This easy skinny margarita recipe is fresh and flavorful without all the calories! It’s a skinny margarita made with agave and lime that is so good you’ll never use a margarita mix again!
My quest for losing weight has not quenched my thirst for a great margarita! Ali, the voice behind Gimme Some Oven is an unofficial mixologist! She is known for her incredible margaritas.
She is also just as sweet and colorful as her desserts. We decided to collaborate and it was nothing short of amazing. That girl can create a recipe that will make you beg for more! It was fun to blend our styles while blending cocktails, creating a great skinny margarita recipe.
I added a video to this ever popular Skinny Margarita Recipe. It’s for a single serving but it’s just as easy to make a large batch for entertaining. Highly recommended for Cinco de Mayo!
Psst… if you love margaritas as much as we do, you’ve got to try this incredible Cadillac margarita too. In fact, I’ve even published a complete guide to making the BEST margaritas – with every margarita recipe I have! There’s even a comprehensive guide to choosing the best tequila for margaritas. Don’t miss these posts!
What is a Skinny Margarita?
It is a fresh take on the classic cocktail, with fewer calories and 0 guilt. There are a number of ways to make one, but this recipe is all natural, all flavor! It’s made with a secret, yet simple ingredient that makes it stand above the rest.
This Skinny Margarita is just 145 degrees per serving and is made with just 4 ingredients!
The Perfect Skinny Margarita Recipe That Won’t Break Your Diet
So many are made with processed ingredients that taste sour or are overcompensating with alternative flavors.
After visiting one of our favorite restaurants, Maya Cafe, the owner offered a margarita. He could tell by my “I wish” eye roll that I was counting calories.
He assured me that the margarita was naturally lower in calories because it was fresh. A light bulb clicked. Why have I been suffering margarita free all these years and most of all, why didn’t I think of that? Ali and I recreated the Skinny Margarita using fresh squeezed lime juice, agave and orange juice.
You’ll never use another mix again. It’s true, fresh is always better. Naturally sweetened, not bitter. It rivals a classic margarita!
A Low-Calorie Margarita Doesn’t Mean Low Flavor
It’s a refreshingly sweet Skinny Margarita using only the freshest ingredients. To naturally reduce calories, replace orange liqueur with fresh squeezed orange juice. It also offers a hint of fresh flavor! A little agave nectar naturally sweetens the skinny margaritas in lieu of traditional simple syrup.
After several attempts of mastering the recipe, it was a “secret” ingredient that perfected it. WATER! Water balances a lime margarita, reducing the amount of sweetener needed! A splash of water prevents this margarita from being too sour.
This Skinny Margarita has all the flavor without all the calories!
Skinny Margarita Ingredients
- Tequila – Some of my favorite tequilas are Altos, Patron, Casamigos, and Camarena. Use white, silver, blanco, reposado, or añejo, your preference. A high quality margarita offers the best flavor.
- Lime Juice – Fresh squeezed lime juice offers the best flavor, however, you can use 100% real lime juice found in the juice aisle of your grocery store.
- Orange Juice – Fresh squeezed, if possible, otherwise orange juice will work as well. It takes the tartness out of a margarita.
- Water – Another key to decreasing the tart flavor, without the calories.
- Agave Nectar – Naturally adds a hint of sweetness in this amazing margarita.
Variations
The freshest ingredients make the best margaritas. Mix up this classic flavored Skinny Margarita with flavors of orange, mango, and watermelon. You can find all the details in the recipe card notes.
How to Rim a Margarita Glass
You can serve up this Skinny Margarita with or without a salt-rimmed glass. Eliminating salt makes this cocktail a little healthier and reduces water retention. Either way, it’s traditionally garnished with a lime wedge or slice.
- Rub a lime wedge around the rim of a glass.
- Pour thick flakes of kosher salt or margarita salt on a shallow plate. Dip glass.
How to Make a Skinny Margarita
- Mix – Add tequila, lime juice, orange juice, water and agave to a cocktail shaker or glass.
- Shake – Shake or stir vigorously and pour over a glass with ice or add ice. Garnish with a lime slice.
Tips to Make the Best Margarita
Tequila
The other key to making an amazing Skinny Margarita is quality tequila.
