Are any Sonic slushes sugar free?

Quick Answer

Some Sonic slushes are sugar free, but not all of them. The sugar free slush options at Sonic include Diet Cherry Limeade and Diet Ocean Water. These slushes are made with sugar substitutes instead of regular syrup. Other Sonic slushes like the Blue Coconut slush contain sugar and are not sugar free.

Sonic Slush Overview

Sonic is a popular fast food drive-in restaurant chain known for its extensive drink menu including fountain drinks, shakes, and slushes. Sonic slushes are soft, frozen, icy drinks made by blending flavored syrup with ice. They have a smooth, creamy, semi-frozen consistency similar to an Italian ice.

Some of the most popular Sonic slush flavors include:

  • Blue Coconut
  • Cherry Limeade
  • Ocean Water
  • Strawberry
  • Fanta Grape
  • Fanta Berry
  • Mango

Sonic slushes are available in regular and diet/sugar free versions. The sugar free slushes are made with non-nutritive zero calorie sweeteners like aspartame or sucralose instead of high fructose corn syrup and cane sugar.

Sugar Free Sonic Slush Options

Here are the Sonic slush flavors that are available in a sugar free or diet version:

  • Diet Cherry Limeade
  • Diet Ocean Water

These two sugar free slushes give customers options if they are limiting sugar for health reasons or following a low carb or keto diet.

Diet Cherry Limeade Slush

The Diet Cherry Limeade Sonic slush is made with cherry and lime syrups that are artificially sweetened instead of with high fructose corn syrup. It has a tart, refreshing cherry limeade flavor.

A small 20 oz Diet Cherry Limeade slush has approximately:

  • 0 grams of sugar
  • 210 calories
  • 52 grams of carbs

Even though it’s sugar free, keep in mind the Diet Cherry Limeade slush still contains carbohydrates from the syrups used to flavor it. But it’s a good option for limiting added sugars.

Diet Ocean Water Slush

Ocean Water is a combination slush flavor with both cherry and coconut flavors. The Diet Ocean Water Slush allows customers to enjoy this flavor without the added sugar.

A small 20 oz Diet Ocean Water slush has approximately:

  • 0 grams of sugar
  • 180 calories
  • 45 grams of carbs

The Diet Ocean Water Slush from Sonic uses sugar substitutes to sweeten the cherry and coconut flavoring syrups.

Sonic Slush Flavors With Sugar

While Sonic offers the Diet Cherry Limeade and Diet Ocean Water as two sugar free slush options, most other Sonic slush flavors contain regular high fructose corn syrup and sugar.

Some examples of Sonic slush flavors that contain sugar include:

  • Blue Coconut
  • Strawberry
  • Fanta Grape
  • Fanta Berry
  • Mango
  • Cherry
  • Limeade

These regular slushes are sweetened with high fructose corn syrup instead of sugar substitutes, giving them a fuller, more natural sweetness. But the tradeoff is they also contain 20-40 grams of sugar in a small 20 oz slush.

Nutrition Info for Blue Coconut Slush

To give you an idea of the nutrition stats for a regular sweetened Sonic slush, here is the information for a small 20 oz Blue Coconut slush:

  • 38 grams of sugar
  • 270 calories
  • 68 grams of carbs

As you can see, the Blue Coconut slush contains over 30 grams more sugar compared to the sugar free Diet Ocean Water slush. So if limiting sugar intake is a priority, opt for one of the diet slush varieties.

Tips for Ordering Sugar Free Sonic Slushes

If you want to order a sugar free slush from Sonic, keep these tips in mind:

  • Specifically request the “Diet” version of Cherry Limeade or Ocean Water
  • Double check your order on the menu board or with the carhop to ensure you get the sugar free version
  • Be aware the diet slush options may be listed in small print on menus
  • If you have dietary restrictions, ask to verify ingredients and sugar content
  • Customizing other slush flavors to be sugar free may not be possible

Sonic staff should be able to accommodate your request for a diet slush, but it’s always smart to verify your order is correct just in case. The Diet Cherry Limeade and Diet Ocean Water may have limited availability compared to other flavors since they are not as widely popular.

Slush Calories and Carbs

When comparing Sonic’s diet slushes versus regular slushes, the most significant difference is the sugar content. But there are also differences in calories, carbs, and other nutrients.

Here is a nutrition comparison of a small 20 oz slush from Sonic:

Slush Calories Carbs (g) Sugar (g)
Diet Cherry Limeade 210 52 0
Regular Cherry Limeade 350 88 38
Diet Ocean Water 180 45 0
Regular Ocean Water 330 84 36

As you can see from the table, the Diet slushes with sugar substitutes have 0 grams of sugar compared to 36-38 grams of sugar for the regular slushes made with high fructose corn syrup. The diet versions are also lower in calories and carbs in addition to having no sugar.

