Orange Julius Recipe (Copycat)

Name: Orange Julius Recipe (Copycat)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 1 min
Total time: 6 min
Ingredients: 2 cups ice cubes; 12 oz frozen concentrate orange juice; 2 cups milk; 2 cups cold water; 1/2 cup granulated sugar; 2 tsp vanilla extract

This Orange Julius recipe is an easy copycat drink to make at home. It is a healthy and refreshing drink that's so simple to make using ingredients already found in your kitchen!

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Recipe updated: April 4th, 2024

There are only six ingredients in this classic Orange Julius recipe, and it only takes a couple of minutes, at most, to make it. Before you know it, you’ll be drinking a delicious orange creamy drink smoothie. It tastes especially refreshing on a hot summer day!

All there is to do is throw in some ice cubes in the blender, then add frozen orange juice concentrate, milk, vanilla extract, sugar, and cold water. Then blend it all up. What a treat it is! Also, orange juice is high in Vitamin C too so there is a fun fact!

🍹 What’s an Orange Julius Taste Like?

As for me, I think this Orange Julius recipe tastes in comparison to an orange creamsicle or similar to orange Sherbert ice cream. Creamy like a smoothie with lots of orangey taste, and with crushed-up ice in the mix, it’s super cold and oh so delicious!

Copycat Orange Julius drink with orange slices.

Note: This recipe isn’t the original recipe from the original Orange Julius store, but it is rather a copycat Orange Julius recipe that tastes really similar and it’s just as good for a sweet treat.

🍊 Key Ingredients for this Orange Julius Recipe

This copycat Orange Julius recipe is made with very simple ingredients usually already found in your kitchen and requires very little prep time.

2 cups of ice cubes
One 12 oz. can of frozen orange juice concentrate
2 cups of milk (your preference – skim milk, 2%, or whole milk is okay – the fattier your milk is the creamier your result will be)
2 cups of very cold water
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Ingredients for an Orange Julius recipe. — Ingredients for Orange Julius.

🥄How to Make this Orange Julius Recipe

These step-by-step instructions are accompanied by detailed photos for enhanced clarity and guidance.

Step 1. Add Ice Cubes

Get your blender out and put 2 cups of ice cubes in it. Most refrigerators have a function to make ice cubes, but if yours does not, you will need to make ice the old-fashioned way with an ice cube tray. Don’t hit the blend button just yet because we still have some more yummy ingredients to add to it.

Step 2. Add in the Frozen Orange Concentrate

Add one 12 oz. can of frozen concentrated orange juice together with the ice cubes that are already in the blender. This will give the Orange Julius the orange flavor. And again, don’t hit the blend button yet, there are still more yummies to add.

Twelve ounces of frozen orange juice were added to ice cubes in the blender. — Twelve ounces of frozen orange juice are added to the ice cubes in the blender.

Step 3. Add in the Milk, Cold Water, Sugar, and Vanilla Extract

Put 2 cups of milk, 2 cups of cold water (very cold water is best), 1/2 cup of sugar, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract all together with the frozen orange juice and ice cubes.

Milk, water, sugar, and vanilla extract are added to the frozen orange juice and ice cubes in the blender.

Step 4. Blend All Together

Now you can hit the blend button. Blend the frozen orange juice mixture for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until the ice cubes are crushed. That’s it! Your refreshing treat is now ready to be served!

Copycat Orange Julius recipe with ice cream.

🔒 Secret Ingredient

This popular drink has a secret ingredient in the original Orange Julius recipe. Long, long ago during my teenage years, I used to work at the Orange Julius store in the local mall, so I know a thing or two about the secret ingredient. Well, actually, I don’t! They wouldn’t tell us what was in the secret powder. All I know is we were told to add one scoop of the secret white powder to the drink, which was about the size of a tablespoon. From researching the internet, I’ve found the most common answer to what the secret ingredient actually is: egg white powder. I’m not sure if this is the right answer or not, so please don’t quote me on it.

🥣 Recipe Variations

This Orange Julius smoothie can be easily customized to your personal preferences. If you want to mix up the drink recipe, try adding a frozen banana to the blender. This will make the fruit smoothie have a little more of a creamy texture. You could also try using coconut milk or almond milk instead if you have a dairy allergy. I’ve seen other recipes use powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar, so that is an option to try too. We have not tried any of these variations (yet), so please let us know in the comments any of your favorite variations.

❓ FAQs for Orange Julius Recipe

Do They Still Have Orange Julius?

Malls and some freestanding stores still offer Original Orange Julius drinks. Use this location finder to find a store near you. Currently, Dairy Queen owns the Orange Julius chain and has owned it since 1987. Usually, in malls, you can find a combo Orange Julius / Dairy Queen store in food courts.

💭 Final Thoughts for this Homemade Orange Julius Recipe

You can make an easy homemade Orange Julius drink practically any time you want to with all the ingredients already in your kitchen. However, the only exception is if you don’t have any frozen orange juice concentrate. So, to avoid that dilemma, always keep some frozen concentrate orange juice in your freezer, and then you are good to go! This easy orange Julius recipe is so good on a hot day and your whole family is going to love you if you make this for them!

For an extra treat, top off your already delicious Orange Julius with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I love Orange Julius with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!

Orange Julius with a scoop of ice cream.

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