Smooth, vibrant and filled with bright strawberry flavor, this easy frozen Strawberry Margarita is the perfect cocktail for Cinco de Mayo and all the summer parties. A quick and easy blender margarita made with silver tequila, frozen and fresh strawberries, triple sec, agave syrup and lime.
Fun, fruity and ready in 5-minutes with just 5 ingredients!
Easy Strawberry Margarita Recipe
Whether you’re hosting a Cinco de Mayo celebration, enjoying Mexican-inspired eats or just want a quick and easy frozen summertime margarita, this frozen Strawberry Margarita is the perfect way to get the party started.
With just 5 simple ingredients and a blender you can quickly whip up a slushy-like, adults-only margarita that tastes like strawberry heaven!
A frozen strawberry margarita is a blended cocktail made with tequila, lime juice, orange liqueur and strawberries, mixed until thick and slushy. This version uses frozen strawberries for bold fruit flavor and an icy texture without watering the drink down. It’s easy to make at home and balanced enough to taste like something you’d order at an upscale patio bar, not overly sweet or syrupy.
I have personally tasted so many bad, watered-down, too-tart or sugary-sweet margaritas in my life so I was determined to develop the PERFECT frozen strawberry margarita for entertaining at home. This is the one and only recipe you’ll ever need – fresh, fruity and perfect on a hot summer day.
What makes a frozen strawberry margarita?
- Frozen strawberries or ice create a thick, slushy texture
- Tequila and orange liqueur give it classic margarita flavor
- Fresh lime juice balances the sweetness of the strawberries
WHY YOU WILL LOVE THIS RECIPE
The Ultimate Frozen Strawberry Margarita Recipe. This recipe is the one and only you’ll ever need to make best strawberry margaritas! Restaurant-quality and fruit-forward.
Blender-Only. How cool is that you only need a blender with this recipe?! Blend everything together until smooth and you’re good to go.
Enhanced Strawberry Flavor. To get the real benefits of a flavorful strawberry margarita cocktail, this recipe uses fresh AND frozen strawberries so we can use less ice and really, truly enhance the strawberry flavor.
Make-ahead. You can even pre-blend batches of this frozen strawberry margarita recipe and have them waiting and ready in your freezer. (Perfect for entertaining.)
Frozen Strawberry Margarita History & Culture
While the original margarita dates back to mid-20th century Mexico, the frozen strawberry margarita is a playful offshoot that originated and was shaped by American bar culture in the 1970s and 1980s, as commercial blenders and ice machines became standard behind the bar.
It became a staple of casual chain restaurants and patio bars, but rarely with real strawberries – mostly relying on strawberry purees and pre-made slushy mix.
INGREDIENTS NOTES
Here’s everything you need to make this easy frozen margarita. See the recipe card down below for exact measurements.
- Strawberries, fresh and frozen – fresh for garnishes, frozen for blending. Using frozen strawberries instead of fresh for blending into the margarita allows you to use less ice, making for a more profound strawberry flavor
- Limes – we’re going to juice 2, zest 1 and cut 1 into slices for garnish
- Silver tequila – Blanco (silver) tequila is ideal because of its crisp, clean flavor. Avoid aged (añejo) tequila, as it may overpower the strawberry flavors.
- Triple sec – Triple sec is an orange liqueur that adds a lovely citrus flavor to the cocktail.
- Agave or simple syrup (optional)
- Ice
Optional Garnish: Rim with a sugar and lime zest mixture or salt and lime zest mixture.
Substituions or Variations
Here are some easy swaps or variations based on ingredients you might already have on hand:
- Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri – Use rum instead of tequila, if desired
- Swap out the strawberries for different fruits, like mango, pineapple, peaches, watermelon, mixed berries, etc.
- If you need to use fresh strawberries, you may want to just serve your margarita on the rocks rather than as a blended, frozen drink as you’ll need much more ice to achieve the same frozen texture and the flavor will be diluted.
