These Spicy Grapefruit Margaritas are delicious and super refreshing. Made with fresh grapefruit juice, cayenne pepper and sweetened with a little agave, this is the perfect drink to enjoy during citrus season.

Whip out the cocktail shaker, it's margarita time! This is the perfect cocktail to enjoy during the winter citrus season. It's perfectly sweet with just a little bit of spice and is easy to make any day of the week.
If you love margaritas as I do, you will love my Spicy Watermelon Margaritas.
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Why You'll Love this Recipe
- Simple & quick. This recipe takes just 5 minutes to make and only uses 6 ingredients.
- Customizable. While this recipe only uses a few ingredients, you can easily customize it to your liking. Make it without the spice, triple sec or lime juice. It will still taste great!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Tequila- you can use your favorite brand but I recommend a silver or blanco tequila. I used 1800 Cristalino.
- Triple sec-use triple sec or Cointreau. You can also omit if you don't like orange liqueur.
- Agave- you need just 1 teaspoon to sweeten. You can also use honey.
- Grapefruit juice- I recommend squeezing a fresh grapefruit to avoid added sugar as we are already sweetending with agave.
- Cayenne pepper- just a little for a kick. You can also muddle a jalapeño slice or make these margaritas without spice.
- Lime juice- you need juice from ½ of a lime.
See the recipe card below for quantities and remaining ingredients.
Equipment
Grab what you need for this recipe:
- Knife
- Cocktail shaker
- 2 glasses
- Measuring spoons and cups needed: 1 ounce, ¼ teaspoon and 1 teaspoon.
Instructions
Just a few steps and about 5 minutes until you can say cheers!
- Juice the grapefruit and lime.
- Add the ingredients to a shaker and shake!
- Fill glasses with ice and pour margarita mixture over the rocks.
- Garnish with a slice of grapefruit and serve immediately. Enjoy!
FAQs
A margarita contains tequila and fresh lime juice and is usually sweetened with orange liqueur. A Paloma is sweetened with grapefruit soda and is less sweet than a margarita.
To be honest, I typically say no salt when ordering margaritas because I am a salt lover and don't think I need any more in my diet. However, salt can enhance the flavor of a margarita so it is typically recommended.
I recommend a flakey or coarse sea salt or kosher salt. You can also add cayenne, tajin, lime zest and more to your rim.
Top Tip
I recommend using fresh grapefruit juice and lime juice over buying it prepackaged. The taste is better and has no added sugar.
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Recipe
Spicy Grapefruit Margarita
Equipment
Ingredients
- Salt & lime wedge for rimming the glass optional
- 4 ounces tequila
- 1 ounce orange liqueur
- 1 teaspoon agave
- 4 ounces grapefruit juice (or half of a grapefruit squeezed)
- ½ ounce lime juice (or half of a lime squeezed)
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ice
Instructions
- Rub a lime wedge over the rim of two cocktail glasses or mason jars.
- Pour some sea salt or kosher salt onto a small plate. Dip the cup upside down onto the plate of salt and press down, ensuring the entire rim is covered with salt.
- To a cocktail shaker, add ice and all of the ingredients. Shake until combined.
- Fill glasses with ice and pour margarita mixture over the rocks.
- Garnish with a slice of grapefruit and serve immediately. Enjoy!
If you make this recipe, please leave a rating and a comment. I love to know what you are making and ratings help me to create more delicious recipes for you!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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