Skittles

Taste the rainbow is a candy slogan, but Jamba fans took it as a challenge. The skittles jamba juice smoothie is their answer: a custom blend that scoops in every sherbet flavor the store has on hand, strawberry, orange, pineapple or lime, and raspberry, then ties them together with lemonade, strawberries, banana, and ice. The result is sweet, tangy, frosty, and honestly a little astonishing in how much it tastes like the candy it is named after.

Of all the drinks on the Jamba secret menu, the skittles jamba juice blend might be the most theatrical. It has the longest ingredient list, the brightest color story, and the biggest reaction when the cup lands on the counter. It is also the order that teaches the golden rule of secret menus better than any other: order by ingredients, not by name, and almost anything becomes possible.

This guide from The Menu Vault walks you through the skittles jamba juice recipe step by step, including the exact words to use at the counter, what the smoothie usually costs, how the rainbow of flavors actually tastes, and the smart variations to try once you have mastered the classic. Bring the ingredient list with you and you are ready.

What Is the Skittles Jamba Juice Smoothie?

The skittles jamba juice smoothie is a fan created custom drink inspired by the rainbow of fruit flavors in Skittles candy. Each sherbet in the blender stands in for a candy color: red strawberry, orange orange, yellow pineapple or green lime depending on the store, and purple leaning raspberry. Blended with lemonade and fruit, the sherbets melt into a sweet, tangy medley that reads as one rainbow flavor rather than four separate ones.

No actual candy goes into the cup. The skittles jamba juice name is a tribute, not an ingredient, and fans are quick to point that out. The magic is that sherbet, which is itself sweet, fruity, and slightly creamy, stacks flavor in a way that lands surprisingly close to the candy experience, especially with lemonade adding the tangy snap that ties it together.

As with every secret menu item, this one is unofficial. Jamba does not print the skittles jamba juice smoothie on the menu, and team member recognition of the name varies. Some longtime staff know it instantly. Many will not, and that is fine, because the recipe is the real order. Sherbet availability also changes from store to store and day to day, which is why fans always ask which flavors are on hand before finalizing a skittles jamba juice order.

Why has this one become a legend among Jamba regulars? Partly the flavor, partly the quest. Ordering a skittles jamba juice smoothie feels like a small adventure: checking the sherbet case, building the rainbow, watching the blender turn it all frosty. It is the secret menu at its most playful, and the cup you carry out tastes like a celebration.

What Is In It

The skittles jamba juice recipe has more moving parts than most secret menu drinks, so let us break it down piece by piece.

The Sherbet Rainbow

The heart of the skittles jamba juice blend is one scoop of every sherbet flavor your store carries that day. The classic lineup is strawberry, orange, pineapple or lime, and raspberry. Sherbet brings fruit flavor, sweetness, and a light creaminess, all in one scoop. The balance matters: roughly equal scoops keep any single fruit from shouting over the others, and that balance is what makes the finished smoothie taste like a rainbow instead of a single flavor.

Lemonade

Lemonade is the liquid that makes the skittles jamba juice smoothie work. It thins the sherbets to a drinkable blend, and its sweet tart snap is the flavor glue of the whole recipe. Without it, the drink would taste like melted sherbet. With it, the cup tastes bright, tangy, and candy like.

Strawberries and Banana

Real fruit gives the skittles jamba juice smoothie its body. Strawberries deepen the red berry side of the rainbow, and banana adds natural sweetness plus the smooth thickness that makes the blend feel like a proper smoothie instead of a slush. The banana flavor stays in the background, doing texture work while the sherbets take the spotlight.

Ice

Ice is blended in for the frosty finish. It chills the skittles jamba juice cup, tightens the texture, and keeps the sweetness from feeling heavy. Ask for a good amount of ice if you like your smoothies thick and frosty, or a little less if you prefer a smoother pour.

A Note on Sherbet Availability

Sherbet flavors rotate, and not every store stocks every flavor every day. The skittles jamba juice recipe flexes gracefully: if lime is missing, pineapple carries the tropical note, and if raspberry is out, extra strawberry keeps the rainbow intact. Fans treat the lineup as a guideline and build with whatever the case holds.

How to Order the Skittles Smoothie

Because the ingredient list is long, ordering the skittles jamba juice smoothie goes best as a short, friendly checklist. Team members build custom smoothies all day, so give them the build step by step and they will handle the rest.

At the Counter

Start by asking which sherbet flavors the store has today. Then say something like: “Can I get a custom smoothie with a scoop of each sherbet, strawberry, orange, pineapple, and raspberry, with lemonade, strawberries, a banana, and ice blended in?” That one sentence is the entire skittles jamba juice order. Confirm the size first, keep the scoops balanced, and mention any flavor you especially want to shine.

