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These clementine margaritas are a fantastic way to celebrate up the abundance of citrus available in the winter months! Made slightly healthier by sweetening them with honey and skipping the triple sec (because we’re adding lots of lovely orange flavor with the fresh clementine juice) they’re perfect for parties, celebrations and at-home happy hours!
See recipe card below for full list of measurements, ingredients, and instructions.
Why You’ll Love This Margarita Recipe
- The naturally syrupy-sweet flavor of winter clementines works so well with both fresh lime juice and tequila, so it is only natural to turn a bunch of clementines into a margarita! It’s bright, citrusy and refreshing, and because we’ve already got lots of orange-vibes flavor going on I’ve also made them refined sugar free by using honey as the sweetener, and skipping the orange liquor. This works as you can’t really taste the honey (just the sweetness!) and the fruit juice complements rather than masks the tequila.
- I’ve written this recipe to make just one drink so it can be easily scaled, but as it’s a margarita served on the rocks instead of mixing it in a cocktail shaker it’s just as well suited to being stirred in a tall pitcher before being chilled ahead of a party!
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What I Learned Testing This Recipe
- Depending on the sweetness of your clementines, you might not need any sweetener at all. I usually taste the juice before mixing the drink, and if it is particularly sweet add the honey after giving it a good shake.
- Roll both the clementines and the limes on the counter before juicing to release more juice!
- Choose liquid honey in a squeezy bottle rather than something fancier, as thicker, artisanal honey will struggle to dissolve properly in the drink. But, if it is all you have, whisk it with the lime juice until completely dissolved before making your margaritas.
- As I’ve written this margarita recipe without any refined sugar and honey is a bit too thick and sticky to make a good salt rim, use lime juice to make the salt stick instead of the usual simple syrup.
Ingredients
Fresh-squeezed clementine juice – For best results, do all the hard work and squeeze the juice a couple of hours ahead (perfect for party prepping!) and chill it before making your drinks. Clementines are at their best in the winter, you can also use tangerines, tangelos or blood oranges.
Fresh lime juice – Always use fresh citrus in a margarita, it makes such a big difference. Using bottled lime juice usually makes a margarita that tastes like you’ve made it from a cheap bottled mix.
Honey – My go-to to sweeten a margarita in a slightly healthier way which has the added bonus you don’t need to cool a homemade syrup before you can mix your drink! But, you can also use the same amount of simple syrup or agave.
Tequila – Use blanco tequila (silver tequila) in flavored margaritas as it doesn’t have any conflicting flavors that will mess with the clementine. Mezcal would be a good option too.
Salt – This is for the optional salt rim. I find fine sea salt or kosher salt does this best. If you’d like to make things salty-sweet, mix in some superfine sugar, or add some Tajín if you’d like to add a spicy kick!
Frequently Asked Questions
I find that I usually need 3–4 medium clementines to get ¼ cup of fresh juice, though the exact amount depends on how juicy they are!
You could and you’d still get a tasty drink, but what makes these clementine margaritas bright and refreshing is that they’re made with fresh juice so please do try them this way before changing the recipe!
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions or variations listed are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
Clementine Margaritas
Equipment
- Cocktail shaker with strainer attachment
- tumbler
Ingredients
- ice for the glass and the shaker
- ¼ cup fresh-squeezed clementine juice from 3–4 medium clementines
- 2-4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoons honey or more to taste (see note)
- 2½ ounces tequila
Salt Rim
- 1 teaspoon salt kosher or sea salt, to rim the glass
- lime juice to rim the glass
Instructions
- Rub a wedge of lime around your glass rim and dip into a plate of kosher or sea salt.
- Fill the shaker with ice, and pour over the clementine juice, 2 tablespoons lime juice, honey, and tequila in the bottom of a cocktail shaker and mix well. You want the cocktail shaker very cold to the touch. Taste, and add more lime juice if needed. Strain into the glass.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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