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Ok, I think it’s time for a toast.
First of all, TGIF! I don’t know about you all, but my week has been bonkers busy with work, and I have been counting down to the weekend. Looking forward to some much-needed hang out time with friends, officially starting the move into my new loft (with my new kitchen!!), and a little pie baking (of course, with my favorite homemade pie crust) for a Hallmark shoot. Cheers to the weekend!
Finally, shall we toast with one of my new favorite drink recipes? You all know how obsessed I am with margaritas. So the only reasonable thing to do for the holiday season was to — of course — whip up a cranberry margaritas recipe! Cheers to that!
I happen to have also been on a bit of a cranberry juice kick lately. I somehow rediscovered Grape Nuts this year, and my favorite thing to pair with them for breakfast is a nice iced glass of cranberry juice. (And for what it’s worth, I highly recommend the 100% not-from-concentrate Simply Cranberry Cocktail. Delish!)
So when happy hour arrived yesterday, I decided to take a shortcut and just whip up a batch of cranberry margaritas using store-bought cranberry juice, and freshly squeezed lime juice. If you want to get fancy and make your own homemade cranberry juice, I’ve included a little tutorial in the recipe. But I won’t judge you if you take the shortcut. It’s quick, and easy, and GOOD.
I got a little creative with the garnishing. You can use fresh cranberries, limes (wedges, slices, curls, you name it!), ice (cubed, crushed, blended), or whatever your cranberry-margarita-loving-heart desires.
But bottom line, this cranberry margarita recipe is quick and easy and tasty, and perfect for toasting during the holidays or just any happy hour.
So cheers to all of you out there! May your weekend, or whenever this finds you, be “berry” merry and bright…
Sweet and tart cranberry juice makes for extra festive margaritas!
Ingredients
Scale
1 1/2 cups cranberry juice (I recommend using a brand that is 100% juice)
3/4 cup fresh lime juice
3/4 cup tequila
1/2 cup orange-flavored liqueur, such as Cointreau or Triple Sec
ice cubes
Instructions
Stir all ingredients together until blended. Serve over ice in sugar- or salt-rimmed glasses, garnished with fresh cranberries and lime wedges if desired.
I love the lime + cranberries photo…gorgeous! These are incredible. I always make cranberry sangria around the holidays but now I can’t wait to go the marg route!
Yummy! This will be perfect for holiday partys!! Love your blog! I’m a long time follower, you always do such a fantastic job! I just started my own blog a couple months ago! So fun! Thanks for always posting inspiring recipes!!
Oh gosh, I love cranberry/lime/tequila! I have always heard them called “Sunburns”, but I guess that was without the orange liquer. I generally dislike vodka/cranberry drinks since it gives me strong cough syrup flavors, but YES to this margarita!! So festive and delicious!
(Semi-related and non-boozy: I have fresh cranberries in my freezer. They are AMAZING in smoothies! So tangy and tart.)
Couldn’t find the note for the homemade cranberry cranberry juice, but, the local Trader Joe’s has pure cranberry juice that can be diluted and sweetened to quickly meet almost any tasty recipe…..thanks.
Hi, Ali! Thank you for this delicious-looking drink. My husband and I are tequila fans and are always happy to find a light mixed drink to sip while others are sipping their wine (I feel a little icky about half way through my first glass of most wines, so I tend to avoid it, even though agood bottle is some good stuff!)
It might be me, but I cannot find your tutorial on how to make fresh cranberry juice. Please point me in the right direction. It’s probably just my 29-and-holding eyes!
Delicious! I plan to whip up a few tonight! Although, I don’t see the link to the fresh cranberry juice. This sound amazing and I have a bunch of cranberries to use up!
I found you just in time! I will be trying this one tomorrow on my blog, thank you for the recipe! National Margarita Day is Feb. 22, so I’m glad I found you =) Cheers!!
The first time my husband and I had these we were down in Atlanta..they were delicious! I suggest to add a little bit of ground cloves to the recipe which makes it a little more holiday-ish.