If the team member knows the skittles jamba juice name, the conversation gets even shorter. Either way, ordering by ingredients protects you from blank stares and from a well meaning guess that misses half the rainbow. Write the list in your phone the first time; by the third visit you will recite it from memory.

In the App

Custom smoothie building in the Jamba app can come close at locations where sherbet scoops and lemonade appear as options. Check the add in and base lists for your store. If the full skittles jamba juice build is not possible on screen, treat this as a counter order. Some secret menu drinks are simply easier to explain to a person, and this is the champion example.

Pricing Questions to Ask First

Multiple sherbet scoops can carry extra charges depending on the store, so a polite “will the extra scoops cost more?” before blending keeps the skittles jamba juice total predictable. Most fans consider the small upcharge fair for a four flavor custom build, but asking first is always the smooth move.

What It Usually Costs

The skittles jamba juice smoothie is priced like a custom smoothie, starting from the standard custom price for your size. In many areas, plan on roughly six to eight dollars for a small, seven to nine for a medium, and eight to ten for a large, before any add in charges. The multi scoop build may add a modest extra cost at some stores.

Those numbers move with location, size, and local pricing, and menus change over time, so treat them as a friendly planning range rather than a promise. The honest way to predict your skittles jamba juice total is to check the custom smoothie price on your store’s board, then ask about scoop charges. Ten seconds of questions at the register beats a surprise at the total.

Is it worth the premium over a standard smoothie? Fans say yes, for two reasons. First, you are tasting four sherbet flavors in one cup, which would cost far more as separate drinks. Second, the skittles jamba juice experience is part treat, part event. It is the smoothie equivalent of ordering the special dessert, and priced like a small splurge rather than a luxury.

Rewards members can soften the cost further. Jamba promotions often apply to custom smoothies, and a deal day skittles jamba juice order is one of the best value moves on the whole secret menu.

Taste: What to Expect

The skittles jamba juice smoothie tastes like someone blended a bag of fruit candy into a frosty drink, and fans mean that as high praise. The first sip is sweet and tangy all at once, with the lemonade snap up front. Then the sherbet flavors roll through: strawberry first, a wave of orange, a tropical pineapple or lime glimmer, and raspberry rounding out the finish.

What surprises most first timers is how unified it tastes. You might expect four flavors fighting, but the skittles jamba juice blend drinks like one rainbow flavor, the same way a handful of mixed candy tastes like a single treat rather than separate pieces. The banana stays quiet, the ice keeps it frosty, and the sherbet creaminess gives the cup a soft, almost dessert like body.

Sweetness runs high, as it should for a candy tribute. The lemonade is the balancing hero, cutting the sugar with tang so the skittles jamba juice smoothie stays refreshing instead of cloying. If your store leans light on the lemonade, the drink will taste sweeter; if they pour generously, expect a brighter, tangier cup.

Texture is thick and smooth when blended well, with a fine icy grain that melts fast. The skittles jamba juice smoothie is at its best in the first ten minutes, poured fresh and frosty. Let it sit and the rainbow settles into a sweeter, thinner drink, still tasty but missing its sparkle.

Variations and Tweaks

Once the classic skittles jamba juice build is in your rotation, these variations keep it interesting.

Fewer Colors, Bigger Flavor

Pick your two or three favorite sherbet flavors and double down. A strawberry and raspberry only version tastes like a red candy blend, while orange and pineapple make a tropical cup. The skittles jamba juice idea stretches to any sherbet combination your store has scooping.

Extra Tang

Ask for more lemonade and a little less sherbet if you like your candy flavor sharp. The skittles jamba juice smoothie turns brighter and more refreshing, closer to a lemonade slush with a rainbow twist. This is the version warm weather fans swear by.

The Gummy Bear Detour

If the rainbow sherbet route delights you, the gummy bear family is your next stop. The Pink Gummy Bear goes creamy and berry sweet, the Chocolate Gummy Bear turns dessert like, and the Sour Patch Kids blend chases tangy candy notes. Fans often rank the skittles jamba juice cup and the gummy bears as the twin peaks of the Jamba candy smoothie world.

Frozen Yogurt Swap

Some regulars swap one sherbet scoop for vanilla frozen yogurt. The skittles jamba juice flavor softens into a creamier, smoother register, like candy folded into soft serve. It is a gentler take for anyone who found the full sherbet version intense.

Share the Rainbow

The large size splits beautifully between two people, especially kids. One large skittles jamba juice smoothie, two straws, and the candy tasting becomes a shared event for less than the cost of two smaller custom drinks.

Build Your Own Rainbow: The Simple Formula

Once you understand the skittles jamba juice formula, you can improvise like a regular. The formula has four parts: a scoop of sherbet for every color you want in the cup, lemonade as the liquid glue, one soft fruit for body such as banana, and one bright fruit for sparkle such as strawberries. Keep the sherbet scoops balanced, keep the lemonade generous enough to blend smoothly, and almost any lineup you invent will taste like a candy rainbow.

