This Thanksgiving Margarita is sweet, sour, and reminiscent of fall. All you need is your favorite pitcher and 4 simple ingredients. Garnish with a cinnamon stick, apple slice and a sprig of fresh rosemary for the perfect hosting touch!
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🌟Why You'll Love this Recipe
- It tastes like fall. If you love apple cider, cinnamon, orange citrus, and the smell of fresh rosemary, you will LOVE this fall-inspired apple cider margarita. Give my Holiday Cranberry Bourbon Cocktail and Vegan Spiked Hot Chocolate a try this season, too!
- Margarita for a crowd. This fall margarita recipe is specifically written to make a pitcher (8 servings) for effortless entertaining this holiday season. If you're hosting Thanksgiving this year, add this Thanksgiving margarita to the menu and please your crowd!
- No bar tools. Making simple margaritas (see my Skinny Spicy Margarita, Spicy Grapefruit Margaritas, and Spicy Watermelon Margaritas) is my specialty. I know most people don't have a full bar set in their kitchen and like to keep it as easy as possible. In this case, all you'll need is a wooden spoon for stirring!
🥘Ingredients and Substitutions
- Apple cider - For the best-flavored apple cider margarita, I recommend using unfiltered apple cider. Unfiltered cider contains a stronger apple flavor and is less processed. The only ingredient should be apples.
- Tequila - Any tequila will do! Use your favorite or what you've currently got on the bar cart.
- Orange liqueur - A common ingredient in margaritas used to lightly sweeten and add depth of flavor. It's also great in sidecars, Cosmopolitans, Long Island Iced Teas, and more. You'll find it near the alcohol in stores.
- Limes - When making margaritas, it is very important to use freshly squeezed lime juice. You simply can't make a good margarita with pre-bottled lime juice. To get the most out of your fresh limes, roll them using the palm of your hand on a cutting board before slicing. This will loosen up the membranes inside and allow the juice to squeeze out more easily.
See the recipe card below for the remaining ingredients and quantities.
📖Variations
Use a spiced apple cider. Original apple cider contains just apples. Spiced apple ciders contain added cinnamon, ginger, cloves, star anise, and more. This will add a little bit of a kick to your Thanksgiving margarita and be absolutely delicious!
If you can't find a pre-made spiced apple cider in stores, make your own at home. Or, simply stir ½-1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice into your margarita pitcher.
🔪Instructions
- Mix together the Thanksgiving margarita ingredients. In a large pitcher, add tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice and apple cider. Top with ice and garnish with apple slices and lime slices. Stir to combine.
- Prepare your glasses. Add lime juice to a small shallow dish. In a separate shallow dish, mix together ½ tablespoon of cinnamon and 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar. Dip your drinking glasses first in the lime juice, then in the cinnamon sugar. Set aside to set.
- Fill the glasses with ice. Pour about 4 ounces of the margarita pitcher into each glass. Garnish your fall margarita with a lime slice, cinnamon stick and fresh sprig of rosemary for color.
- Serve and enjoy!
💭Recipe FAQs
If you've made my Skinny Spicy Margarita Recipe or Simple Spicy Grapefruit Margaritas, they are definitely on the more sour side. This fall-inspired margarita on the other hand is more sweet! I like to call it my apple cider margarita because it contains the sweet flavors of apple, orange liquor, and warmth from the cinnamon.
If you are prepping this Thanksgiving margarita for your holiday dinner or party, mix the margarita ingredients together in the base of the pitcher, then tightly cover it with plastic wrap. Place the pitcher in the refrigerator until ready to serve. This will keep for up to 3 days. Mix in the ice and sliced apples and limes right before serving.
The most popular choice for margaritas is a margarita glass with a stem and wide rim. However, you can pour your margaritas into any glass of your choosing. I prefer a highball whiskey glass. They're more versatile, less likely to tip and spill, and can be used to make more holiday drinks, like my Holiday Cranberry Bourbon Cocktail Recipe.
No. Triple sec is an orange-flavored liqueur that is often used to add sweetness to cocktails, including margaritas. Margarita mix will often contain triple sec, but it also contains lime juice, sugar and salt.
👩🏻🍳Hosting Tips
- Go all out on the garnish! This is what will make your margaritas feel extra special and restaurant-worthy. Friends and family may even request them every year.
- Slice the apples right before serving. Apples oxidize quickly and will begin to brown if they are prepared too early.
- Juice the limes with a citrus juicer. This will allow you to get as much out of the limes as possible and make the whole process as fast as possible.
🥗Serving
If you're like me, you'll be serving your Thanksgiving margarita during Thanksgiving appetizers! Here are a few of my favorite fall appetizers to serve this holiday season:
You may also enjoy these main and Thanksgiving side dish recipes to serve during the main meal:
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating & comment below to let me know how it came out. Thanks for visiting!
🍳Recipe
Thanksgiving Margarita Pitcher
Equipment
- Cutting board
- Pitcher
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups silver tequila
- ⅔ cup orange liqueur, triple sec or Cointreau
- ¾ cup lime juice
- 2 cups apple cider
- Ice
Cinnamon Sugar Rim
- Lime wedges or lime juice
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Instructions
- In a large pitcher, add tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice and apple cider. Top with ice and garnish the pitcher with apple slices and lime slices. Stir to combine with a large spoon.
- Prepare your glasses by dipping the rims in lime juice followed by the cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Fill the glasses with ice and pour about 4 ounces of the margarita pitcher into each glass. Garnish with a lime slice, cinnamon stick and rosemary.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Go all out on the garnish! This is what will make your margaritas feel extra special and restaurant-worthy. Friends and family may even request them every year.
- Slice the apples right before serving. Apples oxidize quickly and will begin to brown if they are prepared too early.
- Juice the limes with a citrus juicer. This will allow you to get as much out of the limes as possible and make the whole process as fast as possible.
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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