Lemon Margarita (Tequila Lemon Cocktail)
A Lemon Margarita is a fresh twist on a classic cocktail where you don’t need any limes at all. This tequila lemon cocktail has a unique tangy and sweet flavor profile.
Can You Make a Margarita With Lemon Instead of Lime?
Hey there! You’re here because you want to make margaritas but you don’t have any limes. You probably have a bunch of lemons and you’re wondering “hmmmm can I do this?.” YES, YOU CAN DO IT.
We’re here to make margaritas with lemons, because that’s what you do when life gives you lemons but no limes.
Not only are they delicious, but they’re super easy to make. And you want to know the weird thing? They kind of end up tasting a lot like . . . normal margaritas.
Let’s walk through how to make lemon margaritas, and some variations on them, if your heart so desires.
Why You’ll Love This Lemon Tequila Cocktail
- It’s the perfect recipe to keep in your back pocket when life gives you no limes or those dud limes. You know, like, the ones that have hardly any juice and are all mealy inside? If you have a few lemons, you can still make margaritas.
- Lemons are cheap and plentiful and almost always juicy. Plus, they’re way faster to juice than limes!
- There’s lots of variations so you can make it to your taste – on the rocks, spicy, or sweeter with strawberries!
What You’ll Need For This Lemon Margarita Recipe
- sugar – regular white granulated sugar is what we’ll need for making the lemon simple syrup.
- lemons – fresh ones! You’ll need the peel of 1 whole lemon to make the simple syrup, plus lots more fresh lemon juice to make the margaritas. You can also make lemon shandies if you have any left!
- tequila – I prefer a blanco (white/clear) tequila for this recipe, but you can use whatever you have on hand.
- triple sec – this orange-flavored liqueur both sweetens and adds extra flavor to these lemon magaritas. I prefer a higher end one like Cointreau, but an affordable brand like Dekuyper works just as well.
- sugar and/or salt for the glass rims – you might prefer your tequila glasses rimmed with all sugar or all salt, or a combination of the two. Whatever you like best is what you should do!
How to Make a Lemon Cocktail
1. HEAT. Heat the sugar, water and lemon peel in a small pot until all the sugar is dissolved.
2. STEEP. Remove the simple syrup from the heat and let it stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Then, remove and discard the lemon peel and refrigerate until cool.
3. BLEND. Place the ice, lemon juice, tequila, triple sec and simple syrup in a blender and blend until well combined.
Tequila Lemon Drop Home Chef Tips
- You can also make these lemon cocktails with agave nectar instead of simple syrup. Start with about half the amount of agave nectar, then taste and adjust sweetness to your liking.
- For a unique smoky flavor, add a splash of mezcal in addition to the tequila.
Lemon Alcohol Drink Variations
- Lemon Margarita On The Rocks – don’t love a frozen beverage? Simply stir the ingredients together with some ice cubes in a glass for a tequila lemon cocktail on the rocks.
- Jalapeño Lemon Margarita – spicy margaritas have been super popular at bars and restaurants the last few years! This is easy to make at home by adding a few slices of fresh jalapeño to the blender before you blend the drink up. Incorporate the rest of the pepper into jalapeño cornbread.
- Strawberry Lemon Margarita – add a handful of fresh sliced strawberries to the blender! Or blueberries, or blackberries or raspberries.
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You can use store-bought simple syrup but PLEASE use fresh lemon juice for a great lemon margarita!
If you want to save a little bit of time and use store-bought simple syrup instead of making your own lemon simple syrup for these lemon drop margaritas, by all means, do it!
Your lemon margaritas will be slightly less lemony using plain simple syrup instead of lemon simple syrup, but thanks to the generous amount of fresh lemon juice in the cocktail, it should still be plenty lemony.
But one thing I do NOT recommend is store-bought bottled lemon juice for this tequila lemon cocktail. I don’t recommend that for anything, actually. If you’re going to the trouble to make margaritas from scratch, just buy and juice some fresh lemons, please. It’s worth it!
Go ahead and use the good tequila for this tequila lemon cocktail!
When I make this lemon margarita recipe, not only do I use fresh lemons, but I use really good tequila. My husband takes business trips to Mexico relatively frequently, and brings home the good stuff for the price of bottled water, basically.
Thus, we generally have pretty nice tequila on hand, and we use it for tequila mojitos and margaritas on any old Tuesday night alongside chicken burrito bowls with my fajita vegetables recipe, or Mexican mac and cheese.
So, while there was lots of citrus flavor in these lemon drop margaritas, what’s interesting is that by the time it muddled with the tequila, my tastebuds couldn’t tell much of a difference between lemon and lime here. It was mostly the great tequila flavor was coming through.
You’ll have to try it for yourself and tell me what you think. I highly encourage throwing a party with a fajita bar so your friends can try these too!
Serving Lemon Cocktails
If you want to serve this lemon margarita recipe more like a shot (maybe alongside some New Year’s Eve food?), you can keep the proportions of the liquid ingredients the same as listed below, but just shake everything up with one scoop of ice in a cocktail shaker.
Then, once everything is shaken and nicely chilled, divide the liquid between shot glasses, and you’ve got tequila lemon drops!
The recipe below will yield 8 generous 2 ounce shots.
Psst – Another great cocktail recipe for when you don’t have limes is my apple cider mule or grapefruit mule. While traditional Moscow mules call for lime juice, these ones does not.
More Foxes Love Lemons Favorites
Lemon Margarita
Ingredients
For the Lemon Simple Syrup:
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup water
- Peel of 1 lemon
For the Lemon Drop Margaritas:
- 4 cups ice
- 6 ounces fresh lemon juice
- 6 ounces tequila
- 4 ounces Lemon Simple Syrup
- 1 ounce triple sec
- Salt and/or sugar for rim of glasses (optional)
Instructions
Make the Lemon Simple Syrup:
- In small saucepot, heat sugar, water and lemon peel over medium-high heat. Cook until all sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally (do not boil). Remove from heat; let stand 10 minutes. Remove and discard lemon peel; transfer syrup to jar or bottle and refrigerate until completely cool. Makes about 8 ounces (enough for 8 margaritas).
Make the Lemon Drop Margaritas:
- Place ice, lemon juice, tequila, 4 ounces Lemon Simple Syrup and triple sec in blender; blend until well combined. Divide between 4 glasses garnished with salt and/or sugar, if desired.
Notes
- Home Chef Tip: Want to make just one margarita? Let me do the culinary math for you: 1 cup ice, 1-1/2 ounces fresh lemon juice, 1-1/2 ounces tequila, 1 ounce Lemon Simple Syrup, and 1/4 ounce triple sec.
Lori, someone taught me that the way to get juicy limes is to choose ones with very smooth skin (fine pores). I think they are usually shinier looking, too. That has usually worked very well for me. Hopefully it will for you, too. If you have any recommendations for good tequila, I would be interested because I really don’t know much about it.
Thank you so much for this lime tip! I had never heard this, but now I will keep it in mind. I’ve never known how to choose the best limes, and I just HATE ending up with those ones that seem to be all flesh, no juice inside.
Susan, I realized I forgot to respond to your question about tequila. The one that we always keep stocked in our bar is Herradura Blanco. Mid-range in price so won’t totally break the bank, but also not the cheap cheap stuff. It has a nice neutral flavor that works really well in margaritas and palomas. We love it!
Thank, Lori! I’ll make sure I keep that information handy.
Hi Andrew – it’s from Sur La Table!