Blood Orange Margaritas
Simple margaritas made with fresh blood oranges, limes, agave nectar, tequila and a hint of vanilla.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on October 22, 2024
Things have not been going as planned lately. Before I dive into yesterdayโs fiasco, Iโll tell you that this recipe was supposed to be a curried coconut quinoa dish. The photographed version didnโt turn out quite right, so Iโm still working on it.
Secondly, this post was supposed to be published yesterday. I was on track until I realized, with a sudden gasp followed by, โOh, #$*@!โ that my dressโthe blue dress Iโd shown to all of my friends and the entire internetโwas not on its way. Somehow, I didnโt finish placing the order. Thatโs right, the girl who makes her living on the World Wide Web and stays up late coding a redesigned website and has probably stolen items from your cart while youโre browsing J.Crewโs final sale somehow did not hit the final submit button.
Once I realized what had happened, I was all worked up in a tizzy for a solid twenty minutes. I texted my friends who are going to the party with me for commiseration. I called my mama for sympathy. This post went by the wayside and I ran out the door to go shopping, the whole time fully aware that this would seem like a trivial issue in a few daysโ time. In the current moment, however, it mattered.
Long story short, four hours and twenty-five disappointing dresses later, I found a winner. A classy, short emerald green number that magically makes this narrow, angular body of mine look like it has curves. Bonus? It was over 70 percent off.
So, the next time that you find yourself searching for a last-minute dress, hereโs what to do. Grab a friend and head to the nearest BCBG store. Ask for help and try on all the dresses they suggest. You might find yourself buying a dress that you wouldnโt have picked from the rack yourself but fits you like a glove. For your sake, I hope that it is 70 percent off. When you get home, kick your feet up with a boozy blood orange margarita. Job well done, sexy lady friend. Personal first world crisis averted.
This margarita, like my โskinnyโ margarita recipe, does not contain any orange liqueur. Iโve learned through extensive margarita testing (hiccup) that margaritas taste best without itโa travesty to some, in the same silly seriousness that is last-minute dress shoppingโbut itโs true. Orange liqueur is syrupy, medicinal and expensive. Add half an ounce to this margarita if you must, but you might find that you love the margarita more without.
If you want to enhance the flavor of this drink, try adding a teeny tiny drop of pure vanilla extract to each drink. Blood oranges and vanilla are lovely together. And if you canโt find blood oranges in your area, please consider this a recipe for fresh orange margaritas. For best flavor, Iโd suggest choosing any of the tasty, in-season varietals over the standard orange, like Cara Caraโs.
Blood Orange Margaritas
Simple margaritas made with fresh blood oranges, limes, agave nectar, tequila and a tiny hint of vanilla. Amounts listed below yield 1 drink so multiply as necessary.
Ingredients
Margarita
- 2 ounces silver/blanco tequila
- 2 ounces fresh blood orange juice (about 1 large blood orange, juiced)
- 1 ounce fresh lime juice (about 1 lime, juiced)
- 1 teaspoon light agave nectar or simple syrup, to taste
- 1 tiny drop pure vanilla extract (optional)
Salt and brown sugar rim (use all salt if you want)
- 2 teaspoons kosher sea salt and/or Himalayan salt
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar (optional)
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- Mix together the salt and sugar on a small plate (preferably one just slightly larger than the top of your margarita glass). Run a wedge of lime around the top of your glass. Dip the top of the glass into the salt blend at a 45-degree angle and roll it from side to side to catch the salt. Add ice cubes to your glass and set it aside.
- Fill a small cocktail shaker with ice. Pour in the tequila, freshly squeezed blood orange and lime juice and agave nectar. If desired, add a drop of vanilla extract (donโt pour it straight from the bottle, I used the blunt end of a fork as a dropper).
- Put on the lid and shake for 30 seconds. Strain the liquid into your glass and garnish with a slice of blood orange, if desired.
Notes
- Recommended tequila: Espolรณn, Milagro or any other 100 percent agave silver tequila.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
P.s. More margaritas: basic โskinnyโ lime margaritas and cranberry margaritas. You might also enjoy this pear nectar with reposado tequila cocktail and blood orange French 75.
