Easy Cranberry Margarita - Isabel Eats {Easy Mexican Recipes} (2024)

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Isabel

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Filled with holiday cheer, this Cranberry Margarita is the perfect Christmas and New Years drink! Made with only 4 simple ingredients, it’s easy to make and comes together in only 5 minutes.

Easy Cranberry Margarita - Isabel Eats {Easy Mexican Recipes} (1)

One of my favorite things about winter is the abundance of cranberries, so today I’m bringing you a festive Cranberry Margarita co*cktail to get the party started!

Filled with holiday cheer, this cranberry co*cktail is the perfect Christmas and New Years drink. Made with only 4 simple ingredients, it’s super easy to make and comes together in only 5 minutes.

Ingredients you’ll need

  • Cranberry juice
  • Blanco tequila
  • Triple sec
  • Lime juice

Easy Cranberry Margarita - Isabel Eats {Easy Mexican Recipes} (2)

Which tequila should I use?

For this recipe, choose a high-quality blanco or silver tequila for the best cranberry margarita. The bottle should say 100% agave, but that doesn’t mean it has to break the bank. Here are a few tequilas I recommend.

  • Espolòn Blanco
  • Olmeca Altos
  • Casa Noble Crystal
  • Don Julio Blanco

Don’t forget the garnish!

To make this cranberry margarita look beautiful and festive, I rimmed the glass with sea salt and garnished it with fresh cranberries and a sprig of rosemary.

It makes the whole thing feel like a fun winter wonderland and I can’t help but have a huge smile on my face when I’m holding one!

Easy Cranberry Margarita - Isabel Eats {Easy Mexican Recipes} (3)

For this recipe, I used a co*cktail shaker. I have one that I purchased at my local Target, but I’ve actually been meaning to replace it. It drips down the side when I’m shaking and pouring my drink and it can just get a little messy. I’ve been eyeing this one from OXO Good Grips in particular. It’s inexpensive, has a nonslip grip which is KEY and looks well-constructed.

But if you don’t have a co*cktail shaker, you can still make this. Just use a large glass and mix the ingredients with a spoon. It’s not as fancy, but it does the job.

Easy Cranberry Margarita - Isabel Eats {Easy Mexican Recipes} (4)

More co*cktail recipes you’ll love

  • Classic Margarita Recipe
  • Frozen Margarita Recipe
  • Easy Sangria Recipe
  • Spicy Habanero Pineapple Margarita
  • Spicy Tequila Sunrise

Easy Cranberry Margarita - Isabel Eats {Easy Mexican Recipes} (5)

4.70 from 50 votes

Easy Cranberry Margarita

servings: 1 drink

Print Pin Review Save

Prep: 5 minutes minutes

Total: 5 minutes minutes

Filled with holiday cheer, this Cranberry Margarita is the perfect Christmas and New Years drink! Made with only 4 simple ingredients, it’s easy to make and comes together in only 5 minutes.

Ingredients

  • kosher salt for rimming glass
  • ice
  • 4.5 ounces cranberry juice (3 shots from standard size shot glass), or more to taste
  • 1.5 ounces blanco tequila (1 shot from standard size shot glass)
  • 1 ounce triple sec (2/3 shot from standard size shot glass)
  • 1/2 lime
  • fresh cranberries and rosemary sprigs, for garnish *optional*

Instructions

  • Run a lime wedge around the rim of a glass and dip in salt. Fill the glass with ice.

  • Fill a co*cktail shaker with ice and add cranberry juice, tequila, triple sec and the juice of half a lime. Shake to combine.

  • Strain the co*cktail over the prepared glass and garnish with fresh cranberries and rosemary sprigs.

