This Lemon Lime Margarita recipe is absolutely delicious and so easy to quickly make. It takes a classic margarita with lime juice and adds some lemon juice for an extra delightful and refreshing sip.
Ingredients
Adding lemon might just be the secret to a perfect margarita. With just a few simple ingredients you can make a great drink.
- Tequila: blanco tequila is the way to go for margaritas. It’s simple while still being robust and flavorful but won’t overpower.
- Lime juice: fresh lime juice is very important when making homemade margaritas - you want that homemade flavor with no extra sweeteners or additives.
- Lemon juice: same goes for lemon juice as lime juice! Fresh lemon juice is the best way to go.
- Agave: Because we’re using both lemon and lime juice which are both quite acidic, adding agave nectar to tone that down makes it a perfectly balanced cocktail.
Step by step instructions
Quite a simple margarita to make! It takes a classic margarita recipe and just makes a small tweak:
Prep: juice your lemons and limes.
1. Combine all ingredients. In a cocktail shaker (or mason jar) combine tequila, lime juice, lemon juice, and agave. Shake to combine and pour into a cup with ice cubes.
Alternatively, you could combine all ingredients right in a cup filled with ice and stir to combine.
Tips and tricks
While it's quite simple to make these delicious margaritas the below are some tips and tricks to perfect the recipe and even make it your own with some customizations.
- FRESH citrus juice – I know I mentioned this above but I cannot stress enough how important this is especially in this lemon lime margarita which has only 4 ingredients. You really can taste the difference between fresh squeezed citrus juice and store-bought.
- Garnish – I love garnishing this cocktail with a thinly sliced lime wheel and lemon wheel. It’s always fun to garnish with ingredients that are in the cocktail to pull it all together. You could also simply use a lime wedge or lemon wedge. Really whatever shape you'd like to cut the citrus in works!
- Make a salted rim – rub the rim of a glass with sliced lemon or lime and dip it in kosher salt for that classic margarita look. Or go a step further and make margarita salt which is kosher salt mixed with lime zest. In this case, add some lemon zest too!
- If you don't have kosher salt, coarse salt or even granulated sugar works although the latter will take it in a sweeter direction.
- Swap agave syrup for simple syrup – use an equal amount of simple syrup instead of agave if you prefer it.
- Simple syrup is equal parts sugar and water heated on medium heat until the water dissolves. Let it cool before you add it to your drink.
- Add some flavor into your simple syrup – thyme or lavender would be especially yummy in this recipe. Add them while you are warming the mixture to allow the flavor to integrate in.
- Equal parts lemon and lime – this recipe uses equal parts lemon and lime juice, but if you prefer one more over the other you can do 1.5oz + .5oz as opposed to 1oz + 1oz
- Type of tequila – I usually stick with blanco tequila (or silver tequila) for mixed drinks because it's mild in flavor. Something like a reposado (gold tequila) which is a bit more oaky or even mezcal which takes it to a smoky place would be great but you have to know what you're getting into and how the flavor profile will change.
- Add some spice – add a slice of jalapeño into your cocktail to make it a spicy lemon lime margarita.
FAQs
You can! I found with the combination of lemon and lime, adding orange into the party wasn’t also needed but if you really enjoy the flavor of it – add it in!
I typically use Cointreau, Triple Sec, or Grand Marnier
Sure! Just leave out the ice until you are ready to serve/drink.
Nope! Any glass will be great.
Sure! It'll be just a lemon margarita recipe in that case and not a traditional margarita, but totally works. In fact, lemon is a great substitute for lime in margaritas if you’re all out of limes!
I would avoid margarita mix.
To make a pitcher (in this case let's say 8 servings) you'll need: 1 ½ cups tequila, 1 cup lemon juice, 1 cup lime juice, and ½ cup agave.
Did you make this recipe? Leave a rating and review below and tag me on social!
Recipe
Lemon Lime Margarita
INGREDIENTS
- 1.5 oz blanco tequila
- 1 oz lime juice
- 1 oz lemon juice
- .5 oz agave nectar
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a cocktail shaker (or mason jar) combine tequila, lime juice, lemon juice, and agave. Shake to combine and pour into a cup with ice cubes. Alternatively combine all ingredients in a cup with ice and stir to combine.
NOTES
- FRESH citrus juice – I know I mentioned this above but I cannot stress enough how important this is especially in a cocktail with so few ingredients. You really can taste the difference between fresh squeezed citrus juice and store-bought.
- Garnish – I love garnishing this cocktail with a thinly sliced lime wheel and lemon wheel. It’s always fun to garnish with ingredients that are in the cocktail to pull it all together. You could also simply use a lime wedge or lemon wedge. Really whatever shape you'd like to cut the citrus in works!
- Make a salted rim – rub the rim of a glass with sliced lemon or lime and dip it in kosher salt for that classic margarita look. Or go a step further and make margarita salt which is kosher salt mixed with lime zest. In this case, add some lemon zest too!
- If you don't have kosher salt, coarse salt or even granulated sugar works although the latter will take it in a sweeter direction.
- Swap agave syrup for simple syrup – use an equal amount of simple syrup instead of agave if you prefer it.
- Simple syrup is equal parts sugar and water heated on medium heat until the water dissolves. Let it cool before you add it to your drink.
- Add some flavor into your simple syrup – thyme or lavender would be especially yummy in this recipe. Add them while you are warming the mixture to allow the flavor to integrate in.
- Equal parts lemon and lime – this recipe uses equal parts lemon and lime juice, but if you prefer one more over the other you can do 1.5oz + .5oz as opposed to 1oz + 1oz
- Type of tequila – I usually stick with blanco tequila (or silver tequila) for mixed drinks because it's mild in flavor. Something like a reposado (gold tequila) which is a bit more oaky or even mezcal which takes it to a smoky place would be great but you have to know what you're getting into and how the flavor profile will change.
- Add some spice – add a slice of jalapeño into your cocktail to make it a spicy lemon lime margarita.
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