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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
If you like margaritas, you might love these tequila cocktails too:
Margaritas
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
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!
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.
Curious how 4-1/2 ounces of liquid translates into two drinks?
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!