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A good margarita recipe is a difficult thing to come by these days. We all have our favorite restaurant margarita that has the perfect amount of tequila, salt and fresh lime juice. Sometimes it’s hard to recreate our favorite restaurant margarita, but i’m pretty confident I have this homemade margarita recipe perfected.

Here at My Crazy Good Life, we love margaritas. We love creating flavorful margarita recipes and homemade cocktails, and enjoying all of the recipes responsibly.

images and text of classic margarita recipe for pinterest

A couple of years ago I ran across an almost perfect classic margarita recipe. A few tweaks and here it is–my very favorite classic “house” margarita recipe. When serving for a crowd, our Classic Margarita Recipe is the perfect margarita recipe.

Where’s the Recipe?

Here at My Crazy Good Life we strive to support all of our readers in the kitchen. We know that we have readers with all different levels of expertise in the kitchen. Some are beginning their cooking journey, while others have been cooking for decades.

We write our recipes with this in mind. In each recipe you’ll find detailed instructions, tips and tricks, healthy eating plan information, and nutritional values. If you are ready for a more simplified set of instructions, simply scroll to the bottom of the page where you’ll find this easy to print Classic Margarita Recipe.

Ingredients in Classic Margarita Recipe

  • Ice: Ice is one of the most important margarita ingredients. Margaritas are most delicious when chilled with ice.
  • Tequila: We think blanco tequila is the best tequila for margaritas. We prefer the blanco tequila over reposado tequila. However, all good quality tequila is the perfect tequila for our classic margarita recipe.
  • Simple syrup: We prefer using a simple syrup over a margarita mix. We can limit the amount of sugar and use fewer ingredients than what is found in a classic margarita mix.
  • Cointreau: Cointreau and lime juice are the perfect combination. Cointreau is a brand orange liqueur also known as triple sec. They do sell tequila orange liqueur, but we prefer using the classic orange liquor Cointreau in our recipe. Grand Marnier is another orange liqueur that many people use in classic margaritas. We prefer the flavor of the Cointreau orange liqueur over the flavor of Grand Marnier. Do you prefer Cointreau or Grand Marnier in your margaritas?
  • Lime juice: We love using freshly squeezed lime juice over bottled lime juice for this recipe, we also recommend saving a lime or two for a nice lime wedge or lime slice garnish. Pair the tequila, orange liqueur and lime juice together and you have a delicious cocktail!
  • Lemon juice: Most margarita mixes don’t include lemon juice, but we LOVE adding it in our margarita recipe.
ingredients needed to make classic margarita recipe

How to Make Classic Margarita Recipe

  1. Add a few ice cubes to your margarita glass. Add tequila and other ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice.
  2. Shake shake shake.
  3. Pour into margarita glass and drink responsibly. Garnish with lime slices or lime wedges.
two classic margaritas in glasses with a lime wedge garnish

Recipe Tips

  • This recipe makes a single margarita. If you would like to increase the amount to serve to multiple guests, simply toggle the serving settings on the recipe card and make a pitcher of margaritas.
  • This recipe is super strong–I’d definitely suggest drinking this when you’re home and not driving. It’s a tad sweet so you can’t taste the tequila–watch out!
  • We prefer using simple syrup in this recipe, however you could also swap out and use agave syrup or agave nectar to sweeted your margarita. Please note that we haven’t tested the recipe with agave syrup or agave nectar.
  • We also enjoy a salted rim. You can use either margarita salt or kosher salt on the rim of your glass. To do this, take a lime wedge around the rim of the glass so it is wet. After you move the lime wedge around the glass, simply dip the rim into a plate of salt.
  • Everyone has their personal margarita preferences–flavored margaritasskinny margaritasbeer margaritas, and even some prefer margarita cupcakes or ice pops. If you prefer a spicy margarita, you’ll have to give our Jalapeño Grapefruit Margarita a try!
  • You could make this non-alcoholic by using non-alcoholic spirits. We haven’t tasted this recipe, but it could be the best margarita recipe free of alcohol! Be sure to find an alcohol free version of triple sec. You’ll want the subtle flavors of the orange in your margarita. You could also add a splash of orange juice instead of using an orange liqueur.
  • Fresh lime juice is a must when attempting to make the best margarita. The bottled lime juice just isn’t as delicious as fresh lime juice. Trust us, it’s worth the extra effort of squeezed lime juice.
  • You could turn this into a frozen margarita by blending extra ice and ingredients in the blender, however we prefer to enjoy it on the rocks-it’s absolutely delicious.
classic margarita recipe in a glass with a lime wedge garnish

If you’re looking for some flavored margaritas, I’d check out these favorites:

Healthy Eating Plan Points

Weight Watchers

Freestyle Smart Points:16 points

2023 Points: 19

classic margarita recipe in a glass with a lime wedge garnish
5 from 2 ratings
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Classic Margarita Recipe

Created by: Becca Ludlum
Prep Time 4 minutes
Total Time 4 minutes
Servings 1
Everyone needs a tried and true margarita recipe. Here’s my #1 favorite classic margarita recipe for you to share with your guests.

Ingredients 

  • ice
  • 2 oz. tequila
  • 2 oz. simple syrup
  • 1 oz. Cointreau
  • 1 oz. lime juice freshly squeezed
  • 1 oz. lemon juice freshly squeezed

Crushed ice

Salt or lime for garnish

Instructions

  • Add ice to your glass and other ingredients to a cocktail shaker. ice, 2 oz. tequila, 2 oz. simple syrup, 1 oz. Cointreau, 1 oz. lime juice, 1 oz. lemon juice
  • Shake shake shake.
  • Pour and enjoy.

Notes

Weight Watchers 2023 Points: 19
Weight Watchers Freestyle Smart Points: 16

Nutrition

Calories: 384kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 37mg | Potassium: 36mg | Sugar: 52g | Vitamin C: 19mg | Iron: 2mg

Make This Recipe?

Make sure to follow on Pinterest @bludlum and on Instagram @beccaludlum

 

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One Comment

  1. Natasha Rand says:

    We love Margies in the UK and we’ve found that if you put some jalapeño chillies in the bottle of 100% Agave tequila,(leave for a couple of weeks) then mix a straight authentic margarita with 1 part tequila 2 parts cointreau, lime juice and we make it a long drink by letting it out with some blood orange juice… it’s a perfect Friday drink for us mum’s to relax on a summers afternoon with!!
    xTash

5 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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