This is why fans treat the skittles jamba juice smoothie as a doorway rather than a destination. A first order follows the classic recipe exactly. A third order starts swapping: pineapple sherbet doubled for a tropical cup, lime pushed forward for a tangier one, raspberry and strawberry carrying a red themed build. The team at your store can tell you which sherbets are fresh that day, and building from the day’s case becomes part of the ritual.

What Can Go Wrong, and How Fans Avoid It

Two mistakes account for nearly every disappointing cup. The first is a shy lemonade pour, which leaves the skittles jamba juice blend thick, muted, and overly sweet, more like soft sherbet than a drink. The fix is simple: ask for lemonade as the main liquid and do not be bashful about it. The second mistake is unbalanced scoops, where one strong flavor, usually lime or raspberry, swallows the rainbow. Ask for level scoops across the flavors and the skittles jamba juice smoothie tastes like the medley it is meant to be.

Timing matters too. This smoothie is at its best freshly blended, when the ice is fine and the flavors are cold and distinct. If your skittles jamba juice cup has to ride home in a warm car, ask for extra ice in the blend; the drink will hold its frosty character longer and arrive closer to the counter experience.

Finally, a word for first timers: bring the ingredient list. The skittles jamba juice recipe is longer than most, and even fans who have ordered it twenty times still glance at their phone notes. Nobody at the counter minds. A clear list makes the team’s job easier and your drink better, which is the whole spirit of secret menu ordering.

A Note for Parents and Party Orders

This smoothie has a second career as a party trick. A round of rainbow smoothies ordered for a group turns an ordinary Jamba run into an event, and kids in particular treat the cup like a science experiment they get to drink. If you are ordering several at once, give the team a heads up when you walk in, since each custom build takes blender time, and keep every cup’s recipe identical unless someone has an allergy or a strong sherbet opinion. Identical recipes keep the line moving and the flavors consistent.

For drivers, a practical word: the rainbow holds its layers of flavor best when the cup stays upright and cold. A cup holder, a short drive, and a quick handoff at the door preserve the frosty texture that makes this drink sing. Let it melt on a dashboard and it becomes a sweet fruit soup, still drinkable, but the rainbow deserves better, and so do you.

The Rainbow, Remembered

Ask fans where they were when they first tried this smoothie and a surprising number can tell you. Candy flavored drinks have that effect; they attach themselves to birthdays, road trips, and mall afternoons. That memory making quality is not an accident of the recipe. It is what happens when a drink asks a little of you, a list, a question about sherbet flavors, a moment of teamwork with the crew, and then pays you back with a cup that tastes like being twelve again, in the best possible way. Order it once, and the recipe tends to stay with you for good.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Skittles smoothie contain real candy?

No. The skittles jamba juice smoothie gets its flavor entirely from fruit sherbets, lemonade, strawberries, and banana. The name honors the candy’s rainbow of fruit flavors; there is no candy in the blender.

What sherbet flavors go into the Skittles smoothie?

The classic skittles jamba juice lineup is strawberry, orange, pineapple or lime, and raspberry, one scoop of each. Availability varies by store and day, so ask what is scooping and build the rainbow from what is on hand.

How much does the Skittles smoothie usually cost?

Expect custom smoothie pricing: roughly six to eight dollars for a small, seven to nine for a medium, and eight to ten for a large in many areas, plus possible small charges for multiple sherbet scoops. Ask your store about scoop pricing before you order.

Is the Skittles smoothie an official Jamba item?

No. The skittles jamba juice drink is a fan created secret menu recipe, and Jamba does not list it on the menu board. Ordering by the ingredient list is the reliable way to get it made at any location.

Can I order the Skittles smoothie in the app?

Sometimes you can approximate it if your store’s app lists sherbet scoops and lemonade as options. The full skittles jamba juice build is usually easier at the counter, where you can confirm the day’s sherbet flavors with the team.

Is the Skittles smoothie good for kids?

Kids tend to love it. The skittles jamba juice flavor is sweet, fruity, and candy inspired, made with fruit and sherbet rather than actual candy. A small size or a shared large keeps portions sensible for younger drinkers.

Keep Exploring

The candy inspired corner of the Jamba hidden menu is deep. Line up the Pink Gummy Bear for creamy berry sweetness, the Chocolate Gummy Bear for dessert energy, the tangy Sour Patch Kids, the playful Fruity Pebbles for cereal nostalgia, and the cheerful Pink Starburst for a full candy flight at home.

The complete Jamba Juice secret menu gathers every fan blend in one place, and the Jamba Juice hub covers the regular lineup. Plan ahead with Jamba Juice menu prices and check the Jamba Juice happy hour page for current deals.

For hidden items at other chains, browse the secret menus collection, compare menu prices, or search happy hours for bargains. The front door is always open at The Menu Vault home page.