Cherry and Lime Slushie
Jul 16, 2019, Updated May 28, 2026
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Northwest cherry season is here! Celebrate this special time of year with our Cherry and Lime Slushie recipe. It’s a refreshing combination of sweet cherries, lime juice, mint, honey, and sparkling water.
Nothing screams summer quite like a bright, tart, brain-freezing slushie. If you grew up pulling into drive-ins for a classic cherry limeade slush, you know exactly how magical that flavor combination is.
But here is the secret: making them at home is incredibly easy, and they taste a million times better when you use real ingredients instead of artificial syrups.
Why This Recipe Beats the Drive-In
Most commercial slushies are just a mix of crushed ice, high-fructose corn syrup, and red dye number 40. This homemade version gets its stunning ruby-red color and rich flavor from real cherries.
By using frozen sweet cherries, you get a double benefit: intense fruit flavor and a naturally thick, frosty texture without needing to dilute the drink with a mountain of plain ice cubes. Paired with freshly squeezed lime juice, it hits that perfect sweet-to-tart ratio that wakes up your taste buds.
Ingredients for Fresh Cherry and Lime Slushie
- 2 cups Dark Sweet cherries: pitted
- 6 limes, juice
- 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 cups sparkling water
- 5-6 cups ice
Related: How to Select and Store Cherries
How to Make Cherry & Lime Slushies
This recipe can easily be whipped up in 10 minutes. The most time-consuming part is de-stemming and pitting the cherries. You can use a cherry pitter but our favorite method for pitting cherries uses a chopstick and an aluminum can. See our cherry-pitting tutorial here.
Once your cherries are pitted and your limes are juiced, simply throw everything in the blender and blend. You may need to play around with the ratio of ice to sparkling water to get the consistency exactly to your liking. If your slushies are too watery, add more ice. If they are too thick, add more sparkling water.
We hope you enjoy our Cherry and Lime Slushie recipe as much as we do! Looking for more ways to enjoy cherries this summer? Check out these other delicious cherry recipes:
- Sweet Cherry Vinaigrette
- Spinach, Avocado, Cherry, and Feta Salad
- Burrata Cheese with Balsamic Cherries and Mint
- Cherry Clafoutis
- Whipped Cherry Goat Cheese
- Cherry Danish
- Gluten-Free Cherry Pie Filling
- Cherry Yogurt Bark
- Sweet Cherry Vinaigrette
You can also follow our Cherry Pinterest Board for recipe ideas!
Produce Moms Tip: Enjoy this recipe outside of cherry season by using frozen cherries. Learn how to freeze cherries so you can enjoy them year-round.
What are your favorite ways to enjoy cherries in the summer? Share your ideas in the comments below.
Cherry and Lime Slushie with Fresh Mint
Ingredients
- 2 cups sweet cherries de-stemmed and pitted
- 6 limes juice only
- 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 cups sparkling water
- 5-6 cups ice
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until ice is broken down into small slushy-sized pieces. (Add more ice if the consistency is too watery. Add more sparkling water if consistency is too thick).
- Pour into glasses and garnish with a cherry and sprig of mint. Serve immediately.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