You made the news! Your delicious recipe was included in:
National Margarita Day: Raise Your Glass for America’s Popular Tequila Cocktail
https://www.examiner.com/article/national-margarita-day-raise-your-glass-for-america-s-popular-tequila-cocktail
This sounds so good and like the perfect thing to bring to Thanksgiving at my in-laws. It’s too hard for us to travel (on public transit) with a dog and food but this I can easily grab ingredients and make without disturbing the kitchen! Will have to try it before hand ;)
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks Jeannette, we hope you and your family enjoy these! :)
I love cranberry juice! And I love Margaritas! Such a lovely combination of the two. The drink isn’t the same without the salt rimmed glass. Many bars serve Margaritas without salt – for me that is an essential ingredient.
I made a batch of this up on the weekend and my goodness was it ever tasty! Not too sweet like some cocktails tend to be but very refreshing and it went down easy–perhaps a bit too easy! haha. Thanks so much for this, I never would have thought of it!
I love the lime + cranberries photo…gorgeous! These are incredible. I always make cranberry sangria around the holidays but now I can’t wait to go the marg route!
These are the most beautiful margaritas I’ve ever seen! These would be great at Thanksgiving.
Gorgeous drink, Ali! Can’t wait to make this one! :)
I have now found my holiday drink. That is all.
I want a virgin one for breakfast, and then a boozy one after 5:00!
I can’t find the link to homemade cranberry juice. I’m so intrigued though!
Yummy! This will be perfect for holiday partys!! Love your blog! I’m a long time follower, you always do such a fantastic job! I just started my own blog a couple months ago! So fun! Thanks for always posting inspiring recipes!!
Ali, these margaritas sound perfect for a little after work happy hour I now want to throw for myself : )
Loving these photographed on white too. Gorgeous.
Oh gosh, I love cranberry/lime/tequila! I have always heard them called “Sunburns”, but I guess that was without the orange liquer. I generally dislike vodka/cranberry drinks since it gives me strong cough syrup flavors, but YES to this margarita!! So festive and delicious!
(Semi-related and non-boozy: I have fresh cranberries in my freezer. They are AMAZING in smoothies! So tangy and tart.)
These are so beautiful. Loving the photos, I have such a hard time taking photos of drinks
The lighting in these photos is so beautiful! Wow!
I have cranberry juice concentrate in the fridge…and now I have a craving. This is perfect pre-Thanksgiving!!
Also, these pictures are gorgeous! Do you use a light box?
How perfect to serve at the holidays! I love the fresh cranberries bobbing in the drink photos.
These sound SO good!! Tequila and I are good friends! ;)
I was just looking for a cranberry drink for the holidays and this would be great. Thanks for sharing!
Christmas in a drink!! YUM!
Woah these look just beautiful!! Great photos!
Can’t wait to make one of these! So pretty!
Gorgeous margaritas, TGIF indeed!
This reminds me so much of my favourite drink – the cosmopolitan! I can’t wait to make this up and drink it over a girl’s night! Thanks for this!
Couldn’t find the note for the homemade cranberry cranberry juice, but, the local Trader Joe’s has pure cranberry juice that can be diluted and sweetened to quickly meet almost any tasty recipe…..thanks.
Hi, Ali! Thank you for this delicious-looking drink. My husband and I are tequila fans and are always happy to find a light mixed drink to sip while others are sipping their wine (I feel a little icky about half way through my first glass of most wines, so I tend to avoid it, even though agood bottle is some good stuff!)
It might be me, but I cannot find your tutorial on how to make fresh cranberry juice. Please point me in the right direction. It’s probably just my 29-and-holding eyes!
I adore these pictures! The bright green of the lime with that deep cranberry red is stunning!
Wow, wow, wow!! So stunning, Ali! I’m so excited for cranberry season, it’s the best :)
Delicious! I plan to whip up a few tonight! Although, I don’t see the link to the fresh cranberry juice. This sound amazing and I have a bunch of cranberries to use up!
