Cranberry Margarita

At a glance

What stands out: This cranberry margarita recipe is a festive addition to your Thanksgiving or Christmas menu, but is 100% rich all year round! It’s straightforward to mix and not too sweet.

How long it takes: 10 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: juicer, small pitcher
Servings: 5 cocktails, and it’s straightforward to double or triple the recipe.

We do a small-ish Thanksgiving: our parents, Ben’s parents, our sister and her family, and our family. That comes out to 8 adults and 4 kids and it’s always a relaxed and fun day.

Usually our mom comes over early and helps us cook a little (no surprise there, right?) and then everyone else comes and we snack on cheeseboards and appetizers, and sip on wine until the dinner is ready.

This year, we're thinking we need to make these margaritas instead of having wine for our appetizer hour. They’re fun, festive, and so rich (maybe too rich, actually, these are a little dangerous).

Cranberry Margaritas

A margarita plus. We’re not totally reinventing the wheel here. A cranberry margarita still boasts the flavors you’d expect in a classic margarita: lime, orange, and tequila.

Refreshing cranberry juice. The twist is the pretty red cranberry juice. It’s festive, tangy, and oh-so-pretty. We love cranberry juice in this cranberry gin and tonic with rosemary or a refreshing Bay Breeze cocktail, too. It’s nice and tart so your drinks aren’t sugary sweet. If you prefer a mocktail (no alcohol), our cranberry thyme spritzer is always a crowd-pleaser (and you can add gin for those who like it spiked).

Goes well with appetizers. Cocktails made with cranberry juice complement rich appetizers, or cheese and crackers. For a little fancier soirée, serve cranberry margaritas with this fancy-looking but straightforward-to-make baked brie topped with cranberries and bourbon pecans. For more informal gatherings, make from-scratch cranberry salsa (with only two ingredients!) and serve it with chips or crackers. From-scratch crostini topped with various goodies are always a hit, too.

What goes in

• Cranberry Juice: Look for brands that are 100% cranberry juice or an unsweetened cranberry juice blend. Cranberry juice cocktail is more of a cranberry beverage, with lots of sugar and not much cranberry.
• Tequila: Choose your favorite brand of plata, silver, or white (blanco) tequila. Look for one that is made in Mexico from 100% agave.
• Orange Liqueur (Triple Sec): Triple sec (or curaçao) is a dry orange liqueur, that has fruity flavors along with notes of bitter and sweet. Margaritas almost always include some type of this orange liqueur. Cointreau and Grand Marnier are a couple of well-known brands but there are many more.
• Orange Juice: Buy a few oranges and squeeze them for the freshest, best flavor.
• Lime Juice: Same with the lime juice. Don’t use concentrates or bottled juice — it’s just not as good.
• Garnishes: Lime wedges, orange wedges, fresh cranberries, sugar for the rim, you can choose one or use them all. Personally, we like to top the cocktail with a few fresh cranberries; the pops of dark red make this margarita extra pretty especially around the holidays. It’s also fun to serve these with sugared cranberries.

Ways to change it

• Double or triple the recipe if you’re expecting a crowd. It’s straightforward to do and the cranberry margarita mixture keeps well in the fridge.
• Substitutions: Try this with pomegranate juice instead for a pomegranate margarita. Another option is a pineapple margarita with pineapple juice.
• Make it sweeter: Add just a touch of simple syrup.
• Balance the citrus to your preference. This margarita is heavy on the orange because we love the way orange complements the flavor of the cranberry juice, but you could do more even ratios of lime and orange if you want. If you go this route, you might want to also add a little agave since lime juice is more tart than orange juice.
• Frozen margaritas: We haven’t tried it that way, but there’s no reason why it wouldn’t work to throw this in a blender with some ice and serve it that way.
• Like some bubbles? Try topping the cocktail with club soda.
• Looking for a punch recipe? Try strawberry margarita punch, it’s one of our favorites!

Make-Ahead Ideas

Make it in advance: Juice the oranges and limes, measure everything out, and keep the mixture in your fridge. You can prepare this the day before you plan to serve the margaritas, reliable if you know you’ll be busy cooking a big meal. All that’s left to do when it’s “margarita time” is rim your glasses with kosher salt and pour the margarita over ice.

• Yield: 5
• Prep: 10 minutes
• Total: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• kosher salt or coarse sugar for rimming glasses
• 1 ½ cups cranberry juice (see note)
• ¾ cup tequila
• ½ cup orange liqueur (such as Cointreau, Grand Marnier, Triple Sec)
• ½ cup orange juice, freshly squeezed
• ¼ cup lime juice, freshly squeezed
• fresh cranberries and orange or lime wedges for garnish, optional

Method

1. If desired, rim 5 glasses by dipping the top of the glass into juice and then kosher salt or coarse sugar. Add ice to the glasses.
2. Stir cranberry juice, tequila, orange liqueur, orange juice, and lime juice together in a small pitcher or another container.
3. Serve cocktails over ice in prepared glasses. Garnish with fresh cranberries or orange and lime wedges.

Notes

Cranberry juice: Look for brands that are 100% cranberry juice or an unsweetened cranberry juice blend. Cranberry juice cocktail is more of a cranberry beverage, with lots of sugar and not much cranberry.

Make it sweeter. Add simple syrup, to taste. If you use cranberry juice cocktail, the margarita will be sweeter.

Make a pitcher. This recipe is easily doubled or tripled and you can make it up to a day ahead. Store in the refrigerator.

Try a different flavor. Pomegranate juice can be substituted for the cranberry juice for a pomegranate margarita or try our pineapple margarita.