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25 Popular Spring Recipes of 2024.
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These batch-style Spicy Creamy Coconut Lime Margaritas are my current favorite, oh-so-refreshing margarita for spring and summer. Charred jalapeños are muddled together with fresh basil leaves, tequila, orange liquor, a squeeze of lime, and creamy, sweet coconut milk. This tropical margarita is a spicy, sweet take on the classic. Making this batch style is great for easily serving friends and family. Finish each margarita off with bubbly ginger beer and extra lime zest.
I’m switching up the recipe schedule today and sharing a fun cocktail. Typically, I reserve cocktail recipes for Saturdays, but today’s batch-style margarita has me so excited. This feels perfect for the time of year we’re entering, with the weather becoming nicer by the day!
The idea for this drink came to me so simply. It’s the time of year when my family usually vacations somewhere tropical and/or begins planning the annual summertime Gerard family vacation. Because we live in a rather chilly climate, our spring and summer travels are always to tropical places.
My favorites thus far are the Bahamas – or really anywhere in the Caribbean, and Jamaica.
If you’ve ever been to any of the above locations, you know the drinks are abundant, and the coconuts are literally everywhere. Along with the prettiest flowers, sunny days, and warm, breezy nights—my favorite.
After this month, it’s time for one of these vacations. But until then, we can make drinks with the tropics in mind and be transported.
The Details
Step 1: char the jalapeños
The heart of this recipe lies with two ingredients: the jalapeño pepper and the sweet, creamy coconut milk. For the jalapeño, you can use a serrano or jalapeño, I love the flavor of both.
We’re then going to char the pepper over a gas burner or in a cast-iron skillet to give it a nice smoky flavor and tame the heat a bit. I love to get the jalapeño pretty blackened for the best flavor.
Once the jalapeñ0 is charred, let it cool, then cut it in half, and, if desired, remove the seeds. I leave most of the seeds in for a spicier drink.
Step 2: mix the drink
The remaining steps are quick. Take the charred jalapeño and muddle it together with fresh basil and tequila. I do this in a pitcher.
Now add the orange liquor and lime juice, and then pour over the coconut milk. Give this all a good stir.
Chill the pitcher until you are ready to serve. The longer the jalapeños sit in the drink, the spicer the drink will become. Usually, about two hours is plenty of time for the jalapeños to really infuse the drink and give it great flavor!
Step 3: serve
To serve, I like to mix flaky sea salt with lime zest and rim glasses with lime salt. If you have extra charred jalapeños, you can mix the jalapeños with the salt for a spicy, salty kick!
Serve the drink straight from the pitcher, then top off each glass with ginger beer if you’re into it. I personally always love a little fizz.
Looking for other drink recipes? Here are some favorites:
Salted Spicy Watermelon Margarita Popsicles
Strawberry Lemonade Aperol Margarita
Lastly, if you make this Spicy Creamy Coconut Lime Margaritas, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Batch Spicy Coconut Lime Margarita
Servings: 4 drinks
Calories Per Serving: 372 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 jalapeños or serrano chiles
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
- 8 ounces (1 cup) silver tequila
- 4 ounces (1/2 cup) orange liquor
- 1/2 cup lime juice
- 2 tablespoons honey or sugar, to your taste
- 1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
- ginger beer, for topping (optional)
Instructions
- 1. Place the jalapeños (chiles) over a gas flame, or in a dry skillet over high heat. Char the chiles all over, turning a few times until blackened. Remove and let cool, then halve the chiles and de-seed, if desired.2. Combine the basil, tequila, orange liquor, lime juice, and charred jalapeños in a large pitcher. Stir to combine. Chill until ready to serve. The longer the jalapeños sit, the spicier the drink will be. Strain out the chiles and discard. Return the drink to the pitcher and chill until ready to serve.3. To make the lime salt. Combine all ingredients on a shallow plate. Rim your glasses.4. When ready to serve, fill the pitcher with ice. Stir well to incorporate the coconut milk. Pour into glasses and top off each glass with ginger beer (if using). Garnish with basil and lime zest.4. To Make a Mocktail: omit the tequila and orange liquor and use 2 tablespoons of orange juice and an additional tablespoon of lime juice.
Notes
Foam on Top: the margarita will have foam on top once you add the ginger beer. Just gently stir to combine and the foam will subside.
Coconut Milk Separation: as the mojito sits in the ice, the coconut milk may slowly separate from the rum. I don't normally notice it much, but coconut milk brands vary and can cause different outcomes. Just gently stir to mix everything, then continue drinking!
I’m so bummed. I love all things from Tieghan, but this was awful. I threw it away. The coconut milk separated and looked curdled. I used Thai Kitchen’s organic unsweetened coconut milk. I got passed the look only to find the margarita was disgusting. Maybe it’s the basil? I’m not sure, but I’ll be sticking to her spicy pineapple margs in the future!
Hi Meghan,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so very sorry to hear it wasn’t enjoyed! xx
I honestly hope all the confused RUDE readers have the ability to figure it out. Pretty damn dumb if they can’t!
There are still multiple mentions of mojito, even though you said you’d fix it. You’re plagiarizing yourself and not even doing it well. Girl, take a rest. Your heart is not in it anymore.
Should we be using orange liquor or orange liqueur? Thanks!
Orange liquor isn’t really a thing so I’d go with orange liqueur despite what the recipe says.
Hi Kelly,
You will want to use orange liqueur for this recipe. Please let me know if you have any other questions! Cheers! xT
OK. Why does the recipe say orange liquor? What does that refer to? Thanks.
Hi when do you add the rum mentioned in the notes? Thanks
Hi Laura,
So sorry, please ignore the rum, that is a typo that needs fixing:) Let me know if you give this recipe a try! xT
Looks good! Question – you mention a couple of times in the post that you use sweet coconut milk, but the recipe calls for unsweetened…just wondering which you actually use? Thanks!
Hey Elizabeth,
It’s really your preference:) I find that unsweetened coconut milk is already naturally sweet, so that’s what I like to use. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Can you do something about the ads on this site? They are out of control. I can’t even read through a recipe without the page reloading and sending me back to the top. I’ll have to find a new blog that actually allows me to read the recipes.
Hi Terry,
Thanks so much for sharing your feedback and so sorry for any frustrations here! xx
Getting the ads in front of you is the entire point of this site. They post untasted, untested, copy and pasted recipes daily to get your ad views, so I’m not sure they will be changing that.
FYI looks like you copy and pasted from thr Creamy Coconut Lime Mojito recipe and forgot to change to “margarita” 🙂
Ooh that makes so much sense? So it’s basicially the same recipe? 🙁
Hey Skyler,
Thanks so much for letting me know, I will get this fix! Cheers! xT
Another copy and paste error. It’s DAILY. This is what a hack looks like.
Wow. Incredibly rude
I completely agree with you, Jacqueline. She has absolutely no respect for her readers.
Looks good! Im confused though. The recipe is for a margarita and calls for tequila, but the notes below call the drink a mojito and require rum. Am I missing something?
Hey Darlene,
So sorry for any confusion, I will fix the mojito part, it should say “margarita”. Let me know if you give this recipe a try! Cheers! xx
FYI, your notes refers to mojitos.
Hi Sandy,
Thanks for bringing this to my attention:) I will fix it! Cheers! xT
Sounds delicious! Too early in the morning to try it lol! I love your cocktail recipes.
Lol thanks so much Sandy! I hope you love this recipe! xT