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Want to know how to make margaritas at home? This is the BEST simple margarita recipe! It’s an easy, 3 ingredient margarita with basic ingredients. Perfect with a plate of nachos!

simple margarita

Just in time for Cinco de Mayo! 

Do you guys usually celebrate on May the 5th? We have attended a few parties in the past but we don’t usually do anything too exciting on Cinco de Mayo. I do make an effort to at least serve Mexican though 😉 This year we’re having burritos and – you guessed it – a simple margarita!

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the frosty, flavored, exotic margaritas when we go out to eat at a Mexican restaurant, but these are often loaded up with sugar and are more about the syrup they’re adding than the actual tequila. And I am a tequila girl! Let’s clarify. Not a crazy spring-break tequila body shot, tequila girl BUT, a girl who enjoys the smooth flavor of a good quality tequila, and a girl who chooses a tequila shot if I MUST choose a shot 😉

If I’m going to order a cocktail, it’s more often than not a margarita or a mojito. Simple, refreshing and delicious!

What goes into a classic margarita?

Before there were spicy jalapeno margaritas, there was the simple margarita, composed of three ingredients:

  • Tequila: you want a good quality tequila if you’re not adding any other sweeteners or jazzy things to the recipe. Etienne loves Casamigos, and I love it because it’s George Clooney’s brand…and I love George Clooney. You would preferably use a silver tequila, but it’s not a necessity. I didn’t use it here!
  • Cointreau: you can also use Grand Marnier or Triple Sec, but you want to use a good quality orange liqueur (again, GOOD quality is the key here). 
  • Lime! Pretty self-explanatory, but please, please use fresh lime juice. The bottled stuff just isn’t the same!

A few other notes to make sure you get the best results:

  • Salt your rim! Use a lime slice to wet the rim of a short glass, then dip the glass upside down in some coarse sea salt. That saltiness when you take a drink of margarita is a must!!
  • Use a cocktail shaker, full of ice to mix all of the ingredients, before pouring it into your rimmed glass. The cocktail shaker will get the drink nice and cold before you strain it into a glass.
  • All of the ice! A perfect, simple margarita is nice and cold, so fill your glass with ice after pouring your drink. The bigger ice cubes the better, so they only keep the drink cold and not melt right away!

Can you make the margarita sweeter?

Truthfully, I like these just as they are, but if you like your margs a bit sweeter, you can add a touch of agave syrup or simple syrup to your drink to sweeten it up a bit! I would keep it to half an ounce or so.

You could also switch out the Cointreau for orange juice. It’s got a touch more sweetness and it’s so fresh and delicious!

Trust me, these simple margaritas are so good just as they are. Etienne had one too many the night I perfected this recipe 😉 (Hopefully he doesn’t read how I’m ratting him out, haha).

simple margarita

What can I serve simple margaritas with?

Obviously, Mexican food comes straight to mind, such as:

Margaritas are also great with some of these other appetizers and snacks:

Whatever you serve these juicy drinks up with, it’ll be a good choice! Once you make one you’ll realize just how easy they are!

Cheers!

Oh, and May the 4th be with you 🙂

simple margarita

simple margarita

Some other cocktails from the blog:

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simple margarita

Simple Margarita


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 16 reviews

  • Author: Katherine | Love In My Oven
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 1 cocktail 1x

Description

Want to know how to make margaritas at home? This is the BEST simple margarita recipe! It’s an easy, 3 ingredient margarita with basic ingredients. 


Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 oz good quality tequila*
  • 1 oz Cointreau (sub Triple Sec or Grand Marnier)
  • 1 oz fresh lime juice (~lime)**
  • salt, for the rim of the glass
  • ice
  • optional: 1/2 oz agave syrup or simple syrup, to sweeten up

Instructions

  1. Use a wedge of lime to moisten the rim of a short cocktail glass and place the glass onto a small plate filled with sea salt, lining the edge with salt.
  2. In a cocktail shaker with 3 cubes of ice, add the tequila, Cointreau, and fresh lime juice. If using syrup, add it to the shaker! Now shake it baby! For about 10-15 seconds or until the shaker feels very cold. Strain out the cocktail from the shaker into the salt-rimmed glass.  Top with large cubes of ice, and a wedge or lime. Serve immediately!

Notes

*Use a good quality tequila! Since we’re not adding any other sweeteners, you’ll want a smooth, great quality brand of tequila. We like Casamigos.

**In a pinch, you can use the bottled lime juice, but trust me when I saw fresh lime juice is 10x better!

  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Category: cocktails
  • Cuisine: mexican
Recipe Card powered byTasty Recipes

 

Simple MargaritaSimple Margarita

About Katherine

Heeey! Thank you for stopping by! I like 30-minute dinners and giant peanut butter cups made with only 3 ingredients. I LOVE food! If you do too, you're in the right place.

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36 Comments

  1. Wow…this is a perfect margarita…and that simple looks with easy to make….i will trying to made it..Thanks for sharing….!






  2. Normally I don’t like tequila, but for a margarita, I will always make an exception!






  3. Can’t beat a simple recipe that tastes delish and this one looks like it would be perfect for today! Cheers, my friend! Hope you have a yummy one 🙂






    1. Thanks Dawn! It’s definitely my drink of choice these days – especially on a hot summer day!

  4. Yummmm!! Margaritas are my favorite cocktail and this one does not dissapoint!! 🙂 Cheers!!






  5. Love a good margarita!!!! This drink looks so light and refreshing, I’m dreaming of sitting on a beach with this on one hand and a good book in another:)






    1. I KNOW I just wish I was on a beach with one of these (and a book) too!! Thanks Maria!

  6. I wish I had the ingredients to make one of these this weekend. I’d love to sip on one on my back deck, just let the sun shine on me and pretend I’m on a beach! We had tacos on cinco de mayo and these would have been the perfect addition to our feast!






    1. YES that’s exactly what I want to do too, Leanne!! Now we just need the actual sunshine to make that happen, haha! And they do go perfectly with tacos 😉

  7. This looks perfect as is!! I never thought about adding orange juice. That sounds delish too!!






    1. It adds a nice little bit of sweetness, you’d love it! Hope you had a great Mother’s Day weekend!

  8. I am a tequila girl too!! Not in a spring break kind of way either!! I just love that beautiful twist of lime in your photos and can’t wait to serve myself one of these!

    1. Haha, I think we’re both too old for the spring break kind of tequila enjoying!! Thank you so much Tasia!