When it comes to what’s in a prickly pear margarita, the ingredients list is simple and classic. It’s your usual margarita lineup with tequila, triple sec, and lime juice, with a colorful twist via the addition of pink prickly pear syrup. You can make this syrup at home using granulated sugar, water, lime juice, and prickly pears, or keep an eye out for bottled versions at your local grocery store. For the ideal prickly pear cactus margarita, however, we’d recommend taking the time to make the syrup at home. Just take care whilst preparing the prickly pear cactus so you don’t hurt yourself in the process.
We’ve suggested using tequila blanco in the recipe above as this tends to pair best with the fruity notes of the prickly pear. Keep in mind that the final alcohol content in your cocktail will vary depending on the brand of tequila or triple sec you choose.
This prickly pear margarita is easy to make, but you can mix in other flavors as preferred. For example, some home cocktail makers like to muddle jalapeño peppers into the cocktail shaker before adding the rest of the ingredients, to introduce a spicy kick to the final drink. Whichever route you pick with this recipe, freshly squeezed lime juice is always preferable for this cocktail, to enhance the flavors.
You can purchase margarita mix quite widely from grocery stores these days, but we still think making it from scratch is worth it to get the tastiest drink. Once you’ve enjoyed a delicious prickly pear margarita, then get inspired by a whole host of tequila-based cocktails, from a Tequila Sunrise to a Bloody Maria.
How to Garnish and Serve
In the prickly pear margarita recipe shared above we’ve outlined how to rim the glass with salt, for a classic margarita serve. A lime wedge is all that’s then needed to garnish this mouth-watering drink. If you want to serve it as a frozen margarita you’ll need to add the ingredients to a blender with ice, instead of a shaker, and blend until smooth. Margaritas are ideal party cocktails as they can be easily whipped up in batches in a pitcher to then serve individually to guests when ready.
For the salt rim in this recipe, we’ve kept it simple with a sea salt rim, but there’s plenty more to experiment with here. Some cocktail enthusiasts will mix spice into the salt to balance the sweet and sour flavors of the margarita, or you could add lime zest for a contrasting color to the pink of the prickly pear. Using a wedge of lime for the rim of the glass is the traditional method to get your salt sticking to the rim, but if you want to ensure your salt really sticks on, try brushing sugar syrup or agave nectar onto the edge instead. This will help to control the presentation of the salt too and make your glasses look very appealing.
Mocktail Variation
With the rise of the no-and-low market, there are now lots of ways to make a prickly pear margarita mocktail. It should be easy enough to find non-alcoholic versions of both tequila and triple sec either in your local grocery store or online. You can also make a low-proof margarita to follow the mid-strength trend that’s rising in popularity. Or switch the tequila and triple sec out for limeade, if you’d prefer to make this with a bubbly base instead.
Intended for ages 21+. Please drink responsibly.
