This refreshing skinny margarita recipe boasts less calories than the classic! All you need is 4 ingredients and 5 minutes.
Want a margarita recipe with less calories? There’s a solution for that: the Skinny Margarita! Yes, a Skinny Margarita recipe is a thing: it’s a lighter version of this classic drink. From the first sip, we realized this drink is extraordinarily tasty: we didn’t feel like we had to give anything up. Using lots of lime, orange juice, and a little less tequila, it’s possible to make a margarita that tastes as good as the real thing (we think!). The ultra refreshing “Skinny” is now a part of our go-to margarita recipes.
What’s a Skinny Margarita?
A skinny margarita is a margarita designed to have less calories than the standard recipe. A classic margarita is a mix of tequila, lime juice, and Cointreau (orange liqueur). Here’s the key to removing calories from a cocktail: cut back on the alcohol! Here are the ingredients you’ll use for a Skinny Margarita recipe
- Tequila (about 2/3 the normal quantity)
- Lime juice
- Orange juice (instead of Cointreau)
- Maple syrup (just a hint!)
This Skinny margarita has 100 calories per drink, which is 40% less calories than our Classic Margarita.
How to make a Skinny Margarita
To mix up your own Skinny Margarita, there’s not much to it! Just mix the ingredients together, and serve it on the rocks (with ice). You don’t even need to use a cocktail shaker with this one, which makes it even easier. Here’s what to do:
- Rim the glass with salt. Salt enhances the sweet and sour flavors in the drink, and gives you that classic margarita flavor.
- Stir together in a mixing glass. Take that tequila, lime juice, and orange juice, and stir it together in a cocktail mixing glass or large glass of any kind.
- Strain into a glass and add ice. Strain the drink into a glass and add ice. You can use the classic margarita glass, but we like using a lowball glass like the one you see in the photos.
Use a cocktail mixing glass…or any glass! No need for a shaker.
Because this Skinny Margarita has less alcohol, you’ll want it less diluted when you’re serving it. So actually don’t want to shake it together in a cocktail shaker! You’ll just mix everything together with ice, then stir and strain into the serving glass.
We used this cocktail mixing glass, which is used just for this purpose! They look beautiful and can be used for lots of different drinks (like the Manhattan, Toronto, and Cadillac Margarita, to name a few). Or, you can use any glass or container to mix the drink.
Step it up: try our margarita salt!
This Skinny Margarita is perfect with any kosher salt or flaky sea salt. But if you want to make it look even more festive, try a batch of our Margarita Salt. The green and orange colors of lime and orange zest look beautiful against the glass. Alex and I love doing this for entertaining.
Step it up even more: use clear ice!
Want to know the secret to professional looking cocktails made at home? Clear ice. What is it? I thought Alex was crazy when he told me he wanted to make a recipe for it. Clear ice is artisanal ice used in cocktails because of its crystal clear look and beautiful organic shapes. We try to have a batch ready before we have a cocktail hour because this ice truly steals the show.
You can make clear ice at home and it’s so easy! All you need is a small cooler and 24 hours, and your cocktails will look like you ordered it in a fancy bar. Here’s how to make clear ice.
When to serve a Skinny Margarita
The Skinny Margarita is really perfect for anytime you’d serve a regular margarita! Chances are, your guests won’t know the difference.
- Happy hour drink
- Dinner party drink
- Late night drinks drink
- Guys or girls night drink
- Cocktail hour drink
More low calorie drinks
Looking to cut calories on your drinks? Here are our top low calorie alcoholic drinks where you don’t have to give up flavor:
- Try a White Wine Spritzer: it’s just 68 calories per serving!
- Go for a fruity Sea Breeze
- Opt for a bubbly Vodka Soda
- Try a Skinny Ranch Water
Best Skinny Margarita Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 drink 1x
Description
This refreshing skinny margarita recipe boasts less calories than a classic marg! All you need is 4 ingredients and 5 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) tequila blanco or reposado*
- 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) fresh lime juice
- 1 ½ ounces (3 tablespoons) fresh squeezed orange juice
- ½ teaspoon maple syrup
- Kosher salt or flaky sea salt, for the rim
- For the garnish: Lime wedge
Instructions
- Cut a notch in a lime wedge, then run the lime around the rim of a glass. Dip the edge of the rim into a plate of flaky sea salt (or for a festive look, use our Margarita Salt).
- Place the tequila, lime juice, orange juice, and maple syrup in a mixing glass and fill with ice. Stir until cold.
- Strain the margarita into the glass with the salted rim. Serve immediately.
- Category: Drink
- Method: Stirred
- Cuisine: Cocktails
Keywords: Skinny Margarita, Skinny margarita recipe, How to make a skinny margarita
More great margaritas
This Skinny Margarita is super refreshing and a nice twist on the classic. Here are a few more great classic cocktails and margarita recipes you might enjoy:
- Classic: Simple, Patron, Agave, or Cointreau Margarita
- Light: Virgin or Frozen
- Boozy: Mezcal Margarita or Cadillac Margarita
- Fruity: Mango, Peach, Watermelon, Blackberry, Strawberry, Pineapple, Orange, or Grapefruit Margarita
- Spicy: Jalapeno Margarita, Cucumber Jalapeno or Pineapple Jalapeno Margarita
- Unique: Italian Margarita, Blue Margarita, Cucumber Margarita or Beer Margarita
- Batch: Margarita Pitcher, Margarita Mix
