2 Ingredient Homemade Orange Julius Recipe

Do you love the taste of Orange Julius? Learn how to make a homemade Orange Julius to enjoy an all-natural version of this delicious drink or smoothie!

Homemade Orange Julius

Yes. We love smoothies in our house, and this “orange Julius” is no different! The nice thing about this orange juice drink is that unlike the real Orange Julius (which contains up to 22 ingredients, yikes) this Orange Julius recipe with fresh orange juice only contains 3. We like to enjoy it for a night-time snack or even as a healthy breakfast! It has a great, smooth texture.

Tip: If you like more fruits in your smoothie, try this Orange Julius Strawberry Banana Smoothie Recipe!

It’s been so long since I had a real Orange Julius from the mall. I’m not even sure how much they used to cost, but I’m guessing that this version is a little bit cheaper. 🙂 Plus, with this healthy orange Julius recipe version, you get a healthy dose of probiotics! (If you use yogurt with cultures or kefir.)

Ingredients in the Orange Julius Recipe

• Orange Juice Cubes. Instead of adding ice cubes that will just water down your drink, we use pre-frozen orange juice cubes which is something I love having in the freezer for smoothies anyway.
• Yogurt or Kefir. You could also use whole milk or cream (no skim milk), but I like yogurt or kefir for a little bit of tang and a little bit more of a healthy version of this drink.
• Some kind of sweetener. You can omit this if you use regular yogurt; the Greek yogurt seems to need a little sweetener, though! You could use white sugar, powdered sugar, , or other sugar substitutes. When I was growing up and we made these we always used powdered sugar because it gave the best texture. (More of a frothy orange drink.)

I make an old, version from the ’80’s my brother found that I just love! I think it’s better than the real thing, without the million ingredients.

I use orange juice concentrate, ice cubes, a splash of milk and a touch of vanilla.

I like your idea of freezing the orange juice for it, especially since we only buy the concentrate for this these days.

Yummy!

Tiffanie, Little House Living reader

Step By Step Instructions for Making a Homemade Orange Julius

Grab your orange juice cubes. You will need a full ice cube tray for a recipe for 2. You may need to thaw these out just a bit first. Put these into the blender.

Add in about a half a cup of yogurt. (Or kefir if you want to add in extra probiotics.)

Tip: You can also use your Cream Cubes in this recipe in place of yogurt!

Add in a little sweetener. How much you add will depend on your tastes; it’s a trial-and-error thing 😉 We add a little turbinado (raw) sugar. You could add in honey, stevia, or whatever sugar works for you. We also added a little bit more fresh orange juice to make the blending easier.

Blend!

And enjoy!

Variations to the Classic Orange Julius

• Add in a bit of pineapple juice for a new flavor.
• Add in some frozen or fresh strawberries for a strawberry twist.
• Add in a small amount of vanilla extract for a little more vanilla flavor.
• Use heavy cream as your dairy component if you want an orange creamsicle taste.
• Substitute the dairy ingredient with coconut cream for a dairy-free version.
• Replace the yogurt with vanilla ice cream for a dessert treat.

We make one with Frozen Oranges, Vanilla cream Stevia & Vanilla coconut milk. YUMMY!! I should try vanilla Almond milk yogurt.

Kim, Little House Living reader

Want to print this copycat Orange Julius Recipe? Grab it below:

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Homemade Natural Orange Julius Recipe

How to make your own healthy version of an Orange Julius drink.

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Keyword Homemade Orange Julius

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Servings 2 people

Calories 193 kcal

Creator Merissa

Ingredients

• 12 Orange Juice Cubes
• 1/2 cup Yogurt or Kefir
• Sweetener of your choice optional

Instructions

1. Grab your orange juice cubes. You will need at least a full trayful for a recipe for 2. You may need to thaw these out just a bit first. Put these into the blender.
2. Add in about a half a cup of yogurt.
3. Add in a little sweetener. How much you add will depend on your tastes, it’s a trial and error thing. We add a little turbinado (raw) sugar. You could add in honey, stevia, or whatever sugar works for you. We also added a little bit more fresh orange juice to make the blending easier.
4. Blend and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

Homemade Natural Orange Julius Recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 193 Calories from Fat 9

% Daily Value*

Fat 1g2%

Saturated Fat 0.1g1%

Trans Fat 0.01g

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1g

Monounsaturated Fat 0.1g

Cholesterol 3mg1%

Sodium 22mg1%

Potassium 791mg23%

Carbohydrates 39g13%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 32g36%

Protein 8g16%

Vitamin A 722IU14%

Vitamin C 180mg218%

Calcium 95mg10%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

It’s been quite a long time since I had a real Orange Julius, but I think this homemade version tastes great, and I don’t have to feel bad about eating it!

Make sure you make up your orange juice cubes ahead of time and store them in the freezer, so you have them ready to go next time you have a craving!

Super smoothie recipe, Merissa! It works really well with greek yogurt. I added some ground nuts for an extra nutrition boost. Always use them in smoothies. What a treat!

Rika, Little House Living reader

More Smoothie Drink Recipes

• Frozen Yogurt Smoothie Recipe
• Banana Raspberry Blueberry Smoothie Recipe
• Cucumber Mint Smoothie
• Strawberry Blueberry Smoothie
• Strawberry Orange Smoothie
• Orange Julius Strawberry Banana Smoothie Recipe
• Homemade Lemonade Recipe (And Pioneer Lemonade)

Find even more Healthy Breakfast Smoothies on Little House Living.

Do you like Orange Julius? Have you made this real Orange Julius before

Merissa Alink

Merissa has been blogging about and living the simple life since 2009 and has internationally published 2 books on the topic. You can read about Merissa’s journey from penniless to freedom on the About Page. You can send her a message any time from the Contact Page.

This Homemade Orange Julius Recipe was originally published on Little House Living in October 2012. It has been updated as of October 2023.