This classic is made in just 5 minutes and is such a refreshing treat on a hot summer day!
Orange Julius
When I was little, I thought my mom invented the original Orange Julius. I had no idea there was a chain of stores with the same name or multiple cookbooks featuring an Orange Julius recipe, trying to copy the taste and texture of the original. For all I knew, mom had come up with this dreamy orange concoction all on her own, and for that, she was a genius.
I remember sipping on Orange Julius as a special after school snack or weekend treat. Occasionally I would get a craving for it and beg mom to make me one. She usually obliged.
Eventually, I started making them, and because they are so simple (5 ingredients and a quick whir of the blender), this was the first recipe I managed to master all by myself.
It wasn’t until I was an adult that I first saw an Orange Julius store in person. At first, I thought that some ne’er-do-well had stolen Mom’s Orange Julius recipe and turned it into a popular franchise serving counterfeit creamy drinks. Treachery!
Eventually, clearer thinking prevailed, and I realized Mom’s Orange Julius recipe was one of hundreds just like it out there in the world. (Though I still raise an eyebrow every time I see one of those corporate lie factories. You’re a wolf in sheep’s clothing Orange Julius, I just know it!)
Anyways, despite the realization that mom doesn’t hold the patent to the first Orange Julius recipe, I still think she is a genius and that her homemade Orange Julius is the best around.
Orange Julius Ingredients
This Orange Julius recipe is just 5 simple ingredients:
- Ice cubes
- Orange juice concentrate
- Sugar
- Milk
- Vanilla
The Best Orange Julius Recipe
No Water in Orange Julius
You can find countless Orange Julius recipes that use water as an ingredient, but my advice is to skip the H2O and just use more milk. After all, you’ve already got ice cubes in there, and going exclusively with milk keeps your Orange Julius nice and creamy.
Milk (as an Orange Julius ingredient) also just does a better job of suspending the flurry of little ice chunks and orange-y bits than water. More water makes for a thinner mix that will settle and separate the longer it sits in your glass (or in the pitcher). No thanks.
How To Make Orange Julius
Making a homemade Orange Julius is super easy and quick.
- Blend up all of the ingredients in the blender until the mixture is smooth.
- That’s it. Pour yourself a glass and sit back and enjoy!
See? I told you it was easy! I’ll bet it took even longer to search the phrase “How to make Orange Julius,” than it actually takes to make a pitcher.
The Orange Julius recipe below makes a creamy, frothy, refreshing drink that’s perfectly balanced, and difficult to resist. It’s like drinking a glass of orange creamsicle.
Serve this icy summer favorite to your family and friends with as much love as my mom used to, and they’ll be so impressed they might even think you invented the recipe.
Ingredients
- 6 oz. (half a can) frozen orange juice concentrate
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 12 ice cubes
Instructions
- Combine the first four ingredients in a blender. Blend on high speed until smooth.
- Add ice cubes (depending on the size of your ice cubes, you may want more or less. I suggest starting with 8-10). Blend again until ice cubes are crushed and the drink is smooth and creamy. Serve immediately.
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