Notes

If you don’t have a co*cktail shaker, use a large glass instead and stir ingredients with a spoon.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1drink, Calories: 242kcal (12%), Carbohydrates: 10g (3%), Sodium: 23mg (1%), Potassium: 85mg (2%), Sugar: 7g (8%), Vitamin C: 13.2mg (16%), Calcium: 10mg (1%), Iron: 0.2mg (1%)

Author: Isabel Orozco-Moore

Category: Mexican

Leave a Reply

  1. Heidi

    Easy Cranberry Margarita - Isabel Eats {Easy Mexican Recipes} (6)
    I love a good margarita and this one is delicious! Thank you for this recipe, it’s a keeper!

    Reply

  2. Jo

    Can we use Cointreau in place of the triple sec?

    Reply

  3. Candice

    Can this be premade?

    Reply

    1. Ana @ Isabel Eats

      Hi Candice! Yes it can, just save the garnishes for when you serve it 🙂

      Reply

  4. Sancie

    Easy Cranberry Margarita - Isabel Eats {Easy Mexican Recipes} (7)
    loved this margarita recipe. will be making it for my next family reunion. thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  5. Adams

    This is a very nice and educating tips I must say.
    Makes it looks so easy, I really like and appreciate them. Nice one .

    Reply

  6. Brenda Nickel

    Easy Cranberry Margarita - Isabel Eats {Easy Mexican Recipes} (8)
    Discovered this treasure of a recipe which I used Christmas Eve 2020. This was a delightful sweet-tart co*cktail that was as beautiful & festive as it was delicious! Thank you for also providing the option to change servings & for providing the recipe to make five drinks. I created frosted cranberries & used rosemary as a garnish. Us “women folk” absolutely enjoyed the entire 12 servings I made!

    Reply

  7. Tammy L

    Hi Isabel, Do you use 100% unsweetened cranberry juice?

    Reply

    1. Ana @ Isabel Eats

      Hi Tammy! It depends on the amount of sweetness you prefer. If you want it slightly more tart, yes we would recommend 100% cranberry juice instead of cranberry juice co*cktail.

      Reply

  8. eric levine

    Easy Cranberry Margarita - Isabel Eats {Easy Mexican Recipes} (9)
    Taught my g-daughter this recipe to teach her how to read a recipe and cook it. Came out delicious.

    Reply

  9. Nathan

    Hi!! Should we use pure cranberry juice or cranberry co*cktail juice?

    Thanks!

    Reply

    1. Morgan @ Isabel Eats

      Hi! I’d recommend cranberry co*cktail juice.

      Reply

  10. Lynn Meadows

    Easy Cranberry Margarita - Isabel Eats {Easy Mexican Recipes} (10)
    Oooh this looks fantastic! It’s perfect for my next holiday party =) It looks pretty easy to mix. But I love your presentation. Makes everything look so festive.

    Reply

    1. Isabel

      Thanks, Lynn! Cheers!

      Reply

  11. Easy Cranberry Margarita - Isabel Eats {Easy Mexican Recipes} (11)
    Such a diverse recipe collection for cranberry this year. I have made from the cranberry sauce, salad with cranberry, pork with cranberry and now I should make another discover of cranberry margarita, shouldn’t I? xD
    – Natalie

    Reply

  12. Sue

    This recipe looks great and would love to make a large batch for a ladies Christmas Party, in a pitcher, so they can help themselves. Can you suggest amounts?

    Reply

    1. Ana @ Isabel Eats

      Hi Sue! There is a cool feature where if you hover over the serving size number, you can adjust it to what you need and it will automatically adjust the ingredients for you!

      Reply

  13. Carly Johnson

    Does it have to be silver tequila? Or would Souza Gold work?

    Reply

    1. Isabel

      Hi Carly, you can definitely use gold tequila if you’d like. It all works!

      Reply

  14. regina

    can you make this in a large pitcher?

    Reply

    1. Isabel

      Absolutely! I’d put everything in a pitcher except the ice so it doesn’t get watered down.

      Reply

    2. Saurabh

      What would be the proportions though? How would you convert a cup recipe for a pitcher?

