar" lights. The original Slushi doesn't have dedicated warning lights for either of those errors, only warning you that your ratio is off through a special pattern of blinking lights on the front. It's important to remember that Slushi concoctions sometimes require more math than you'd expect, and that making a low-sugar or sugar-free drink in the Slushi won't go well. Let us live, chemistry.
Correct water, sugar, and alcohol content of your mixture determines whether the Slushi machine actually slushes correctly. You need to keep an especially careful eye when you're going rogue and making up your own recipe, but ratios can be thrown off by changes as simple as doubling or halving a recipe.
Too much water or too much alcohol will make your mixture runny, while too little sugar could make your mixture freeze a little too well (like, into a block). Both errors could cause your machine to completely shut off by itself. Luckily, the included recipe book does a great job of explaining the appropriate percentages of each ingredient across a variety of recipe types.
Things to consider: What makes the Ninja Slushi Twist worth it?
While the original Ninja Slushi feels quite slim for being a whole-ass frozen drink maker, the Ninja Slushi Twist is significantly bulkier. The Slushi Twist measures 11.93 inches wide compared to the 6.54 inches of the single-vessel 88-ounce Slushi, taking up nearly double the width on your counter. There's nothing that Ninja can do about the inherent size difference, but it's something to keep in mind if you don't have a ton of free storage space.
Overall, the Slushi Twist absolutely works like it's supposed to. It chills liquids into fun frozen drinks in as little as half an hour, and isn't loud and obnoxious while doing so. The Twist requires very little manual intervention during slushing and is even easier to use than the OG model. Is the end result basically the same as something a blender can do? Sure. But I will die on the hill that the serotonin boost and hit of nostalgia of on-demand slushies make this ridiculous dessert appliance feel a little less extra.
Choosing between the original Ninja Slushi and the Ninja Slushi Twist should be super straightforward. Before buying, you surely already know whether your frozen drink needs are serious enough to justify a $399.99 machine that makes two flavors at once. If you have guests over frequently or have more than four people in your home, you'll probably get your money's worth out of the double vessels.
Trying to choose between the Ninja Slushi Max and Slushi Twist? If you're already going to spend $369.99 on the Slushi Max, you might as well spend $30 more and secure the variety made possible with the Slushi Twist instead. Across the two 72-ounce vessels, you get a full capacity of 144 ounces compared to the 150-ounce capacity of the Slushi Max.
Topics Mashable Choice Kitchen
