Copycat Orange Julius

Last updated on September 7th, 2022

A homemade Orange Julius that tastes just like the popular restaurant drink! It comes together in just a few minutes and is so refreshing!

If there’s a food that takes me straight back to my childhood, an Orange Julius has got to be top of the list!

I can just picture going to a mall by our house where there was an Orange Julius stand at the food court and begging my mom to buy us one. If she caved, that usually meant she’d by one for all 6 of us to share!

But it was still such a sweet treat to taste that refreshing orange taste that was somewhere between a slushie and a drink.

Growing up and realizing I could make them for myself was liking discovering childhood again! I try not to make them too often so it still feels like a special treat, but when I do… it never disappoints especially in hot summer days!!

Table of Contents

What is an Orange Julius?

Orange Julius was a chain when I was growing up until Dairy Queen bought it in the late 80’s. There signature drink was, you guessed it, an orange julius!

It’s a weird mix between a smoothie and not quite a milkshake. It’s sweet and feels more like an indulgent dessert. It’s really hard to describe but it’s kind of like a frothy orange creamsicle in liquid form.

All I know is that it is a delicious and refreshing drink, and I’ll take any copycat version of it I can get my hands on!

Homemade Orange Julius Recipe

The base of the recipe is the frozen orange juice concentrate. You can’t start with orange juice or you won’t get that same frothy consistency.

It has to be the frozen orange juice concentrate that you can find in your grocer’s freezer section.

In a large blender, add the following:

orange juice concentrate
ice
milk
water
sugar
vanilla extract

Once you have everything added, pule for about 30 seconds until smooth. Then pour into glasses and enjoy immediately!

This will separate as it sits (even if you refrigerate it), so it’s best not to make it ahead of time. And I don’t know how you’d resist drinking it right away anyways! It’s so good!