Fashion and bad drink crisis averted!!!!
Oh the color! And the glasses are really pretty, too. Photographing cocktails is so tricky and youโve done a perfect job.
This sounds like such a delight.
Crisis averted with delicious margaritas!
This was delicious and also looked so pretty! I wasnโt sure if I would like the vanilla but it added a nice touch. Will definitely make these again. The fresh orange juice tasted so much better than orange liquor.
Four hours to find a dress? :( Iโm kind of happy I donโt care about fashion! But itโs awesome that you found a decent replacement.
And these margaritas look amazing! Love love love the color. And gorgeous shots, too! I have the worst time with shooting drinks.
Ha! I spent way more than four hours looking for a dress in total. I wish I were less obsessive about such things. :( I love shooting drinks. Itโs all about backlighting!
Lucky you found a cute dress the night of! Iโm awful at shopping and would not have had that success. These margaritas sound like the perfect solution.
Oh man! So sorry to hear about the dress drama!! Glad it was averted and thanks for keeping us in the loop (I know weโve all been there) with a fun weekend cocktail recipe to boot! Hope you have so much fun tonight! I wanna see pics!!!!
Looks beautiful!! Looking forward to trying this. But Iโm even more curious about the coconut curry quinoa dishโฆsounds delish. Canโt wait to read it!! Glad you found a dress. BCBG is the best.
Thanks, Kris! Hope you saw my quinoa post earlier this week. BCBG really is the best. Iโll be shopping there more now!
I was hoping to see the emerald dress! The drink looks yummy.
I posted a picture of the dress over here: http://instagram.com/p/jVST_rlkiM/. :) The color looks different in photos. Itโs somewhere between emerald green and teal.
The color is just stunning and of course a good margarita could avert any fashion crisis!
I just made this exact same drink over the weekend!!! The only difference was that I didnโt use vanilla extract, otherwiseโฆsame drink! Wasnโt it absolutely delicious? Iโm stocking up on more blood oranges so I can make these again and again and again!
Delicious! Just made the drink and it worked well with regular oranges!
Thanks, Shashi! Glad you enjoyed the margarita! Iโll have to try it with regular oranges next.
Thank you for another great read, Kate โ really enjoyed this! I could have used this recipe for last nightโs BBQ we had on a lovely Australian summerโs evening. Next time! Also, I too am curious about the coconut curry quinoa so please do go ahead and post!
Iโm salivating!
These margaritas are just a beautiful colour.
Iโve done that with a FreshDirect order (basically grocery shopping that is delivered to your house) before. Itโs usually a wake-up-the-morning-its-supposed-to-be-delivered-and-realize kind of situation. And it is inevitably when I have something I really need to make THAT DAY so then I have to run to an actual (more expensive) grocery store. Blah.
But Iโm so glad you found a replacement dress!! And that you have these margaritas to slug down to destress. They are beauties.
The margarita looks delicious! I love drinks made with fresh ingredients instead of sugar filled mixes. My husband and I are always looking for great drink ideas, and this is definitely one weโll have try!!!
Oh what a nightmare! So glad you got something sorted in the end and I hope you enjoyed the party. Iโm just going to be sitting here getting quietly sozzled on these ; )
I just figured out that I like margaritas better than daiquiris (thank you, recent cruiseโฆ though, I know, what took me so long?! LOL!) and blood oranges are amazing so Iโm so glad I found this recipe! Many thanks! I love your styling on this as well. :D I just want to reach into my screen and take a sip. If only that would work.
Your post was the inspiration for a great evening. We went through 17 blood oranges and had a wonderful spontaneous get together with friends.
Amelia, your comment made me happy. Thank you! Glad you all enjoyed the margaritas.
haha โ now that dress really a find that deserves being celebrated with a drink :-) This margarita looks fab!
Cheers to fashion emergencies solved! You could wear a paper bag and look stunning but Iโm glad you found something a little more appropriate :)
This drink is an amazing way to end a crazy dayโฆ What color!
:) Thank you, Liren! Hope youโre well!
