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    Home » Margaritas

    February 22, 2015 Cinco de Mayo

    Margaritas

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    This ain't your local ground beef and refried beans tex-mex joint's neon-green tequila sugar bomb: this is a REAL margarita recipe. Super tart, very boozy, and dangerously refreshing.

    Jump to Recipe
    how to make margaritas
    obligatory pour shot

    I think it's safe to say that I have been a lover of Mexican food and its cousins my entire life.  From fusion tacos with bulgogi and kimchi to the refried beans that vaguely resemble slop at the local dump-Mex place around the corner: I love it all.  In fact, I have to make a deliberate effort to not fill my blog with all-Mexican all-the-time.

    margarita ingredients

    It's about time I let a little of my obsession with Mexican food ( and drink ... ) come through.  I have roughly five (FIVE!!!!) different margarita recipes that are regulars in my kitchen, but this is my "basic" but fabulous go-to recipe.

    margarita recipe

    First things first:

    what kind of alcohol is in margaritas?

    Tequila! Always tequila.

    How to do you make a margarita from scratch?

    The MOST important thing to do when making margaritas from scratch is to use fresh lime juice. FRESH. Not from the bottle. Not from the refrigerated juice section in the grocery store. But FRESH fresh. From a lime. One that was juiced in the last 12 hours at most.

    The rest is simple, vigorously shake all of the ingredients with ice, then pour into a rocks glass, toss in a pinch of salt (or add a salt rim), and serve cold.

    How do you make a pitcher of margaritas?

    Same concept as above, just scaled and stirred. Determine how many cocktails you'll want to make / will fill your pitcher. Then scroll down to the recipe below, hover over the number of servings, and use the slider to scale it up to that number.

    Pour all of the ingredients into an ice-filled pitcher and stir. Just like the individual ones, serve over ice in glasses rimmed with salt.

    fresh margarita recipe

    Does a margarita need Cointreau?

    Not necessarily - but it does need something decent, orange, alcoholic and sweet. Which is to say ... don't use triple sec. Use Cointreau or something of a similar tier if you have it, or Grand Marnier if you want a little more body to your margarita.

    How many calories in a margarita?

    One of the many benefits of making these margaritas over the lime green mixer ones is that you control exactly what goes into it: namely, the sugar. As written in this post, each margarita will have just under 300 calories. Leave out the simple syrup ( I do! ) and you're around 220 calories per margarita.

    margarita with limes and ice

    If you like margaritas, you might love these tequila cocktails too:

    • Watermelon Margaritas
    • Basil Blueberry Margaritas
    • Cranberry Moscow Mules
    margarita recipe

    Margaritas

    The perfectly portioned margarita recipe - careful, these boozy drinks pack a punch!
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Drinks
    Cuisine: Mexican
    Keyword: margarita
    Prep Time: 2 minutes
    Total Time: 2 minutes
    Servings: 1 drink
    Author: Marianne

    Ingredients

    • 1.5 oz Agave Tequila
    • 1.5 oz Grand Marnier or Cointreau
    • 1.5 oz Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice
    • 1 oz Simple Syrup optional - see Notes
    • Salt optional, just a pinch
    • Ice fill the cocktail shaker with ice

    Equipment

    • Cocktail Shaker

    Instructions

    • In a cocktail shaker combine all liquid ingredients over the ice.
    • Shake vigorously.
    • Pour ( ice and all ) into a margarita or rocks glass and serve. Garnish with a slice of lime and a pinch of salt.

    Notes

    Note on Simple Syrup:  The Simple Syrup is totally optional in this recipe. I like a very tart, crispy margarita, so I leave it out. However, I know a lot of people like just a little bit of sweetness to their margaritas, so the simple syrup is for them.  Play around with it and see how much you like to make it just perfect for your taste.
    Feel free to garnish your drink with a salt rim. I don't care for the heavy extra salt in my diet, and find a small pinch of salt right on top of the drink itself does the trick nicely.
     
    Tried this recipe?Mention @basilandbubbly or tag #basilandbubbly!

    I love seeing before and after photos, so when I updated the photos on this margarita recipe post, I left the old ones for you to compare!

    Margaritas
    margarita
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. LL says

      April 12, 2022 at 8:40 pm

      I literally stumbled across this site looking for ways to make corn beef less nasty and I am so charmed by it I'm going to share something very, very special with you.

      I'm a single guy who lives in LA and if you are a single guy during a pandemic you better make the experience of any guests spectacular or love isolation.

      I'll make it simple....

      Make your margarita and once in the glass slowly drip a little cranberry juice onto the ice as it sits on top. That's not the secret, but it adds a ton.

      Use honey as the adhesive when you roll the glass in salt. The intense sweetness to go with the bitter lime and salt is a game-changer. You are welcome

      Reply
    2. Sandra Evans says

      July 03, 2021 at 10:36 pm

      I just went to the store to buy the ingredients to make this margarita and I forgot the Cointreau… ahhhh… I’m going to try and make the margarita without it and hope it It Doesn’t taste bad.

      Reply
    3. Lola says

      December 30, 2016 at 5:59 pm

      Curious how 4-1/2 ounces of liquid translates into two drinks?

      Reply
      • basilandbubbly says

        January 02, 2017 at 11:55 am

        The liquid combines with the ice and melts it, which gives off about another 2 ounces of total liquid ( water ). Poured over more ice into a standard margarita glass, it fills about halfway ( like in the pictures ). I Certainly would not judge using the whole recipe as one cocktail, though!! Cheers!

        Reply

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    My name is Marianne, and I'm two parts food, one part booze, and a dash of snark. I live in Atlanta, GA with my two cats. My personal motto: Champagne and stretchy pants. Sign up for my mailing list to keep up with the new and seasonal recipes!

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