The Best Skinny Spicy Margarita
This is, hands-down, the best skinny spicy margarita recipe made with simple ingredients like fresh jalapeños, silver tequila, and agave nectar. This spicy cocktail has the perfect blend of sweet, tart, and heat with a touch of fizz for a refreshing and flavorful cocktail.
Whenever we go out for Mexican food I’m on the hunt for a good spicy margarita. Margaritas are one of my favorite cocktails. I get super giddy when I order one out at restaurants that exceed my expectations. Fresh jalapeños are absolutely essential, along with good silver tequila and a salty smoky rim. Oh, and on the rocks…definitely on ice is my favorite way to go. I’ve never really been a frozen margarita fan.
I came up with my own spicy jalapeño margarita variation and it’s been my go-to recipe ever since. I have never been a fan of overly sweet drinks. A good margarita needs to have enough sweetness to contrast the tart but not so much as to overpower the flavors in the cocktail. This blend of natural ingredients is perfectly balanced and SO refreshing. I actually crave them in the summertime. They are also perfect for celebrating Cinco De Mayo! These margaritas go down a little TOO easy, so whip up a batch of homemade guacamole, fresh salsa, or blistered shishito peppers to soak up that booze for the perfect happy hour combo.
Spicy Skinny Margarita Recipe Ingredients
- Tajin Seasoning– this flavorful seasoning is mixed with salt and goes on the rim of your glass instead of a plain salted rim for incredible salty smokey flavor with each sip.
- Coarse salt– a salty rim is a must! Coarse salt is combined with Tajin for the perfect festive margarita glass.
- Blanco Tequila– you want a good quality silver tequila for this cocktail recipe.
- Limes– fresh limes are essential for a fresh margarita!
- Agave Nectar– this natural sweetener replaces the simple syrup used in a classic margarita recipe. I also include a stevia modification to reduce calories and sugar even more.
- Fresh Jalapeño– fresh jalapeño slices are the key ingredient for this spicy drink.
- Fresh squeezed orange juice– Replaces Triple sec in a traditional margarita to cut sugar and calories and adds a subtle sweet orange flavor. For a more indulgent version, go with the Triple Sec. It’s amazing and little bit of this flavorful orange liqueur packs a big flavor punch.
- Club Soda– for adding volume and fizz without extra calories.
- Lowball Double Old-Fashioned Glasses– is the perfect size cocktail glass for this jalapeño margarita recipe.
How To Make Spicy Jalapeño Margaritas
In a shallow bowl, mix 1 tbsp of Tajin seasoning with 1 tsp coarse salt. I’m obsessed with this seasoning. My friend, Jennifer, introduced me to Tajin several years ago and now I can’t live without it. It’s SO good on fresh sliced avocado and makes a perfectly seasoned rim for margaritas. You can pretty easily find it in the Hispanic section of most grocery stores.
Slice one of the limes into 4 wedges and run a lime wedge around the rim of each of the lowball glasses. Dip each glass into the salt/seasoning mixture until the rim is coated. Set glasses aside.
Slice the remaining limes and juice them using a handheld citrus juicer, you should end up with 4-5 ounces, depending on the size of your limes. In a large cocktail shaker jar, muddle jalapeños (8 slices) and the 1 ounce of agave syrup together. Add 6 ounces of Tequila Blanco, 4 ounces of fresh lime juice, 2 ounces of orange juice (or Triple sec), and fill the rest of the shaker with ice. Fill each glass 3/4 full with ice and pour 1 ounce of club soda into each glass. Give the cocktail shaker a good shake, then pour the strained margarita mixture on top. Garnish each glass with an extra slice of jalapeño and a wedge of lime. Enjoy. Cheers!
For An Even Skinnier Version
You can lighten up the calories and reduce the sugar and carbs in this recipe by using stevia in place of the agave syrup. I usually will use 2 individual serving packets of Whole Earth sweetener for this recipe to make a skinny version. You can always adjust the amount of stevia by using one packet and adding more, to each glass if needed.
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Skinny Spicy Jalapeño Margaritas
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Tajin seasoning
- 1 tsp Coarse salt
- 6 oz Good quality Tequila Blanco
- 5-6 fresh limes You'll need 4 oz fresh lime juice for the recipe
- 1 oz light agave nectar *can sub with stevia-see notes
- 1 large jalapeño, sliced into 12 slices
- 2 oz fresh squeezed orange juice or Triple sec for a classic, more indulgent version
- 3 oz Club soda
Instructions
- In a shallow bowl, mix 1 tbsp of Tajin seasoning with 1 tsp coarse salt.
- Slice one of the limes into 4 wedges and run one of the wedges around the rim of each of the lowball glasses.
- Dip each glass into the salt/seasoning mixture until the rim is coated. Set glasses aside.
- Slice the remaining limes and juice them, you should end up with 4-5 ounces, depending on the size of your limes.
- In a large cocktail shaker jar, muddle 8 slices of jalapeño and the 1 ounce of agave syrup together.
- Add 6 ounces of Tequila Blanco, 4 ounces of fresh lime juice, 2 ounces of orange juice (or Triple sec), and fill the rest of the shaker with ice.
- Fill each glass 3/4 full with ice and pour 1 ounce of club soda into each glass.
- Give the cocktail shaker a good shake, then pour the strained margarita mixture on top.
- Garnish each glass with an extra slice of jalapeño and a wedge of lime. Enjoy!!
Notes
Nutrition
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The perfect Margarita. You control the heat and a touch of sweet I’ve made this at least 3 times this month ❤️
I’m so glad that you love them Sheila! Cheers!
Hey! How do you make this recipe in a large pitcher for a party? If I pour the club soda in with everything all together , will it still taste good ?
Hi Lindsay! I would use the measurements in the recipe and just mix the margarita ingredients, without the club soda, for the number of people that you are serving. Wait to pour in the club soda right before serving, or just add the amount into each glass after pouring the margarita mixture. You only need 1 oz of club soda for each single margarita serving.
What type of Agave nectar do you use?
Hi Meg! I use a light agave nectar, like Madhava, but I’m not really brand loyal on this. I’ve used different light agave brands with great results.