These gorgeous Blood Orange Margaritas look like something you'd order at a swanky cocktail bar, but they are homemade and super simple. Prepare to impress your friends with these colorful, easy margaritas on the rocks!
Even if you’re not a sports fan, you’ll want to throw a big game party just to make a pitcher of these irresistible Blood Orange Margaritas.
The beautiful color and unique flavor of blood oranges brings a fun, seasonal twist to what is always a crowd-pleasing tequila cocktail.
What are blood oranges?
Blood oranges have a similar taste to a navel orange with a hint of berry and a stunningly colored flesh. You might see them labeled as Moro oranges at the grocery store.
They are usually in season December through March, so grab them while you can! (Update: I saw blood oranges at the grocery store in MAY, so it appears that blood orange season is longer than it used to be.)
Ingredients
You'll find the usual suspects here as with any typical margarita recipe: citrus juice, tequila, orange liqueur and sugar.
A few ingredient notes:
- Best tequila for margaritas. I don’t like to muddy the gorgeous color of these beauties, so I always opt for silver or blanco tequila. It’s a young tequila that is not aged, which also makes it less expensive than a reposado or anejo tequila. Perfect for mixed drinks. Just be sure you're buying 100% agave blanco tequila to ensure a smooth margarita.
- Orange liqueur - You can opt for any number of options here (Triple Sec, Cointreau or Grand Marnier). I'm a fan of Cointreau for this margarita.
- Juices should ALWAYS be fresh. None of that bottled stuff here. (This batch recipe makes 10 drinks which means squeezing a lot of blood oranges and limes. Make it easy with this inexpensive handheld juicer with built-in measurement markings.)
- Superfine sugar can be found in the baking aisle. It's essentially granulated sugar that has been finely ground. I love to use it in cocktails because it doesn't take nearly as long to dissolve as traditional ground sugar.
Instructions
Since this homemade margarita recipe is written as a batch cocktail, it makes a lot of drinks. But the method is similar to any other margarita recipe:
Combine ingredients. For a recipe this size, stir together everything in a large pitcher. Chill for a few hours.
When ready to serve, add ice to a cocktail shaker and fill ⅔ full with margarita mix. Shake for at least 30 seconds and pour into ice filled glasses. Repeat until all mix is used.
Tips
Follow these tips to take your margarita from average to outstanding:
Shake, don't stir - The shaking process not only chills the drink, it dilutes it and emulsifies the citrus juices with the alcohol. The result is a bunch of tiny air bubbles, a frothy appearance and a smooth taste.
Salt the rim - It make feel like an unnecessary extra step, but salting a cocktail glass is super easy and adds polish to any cocktail, especially margaritas.
- Place salt on a small plate. Run a lime wedge around the edge of the glass so it is coated in juice. Then turn the glass upside down and dip it into salt on the plate. You may need to tip and turn the glass a bit to make sure the entire rim gets coated in salt, but you'll get the hang of it after a few tries.
- Our "house" brand of salt is Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, so that's most often what I use for margaritas because it's what I have on hand. You can also use a coarser grained sea salt for a bigger wow factor.
- You can also "fancy up" your drink (and add a bit of kick) by including any number of dried herbs or spices in your salt rim like we do with chili powder in our Spicy Grapefruit Margaritas.
FAQs
Give Cara Cara oranges a try! They have a sweet, reddish flesh, similar to blood oranges.
Sure! This recipe is written for a pitcher full of cocktails, but feel free to scale the recipe for yourself. Simply divide the ingredients by however many servings you need.
More margarita recipes
- This Classic Margarita recipe is a tried and true favorite.
- Summer's favorite fruit makes these Watermelon Margaritas extra refreshing.
- Muddled berries give these Blueberry Margaritas a gorgeous color AND delicious flavor.
- Bubbles in margaritas? Count us in for a round of these Prosecco Margaritas!
- Can't do a beach vacation this year? Replicate the taste with a glass (or two) of these tropical Mango Margaritas.
Recipe
Blood Orange Margaritas
Ingredients
- 4 cups freshly squeezed blood orange juice
- 1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 3 cups silver tequila
- 1 ½ cups orange liqueur I used Cointreau
- ¼ cup superfine sugar
- lime wedges
- kosher salt
- blood orange and lime slices optional
Instructions
- Place juices, tequila, orange liqueur and sugar in a large pitcher. Stir until sugar is dissolved and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Rim edges of glass with lime wedge and salt. Fill cocktail shaker and 8 low ball glasses with ice.
- Pour enough margarita mix into shaker until it's ⅔ full. Shake vigorously for at least 30 seconds. Strain into ice filled glasses. Repeat with remaining margarita mix. Garnish with blood orange slices, if desired.
Notes
- Total time includes refrigeration.
- To make only one margarita, combine 4 ounces blood orange juice, 1 ounce lime juice, 3 ounces silver tequila, 1.5 ounces orange liqueur and 1.5 teaspoons superfine sugar.
VIDEO
Nutrition
Nutrition info not guaranteed to be accurate.
These Blood Orange Margaritas are a gorgeous batch cocktail recipe for any happy hour or game day. Plus they are easy to make ahead of time!
You are speaking my love language with these margaritas. Beautiful! And thank you so much for featuring my Prosecco margaritas recipe. Cheers, friends!
Hi! This looks awesome! I'm wanting to do it tomorrow for my son's first birthday party, but since blood oranges are out of season I can't find the juice or orange anywhere. What are your thoughts on using clementine, tangerine, or cara cara (red navel orange) juice instead? Just wondering how much it would alter the taste and which one would be best to go with. Thank you!
Hi Betsy, I would suggest going with Cara Cara oranges. They seem to be the closest in flavor profile (sweet-tart) to blood oranges. Enjoy the party!
Thank you, I'll let you know how it turns out!