On Friday nights I’m usually too tired to do much of anything (I’m getting old…) so normally that means opening a bottle of wine, but these margaritas don’t have many ingredients (only 5) and are super easy to make.
I used to not really like coconut all that much. Granted I would eat the occasional almond joy (because I’ve never met candy I didn’t like) and samoas have always been my favorite girls scout cookie, but I didn’t love it like I do now. I was especially clueless as to why anyone would pick coconut as the base for a drink when there were so many other fruity flavors to choose from.
But now things are different (I think it all started with a girl scout cookie samoa coffee creamer roughly 4 years ago), chocolate and coconut are my favorite flavor combo and I’m obsessed with anything coconut. If there’s a coconut based drink on the menu (especially if there’s tequila involved, like in these coconut lime margaritas).
Since margaritas are my go to drink at restaurants I know there is an extremely contentious debate about on the rocks or frozen. To be honest I usually prefer on the rocks unless I’m getting a mix of sangria/frozen lime margarita, in which case I’ll make an exception (because combining wine and tequila sounds like the best idea). However, I made these coconut lime margaritas both on the rocks and frozen, so no matter your preference I’ve got you covered!
There’s also the classic salt v. sugar rim debate when it comes to fruity margaritas. Generally I go salt but sometimes I can’t make up my mind and since I’m making these coconut lime margaritas in my own kitchen I did a combo of sugar and salt and added in some lime zest for color because I want my food to be pretty (food blogger problems…). If you are hard core team salt or team sugar feel free to use whichever you prefer.
I plan on curling up on the couch under a blanket with these coconut lime margaritas and a big bowl of popcorn for a Netflix marathon (Luke and I are currently re-watching It’s Always Sunny from the beginning, so funny) on this rainy Friday night, I highly suggest you do the same!
Coconut Lime Margaritas – On the Rocks or Frozen
Ingredients
For the Margaritas
- 4 oz canned light coconut milk see note
- 1 oz lime simple syrup recipe below
- 2 oz tequila
- ½ oz lime juice
- Ice
- Lime wedges for serving
For the Lime Simple Syrup (see note)
- ½ cup lime juice
- ½ cup sugar
For the Lime Zest Salty Sugar Rim (see note)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 lime – zest then cut into wedges
Instructions
For On the Rocks Margaritas:
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- In a shaker combine the coconut milk, lime simple syrup, tequila, and lime juice and shake to combine (if you don’t have a shaker you can add everything in a glass measuring cup and stir)
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- Pour into salty sugar rimmed glasses filled with ice (see recipe below)
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- Serve with extra lime wedges as desired
For Frozen Margaritas
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- Freeze the coconut milk in ice cube trays (this will take a few hours – see note)
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- Place the lime simple syrup, tequila and lime juice in a blender (I used a personal sized blender cup), add the coconut milk ice cubes and a handful of regular ice cubes, blend until well combined
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- Pour into salty sugar rimmed glasses (see recipe below)
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- Serve with extra lime wedges as desired
For the Lime Simple Syrup (see note)
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- Combine the lime juice and simple syrup in a small sauce pan, bring to a simmer and cook until the sugar is dissolved, stirring ocassionally
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- Remove from heat and let cool completely before using
For the Salty Sugar Rim (see note)
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- Add the sugar, salt, and lime zest to a small bowl and mix well
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- Run a lime wedge around the rim of a glass then dip the glass into the salty sugar mixture and roll until all sides are evenly coated
Recipe Notes
- I HIGHLY recommend using light coconut milk for this, I tried using full fat because it’s what I normally have on hand, but it separates VERY quickly, the light coconut milk results in a much more homogeneous margarita
- The lime simple syrup recipe makes more than you will need for the margaritas, I store mine in a jar in the fridge
- If you want an all sugar rim just omit the salt, conversely if you want an all salt rim use 1 tablespoon of salt and omit the sugar
- For the frozen margaritas freezing the coconut milk will result in the best margarita, however, if you’re in a rush you can use all ice cubes, but your margarita will be more watery with less flavor
Cheers!