Easy Cranberry Margarita for Winter
Our easy Cranberry Margarita recipe adds a delicious tart twist to the classic margarita! The addition of cranberry juice ups the flavor factor and creates an amazingly refreshing drink that you’ll love to sip anytime, anywhere. Cranberry is a great winter flavor that also works anytime, thanks to store-bought cranberry juice.
Why You’ll Love This Winter Margarita
A cranberry margarita is festive, gorgeous, and, best of all, easy to make at home! If you’re in the mood to explore margarita variations, this is one spin on the original 3-ingredient margarita that we recommend you try making.
Here are more reasons why we think you’ll love it:
- Cranberry juice has a refreshingly tart flavor that is easy to drink without being overly sweet like some fruit juices. And the juice pairs beautifully with tequila, orange liqueur, and fresh lime!
- The addition of cranberry juice gives this easy margarita a gorgeously deep red hue which makes serving it extra fun.
- Whipping up a cranberry margarita recipe takes only 5 minutes, and you only need four ingredients!
Related: Deadpool Margarita Recipe (Sea Breeze Margarita)
Thanks to its pretty red color, this Christmas cranberry margarita is served a lot during the holidays. However, you don’t have to wait for December to enjoy this tequila cocktail! Serve it during special occasions, Cinco de Mayo celebrations, parties, happy hour, or any time you’re in the mood for a tart and tasty margarita.
Ingredients
- Cranberry juice blend
- Tequila Blanco
- Freshly squeezed lime juice
- Orange liqueur
- Fresh cranberries, for garnish (optional)
We used Ocean Spray 100% Cranberry Juice Blend for this cranberry juice margarita. I picked this one because it has no sugar added, plus the cranberry flavor is really nice. Use whatever brand of cranberry juice you have or find at the store though.
For the tequila, we used Cimarron Blanco. This Blanco is a nice, additive-free, and easy drinking tequila. It’s one I consistently reach for when making tasty flavored margaritas! Feel free to use your preferred brand of Blanco, or even reposado if you prefer.
Triple Sec is a must for any cranberry margarita. But you can also use either Cointreau or Grand Marnier to give this cocktail a richer, sweeter taste to balance the tartness if you prefer.
We also prefer using freshly squeezed lime juice when making this recipe. Bottled lime juice can’t bring the bright citrus notes of the real thing.
For garnish, you can use fresh cranberries, put a slice of lime or lime wedge in the drink, or use a salted rim (like we did). The choice of how you can pretty up this cocktail is yours!
Be sure to scroll down to the printable recipe card for the complete recipe.
How to Make a Cranberry Margarita
Salt the Rim: Optional
Get a small plate and put some margarita salt on it.
Next, cut open a lime. Use a slice to moisten the rim of a margarita glass.
Flip the glass over, then dip it in salt on the plate until the rim is covered well. Set it aside while you make the cranberry margarita.
Related: How to Salt a Margarita Glass Rim Properly
Step 1
Add tequila, cranberry juice, Triple Sec, and fresh lime juice to a cocktail shaker.
Step 2
Add ice to the shaker, then shake the ingredients well for several seconds.
Step 3
Strain the mixture into the margarita glass with ice (and a salt rim if you like to serve them that way).
If desired, garnish with fresh cranberries or lime slices. Serve and enjoy!
Tips
- If you find the taste too tart for your liking, balance the flavors by adding some simple or agave syrup.
- If you use a sweetened cranberry juice, you may want to add more fresh lime to balance the flavor.
- If you don’t like using a lot of ice in your margaritas (which can end up watering them down), you can opt to chill the glasses and ingredients before using them.
- Alternatively, you can add some fresh cranberries into your ice cube trays before freezing to add a fun look to your margarita. It won’t add any flavor but it will look cool!
Variations to Try
Frequently Asked Questions
We love using blanco or silver tequilas for making this type of margarita since the flavors go well with the tartness from the cranberry juice.
But feel free to experiment with a reposado to give your cocktail more complex flavors!
You can mix many kinds of alcohol with cranberry juice. Vodka, tequila, Mezcal, and gin are the best alcohols to mix with cranberry juice to make delicious cocktails.
Cranberry juices are often labeled “100% juice,” which you want to use when making a cranberry margarita. On the other hand, cranberry cocktails often have a ton of added ingredients like refined sugar or syrup to sweeten them up and already contain spirits.
We hope you liked this easy cranberry margarita recipe! Try it next time you’re in the mood for something deliciously different from your go-to orders – you might just fall in love with it!
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More Margarita Posts
Recipe for Easy Cranberry Margarita
Equipment
- 1 Cocktail Shaker
Ingredients
- 3 ounces Cranberry Juice Blend
- 2 ounces Tequila Blanco
- 1 ounce lime juice
- 1 ounce Triple Sec
- Fresh cranberries optional, for garnish
Instructions
- Rim your margarita glass with salt.
- Into a cocktail shaker goes the tequila, cranberry juice, Triple Sec, and fresh lime juice. Use a jigger to make sure you’re using the correct amount of ingredients.
- Add ice to the shaker, then shake the ingredients well for several seconds.
- Strain the mixture into the margarita glass with ice and salt rim. Garnish with fresh cranberries or lime slices if desired. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- If you find the taste to be too tart for your liking, balance the flavors by adding some simple syrup or agave syrup.
- If you don’t like using a lot of ice in your margaritas (which can end up watering them down), you can opt to chill the glasses and ingredients before using them.
- Alternatively, you can add some fresh cranberries into your ice cube trays before freezing to add a fun look to your margarita. It won’t add any flavor but it will look cool!