From a little cranberry lover, this is the most refreshing drink I’ve seen in a while.
I found you just in time! I will be trying this one tomorrow on my blog, thank you for the recipe! National Margarita Day is Feb. 22, so I’m glad I found you =) Cheers!!
Wow! I made these for myself today for a Mother’s Day treat; yummy and so refreshing!
Mmmm…these are sooo good! I used frozen cranberries in place of some of the ice, so they stayed cold but not watered down. Yum!
The first time my husband and I had these we were down in Atlanta..they were delicious! I suggest to add a little bit of ground cloves to the recipe which makes it a little more holiday-ish.
oh my god these look amazing!!! We could definitely hang. I’m going to make up a pitcher tomorrow. Beautiful photos- great recipe!
You made the news! Thanksgiving Cocktails: Drink & Be Merry with 17 Festive Drinks for the Holidays that Even Scrooge Would Love!
Yum! My mother LOVES margaritas–I guess I know what I’ll be bringing for Christmas this year! :P
I featured this post in a Thanksgiving round-up today. I hope you don’t mind!
Sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing! Featuring it on my blog today.
Love it! Looks so festive.
You made the news! Your delicious recipe was included in:
National Margarita Day: Raise Your Glass for America’s Popular Tequila Cocktail
https://www.examiner.com/article/national-margarita-day-raise-your-glass-for-america-s-popular-tequila-cocktail
Cheers!
Jace Shoemaker-Galloway
The Queen of Holidays
These are incredible. I always make cranberry sangria around the holidays but now I can’t wait to go the marg route!
I used gold, but you can use either!
I love both cranberrys and margaritas :) So I have linked to this reciepe on my site.
I am def. gonna try this recipe this weekend:)
Thanks Aina, we hope you enjoy these!
If I’m wanting to make this is in a beverage dispenser , so double or triple the recipe, will I have to tone down the liquor?
We think this should double or triple just fine, so you shouldn’t have to use less liquor. We hope you enjoy!
This sounds so good and like the perfect thing to bring to Thanksgiving at my in-laws. It’s too hard for us to travel (on public transit) with a dog and food but this I can easily grab ingredients and make without disturbing the kitchen! Will have to try it before hand ;)
Thanks Jeannette, we hope you and your family enjoy these! :)
I love cranberry juice! And I love Margaritas! Such a lovely combination of the two. The drink isn’t the same without the salt rimmed glass. Many bars serve Margaritas without salt – for me that is an essential ingredient.
We hope you enjoy these Natalya! :)
I just wanted to thank you for this recipe. I made these today for Thanksgiving and they were a hit!
You’re so welcome Robyn, we’re happy these were a hit! We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
This is such a good drink for gathering. I can’t wait to taste this.
Thanks Darmian, we hope you love these! :)
Thank you for this recipe! We are hosting a college football conference championship party and this recipe is perfect!Thank you!
Thanks Amy & Tori – we hope it’s a hit at your party! :D
By far the best thing I served all Thanksgiving – can’t wait to make another batch (or two or three) for Christmas!
Thanks Deb, we’re happy you enjoyed these! :)
I made a batch of this up on the weekend and my goodness was it ever tasty! Not too sweet like some cocktails tend to be but very refreshing and it went down easy–perhaps a bit too easy! haha. Thanks so much for this, I never would have thought of it!
Thanks Katrina, we’re so happy you enjoyed it! :)
https://www.alvoresblog.com
Enjoy reading your blog.
This was A-Mazing. Made their first appearance at Thanksgiving and are in the regular rotation.
Thank you Maya, we’re so glad you liked these! :)
Do you use fresh lime juice or can I just use the stuff in the liquor department?
We prefer fresh, it’s definitely better! :) We hope you enjoy these!
I just sent my daughter to the grocery store, to pick up limes. I can’t wait to try this.
We hope you love them Phyllis! :)