      Reply

      1. Isabel

        Here are some estimates to make a pitcher of 5 drinks:
        2 3/4 cups cranberry juice
        3/4 cup + 3 tbsp tequila
        1/2 cup + 2 tbsp triple sec
        1/4 cup lime juice

        Hope that’s helpful!

        Reply

    3. Annette

      Easy Cranberry Margarita - Isabel Eats {Easy Mexican Recipes} (12)
      Can you use rum or something else other than Tequila? This looks soooo good!!

      Reply

  15. Oh wow! How absolutely delicious these Cranberry Margaritas look. These are going to be a “must serve” on Christmas Eve this year. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

    1. Isabel

      Thanks, Cait! They’d be great for New Year’s too!

      Reply

  16. I LOVE cranberry juice, this is an awesome idea!!

    Reply

  17. Love this holiday spin on the marg!!

    Reply

    1. Isabel

      Thanks, Ellie! I love that it makes the holidays a bit more festive 🙂

      Reply

Easy Cranberry Margarita - Isabel Eats {Easy Mexican Recipes} (13)

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Easy Cranberry Margarita - Isabel Eats {Easy Mexican Recipes} (2024)

FAQs

How to make a margarita Wiki? ›

The IBA (IBA Official list of co*cktails) standard is 10:4:3, that is, tequila:triple sec:fresh lime juice. The "Original Margarita" recipe, as given by Cointreau on their website, has slightly more of their own sweet liqueur: 1 part white tequila, 1⁄2 part Cointreau, and 1⁄2 part fresh squeezed lime juice.

What can I add to my margarita mix to make it better? ›

A splash of fruit juice can also add some more flavor to your margaritas. Grapefruit juice will give a tart, slightly sour flavor, while pineapple juice creates a more tropical-tasting drink. "Citrus-based juices are essential for balancing out the sweetness of a margarita," David Alan told Insider.

How do you make Ina Garten margaritas? ›

Combine the lime juice, lemon juice, Triple Sec, tequila, and ice in a blender and puree. Place extra ice in a co*cktail shaker. Fill with margarita mix, shake well, and strain into glasses.

What is the formula for a margarita? ›

In the end, a good Margarita is a question of proportions. It is a simple formula: 2 – 1 – ½ . 2 parts tequila, 1 part lime juice, ½ part cointreau. I like to measure in ounces, because the correct proportions, measured as 2 ounces, 1 ounce, ½ ounces make the perfect sized drink for the glasses I like to use.

What are Mexican margaritas made of? ›

Today, the basic recipe is blanco Tequila (though reposado is a popular and delicious variation), mixed with lime juice and orange liqueur, often served in a glass with a salted rim. No matter the history, one can't argue this co*cktail's longevity. Here's how to make the margarita the right way.

How was the original margarita made? ›

1936 - Tequila Daisy

And it's probable that the Margarita co*cktail is simply a tequila-based Daisy - a family of co*cktails made with citrus juice, sweetened with syrup or a liqueur, and fortified with a base spirit that dates back to Victorian times.

How does Jennifer Aniston make her margaritas? ›

Aniston is a bit bashful that this skill has now been revealed, saying “it's barely a recipe”, but proceeds to share her knowledge with the world nonetheless. “It's basically silver tequila with lime juice shaken and over rocks,” says the former Friends star. “And some people like a little Cointreau, some don't.

Why do you need triple sec for margaritas? ›

In Margaritas, the inclusion of triple sec provides a luscious, warm citric note that counterbalances the lime juice's high acidity. Considering the relatively low ABV of most triple secs and orange liqueurs, the orange flavoring isn't as “juice-forward,” which allows the tequila to shine.

What is the best ratio of margarita mix to tequila? ›

If you're looking for a recipe for the perfect margarita, this is it. A classic 3-2-1 margarita is all about ratio. A proper margarita is based on the 3-2-1 ratio of tequila, orange liqueur, (good triple sec, Grand Marnier, or Cointreau), and lime juice. It is not frozen, but rather, served on the rocks.

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