This lemon margarita recipe is super easy to make using only 4 simple ingredients. It’s a nice twist on a classic margarita and is perfect for summer sipping.
Many different margaritas are sweet, refreshing options that you’ll enjoy sipping on all summer long. But one citrusy option you should consider trying out is the lemon margarita.
Also check out more great cocktail recipes our favorite brunch recipes, the best-mixed drinks, tequila cocktails, gin cocktails, vodka cocktails, and cheap drinks to make at home!
It’s different from our lemonade margarita, which is also so refreshing and good. This recipe is more of a traditional margarita but with lemon juice instead of lime.
How to Make a Lemon Margarita
Ingredients
Before you begin, make sure that you have the right ingredients.
- Tequila
- Cointreau
- Lemon Juice
- Lemon Zest
- Salt
Directions
Salt the Rim – First, salt the rim of each glass. See how to salt the rim of a glass below.
Shake – Add the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake for 20 seconds.
Strain – Simply strain the mixture into your prepared cocktail glass over ice or “on the rocks”.
Garnish – Add a teaspoon of lemon zest over the top. Then add a lemon wedge or a fresh spring of rosemary to garnish.
Lemon Margarita Variations
If you want to switch this cocktail up a bit, here are some different ways to do that!
- Skinny – Swap the simple syrup for agave or leave the sweater out of the cocktail.
- More Lemon – Add a dash of lemon liqueur to give the cocktail even more of a lemon flavor.
- Extra Boozy – Add a little mezcal or an extra shot of tequila.
- Frozen – Add some ice and the ingredients into a blender and blend it up. We always add a extra 1/2 ounce of simple syrup to our blended cocktails.
How to Make a Salt Rim?
It’s not particularly difficult to salt the rim of your cocktail glass. Spread out salt evenly on a dinner plate. Use a lemon, lime or even water to coat the edge of your cocktail glass.
Then, rotate the outside of your glass against the plate. Be careful not to get any salt on the inside of your glass, which can change the taste of your drink.
What to Serve With a Lemon Margarita on the Rocks
Margaritas go with a wide variety of different foods. Create your own Spanish food night, and serve your lemon margaritas with delicious queso blanco nachos, quesadillas, and other delicious treats.
Frequently Asked Questions
The answer is yes! If you prefer lime over lemon in your margarita, that’s absolutely an option for you. There are other substitutions you can make as well, depending on your particular tastes. Look at many of the margarita recipes out there to decide what’s right for you.
A margarita is a margarita because it uses tequila as its base liquor. Margaritas get their name from the Spanish women’s name, Margarita.
There are many different stories about where margaritas may have been invented, but one of the most popular stories is that the drink originated in Tijuana in the 1930s.
Tequila should almost always be the main alcohol in a margarita. On occasion, however, it is switched out with mezcal.
A margarita could also contain Triple Sec, Cointreau, different types of orange or fruity liqueurs, and other forms of alcohol.
Why Do You Put Triple Sec in Margaritas?
You put Triple Sec in margaritas because it adds more sweetness and helps bring out some of the complexity in the tequila and other ingredients. If you don’t have or don’t like Triple Sec, it can be replaced with simple syrup or with other replacement options.
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Lemon Margarita Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ounces tequila
- 1 ounce lemon juice, fresh
- 1 ounce orange liqueur, Cointreau
- 1/2 ounce simple syrup
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- salt , for the rim
Instructions
- First, salt the rim of each glass.
- Add the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake for 20 seconds.
- Simply strain the mixture into your prepared cocktail glass with a salted rim.
- Add a 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest over the top. Then add a lemon wedge or a fresh spring of rosemary to garnish.
katerina @ diethood.com says
This Lemon Margarita is amazing! I can’t wait to make it again and again!
Lily says
This was so refreshing, the perfect drink for a hot and humid day!! I could not get enough! I am making a pitcher of this this weekend and can’t wait!