Best Orange Margarita
This really is the Best Orange Margarita recipe. It packs a citrus punch with the orange, lime, and Cointreau, and the sweet, smoky, salty, and slightly spicy rim adds additional depth of flavor, balance, and uniqueness. This margarita is the perfect accompaniment for tacos, enchiladas or chicken tortilla soup. Just make sure you have enough of each ingredient because you’re going to want to make another one!
Our Favorite Cocktail
Margaritas are probably our favorite cocktail. They’re the perfect blend of sweet and sour, with strong citrus notes that balance the earthy flavors of the tequila. They’re also super customizable. You can choose to keep it simple with regular tequila (blanco, añejo, reposado, etc.), or give it a smoky kick with mezcal.
While we love a classic margarita (blended or on the rocks, with salt on the rim, for sure), this orange version is even better than the traditional option. All you need for the drink is freshly squeezed orange juice, lime juice, a touch of simple syrup, tequila, and Cointreau. To take this cocktail over the top, we like to make a sweet and smoky mixture to coat the rim of the glass. In our opinions, it’s an absolutely necessary step.
Ingredients in the Best Orange Margarita Recipe
This margarita is super easy to make. It has three main parts: a simple syrup, the sweet and smoky rim, and the drink itself.
Simple Syrup
- Sugar – the key to any standard simple syrup is using equal amounts of sugar and water. We use regular white granulated sugar for this recipe, but you can use cane sugar or even brown sugar, if you want.
- Water – because we add this to a drink, make sure to use good tasting drinking water here.
Sweet & Smoky Rim
- Sugar – unlike traditional margaritas which have a salt rim, this version has some sugar in it too.
- Salt – we love sweet and salty, so you’ll need a little salt for balance.
- Chipotle pepper powder – this is where the smoky heat comes in. If you don’t like spicy things, you can leave it out, but we highly recommend including it.
- Chili powder – this may seem strange to include as part of a drink recipe, but we love the savory notes in chili powder with the sweet citrus flavor of the margarita.
The Drink
- Citrus – this margarita uses fresh orange and lime juices.
- Tequila – use whatever tequila you like best.
- Cointreau – while triple sec is more traditional, we love the smooth orange flavor of Cointreau with this margarita. You could use triple sec instead, but it’ll be a little less sweet and smooth.
- Simple syrup – depending on how sweet you want your margarita (and how sweet your oranges are), you may need ½ to 1 ounce.
How to Make The Best Orange Margarita
STEP 1: Make the simple syrup by combining ½ cup of sugar with ½ cup of water in a pot set over medium high heat. Cook the sugar and water, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the mixture to cool.
This recipe makes about ¾ cup of simple syrup. You won’t need very much for this recipe, so be sure to save the leftovers for another cocktail or mocktail later. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 weeks. You can also freeze it in ice cube trays.
STEP 2: Mix the sweet and smoky rim ingredients in a shallow bowl or plate. Run an orange wedge around the rim of a glass, and then press the glass into the sugary, smoky, salty, spicy mixture until the rim is coated. Alternatively, if you don’t want the sweet and smoky mixture around the whole rim, you can wet just a side of the glass or part of the rim and then dab that part into the mixture. Set the glass aside.
STEP 3: Add the margarita ingredients and a handful of ice cubes to a cocktail shaker. Place the lid and cap on the shaker and shake a few times to combine.
STEP 4: Add some crushed ice to the rimmed glass. Remove the cap from the shaker and strain out the liquid into the glass. Garnish with an orange and lime wedge, if desired.
FAQs: Best Orange Margarita Recipe
Sure! We prefer Cointreau for its balanced and more rounded flavor than triple sec, but both work great in this recipe! Cointreau is more expensive than triple sec, so that’s a factor, but it’s also higher alcohol. It’s up to you!
This recipe makes 1 drink, so if you want to make a pitcher, we recommend multiplying the margarita recipe by about 6. You’d need 12 ounces of fresh orange juice (1 ½ cups), 6 ounces fresh lime juice (¾ cups), 9 ounces of tequila (1 cup and 2 Tbsp), 9 ounces of Cointreau (1 cup and 2 Tbsp), and 3 to 6 ounces of simple syrup (6 Tbsp to ¾ cups). The recipe for the simple syrup makes enough for 6 drinks, and the sweet and smoky rim ingredients make enough for about 5 or 6 drinks too.
Of course! We prefer the sweet, smoky, salty, and slightly spicy flavors of the rim used in this recipe, but if you want to keep it simpler, a plain salt rim would be fine. Just keep in mind that these margaritas tend to be a little sweeter than traditional margaritas due to the sweet orange juice, so a plain salt rim might not have the same effect that it might on a regular sweet and sour margarita.
Best Orange Margarita Recipe
Ingredients
Simple Syrup
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup water
Sweet & Smoky Rim
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp chipotle pepper powder
- ½ tsp chili powder
The Drink
- 2 oz fresh orange juice
- 1 oz fresh lime juice
- 1.5 oz tequila about 1 shot glass
- 1.5 oz Cointreau about 1 shot; triple sec would also work
- ½ to 1 oz simple syrup depending on preference
Instructions
Simple Syrup
- Combine ½ cup of sugar with ½ cup of water in a pot set over medium high heat. Cook the sugar and water, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves, about 4 to 5 minutes.½ cup sugar, ½ cup water
- Remove the pot from the heat and allow the mixture to cool before adding it to the drink.
- Note: This recipe makes about ¾ cup of simple syrup. You won’t need very much for this recipe, so be sure to save the leftovers for another cocktail or mocktail later. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 weeks. You can also freeze it in ice cube trays.
Sweet & Smoky Rim
- Mix the sweet and smoky rim ingredients in a shallow bowl or plate. Run an orange wedge around the rim of a glass, and then press the glass into the sugary, smoky, salty, spicy mixture until the rim is coated. Set the glass aside.3 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, ⅛ tsp chipotle pepper powder, ½ tsp chili powder
- Alternatively, you could brush some orange juice onto part of the side of a glass, then roll that part into the rim mixture.
The Drink
- Add the margarita ingredients and a handful of ice cubes to a cocktail shaker. Place the lid and cap on the shaker and shake a few times to combine.2 oz fresh orange juice, 1 oz fresh lime juice, 1.5 oz tequila, 1.5 oz Cointreau, ½ to 1 oz simple syrup
- Add some crushed ice to the rimmed glass. Remove the cap from the shaker and strain out the liquid into the glass. Garnish with an orange and lime wedge, if desired.
