The Best Frozen Lime Margaritas

Freeze your margarita base the night before to create slushy, restaurant-style frozen margaritas at home.

By
Maggie Hoffman
Maggie Hoffman is a contributing writer at Serious Eats.
Maggie Hoffman
Maggie Hoffman is a longtime food and drink expert whose recipes and cocktail-making tips can be found on her newsletters What to Drink and The Dinner Plan. She is the author of  The One-Bottle Cocktail and Batch Cocktails, both published by Ten Speed Press.
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Updated August 27, 2024
Closeup of slushy lime margarita in stemmed margarita glass against black background

Serious Eats / Robyn Lee

Why It Works

  • Letting the margarita base thoroughly chill for at least 8 hours in the freezer will guarantee the finished cocktail will stay perfectly slushy.
  • You can store the pre-mixed base in the freezer for up to a week.

In a hot kitchen, you can't just dump fresh lime, tequila, Cointreau, and simple syrup in a blender with ice: As you whir it, the room-temperature liquid melts the ice, so you get a cool, but not brain-freezing-frozen margarita.

The secret to real slushie-style margaritas at home (as opposed to the classic margarita on the rocks), without using corn syrup or artificial flavors, is to make your margarita base the day before and keep it in a sealed container in your freezer. The mix won't freeze, since there's so much alcohol and sugar in it, but it will drop way down in temperature: Ours clocked in at 5°F (-15°C) after an overnight rest. When the party starts, throw your ice in the blender, add your super-cold homemade margarita mix, get it whirring on "ice crush," and you're good to go. The result will be sweet-tart, boozy, and totally refreshing.

April 2012

Recipe Details

The Best Frozen Lime Margaritas Recipe

Prep 5 mins
Active 15 mins
Freezing Time 8 hrs
Total 8 hrs 5 mins
Serves 3 servings

Ingredients

  • 4 ounces (1/2 cup; 120ml) silver tequila (100% agave)

  • 2 ounces (1/4 cup; 60ml) high-quality triple sec, such as Cointreau

  • 2 1/2 ounces (5 tablespoons; 75ml) lime juice, from 4 to 5 limes

  • 4 ounces (5 tablespoons; 75ml) simple syrup (see note)

  • 12 ounces ice (about 3 cups)

Directions

  1. At Least 8 Hours Before Serving: Combine tequila, triple sec, lime juice, and simple syrup in a sealable container that will fit in your freezer. Seal and place in freezer for at least 8 hours and up to 1 week (the mixture will remain completely liquid).

  2. When you are ready to serve, add ice and tequila mixture to blender. Blend on highest setting, pulsing and scraping down sides as necessary, until completely smooth. Serve immediately.

Special Equipment

Blender

Notes

For best results, chill the base for the margaritas at least eight hours before blending. The base mixture can be doubled before it's placed in the freezer, but you'll need to work in two separate batches when blending. To make simple syrup, combine equal volumes of sugar and water in a small saucepan and heat until the sugar is dissolved.

Make Ahead

The mixture can be made up to a week in advance and stored in the freezer.

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
281Calories
0gFat
53gCarbs
0gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 3
Amount per serving
Calories281
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g0%
Saturated Fat 0g0%
Cholesterol 0mg0%
Sodium 12mg1%
Total Carbohydrate 53g19%
Dietary Fiber 0g1%
Total Sugars 48g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 14mg68%
Calcium 11mg1%
Iron 0mg0%
Potassium 30mg1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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