Slush Ingredients

Sonic does not provide a full ingredient list for their slushes online. But according to customer service, the main ingredients in a Sonic slush are:

  • Syrups (cherry, lime, coconut, etc for flavors)
  • Ice
  • Water
  • For diet slushes, sugar substitutes like aspartame, acesulfame potassium or sucralose
  • For regular slushes, high fructose corn syrup
  • Natural and artificial flavors and coloring

So the primary difference in ingredients between the diet and regular slushes is the use of non-nutritive sugar substitutes compared to high fructose corn syrup. The artificial sweeteners provide the sweet taste without calories or carbohydrates.

People who need to avoid specific ingredients like aspartame or acesulfame potassium would need to avoid the diet slush options. Those with corn allergies may also need to avoid the regular slushes sweetened with high fructose corn syrup.

Slush Sizes

Sonic slushes come in several sizes:

  • Small 16 oz
  • Regular 20 oz
  • Large 30 oz
  • X-Large 44 oz

The nutrition information provided earlier in this article is for a Small 20 oz slush. Keep in mind that larger sizes will have higher calorie, carb, and sugar totals.

When ordering a diet slush flavor, sticking with a small to regular size is recommended since they are still relatively high in carbs naturally. Large and extra large sizes of even the sugar free slush drinks can contain heavy carb loads.

Kids Size Slush Options

For kids slush sizes, Sonic offers a 12 oz size. Parents can order either diet or regular slush flavors for kids.

Some of the most popular Sonic slush flavors with kids are:

  • Cherry
  • Strawberry
  • Fanta Grape
  • Fanta Berry
  • Blue Coconut

Kids sizes contain about half the amount of calories, carbs, and sugar compared to a small slush. The 12 oz kids Diet Cherry Limeade for example contains:

  • 0 g sugar
  • 100 calories
  • 26 g carbs

While kids may prefer the sweeter classic slush flavors, the Diet options can be a good way to limit sugar intake for younger children. Speak with a pediatrician for advice on diet beverages for kids.

Sugar Free Slush Alternatives

Besides Sonic, there are some other options for finding sugar free slushes and icy drinks at quick service restaurants. However, most fast food chains do not offer sugar free slush drinks.

A few alternatives for sugar free slush style beverages include:

  • Wendy’s Frosty-Lite (limited locations)
  • Chick-Fil-A Diet Lemonade slush (seasonal)
  • Taco Bell Light Cherry Freeze
  • Burger King Diet Iced Coffee slush

Check with your local restaurant locations to see if they offer these menu items. The availability may be limited regionally or seasonally.

Slush vs Slurpee

Slurpees are a very similar icy beverage to Sonic slushes. Both are blended soft drinks with a flavor syrup base. However, there are some differences:

  • Slush – Sonic signature frozen drink. More creamy, smoothie-like consistency.
  • Slurpee – 7-Eleven signature frozen carbonated drink. More icy, slushy texture.

Both Slurpees and slushes come in wide varieties of flavors. Both also offer diet options made with sugar substitutes. Comparing the two, Sonic slushes tend to be a bit creamier and thicker in consistency versus the traditional slushy icy texture of a Slurpee.

Making Your Own Sugar Free Sonic Slush

You can also try making your own sugar free Sonic slush at home with just a few ingredients:

  • Ice
  • Flavored syrups (get sugar free kinds)
  • Sugar substitute like stevia, if needed
  • Blender

Combine ice, sugar free syrups in your favorite flavors, a sugar substitute if you want it sweeter, and blend it all up in a high power blender. You can experiment with combinations of different diet syrups and extracts to create a custom sugar free slush.

Making slush drinks at home gives you control over the ingredients so you can achieve the perfect nutrition profile. You can even add protein powder or use alternative milks like almond milk as the base for a nutrient rich custom slush.

Conclusion

In summary, Sonic offers two main diet slush options with Diet Cherry Limeade and Diet Ocean Water. These provide a way to enjoy refreshing icy slush drinks without all the sugar of regular slushes made with high fructose corn syrup. Other Sonic flavors and most slushes from other fast food places contain high amounts of sugar, so be sure to check nutrition info especially for kids sizes. For the best control over nutrition and ingredients, try making your own custom sugar free slush at home. With the right sweeteners and flavor combinations, you can create a healthy diet slush that tastes great too.

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