Easy Cranberry Margarita

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Author:

Isabel

Published:

December 12, 2018

This post contains affiliate links. See disclosure policy.

Filled with holiday cheer, this Cranberry Margarita is the perfect Christmas and New Years drink! Made with only 4 simple ingredients, it’s easy to make and comes together in only 5 minutes.

One of my favorite things about winter is the abundance of cranberries, so today I’m bringing you a festive Cranberry Margarita co*cktail to get the party started!

Filled with holiday cheer, this cranberry co*cktail is the perfect Christmas and New Years drink. Made with only 4 simple ingredients, it’s super easy to make and comes together in only 5 minutes.

Ingredients you’ll need

Cranberry juice
Blanco tequila
Triple sec
Lime juice

Which tequila should I use?

For this recipe, choose a high-quality blanco or silver tequila for the best cranberry margarita. The bottle should say 100% agave, but that doesn’t mean it has to break the bank. Here are a few tequilas I recommend.

Espolòn Blanco
Olmeca Altos
Casa Noble Crystal
Don Julio Blanco

Don’t forget the garnish!

To make this cranberry margarita look beautiful and festive, I rimmed the glass with sea salt and garnished it with fresh cranberries and a sprig of rosemary.

It makes the whole thing feel like a fun winter wonderland and I can’t help but have a huge smile on my face when I’m holding one!

For this recipe, I used a co*cktail shaker. I have one that I purchased at my local Target, but I’ve actually been meaning to replace it. It drips down the side when I’m shaking and pouring my drink and it can just get a little messy. I’ve been eyeing this one from OXO Good Grips in particular. It’s inexpensive, has a nonslip grip which is KEY and looks well-constructed.

But if you don’t have a co*cktail shaker, you can still make this. Just use a large glass and mix the ingredients with a spoon. It’s not as fancy, but it does the job.

More co*cktail recipes you’ll love

Classic Margarita Recipe
Frozen Margarita Recipe
Easy Sangria Recipe
Spicy Habanero Pineapple Margarita
Spicy Tequila Sunrise

4.70 from 50 votes

servings: 1 drink

Print Pin Review Save

Prep: 5 minutes minutes

Total: 5 minutes minutes

Filled with holiday cheer, this Cranberry Margarita is the perfect Christmas and New Years drink! Made with only 4 simple ingredients, it’s easy to make and comes together in only 5 minutes.

Ingredients

▢ kosher salt for rimming glass
▢ ice
▢ 4.5 ounces cranberry juice (3 shots from standard size shot glass), or more to taste
▢ 1.5 ounces blanco tequila (1 shot from standard size shot glass)
▢ 1 ounce triple sec (2/3 shot from standard size shot glass)
▢ 1/2 lime
▢ fresh cranberries and rosemary sprigs, for garnish *optional*

Instructions

Run a lime wedge around the rim of a glass and dip in salt. Fill the glass with ice.
Fill a co*cktail shaker with ice and add cranberry juice, tequila, triple sec and the juice of half a lime. Shake to combine.
Strain the co*cktail over the prepared glass and garnish with fresh cranberries and rosemary sprigs.

Notes

If you don’t have a co*cktail shaker, use a large glass instead and stir ingredients with a spoon.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1drink, Calories: 242kcal (12%), Carbohydrates: 10g (3%), Sodium: 23mg (1%), Potassium: 85mg (2%), Sugar: 7g (8%), Vitamin C: 13.2mg (16%), Calcium: 10mg (1%), Iron: 0.2mg (1%)

Author: Isabel Orozco-Moore

Category: Mexican

Heidi
March 11, 2024

I love a good margarita and this one is delicious! Thank you for this recipe, it’s a keeper!
Reply
Jo
December 22, 2022
Can we use Cointreau in place of the triple sec?
Reply
1. Ana @ Isabel Eats
  January 3, 2023
  See Also
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  Hi Jo! Yes, you can!
  Reply
Candice
December 16, 2022
Can this be premade?
Reply
1. Ana @ Isabel Eats
  December 20, 2022
  Hi Candice! Yes it can, just save the garnishes for when you serve it 🙂
  Reply
Sancie
September 2, 2021

loved this margarita recipe. will be making it for my next family reunion. thanks for sharing.
Reply
Adams
May 18, 2021
This is a very nice and educating tips I must say.
Makes it looks so easy, I really like and appreciate them. Nice one .
Reply
Brenda Nickel
December 26, 2020

