An easy Skinny Spicy Margarita recipe to celebrate this summer, this a low-calories cocktail that spice up your night! Plus, this skinny Margarita recipe is also low-sugar, gluten-free, and vegan-friendly!
We all deserve a fresh Margarita in summer or to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, and this skinny spicy Margarita recipe has it all! Refreshing, low-calories to indulge with no guilt and just the touch of spicy Jalapeno you need to make this drink the best margarita of summer.
Is Tequila Vegan?
Yes, tequila is vegan, cruelty-free alcohol made from a succulent plant from Mexica called blue agave. There are no added ingredients in tequila, so it’s purely vegan.
Ingredients and Substitutions
These are the few ingredients you need to make a simple jalapeno margarita recipe at home:
- Orange Juice – fresh is the best. If you have to use bottled orange juice, pick 100% juice, not reconstituted juice.
- Tequila – We used white tequila, also called Tequila Blanco. But feel free to use silver tequila if you prefer. Both are transparent and perfect for making a margarita.
- Jalapeno slices – Slice thinly.
- Fresh lime juice – or bottled if you don’t have fresh lime.
- Sea salt – to decorate the glasses.
- Agave syrup – this adds a sweet touch and a similar viscous texture to the usual triple sec or orange liquor found in classic margaritas.
How To Make Skinny Spicy Margarita
A skinny margarita is a margarita recipe with less sugar and fewer calories per serving. In fact, an authentic margarita recipe is quite high in sugar, with 16 grams of sugar per serving of 3 oz.
This is because a classic margarita recipe uses orange liquor, a high sugar alcohol that also adds a delicious orange flavor and a lightly viscous texture to the drink.
To make a skinny spicy version of a margarita, known as a skinny spicy margarita, we replace the orange liquor with orange juice and add a touch of jalapeno into the shaker!
Preparing the glass
- First, place the sea salt on a small, shallow plate, wide enough to fit the diameter of the rim of the margarita glass you selected to serve your drink. You need enough salt to dip the rim in, so about 1 cm deep. Don’t worry about the quantity of salt to use. It’s well-spent. You can return it to your pantry and use it for other recipes.
- Next, use a lime wedge to rub the rim of your glass. You want to wet about 3 mm of the rim. The purpose of this step is to wet the rim of your glass to stick the salt onto it and add a lime flavor.
- Now, dip the glass into the salt to stick to the wet part of the glass rim.
- Finally, set aside your glass in the freezer for at least 20 minutes. This frosts the glass, sets the rim of salt, and makes the margarita even more delicious when served.
- First, add the Jalapeno slices into a cocktail shaker with crushed ice. Use a wooden spoon to muddle the jalapeno into the ice and release some spice into the shaker.
- Then add the tequila, fresh lime juice, orange juice, and agave syrup.
- Shake vigorously for one minute – trust me, it’s longer than you think, and your arms will feel it! But, it’s what you need to release all the flavors of the Jalapeno into the drink.
- Remove the prepared margarita glasses from the fridge and fill half of them with crushed ice.
- Then, strain the margarita cocktail over ice and add few extra jalapeno slices into the glass to decorate and serve.
Skinny Margarita Nutrition
This skinny spicy margarita contains per 3 Oz. serving:
- Only 195 kcal – it’s at least 50-70 kcal less than a regular version.
- 9 grams of sugar – 7 grams less than a classic margarita
However, if you want to cut down the sugar even more, skip the orange juice and replace it with orange stevia drops or natural orange extract.
Sparkling or Frothy Margarita
There are many ways to serve margarita. This recipe is a regular skinny spicy margarita recipe, but there are easy ways to make a skinny frothy margarita or sparkling skinny margarita following my tips below.
Use this recipe and:
- For a Skinny Frothy margarita: Add all the ingredients in a high-speed blender, except the jalapeno slices, and add 1/2 cup ice.
- For a Skinny Sparkling margarita: Prepare the margarita following this recipe. Top up the glass with 1/3 cup sparkling water.
More Vegan Drink Recipes
If you’ve enjoyed this drink recipe, you’ll also love these!
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Skinny Spicy Margarita recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Lime Wedge
- ¼ cup Tequila Blanco - or Silver tequila (2 ounces)
- 1 tablespoon Orange Juice - (1/2 ounces)
- 3 tablespoons Lime Juice - (1 1/2 ounce)
- 1 teaspoon Agave Syrup
- 3-4 Jalapeno Slices - deseeded, cut into thin slices
- ⅔ cup Crushed Ice - divided
To serve
Instructions
- Place sea salt into a small shallow plate, wide enough to fit the diameter of your margarita glass. Set aside.
- Rub the rim of a margarita glass with a lime wedge to wet about 2-3 mm of the rim.
- Dip the rim into salt, moving in a circular motion to stick the salt to the wet part of the rim. Place the prepared glass in the freezer for at least 20 minutes, or fill it with ice to keep it cold.
- In a cocktail shaker, add jalapeno slices with 1/3 cup crushed ice, muddle up with a wooden spoon to release the spiciness from the jalapenos.
- Add tequila, freshly squeezed lime juice, orange juice, agave syrup.
- Close the shaker and shake vigorously for 60 seconds – that's long but worth it!
- Remove the glass from the freezer. Fill it with 1/3 cup crushed ice and strain the cocktail over the glass into the prepared glass.
- Enjoy immediately and garnish the glass with additional lime wedges or jalapeno slices.
Is the agave syrup necessary? I prefer heat over sweet.
If you are not a sweet tooth, skip it! Enjoy
I am a bartender at our local Golf/County Club & I will most definitely be trying these recipes out! Thank you!