Skinny Spicy Margarita Recipe

What is a Skinny Margarita?

A skinny margarita recipe has fewer calories and less sugar than a traditional margarita. This healthier version contains clean, fresh ingredients instead of premade sweet and sour mix and triple sec.

Most of the calories and sugar in a classic margarita recipe come from the sweet and sour mix, so this margarita without mix is a healthier alternative. Triple sec, or orange liqueur, also adds extra calories to the cocktail. Making a margarita without these ingredients makes it “skinny”.

This recipe for a skinny margarita allows you to enjoy a refreshing cocktail without consuming excessive calories and sugar.

Why We Love this Recipe

Clean ingredients: A healthy margarita recipe that doesn’t use a premade mix, simple syrup, or triple sec. It's made with all natural ingredients and no artificial flavors or sweeteners.

Low sugar: This low sugar margarita also has fewer calories than the traditional cocktail.

Spicy: Muddled jalapeno slices give this cocktail the perfect amount of spice.

Ingredients

You only need a few simple ingredients to make this low calorie margarita. Find exact measurements and step-by-step instructions in the recipe card.

• Tequila – make the best skinny margarita recipe with a good quality Blanco tequila (also known as silver tequila)
• Orange juice – freshly squeezed orange juice is best
• Lime juice - freshly squeezed lime juice is best
• Jalapeño pepper – a chili pepper with a kick
• Agave nectar – a natural sweetener produced form the blue agave plant, also known as agave syrup. If you don't have this ingredient, you can substitute my jalapeno infused simple syrup.
• Optional garnish: tajin rim, orange slice, lime wedge, or sprig of cilantro

Variations

Fruit forward: For a fruity flavor, muddle fresh berries with the jalapeno. Our favorite fruits to add to this skinny margarita cocktail are strawberries and blackberries. A splash of blackberry simple syrup would be tasty as well.

Too spicy? If this margarita is too spicy for your liking, add a splash of club soda or sparkling water to the top and stir in to tone down the spice level.

Substitutions: You can use honey or monk fruit sweetener instead of agave nectar. Or, kick up the heat and substitute hot honey for the agave.

Infused tequila: Instead of muddling jalapenos in this drink, buy jalapeno infused tequila or make your own at home by soaking sliced jalapenos in tequila for a day.

How to Make a Skinny Spicy Margarita

One of our favorite low calorie tequila drinks, this is the best skinny spicy margarita recipe with the perfect amount of heat. We keep the skinny margarita ingredients simple and fresh for an easy cocktail you can whip up in just a few minutes.

Step 1: In a cocktail shaker, add 3-4 jalapeño slices, tequila, orange juice, lime juice, and agave nectar.

Step 2: Using a muddler, gently smash ingredients together until the jalapenos have been crushed.

Step 3: Add ice to the cocktail shaker and shake vigorously for 20 seconds.

Step 4: Strain liquid from the cocktail shaker into a chilled cocktail glass. Straining the liquid will prevent any crushed jalapenos or seeds from getting into the drink. Toss out the strained jalapeños.

Step 5: Make the occasion feel fancy by garnishing the drink. Rim the glass with tajin (a chili lime salt) or a sea salt rim. Top the margarita with jalapeno slices, a wedge of citrus, or throw in a sprig of cilantro.

Bartending Tips

Spice level: Remove the seeds and ribs from the inside of the jalapeno if you don’t want the drink too spicy. Otherwise, leave them in for extra heat.

Muddle: Don’t skip the muddling. Muddling, or crushing, a jalapeno with other liquids allows the spicy jalapeno flavor to infuse into the drink. If you don’t have a muddler tool, use a wooden spoon.

Chill: Put margarita glasses in the freezer before serving to chill. In turn, you won't need to add ice which can water down the drink.