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A delicious drink for a Cinco de Mayo happy hour or your next Taco Tuesday, this delicious fresh strawberry margarita on the rocks is full of simple ingredients like real strawberries and fresh lime.

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Strawberry season is the BEST in Michigan. The berries taste so different when they’ve been allowed to ripen on the vine (vs on a truck from California).
My daughter and I pick many, MANY pounds of strawberries each year and with that comes an influx of delicious strawberry recipes. These fresh strawberry margaritas are one of my favorite ways to use those fantastic berries.
Because this easy margarita recipe uses fresh strawberries (instead of strawberry puree), the strawberry flavor is a bit more subtle. Want more strawberry taste? Add another berry or two to the cocktail shaker when you’re muddling and/or swap out the simple syrup for strawberry syrup.
Why serve homemade margaritas on the rocks? Because I’m too lazy to get out a blender. (That’s the honest answer.)
And because when it comes to cocktails - especially margaritas - I like my ice in cube form instead of whirred into the ingredients. Can you make this into a frozen margarita? Absolutely. Just add all of the ingredients into a blender instead of a cocktail shaker, along with 4-5 ice cubes, and blend it up!
Ingredients
- Blanco or Silver tequila
- A lime
- Simple syrup
- Orange liqueur
- Fresh, ripe strawberries
- Salt and/or sugar (for garnish)
How to Make a Strawberry Margarita on the Rocks
Prep Your Glass:
Mix together equal parts coarse salt and white sugar crystals in a shallow dish.
Run a slice of lime around the rim of a rocks glass.
Dip the rim of the glass into the salt-sugar mixture.
Fill your glass with fresh ice and set aside.
Make Your Drink:
Cut the greens off the strawberry and slice it up.
Place the strawberry slices and lime juice in a cocktail shaker.
Muddle to crush the strawberries.
Add tequila, simple syrup, and orange liqueur.
Fill the shaker half full with ice cubes.
Cover and shake well.
Strain into your prepared glass.
Garnish with a lime wedge and/or small strawberry.
Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Want to really go over-the-top with your garnish? Finely crush some freeze dried strawberries and mix them with coarse salt and/or sugar crystals and use it for rimming the glass. NOTE: Use this mixture immediately. If you let it sit, the strawberry pieces will soften and it will get gummy and unusable.
- Leave out the sugar for a salted rim, or leave out the salt for a sugar rim. I love them mixed together, but that's personal preference so make it your own!
- Fresh-squeezed lime juice is what makes for a great margarita. Skip the margarita mix, the sour mix, the bottled lime juice - all of it! Grab a bunch of limes and squeeze the fresh juice. It makes so much of a difference.
- Don't want to use simple syrup in your fresh strawberry margarita cocktail? Swap it for agave nectar or agave syrup.
Try These Strawberry Drinks
How to Up the Strawberry Flavor
Want to increase the amount of strawberry flavor in your cocktail? Swap out the regular simple syrup for strawberry syrup for lots of big strawberry flavor in your margarita. >Get the recipe for my homemade strawberry syrup
FAQs and Substitutions
Choose your favorite good blanco tequila or silver tequila. My go-to is Jose Cuervo Silver Tequila. Skip the gold or reposado tequila for this recipe. They’re aged in oak barrels and that flavor will overwhelm the strawberry in this drink.
I prefer Cointreu in my margaritas, but you could use a different orange liqueur like Grand Marnier or triple sec in your drink if you prefer, or if that’s what you have on hand.
YES! Please, please skip the bottled lime juice and any kind of margarita or sour mix and squeeze fresh citrus. It won’t take long, doesn’t cost a lot, and makes a huge difference in the flavor of your drink.
Yes. Let them thaw completely before using so they’re easy to muddle. If using slices, thaw out 4-5 per drink. For whole berries, just thaw 1 (or 2 if preferred).
Make a frozen version by skipping the muddling and adding all of your measured cocktail ingredients into a blender, along with 4-5 ice cubes. Blend on high speed until everything is thoroughly combined.
You make it! Combine ½ cup hot water with ½ cup white sugar. Stir unit the sugar is dissolved, then put the syrup in the refrigerator until it's ready to use. Get more information and tips over on my Simple Syrup Recipe page.
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PrintFresh Strawberry Margaritas On The Rocks
This delicious homemade strawberry margarita recipe is the perfect way to enjoy a fruity margarita on a warm summer night.
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 0 min
- Total Time: 5 min
- Yield: 1 cocktail 1x
- Category: Cocktails
- Method: Cocktail Shaker
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 oz silver tequila
- 1 oz fresh lime juice
- 1 oz simple syrup
- 0.5 oz orange liqueur
- 1 large fresh strawberry
- Salt and sugar
Instructions
Mix together equal parts coarse salt and white sugar crystals in a shallow dish.
Run a slice of lime around the rim of a rocks glass.
Dip the rim of your glass into the salt-sugar mixture.
Fill your glass with ice and set aside.
Cut the greens off the strawberry and slice it up.
Place the strawberry slices in a cocktail shaker.
Add lime juice and muddle to crush the strawberry.
Add tequila, simple syrup, and orange liqueur.
Fill the shaker half full with ice cubes.
Cover and shake well.
Strain into your prepared glass.
Garnish with a lime wheel and/or small strawberry.
Enjoy!
Notes
For the simple syrup, combine ½ cup hot water with ½ cup sugar. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Cool completely before using.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cocktail
- Calories: 248
- Sugar: 21.6 g
- Sodium: 2.1 mg
- Fat: 0.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 24 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 0.2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: fresh margarita, tequila drinks, summer drinks. strawberry margarita cocktail, tequila cocktails, berry cocktails
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