This not spicy jalapeño margarita recipe adds all the flavor of jalapeños WITHOUT the heat. How?! It’s a simple fix, based in science!
With over 10 years of experience making homemade drinks, you tend to develop a few favorites. I LOVE a good spicy marg. But that’s because I enjoy spicy food, in general. If you don’t like spicy food, you have probably missed out on the glory of jalapeño margaritas. Until now! This cocktail is inspired by my jalapeño infused tequila which can be customized based on your heat preferences.
🛒 ingredients
Use the freshest ingredients you can find to make sure to get the best flavor! Check the recipe card for the exact quantities of each item.
- jalapeño infused tequila – This margarita is made extra special because it’s also made with jalapeño infused tequila! The process of infusing liquors is one of my best-kept secrets for at-home cocktails. Infusing your own liquors opens up a whole new world for happy hours at home! Usually, though, time isn’t exactly on your side when it comes to liquor infusions. Thankfully, this jalapeño infused tequila comes together in less than a day!
- jalapeños – this drink is garnished with fresh slices of jalapeños. You can also use additional peppers to customize the heat level of each drink you make.
- lime juice – fresh squeezed lime juice is a must for homemade margaritas. You’ll be shocked at what a difference it makes!
- orange juice – just like with the lime juice, fresh squeezed orange juice is best! Choose oranges that are juicing varieties, like valencia, navel, or cara cara!
- cointreau – a high quality orange liqueur like cointreau adds a wonderful layer of flavor to margaritas. Sometimes you may see triple sec in a margarita recipe, but trust me– invest in some cointreau or grand marnier!
- agave simple syrup – if you are a fan of margaritas, you’ll want to make sure to keep this agave simple syrup bookmarked. Agave nectar is much sweeter than sugar by volume, so it can lead to making drinks that are too sweet. This simple syrup is perfectly balanced for mixing up great drinks, every time!
- salt – if you like a salted rim, be sure to grab some coarse salt. I love using flaky sea salt or homemade lime salt.
- ice – use the best and purest ice you can for the best-tasting cocktails. As your ice melts, it will also dilute and flavor your cocktail, so you want to avoid any funky flavors!
How is it possible to make a not-spicy jalapeño margarita?!
It’s widely thought that the seeds of pepper are where the heat factor comes from. In actuality, though, it’s the inner membranes that pack the punch of fiery flavor! Removing these inner membranes takes care of removing all the heat, which just leaves you with the pepper flavor of the jalapeño!
🍳 instructions
This drink comes together in minutes! It’s as easy as combining the ingredients in a cocktail shaker and serving!
1: If using salt, rim the glasses with your preferred salt.
2: Juice the citrus and fill your glasses and cocktail shaker with ice.
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3: Combine all of the ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice, and give it a good shake for 45-60 seconds.
4: Pour the margaritas into your prepared glasses, and garnish with a slice of lime and jalapeño before serving.
♻️ substitutions & variations
Missing an ingredient? Don’t worry! Here are some ideas for substitutions.
- sour mix – use sour mix in place of the lime juice if you don’t have fresh limes on hand. You can also use homemade sour mix if you are feeling extra industrious!
- regular tequila – no time to make your own jalapeño tequila? no worries! You can substitute in regular store-bought tequila in place of the infused tequila. Just be sure you are using 100% agave tequila for the best taste!
- spicy – turn up the heat on this recipe by adding in some sliced rounds of jalapeños into the shaker. Leave the inner ribs and seeds in the slices to keep the heat factor!
- tropical – swap out the orange juice for mango or pineapple juice, and up the quantity to 1.5 ounces for a tropical take on this margarita!
🧰 equipment needed
You don’t need a $350 blending machine to make delicious at-home margaritas! Here are a few items that’ll make your life easier, though!
- cocktail shaker – I love using my cocktail shaker from Elevated Craft because it’s double-walled, so your hands don’t get cold when you’re shaking! It also has handy measurement markers in the cap, making it super easy to measure your drinks.
- cocktail glasses – typically margaritas are served in a tumbler glass or a special margarita glass. I prefer using rocks glasses, because they fit a good amount of ice to keep my drinks cold, and they aren’t as easy to accidentally knock over.
- pairing knife & cutting board – a small sharp pairing knife is needed to cut up the slices of jalapeños. You’ll also need a small cutting board to slice the jalapeños.
- gloves – nitrile gloves are optional but a good idea if you really want to play it safe with peppers. It is possible to burn your skin with the oils in jalapeños, and wearing food-safe gloves can help keep things super safe!
🔆 top tip
The heat from peppers comes from the ribs inside the pepper, not from the seeds. By removing the ribs of the jalapeños, you can make this margarita not-spicy!
💬 q+a
How can this margarita have jalapeños but not be spicy?
The inner ribs of the pepper are where the bulk of the heat-factor comes from within a pepper, so by cutting that out when infusing the tequila, you eliminate the heat factor!
If you are using regular tequila and not infusing your own, just be sure to cut the ribs out of the peppers you’re using to garnish the drinks with and you’ll have no heat in your cocktails.
Why is my margarita bitter?
Your limes could be the culprit here if your margarita is bitter, or you could need to add a little more agave. Make sure to use ripe citrus that’s firm, not squishy or yellowing. If you’re unsure, you can always give the juice a quick taste before adding it to your drinks! Salt and agave can help mellow out the flavor of bitter, unripe, or overripe limes.
If you make this recipe, please leave a review in the comments and a star rating!
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Not Spicy Jalapeño Margarita
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Equipment
- 2 cocktail glasses filled with ice
Ingredients
- 1.5 ounces jalapeño infused tequila or blanco tequila, 100% agave tequila only!
- 1 ounce lime juice freshly squeezed
- 0.5 ounce agave simple syrup
- 0.5 ounce Cointreau orange liquor
- 0.5 ounce orange juice freshly squeezed
- 4 slices jalapeño thinly sliced
Instructions
- Garnish glasses. Add a bit of liquid along 1/4 – 1/2 of the rim of your glass using a pastry brush dipped in agave syrup or a lime wedge.
- Dip in salt. Gently press the rimmed glass into a small dish of salt, shaking off the excess. Allow it to dry to let the salt adhere.
- Chill your glass. Fill your glass with ice cubes to chill it while you assemble your drink.
- Prepare cocktail shaker. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
- Mix. Combine jalapeño infused tequila, Cointreau, lime juice, orange juice, agave simple syrup & jalapeño slices in the cocktail shaker, and give a good 45-60 second shake.1.5 ounces jalapeño infused tequila, 1 ounce lime juice, 0.5 ounce Cointreau orange liquor, 0.5 ounce orange juice, 4 slices jalapeño
- Garnish. Garnish with a couple of slices of jalapeño and a dehydrated lime wedge, and enjoy!