Discovered this treasure of a recipe which I used Christmas Eve 2020. This was a delightful sweet-tart co*cktail that was as beautiful & festive as it was delicious! Thank you for also providing the option to change servings & for providing the recipe to make five drinks. I created frosted cranberries & used rosemary as a garnish. Us “women folk” absolutely enjoyed the entire 12 servings I made!
Reply
Tammy L
December 23, 2020
Hi Isabel, Do you use 100% unsweetened cranberry juice?
Reply
1. Ana @ Isabel Eats
  February 21, 2022
  Hi Tammy! It depends on the amount of sweetness you prefer. If you want it slightly more tart, yes we would recommend 100% cranberry juice instead of cranberry juice co*cktail.
  Reply
eric levine
November 20, 2020

Taught my g-daughter this recipe to teach her how to read a recipe and cook it. Came out delicious.
Reply
Nathan
November 19, 2020
Hi!! Should we use pure cranberry juice or cranberry co*cktail juice?
Thanks!
Reply
1. Morgan @ Isabel Eats
  June 4, 2021
  See Also
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  Hi! I’d recommend cranberry co*cktail juice.
  Reply
Lynn Meadows
December 2, 2019

Oooh this looks fantastic! It’s perfect for my next holiday party =) It looks pretty easy to mix. But I love your presentation. Makes everything look so festive.
Reply
1. Isabel
  December 2, 2019
  Thanks, Lynn! Cheers!
  Reply
Healthy Kitchen 101
December 26, 2018

Such a diverse recipe collection for cranberry this year. I have made from the cranberry sauce, salad with cranberry, pork with cranberry and now I should make another discover of cranberry margarita, shouldn’t I? xD
– Natalie
Reply
Sue
December 8, 2018
This recipe looks great and would love to make a large batch for a ladies Christmas Party, in a pitcher, so they can help themselves. Can you suggest amounts?
Reply
1. Ana @ Isabel Eats
  January 21, 2022
  Hi Sue! There is a cool feature where if you hover over the serving size number, you can adjust it to what you need and it will automatically adjust the ingredients for you!
  Reply
Carly Johnson
December 14, 2017
Does it have to be silver tequila? Or would Souza Gold work?
Reply
1. Isabel
  December 18, 2017
  Hi Carly, you can definitely use gold tequila if you’d like. It all works!
  Reply
regina
December 11, 2017
can you make this in a large pitcher?
Reply
1. Isabel
  December 18, 2017
  Absolutely! I’d put everything in a pitcher except the ice so it doesn’t get watered down.
  Reply
2. Saurabh
  April 24, 2019
  What would be the proportions though? How would you convert a cup recipe for a pitcher?
  Reply
  1. Isabel
    May 16, 2019
    Here are some estimates to make a pitcher of 5 drinks:
    2 3/4 cups cranberry juice
    3/4 cup + 3 tbsp tequila
    1/2 cup + 2 tbsp triple sec
    1/4 cup lime juice
    Hope that’s helpful!
    Reply
3. Annette
  December 5, 2019
  
  Can you use rum or something else other than Tequila? This looks soooo good!!
  Reply
Cait Weingartner
December 13, 2016
Oh wow! How absolutely delicious these Cranberry Margaritas look. These are going to be a “must serve” on Christmas Eve this year. Thanks for sharing!
Reply
1. Isabel
  December 13, 2016
  Thanks, Cait! They’d be great for New Year’s too!
  Reply
Nina Frambuesa
December 12, 2016
I LOVE cranberry juice, this is an awesome idea!!
Reply
Ellie | Hungry by Nature
December 8, 2016
Love this holiday spin on the marg!!
Reply
1. Isabel
  December 8, 2016
  Thanks, Ellie! I love that it makes the holidays a bit more festive 🙂
  Reply