This Banana Slush Punch has been a family favorite for generations! A frozen blend of bananas, pineapple, and citrus concentrates creates a thick, scoopable base that turns perfectly slushy when topped with fizzy soda. The texture is cold and refreshing with just the right amount of sweetness and sparkle. It’s colorful, crowd-friendly, and made to be ladled into cups and enjoyed ice cold.
We had this slushy punch at every Easter party that I can remember from my early childhood, and I want this to be one of the recipes my kids take with them in their own lives.
Ingredient Needed
- Ripe Bananas – When I say ripe, I mean it! They should look brown all over and ready for banana bread, but some good spots on the peel indicate your bananas will be nice and sweet, with a good texture for this punch.
- Juice Concentrates – This punch uses lemonade and orange juice concentrate and also calls for pineapple juice. Since the frozen pineapple juice concentrate will be right there in the freezer aisle, it’s the easiest to grab that. But if you prefer, many stores now sell fresh pineapple juice in the produce section by the fresh juices and smoothies.
- Sprite or Ginger Ale – Take your pick between the two of these. There are so many other flavors in this punch, that either one will provide a satisfying sparkle to the finished product. Diet soda is fine.
How to Make Banana Slush Punch
This is a simple overview of the recipe, you’ll find a full printable recipe below!
- First, you’ll place some ripe bananas and water in a blender and sprinkle them with some sugar. Blend until smooth and then set aside.
- Then, in a large bowl or pot, you’ll combine some pineapple juice, orange juice concentrate, a can of lemonade (pink or yellow) concentrate, and some more water. Mix well. If you didn’t think ahead (like me) to thaw out the concentrates, pop an immersion blender into the mixture and mix until it’s smooth. Add the banana mixture and mix well.
- Pour the banana mixture into 3 separate freezer-safe containers or gallon-sized Ziploc bags. Freeze several hours or overnight (at least). When ready to serve, place one frozen bag of banana mixture into a punch bowl or serving jar and pour 1 liter of Sprite or ginger ale over the mixture.
- Break up with a spoon or ladle (or whip out that immersion blender again) and serve. You can garnish it with frozen raspberries or frozen sliced strawberries if you want.
Storage & Other Tips
- Freezing: The base is meant to freeze into a slush. Once it’s in the freezer, cover the punch base tightly with plastic wrap or a lid to prevent freezer odors and ice crystals from forming. It can stay frozen for several days before serving.
- Add Soda Just Before Serving: Add ginger ale, Sprite, or other fizzy soda right before you’re ready to serve so it stays fizzy and slushy.
- Serving Suggestions: This punch is great as a stand-alone refreshment on a hot day. It could also be served along side some easy desserts or a fruit or veggie platter. Its tropical flavors would pair well with other island-inspired dishes like Huli Huli Chicken, Hawaiian Macaroni Salad, Kalua Pork Sliders, or Hawaiian Style BBQ Ribs with Grilled Pineapple.
Frequently Asked Questions
Freezing time depends on your freezer, but it generally needs several hours or overnight to reach the right slush consistency.
This is one drink that is perfect for prepping ahead! Those frozen bags will keep well in the freezer for several weeks. If you need to transport them to an event, pack the frozen bags in a cooler and pop your soda in there as well. They should blend up perfectly if used within a couple of hours.
Let it sit on the counter for a few minutes, and stir or break it up before adding the soda so it softens into a scoopable slush.
This yields about 7 1/2 quarts (about 40 8-ounce servings to 60 4-ounce servings), so feel free to cut the recipe in half if you’re not interested in feeding a small army!
Yes. It will be less sweet, but still fizzy and refreshing.
Banana Slush Punch
Ingredients
- 6 cups water divided
- 4 bananas very ripe
- 1 ½ cups white sugar
- 6 cups pineapple juice 48 ounces
- 2 12-ounce cans orange juice concentrate
- 1 12-ounce cans lemonade concentrate pink or yellow
- 3 liters Sprite or ginger ale
- berries of choice for garnish, if desired
Instructions
- In the jar of a blender, combine 3 cups water, bananas, and sugar. Blend until smooth and set aside.
- In a large bowl or pot, combine remaining water, pineapple juice, orange juice concentrate, and lemonade concentrate and mix well or blend with an immersion blender. Add banana mixture.
- Divide the mixture evenly among 3 freezer-safe containers or gallon-sized zip-top bags and freeze for several hours or overnight (at least).
- When ready to serve, place 1 container of banana mixture at a time into a drink bowl or jar and pour 1 liter of chilled ginger ale or Sprite over the banana mixture. Mix with a spoon (or immersion blender) and serve immediately.
- If desired, you can garnish with frozen berries.
Notes
- Makes about 30 8-ounce servings to 60 4-ounce servings. Feel free to cut it in half if needed, or simply prepare just one bag and 1 liter of soda and save the rest for another occasion.
Questions & Reviews
Dear Kate, I love this recipe. My Mom, Vola, used to make this for us and for her ladies luncheons. She would serve it in little glass tea cups, saucers,ice cubes made of the banana fruit mixture and a small spoon. With the Ginger Ale it all made a wonderful slush. LOVE, LHRandle
We call that wedding punch because that is what we served at my wedding. We made a lot.
Grape juice with grapes in the jar is a snap. Really. The year I had a tiny baby at grape time, the 10 and 8 year old did everything but put it in the water bath. Different varieties of grapes will give it a little different flavor.
In the bottom of a quart canning jar:
1 cup juice/wine grapes, washed and pulled off the stem
1/2 cup sugar
Fill the jar to the ring at the neck with water.
wipe jar lip, add lid and screw ring on hand tight.
Process in a water bath canner for 30 minutes.
Let sit for 2 months before you drink it.
This sounds delicious, Kate! And I always have brown bananas on my counter that need using up! 😉
I preserve/can an AMAZING Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate, which I’m sure can be adjusted for grapes! It is also, BTW, fan-friggin-tastic with vanilla vodka too! Check out my post:
http://www.justtherightsize.blogspot.com/2010/01/strawbery-lemon-concentrate.html
Thanks for sharing such a special memory and recipe. I love the idea of a back to school party!
I’d love to see that canned grape/lemonade, if you ever found something!!!
i can grape juice all the time. I do about 80 -100 qt. of concentrate each year. But i have done the grapes in a jar, its more like a punch. someone gave the recipe above. hope you can enjoy this great treat with great memories again.
Back about 50 years ago my parents, from rural New York, made something similar to this. I thought it came from a plaid cookbook it was called, something punch. My how it brings back memories. Hope you can find the actual recipe. You ladies make my day.
My mom still makes banana pineapple slush for special occasions. There is bucket of it in their deep freeze from over a year ago!
My mother in law does the grape juice, but I made her toss out 20+ jars that were brown from the decade of storage, I never got to try it, thank goodness.