Whip up these super simple blood orange margaritas in five minutes with blood orange juice, fresh lime juice, tequila blanco, and agave with a tajin rim for a vibrant, refreshing cocktail, perfect for taco night!
I love a good margarita, especially on a hot, sunny day – to me, they're the perfect way to wind down after a long day. Recently my go-to margs have been of the blood orange variety, thanks to their smooth taste and just the right amount of sweetness to balance out the citrusy acidity. Made with sweet-tart fresh blood oranges and simple ingredients, this blood orange margarita is the one to take you from the middle of summer straight into fall. Refreshing, juicy, and simple, it’s one of my favorite twists on the classic margarita.
About Easy Blood Orange Margaritas
These delicious margaritas go perfectly with a plate of enchiladas or tacos, homemade guacamole, and chips, or a refreshing watermelon and feta salad. I’d make this by the pitcherful for any outdoor gathering, vacation, Cinco de Mayo celebrations, or a low-key night just hanging out with friends.
Balancing the sweet, tangy, and boozy flavors is the key to a great blood orange margarita. I love classic margaritas, but what makes this drink so special is how the tangy blood orange juice compliments the tequila. The agave syrup enhances the citrusy flavors without overpowering them. You'll notice that my recipe doesn't include orange liqueur like Grand Marnier or Cointreau – to be honest, this recipe is sweet enough without it, but if you prefer, you can add ½ an ounce to each cocktail.
How to Make Blood Orange Margaritas
This is an overview of how to make blood orange margaritas. See the recipe card below for detailed ingredients and instructions.
This margarita recipe couldn’t be easier. First, rim your glass: Place your tajin, sea salt, or cinnamon-sugar mixture on a small plate, run a cut lime wedge over the rim of your glass, and dip the rim in the seasoning. Next, for a single drink, shake up two ounces of tequila, two ounces of blood orange juice, one ounce of lime juice, and ½ an ounce of agave with ice in a shaker and pour over ice into the rimmed glass, then garnish with a slice of lime or a blood orange wheel. For a whole pitcher of blood orange margs (because why not?), see below for ingredient measurements and instructions.
Frequently asked questions
These margaritas go great with any other south-of-the-border flavors. Try them with a plate of enchiladas or tacos, salsa or homemade guacamole and chips, or a refreshing watermelon and feta salad.
Of course! If you want to use more common oranges like the navel orange or cara cara orange, I would suggest finding in-season varieties and choosing the juiciest citrus available. Keep in mind, though, that you won't get the beautiful blood-orange color that you would with fresh blood-orange juice.
If you have any leftover margaritas (honestly I wouldn't know what that's like), you can keep them in the pitcher in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Tequila is the heart and soul of the margarita, and in my opinion, the best tequila for a margarita is silver tequila or blanco tequila, but you can also use tequila reposado or mezcal for a smokier twist.
If you prefer your margaritas less sweet, you can reduce the amount of agave syrup in the recipe – feel free to adjust to your liking.
If there's one piece of advice I can give you, the most important thing is to PLEASE use fresh limes for your margaritas! While I'm a fan of bottled or sparkling orange juice, fresh lime juice simply cannot be replaced. When picking limes for juicing, choose citrus with smooth skins, juice them at room temperature, and roll them between the heel of your hand and the countertop before cutting into them.
Variations + Substitutions
- If you don’t have silver or blanco tequila you can substitute with reposado tequila or mezcal.
- Sober-curious? You can easily substitute the tequila with a non-alcoholic tequila for a similar non-alcoholic marg.
- If you don’t have blood oranges, you can substitute fresh blood orange juice with blood orange tangerine Spindrift, blood orange San Pellegrino, blood orange sparkling juice, or use another variety of oranges.
- Fresh out of agave syrup? Sub the same amount of simple syrup or orange liqueur in the recipe (½ ounce per drink).
- If you don't like Tajin, you could also use a kosher salt rim or a cinnamon-sugar rim (trust me, it's delicious).
- For a spicy blood orange margarita, add a couple of slices of jalapenos into the cocktail shaker with the tequila-juice-agave mix.
- For a pitcher of blood orange margaritas (4 servings)
- 1 cup Blanco tequila
- 1 cup fresh blood orange juice (4-6 blood oranges)
- ½ cup fresh lime juice (about 4 limes)
- 2 ounces agave syrup
- Add all the ingredients to a large pitcher and mix well with a spoon. Rim the glasses by running a lime wedge over the rim of margarita glasses and dip the rims in tajin.
Related recipes
Still thirsty? Try out these cocktail recipes:
- A Game of Thrones-inspired Wildfire cocktail, made with Hypnotiq, vodka, and pineapple juice
- A refreshing watermelon margarita – perfect for using up leftover watermelon
- A frosty tropical frosé to cool you off in the middle of summer
Before you go...
If you make these blood orange margaritas and love them, please leave a comment and rate this recipe! I love to hear from you and do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram — seeing your delicious creations is my favorite!
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Blood Orange Margaritas
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 cocktail 1x
Description
These blood orange margaritas can be made in five minutes, with simple ingredients like blood orange juice, fresh lime juice, tequila blanco, and agave with a tajin rim.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces silver or blanco tequila
- 2 ounces freshly squeezed blood orange juice (you could also use blood orange tangerine Spindrift, blood orange San Pellegrino, or blood orange sparkling juice)
- 1 ounce fresh squeezed lime juice
- ½ ounce agave nectar
- Ice
- Blood orange wheel or lime wheel, for garnish (optional)
- Tajin, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
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Run a lime wedge over the rim of a margarita glass or a rocks glass and dip the rim in tajin.
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Combine tequila, blood orange sparkling juice, lime juice, and agave over ice in a cocktail shaker or a mason jar, and shake well.
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Strain the margarita into the prepared glass and garnish with a blood orange wheel or a lime wheel.
One more thing!
This recipe is a part of my cocktails collection — check it out!
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