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Home » Recipes » Cool Drinks

How to Make the Best Prickly Pear Margarita

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The best way to cool off in the hot summer sun is with an ice-cold margarita. The prickly pear margarita is both delicious and refreshing.

Prickly pear margarita.

Personally, I prefer a margarita on the rocks. Frozen margaritas are also good, I just prefer to avoid the inevitable brain freeze that comes with them. If you prefer a frozen margarita, just follow the recipe below and put everything in a blender with some ice.

Jump to:
  • What is in a Prickly Pear Margarita?
  • What Type of Tequila Makes the Best Margarita?
  • Equipment
  • Top Tip
  • Variations
  • Pairing
  • 📖 Recipe

What is in a Prickly Pear Margarita?

The prickly pear margarita is made with just a few simple ingredients. They are:

  • Tequila - Good tequila makes a good margarita. Expensive tequila will not make a margarita any better.
  • Orange Liqueur - Triple Sec or Cointreau work well.
  • Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice - This is the most important ingredient because nothing will ruin a margarita faster than bottled lime juice.
  • Prickly Pear Syrup - Easy to find online or at most major liquor stores.
  • Agave Syrup - A little agave syrup adds just a touch of sweetness.
  • Ice - Small cubes or crushed.
  • Margarita Salt - Margarita salt is a bit coarse resulting in the perfect amount of salt on the rim of the glass.

See recipe card for quantities.

What Type of Tequila Makes the Best Margarita?

There are three basic types of tequila available: silver; reposado and anejo. The difference is how long they are aged, which affects the color and the price. Silver tequila is clear, generally not aged and is typically the least expensive of the three. Reposado is usually golden in color, is aged a few months and is more expensive. Anejo is more amber in color, is aged about a year and is the most expensive.

My preference is to use good silver tequila or, now and then, a good reposado tequila. Anejo is just too expensive to use for a margarita and it changes the color of the drink making it darker and somewhat unappealing. Save anejo for sipping.

Equipment

A few pieces of "bar" equipment make the process of making margaritas a bit easier.

  • Jigger - A double sided bar jigger with markings inside for .5 ounce, .75 ounce and 1.0 ounce.
  • Juicer - Limes are hard to squeeze. A good hand-held juicer is helpful.
  • Shaker Set - This is a set of two cups, generally made of stainless steel, one slightly smaller than the other. Simply place all of the ingredients and ice in the larger cup, gently fit the mouth of the smaller cup into the mouth of the larger cup and shake.
  • Strainer - A bar strainer fits inside the large shaker set cup and holds back the ice when pouring the margarita.

A jigger with internal markings.

Large end of a jigger with internal measurements.

The line half way up the middle of the large end is 1 ounce. The top is 2 ounces.

The small end has internal markings at .5 and .75 ounce.

A hand juicer sized for squeezing limes.

The juicer opens to accept limes that have been cut in half.

Stainless steel strainer.

A stainless steel bar strainer.

Stainless steel bar set.

A stainless steel shaker set.

The small cup fits inside the larger cup for shaking.

The small cup fits inside the large cup allowing the margarita to be shaken.

Top Tip

A margarita on the rocks is best shaken, not stirred. It's worth investing in a quality bar shaker set. Also, use only fresh squeezed lime juice. It makes a big difference.

Variations

Try these other refreshing margaritas:

  • Classic Margarita
  • Skinny Margarita
  • Watermelon Margarita
  • Peach Margarita

Pairing

These are my favorite dishes to serve with a great margarita:

  • Carnitas nachos.
    Irresistible Carnitas Nachos - A Tex-Mex Delight
  • Brisket tacos from leftover brisket.
    Crispy Tacos Made With Leftover Beef Brisket
  • Brisket Stuffed Chile Relleno
    Tex-Mex Comfort Food: Brisket-Stuffed Chile Rellenos
  • Queso Fundido
    Ultimate Queso Fundido with Chorizo: The Perfect Party Appetizer

📖 Recipe

Prickly pear margarita.

Prickly Pear Margarita on the Rocks Recipe

Try this refreshing twist on the classic margarita on the rocks.
5 from 2 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Total Time 5 minutes mins
Course Drinks
Cuisine Tex Mex
Servings 1 serving
Calories 291 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1.5 ounces tequila silver tequila works best
  • 1 ounce triple sec
  • 1 ounce prickly pear syrup
  • .75 ounce lime juice freshly squeezed

Instructions
 

  • Dip the rim of a margarita glass in lime juice then margarita salt. Hold the glass upside down for 15 seconds for the salt to set. Fill the glass with ice.
  • Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker over ice. Strain into the ice-filled glass.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 291kcalCarbohydrates: 35gProtein: 0.1gFat: 0.1gSaturated Fat: 0.03gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.03gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.01gSodium: 3mgPotassium: 34mgFiber: 0.1gSugar: 31gVitamin A: 11IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 3mgIron: 0.1mg
Keyword margarita
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

More Cool Drinks

  • Watermelon margarita.
    How to Make the Best Watermelon Margarita
  • Peach margarita
    How to Make the Best Peach Margarita
  • Margarita with a salted rim and slices of orange and lime.
    How to Make the Best Margarita
  • Margarita
    How to Make the Best Skinny Margarita
5 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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Dave
Dave

I'm Dave, just a guy who likes to cook for family and friends and take pictures of what I make. I am not a chef. While some of my recipes might look complicated and intimidating, I assure you that they are all really quite easy. If you can cut an onion, you can make any recipe on this website. Have some fun and make something new.

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