Love your photos and recipes!. Iโd like to know which photographic equipment you usually uses?
Hi Virginia, you can find those details on my photo tips page: https://capital-fly.pro/food-photography-tips-for-food-bloggers/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Thanks Kate!
Oh you poor thing! That must have been so stressful! You handled it like a champ, thoughโฆ.. 70% off? Woohoo! This margarita sounds so refreshing โ I had a margarita on two different occasions this weekend, neither were made from scratch, and the syrupy-sweet mixer gave me the worst headache. Got to find a way to get one of these in my hands instead! Cheers!
Oh manโฆ.What a crappy way to start the week. However, in my experience there isnโt anything a good margarita canโt cure. Cheers lady!
Yum-my! Ooh, and where did you get those fantastic glasses? Theyโre rock-star chic!
Theyโre from Ikea, two dollars each!
Iโm going to add this to my cocktail hour tonight! Looks great!
these drinks look gorgeous! Iโm glad you managed to find a good dress! I never have any luck when I am last minute shopping!
Sorry the rental didnโt work outโฆbutโฆIโm thinking the little emerald number was meant to be!! Love the Blood Orange Marguerita. (And I can slightly adjust for me and make it a martini!!)
Have a great day!!
Thank you, Nichole! I think Iโll attempt a blood orange martini next. :)
Have you ever had a SPICY blood orange marg? Absolutely delish. Just soak 1-2 jalopenos in your choice of tequila for no longer than 24 hours. Strain and continue to make just like this recipe. You will never look back!
I love spicy margaritas! Iโve never tried a spicy blood orange margarita, though. Fantastic idea. Have you ever tried infusing tequila with serrano peppers? Theyโre so spicy that infuse the liquor with flavor in about 30 minutes.
those glasses are EVERYTHING!!! where from? blood orange margs on the queueโฆ
Hey Lindsey! Got them at Ikea for two bucks each. :)
I have been searching for a good Blood Orange Margarita recipe lately, so glad I stumbled upon this!
I was looking for a slight variation on the recipe I use and noticed the vanilla as an added touch! On the Foodilly website, it states that each one of these drinks contains 816 calories. Surely, that cannot be correct? I am juts curious:). Love your pics!
No, that canโt be right!
I ABSOLUTELY loved it!!! Will fix again tonight! It looks beautiful, the tip the drop of vanilla is genius. Takes refreshing, not reason to feel guilty (skinny blood orange margarita). Thank you for posting.
It was excellent. I added a bit of sugar and I prefer reposado tequila.
It was excellent. I added a bit of sugar and I prefer reposado tequila. Iโm addition, itโs good with two dashes of siracha and a dash of pepper, if you prefer a bit of spiciness.
Wonderful! We have reduced tequila by 1/4 and substituted with grand mariner. But not necessary- the recipe is delicious as is. We have also used clementines More work, but again, delicious. Do take the time to make the brown sugar salt for the rim.
OK, well, I skipped the dress drama and went straight for the drink recipe. My wife enthusiastically approves.
Wonderful, John! Thank you for your review.
SO GOOD! My go to margarita recipe now. Obsessed.
I love it! Thank you for sharing, Juliyana.
Can you recommend how to make this a spicy margarita? Would like to add jalapeรฑos :)
Hi! You can try to muddle some jalapenos in it prior to mixing the rest of the ingredients.
Above with jalapeรฑo tequila. Low cal- fresh with no added sugarโฆ A-amazing!!!
This is the best margarita recipe!
Great to hear, E! I appreciate your review.
Yum, Yum! Guest LOVED as well. Made batches with both Silver Tequila & Mezcal and added Hot Honey instead of agave. (did not try the โVanilla extractโ cuz I just forgot. Will try with the silver, but not feeling the extract with the Mezcal! Our new seasonal Drink! Thanks for the share!
Best margarita I have had, hands down. So fresh compared to using an orange liqueur. Thank you for this recipe!
Youโre welcome, Paige!
Can I make this ahead of time and serve in a drink pitcher?
Hi Charlsie, this recipe is easily scaleable for a batch of pitcher margaritas.