While a 1-ounce shot of vodka has 96 calories a shot of tequila is only 64 calories. There’s just so much to love about a fresh margarita!
How to Juice Limes
- The easiest way to juice limes is to start with citrus at room temperature.
- Roll the lemon or orange with the palm of your hand on a cutting board or countertop to soften it.
- Slice it in half lengthwise. Juice by hand, use a hand-held juicer or the citrus attachment on your mixer.
On average, 1 lime makes about 2 tablespoons juice.
Make it a Frozen Margarita
Blend ingredients in a blender along with frozen watermelon or mango cubes and ice.
Margarita Bar
You can serve up Skinny Margaritas on a margarita bar for easy entertaining. It makes it convenient for guests to create their own Skinny Margarita while you kick back to enjoy your own. Just off an array of pretty purees, tequila, lime juice and agave – wrapped up in a beautiful bar.
More Margarita Recipes
This skinny margarita recipe is simple because all natural, fresh ingredients make the most flavorful and lowest calorie margaritas. Learn how to make a skinny margarita with the step by step video in the recipe card! Serve up this skinny margarita with the Best Beef Taco Recipe.
It’s rare when I have the opportunity to socialize during the workday with anyone other than my dog, Dusty. It’s so wonderful to have friends like Ali to collaborate with!
Cheers!
More Amazing Cocktails
Skinny Margarita Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ounce tequila
- 3 tablespoons lime juice freshly-squeezed
- 1 tablespoon orange juice freshly-squeezed
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 teaspoons agave nectar
- ice
Instructions
- Rim the glass: Slice the center of a lime wedge and rub the wedge around rim of your glass. Pour a layer of salt onto a small plate. Dip the glass into the salt. Tap the glass to remove excess.
- Add tequila, lime juice, orange juice, water and agave to a cocktail shaker.
- Shake vigorously and pour over a glass with ice. Garnish with a lime slice.
Julie’s Tips
Substitutions
- Tequila – Some of my favorite tequilas are Altos, Patron, Casamigos, and Camarena. Use white, silver, blanco, reposado, or añejo, your preference. A high quality margarita offers the best flavor.
- Lime Juice – Fresh squeezed lime juice offers the best flavor, however, you can use 100% real lime juice found in the juice aisle of your grocery store.
- Orange Juice – Fresh squeezed, if possible, otherwise orange juice will work as well. It takes the tartness out of a margarita.
Variations
- Make it Mango – Using a mango puree, omit the water, add tequila, lime juice, orange juice and just 1 teaspoon agave nectar. Shake well, strain and serve over ice.
- Make it Watermelon – Using watermelon puree, omit the water, add tequila, lime juice, orange juice and just 1 teaspoon agave nectar. Shake well, strain and serve over ice.
- Make it Frozen – Blend ingredients in a blender along with frozen watermelon or mango cubes and ice.
How to Juice Limes
- The easiest way to juice limes is to start with citrus at room temperature.
- Roll the lemon or orange with the palm of your hand on a cutting board or countertop to soften it.
- Slice it in half lengthwise.
- Juice by hand, use a hand-held juicer or the citrus attachment on your mixer.
Video
Estimated nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is not guaranteed.
Am I missing something? When using the fruit puree, how much do you use and do you substitute the orange juice with the puree or just add the puree to the basic recipe? Have you tried it with strawberry?
I eliminate the water & use 3 tablespoons puree. I LOVE it with strawberry!
Excited to try all three soon!
You recommend adding a quick splash of water to each recipe?
Yes, to dilute the lime juice. Enjoy, Nicole!
I can’t wait to try these recipes! I’m a sucker for a good margarita and love guilt free ones even better. I usually use a zero calorie mix like Baja Bob’s and add frozen strawberries to it, but I want to try this fresh option, too!
I don’t think you’ll opt for a mix again, Kari. Cheers!
Thanks for sharing! I too have been on the lookout for a skinny recipe that wasn’t terrible. I can’t wait to try these!
Love everything about this! I so enjoyed getting to spend the day with you. And these margs!!
Btw, I remade some last night for my neighbors, and one said it was the best margarita she’d ever had. I call that success. ๐
Thank you, Ali! I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you & adding margaritas to the mix makes it even more fun. Thanks for all of your inspiration & insane cocktail making abilities!