This is my favorite non-alcoholic margarita!
There are 101 reasons why someone might not want to consume alcohol – right now, personally, we are in a season of less alcohol consumption for a number of reasons: physical health, mental health, young kids at home, etc. And in this season of less drinking, I’ve realized that having a fun, nuanced, actually good margarita in your back pocket that is more than just juice in a glass and doesn’t rely on alcohol is a really great life upgrade.
So basically, I make this all the time now. Multiple times a week. I keep my lime juice stocked, my simple syrup stocked, and it’s ready for me whenever.
How this started: we were having friends over for the Superbowl and we wanted a non-alcoholic margarita option for several of the friends in attendance. And I started googling.
A lot of the non-alcoholic margarita recipes I found online relied really heavily on just juices and sparkling water, and while I’m sure those taste great, they don’t have that signature bitterness OR anything really interesting happening with the flavor to make your mouth just light up with excitement and make up for the lack of alcohol. I really wanted something more fun and more special than just lime juice and orange juice with sparkling water.
So where we ended up is right here:
- lime juice
- jalapeño cilantro simple syrup – for heat, and also for a fresh herbaceous flavor
- tonic water – for a bit of bitterness and depth
- a Tajin rim – for texture, saltiness, and a fast punch of heat
Three ingredients, no alcohol, one really really happy mama over here.
I love this drink so much – now officially declaring this my Drink of Summer 2023.
For another knockout NA summer drink, this cucumber lime agua fresca has been made in our house at least 78 times. I love it so much.
A Really Good Non-Alcoholic Margarita
Total Time: 10 minutes
Yield: amounts for 1 margarita (but enough syrup to make many) 1x
Ingredients
Units
Scale
A Single Non-Alcoholic Margarita:
- 1.5 ounces lime juice (about 3-4 limes)
- 2 ounces jalapeno cilantro simple syrup
- tonic water to taste (see notes for subs, especially during pregnancy)
For the Jalapeno Cilantro Simple Syrup:
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 small bunch cilantro (leaves and/or stems)
- 1 jalapeno, sliced into chunks
For the Tajin Rim:
- 1 teaspoon Tajin
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- To make the simple syrup: bring the sugar, water, cilantro, and jalapeno to a low simmer in a small saucepan for about 5 minutes. You want the sugar to dissolve and some of the flavor of the cilantro and jalapeno to steep into the liquid. Strain out the cilantro and jalapeno, and reserve the syrup in a jar or small pitcher in the fridge for several weeks. I love having this on hand to throw fast, fun, easy drinks together!
- For the Tajin rim: Mix the sugar, salt, and Tajin on a small plate. Brush a bit of lime juice or simple syrup on the side or rim of the glass and immediately dip it into the Tajin mixture so it sticks to the side or rim of the glass. Beautiful!
- To make the NA margaritas: Throw a few ice cubes in the glass. For each marg, I typically use 1.5 ounces lime juice, 2 ounces simple syrup, and tonic water to taste. You can also use a shaker here to mix, or just pour it all into the glass and give it a gentle swish to stir. ENJOY YOUR MOMENT.
Notes
Tonic Water: Tonic water doesn’t have alcohol, but it contains small amounts of quinine which gives it that deliciously bitter flavor that mimics alcohol. Some people can be sensitive to quinine, and it is recommended to avoid it during pregnancy. If you are quinine averse for any reason, don’t worry – you have other options. If the bitterness is important to you, I would sub a sparkly water with some kind of bitter element to it, like grapefruit. You can also add a dash of your favorite bitters, which technically are alcoholic but they are used in such small amounts that many people use them in mocktails. If you don’t mind a drink that’s on the sweeter side, this is also delicious with any of the sparkling juices at Trader Joe’s (I *love* their sparkling watermelon juice in this) or any other retailers that sell fun varieties of sparkling drinks. A plain sparkling water like Topo Chico would also be great.
Limes: I buy a huge bag of limes for this and then just juice all of them at once so I have a bunch of lime juice in the fridge. I use this little juicer for juicing!
Pitchers: I use these adorable little glass milk pitchers every summer for storing my simple syrups, agua frescas, iced coffee, lots of different things. For these margs, I juice a bunch of limes ahead and then keep one pitcher of lime juice and one of the simple syrup in the fridge for superfast margs anytime the craving strikes! Ultimate life hack.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
Can I Drink This Margarita If I’m Pregnant?
Yes, but you should use something else in place of the tonic water.
As written, this margarita uses tonic water which contains quinine. It’s what gives it a bitter flavor and prevents it from being overly sweet. Since quinine is not recommended for consumption during pregnancy, I would probably recommend making this with some kind of alternative.
Alternatives to tonic water:
- A sparkling water like Topo Chico
- Quinine-free tonic water
- A bitter-forward sparkling water like grapefruit Spindrift or something similar
- Sparkling juice like watermelon juice from Trader Joe’s
I promise it’ll still be delicious – I make it with tonic water subs all the time!
And congratulations! ❤️
Can You Use Non-Alcoholic Tequila For This Margarita?
You could! I would just replace the tonic water with your tequila.
Personally, I don’t buy or drink non-alcoholic spirits just because they are expensive and we don’t use them often enough and historically I haven’t always liked the taste of them. So personally, I don’t use any NA subs.
I find that this combination of some “regular” ingredients will make an amazing stand-in for a margarita if you want to skip the alcohol, which is why I love this recipe! No special products required.
How Spicy Is This Margarita?
Not spicy at all. There’s heat, and you can definitely taste the jalapeño in the syrup, but it’s not hot in your mouth spicy. If you WANTED it to be more spicy, I would use a higher ratio of Tajin to salt / sugar on the rim, and I would also add another jalapeño or two to the simple syrup!