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New Year’s just isn’t complete without some margaritas.

Spicy Grapefruit Margarita | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

I mean, right?!?!

Lyndsie, my brother Bren’s girlfriend, is all about the margaritas. Actually, she’s really all about tequila, but she’d never turn down a margarita either. In fact, Lyndsie and my cousin Abby were just down here at the barn trying to convince me to make more margaritas… yup, my Christmas vacation has included a lot of bartending. And you know, I’ve gotten pretty good at it.

I swear I have found the perfect amount of tequila, to lime juice, to fruity mixer for margs. OKAY, so maybe some people might add an extra shot…or two of tequila…cough, cough Lyndsie. But they all love them and I cannot lie, this spicy margarita is delicious.

When my cousin Abby first suggested it,  I wasn’t sure I would be into drinking something spicy, but it’s kind of awesome. AND the chili salt rim? YES. I may or may not be licking that rim clean.

Abby lives in San Diego and says that the spicy margaritas are her favorite. SO, since we do Mexican every New Year’s Eve I thought I would try to make my own. I of course had to put in my own little twist on them and made them into spicy GRAPEFRUIT margaritas. Personally, the grapefruit is perfection. You could really swap in any juice of your liking though. Pomegranate, mango or pineapple would all be DELICIOUS.

Spicy Grapefruit Margarita-2 Spicy Grapefruit Margarita-3 Spicy Grapefruit Margarita-4 Spicy Grapefruit Margarita | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Let see, what else? Oh yes, so to make the margaritas a bit spicy, you add the jalapeños directly to the drink. For a big batch recipe you’ll want to let the jalapeños sit in the drink for anywhere from 1-4 hours or until the drink has reached your desired level of spiciness. The more seeds you leave in the jalapeños, the spicier the drinks will become.

To make just one drink, simply shake a couple jalapeño slices in a cocktail shaker until spicy and awesome. It’s all simple stuff, but so good!

Abby has official given this margarita a big TWO thumbs up, so I was pretty pumped! Plus, umm, aren’t they so fun and pretty?!? Kind of loving the colors!

Spicy Grapefruit Margarita | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvestSpicy Grapefruit Margarita | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Spicy Grapefruit Margarita | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Spicy Grapefruit Margarita.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings: 6 Drinks
Calories Per Serving: 269 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Big Batch Margaritas

  • 1 1/2 cups silver tequila 12 ounces
  • 2 cups grapefruit juice 16 ounces
  • 3/4 cups fresh lime juice
  • 1/4 cup agave nectar may also use honey
  • 1-2 whole jalapeños halved (depending on how spicy you want your drink)
  • slices lime + grapefruit for serving

To make just ONE drink

  • 1 1/2 - 2 ounces silver tequila
  • 2 1/2 ounces grapefruit juice
  • 1 ounce fresh lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon agave nectar or more to taste
  • 1-2 slices jalapeno depending on how spicy you want your drink
  • slices lime + grapefruit for serving

Spicy Chili Salt Rim

Instructions

Spicy Chili Salt Rim

  • In a bowl, combine the chili power salt and sugar. Mix well to combine. Use this mixture to rim your glasses.

Big Batch Margarita

  • Combine all the ingredients in a pitcher and stir to combine. Keep chilled in the fridge for 1-3 hours. Taste the drink every hour to check for spiciness. The longer you leave the jalapeño in the drink the spicier the drink will become. Once the drink is spiced to your liking, remove the jalapeños.
  • When ready to serve, salt the rims of 4-6 glasses. Add ice to each glass and pour the margaritas over the ice. Add a grapefruit and a lime wedge.

To make just ONE drink

  • Salt the rim of your glass. Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker and fill with ice. Shake until combined and then strain into your prepared glass. The longer you shake the drink, the spicier it will be come. Add a grapefruit wedge and a slice of jalapeño if desired.
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Spicy Grapefruit Margarita | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Cheers to Abby and her spicy margaritas!

Spicy Grapefruit Margarita | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Made these this evening with the chicken fajitas. Really good margarita – not too sweet and used fresh grapefruit which we decided to grill before juicing. Because we love the smokiness of mescal; we used that instead of silver tequila. We think either would work wonderfully. Otherwise; followed the directions and ingredient amounts. Takes us to our happy place!

    1. Hey Renee,
      Happy Monday!!☃️ Thanks a lot for making this recipe and sharing your review, I love to hear that it was a winner! xx

  2. 5 stars
    We made this with tacos for our post-holiday dinner and loved them! We added a bit of triple sec and gochujang salt instead of the chili salt and it was fabulous.

    1. Hey Angela,
      Happy New Year!!🎆 I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for giving it a try and sharing your review! xT

    1. Hey Meagan,
      Fantastic! Thanks so much for making this cocktail and sharing your review, I am so glad it was enjoyed! xx

  3. Tried these last night – AMAZING! I have already sent the recipe off to multiple family members and friends. Can’t wait to try your other margarita recipes!

    1. Hey Pamela,
      Happy Friday!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan

  4. Hi, this looks great! Did you use freshly squeezed grapefruit juice? Or can you recommend something already juiced?
    thanks!

    1. Hey Emily,
      Yes I used fresh grapefruit juice. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

  5. 5 stars
    Wow. My sister and I got so drunk off of these margaritas. They go down SO easily. We started by batching them in a pitcher. The gentle heat from the jalapeños were such a nice contrast to the fresh grapefruit. We put down the entire pitcher in a hour. We still had all of the ingredients to keep going so we started making them by the glass, gotta get through this quarantine somehow…am i right? To sum it up, delicious.

  6. I’d love to know the manufacturer of those glasses, too. I’ve seen them, or something similar before, and can’t remember where. Beautiful beautiful pictures.

    1. Hey Annabella! Thank you so much! Those glasses are from crate and barrel. I love them! They also have them in purple.

  7. These are fabulous! I used 2 oz 1800 Reposado because I prefer the flavor, muddled three slices of jalapeno in the lime juice (for the flavor only.) I added the fruit juice, tequila and shook then poured over iced rimmed glass (isn’t that rim trim amazing? omg) and then poured 1 oz of my homemade habanero simple syrup gently over the top. No stirring, just drinking. I don’t buy agave nectar because I experiment with simple syrups and prefer to use those. The habanero syrup was perfect for these. I’m going to make another as soon as I post this and send the recipe to all my party peeps. Definitely a keeper! Thanks for sharing.

  8. These are seriously the best margaritas I’ve ever had. We’ve made them 4 times now, including for dinner guests last night. I’ve never been a margarita lover because of that nasty green gunk, but these are fantastic. We love to add a couple dashes of Tabasco – the spicier the better!

    Love your blog – I try lots of your recipes, and they’re all outstanding!

  9. You need to know this is one of the best margarita’s I’ve ever had! & the best part it’s a healthier version , not laden with syrupy calorie infested drink mixes. All fresh ingredients here & it’s amazing. My husband & I made these a few weeks ago & then the following weekend. We like hot & spicy, so getting a spicy-er jalepeno is a must! & it’s like magic, as the drink sits, the hotter it gets! & jalepenos can be tricky, sometimes there hot & sometimes they’re not, so i’d suggest a pre-test for heat.
    This Margarita is on point!
    Please make more healthier Margarita recipes.
    keep em coming.
    Cinco de mayo is coming…
    and arbor day…
    lol…
    might as well make one for each holiday.

  10. Hi Tieghan:) Sounds yummy…so I’m making them tonight for game night! Your recipe calls for jalapenos, but those look like serrano chilis in your beautiful pics…are my eyes deceiving me?