Fresh and delicious, this homemade Orange Julius is the perfect way to cool off after a long day. Made from fresh orange juice, sweet vanilla and creamy scoops of ice cream, this recipe is a near-perfect copycat of the original you'd get at the mall. In fact, you might even find that you prefer this recipe to the commercial version!
The official Orange Julius company actually began as an orange juice stand in California. In order to make the drink less acidic, the current creamy concoction was born and it quickly became very popular. It spread from there and now you'd be hard-pressed to find someone unfamiliar with the name.
Instead of using ice, milk and sweetener, like a lot of homemade Orange Julius recipes out there, I go straight to the ice cream! This makes the drink even easier and quicker to prepare, and it tastes amazing. The ice cream blends up nice and easy.
This is the homemade version that I grew up on. It was a staple at our Sunday brunches and now my kids get to experience it too. In fact, I have to be sure to ration it out before they get their hands on it.
I like to serve it with savory breakfast items like scrambled eggs with ground beef, Korean kimchi omelettes or a massive full English breakfast.
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🍊 Ingredients
- ice cream - Vanilla ice cream is the best flavor for a homemade Orange Julius.
- orange juice - There are many options for orange juice which will all taste great. I make orange juice from frozen concentrate, but you can also use prepared orange juice from the refrigerator section of the grocery store or freshly juiced using a juicer.
- vanilla extract - For extra vanilla flavor.
*Check recipe card for ingredient amounts.
📖 Recipe Tweaks
- If you're feeling adventurous, you could even toss in a variety of berries, whichever you like best or have on hand!
- Make it a fun adult-version by adding some white rum or vodka and some orange liqueur. Anyone? Michelle?
🥤 How to Make Orange Julius at Home
- Blend all ingredients in a blender, until smooth.
- Pour into glasses and serve immediately!
❓ Recipe FAQs
The leftovers can be stored in the fridge for a day or two, but it won't be the same as the freshly blended stuff. I recommend making the amount you're going to drink. This recipe is 4 servings but you can adjust the amount in the recipe card.
You can still find this nostalgic drink at your local Dairy Queen.
It sounds like it was most popular during the 60s, 70s and 80s as an independent company, at which point it was bought out by Dairy Queen.
🍦 More Ice Cream Recipes You Will Love
If you tried this 🍊 Homemade Orange Julius Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. And please share the recipe!
📋Recipe
Homemade Orange Julius (Copycat)
Ingredients
- 3 cups vanilla ice cream
- 3 cups orange juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Blend all ingredients in a blender, until smooth.
- Pour into glasses and serve!
Equipment
Notes
- If you're feeling adventurous, you could even toss in a variety of berries, whichever you like best or have on hand!
- Make it a fun adult-version by adding some white rum or vodka and some orange liqueur.
- It can be stored in the fridge for a day or two, but it won't be the same as the freshly blended stuff.
Nutrition
Nutrition information on In the Kitch is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It may not include toppings and/or sauces.
Joss says
My absolute favorite homemade version of orange Julius!