- If your strawberries are quite tart, use a sugar-lime rim instead of a salt-lime rim to balance the sweetness.
- If you don’t have agave or simple syrup, you can use honey or maple syrup to sweeten your drink. (Though sweetener is optional.)
HOW TO MAKE FROZEN STRAWBERRY MARGARITA
- Salt-Lime Zest Rim: Prepare the glass by rubbing the rim with lime, then dipping it into a salt and lime zest mixture; set aside.
- Blend it up: Blend tequila, fresh and frozen strawberries, and agave syrup until smooth.
- Make it slushy: Add crushed ice and blend again until thick and completely smooth with no ice chunks.
- Garnish and serve: Pour into the prepared glass, garnish with a strawberry and lime wedge, and serve immediately.
TIPS FOR SUCCESS
- The number one pro tip is to use fresh AND frozen strawberries to enhance the strawberry flavor. In this way, we can use less ice and really make the strawberry flavor the star of the show.
- Budget-friendly blanco (silver) tequila is a great option here as the strawberries tend to mask the flavor.
- Sweetener (agave or simple syrup) is optional, so if you like less sweet cocktails, omit the sweetener. Taste test the margarita after blending before adding the sweetener.
- Too thick? Add a splash of lime juice or water (orange juice or strawberry juice are great options if you have them on hand)
- Too sweet? Add more lime juice, to taste
Frozen Strawberry Margarita RECIPE FAQ’S
A. The trick to adding a rim to a margarita is extremely simple! Simply pour some salt into a plate and zest a lime into the salt. Rum the lime zest into the salt to impart the flavor.
Then, cut a lime into wedges and rub the wet part against the rim of the glass in a circular motion.
Dip the glass upside down into the salt and lime zest mixture and carefully press down.
(You can also swap the salt for sugar, if desired.)
A. Absolutely! The fresh strawberries are used only to enhance the presentation, you can easily create a delicious and vibrant frozen strawberry margarita with only frozen strawberries.
A. The difference between any margarita and a daiquiri is that daiquiri’s have rum instead of tequila! Although they have a very similar citrusy taste, margaritas originated in Mexico and daiquiris came from Cuba.
A: Yes, you can make the margarita a day or two in advance and keep the mixture in the freezer. The alcohol prevents the drink from freezing fully, retaining a slushy-like texture. You might want to give it a quick (re)blend just before serving.
What to Serve with Frozen Strawberry Margaritas:
Here are some food pairing ideas to elevate your sassy cocktail hour:
- Mexican Corn Ribs
- Blackened Salmon (on it’s own or as fish tacos)
- Chipotle Lime Shrimp Skewers
- Skillet Queso Dip
- 20 Mexican Meals the Whole Family will Love
Pin this Recipe for your Summer Cocktail Inspiration
Easy Frozen Strawberry Margarita Recipe (Printable Recipe Card)
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Frozen Strawberry Margarita
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Make a salt and lime zest mixture for the rim:Pour some salt into a shallow plate and zest a lime directly into the salt. Rum the lime zest into the salt to impart flavor.Cut a lime into wedges and rub the flesh against the rim of the glass in a circular motion. Dip the glass upside down into the salt and lime zest mixture and carefully press down. Set them aside.
- To prepare the frozen margarita mixture add the tequila, strawberries (fresh AND frozen), triple sec and agave syrup to a blender or food processor. Blend for about 30 seconds or until the mix is smooth.
- Toss in a bit of crushed ice and give it another blend – until extremely smooth. Blend until the there are no ice chunks left.
- Pour into the prepared glasses and garnish with a slice of strawberry and a lime wedge.
- Serve them immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
- 24 oz frozen strawberries
- 4 to 6 oz lime juice
- 12 oz tequila
- 6 oz triple sec
- 5 oz of agave syrup (more or less to taste)
- and up to 6 cups of ice.
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