This Homemade Margarita Mix is a delicious and easy recipe for making margaritas at home. Just add tequila!
This past Sunday I took a little trip to visit my mom for Mother’s Day. Since she’s the one who normally does the cooking, my brother and I devised a plan so she wouldn’t have to cook. He made steaks, and I supplied all the fixings, including a big bottle of this Homemade Margarita Mix.
(Just in case you’re curious, my side dishes included these potato and bacon kabobs, this arugula salad, a big appetizer plate, and my mason jar key lime pies.)
Margarita Mix:
Knowing that Mom likes margaritas, I thought they would be perfect for our toast to her on Mother’s Day.
Because fresh is usually best, I wanted to figure out how to make my own margarita mix and avoid the store-bought variety. To my surprise, I discovered that making a large batch of margarita mix at home is easy!
How to Make Margarita Mix:
-Create a simple syrup by boiling water and sugar.
-Mix with freshly squeezed lemon juice and lime juice.
Yes! That’s it.
One important note: For the most flavorful margarita mix, I recommend using freshly squeezed lemon and lime juice. Fresh is beyond compare!
With your mix prepared, I assume you’re ready for a cocktail.
For a classic margarita, I use 3 ounces of margarita mix, 2 ounces of silver tequila, and 1 ounce of triple sec. Shake it up with ice and serve in a salt-rimmed glass with a wedge of fresh lime. Oh, my! It’s so good.
If you prefer a frozen margarita, just add the ingredients to a blender and puree until smooth.
Also, you can adjust these amounts to your own taste. However you fix yours, I’m certain you’ll love this recipe as much as we did.
Looking for more homemade beverages? Check out these:
As I noted in the recipe above, if refrigerated, this margarita mix will stay fresh for up to a week.
You can also create flavored cocktails by adding different pureed fruits, flavored tequilas, or whatever ingredients you like.
Cheers!
The BEST Homemade Margarita Mix Recipe:
Homemade Margarita Mix
Ingredients
- 3 cups water
- 3 cups sugar
- 2 cups lemon juice - freshly squeezed
- 2 cups lime juice - freshly squeezed
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, combine the water and sugar. Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil, then remove the syrup from the heat, and allow it to cool.
- Once cooled, mix the syrup with the lemon juice and lime juice. Chill once more.
- Store covered in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Facts
Cannot wait to make this – I’m always disappointed by the pre-mix (but LOVE a good margarita)!!!
Question – approximately how many lemons/ limes did you find you needed for the juice?
Right? Fresh is so much better! You do need a lot. I’d say about 16-20 lemons and 18-22 limes. It’s totally worth it though!
xo Michael
Absolutely worth it, have it prepped and ready for this weekend!! Thank you!!
Yes! I’ve been looking for a way to make margaritas in bulk. This is going to be my summer go-to! Thanks for sharing this.
Oh, Michael! What have you done? Now I’ll have a pitcher in my fridge all the time. Thank you.
great idea and great tip about using fresh limes and I agree, the commercial mixes are way too sweet for me so I really appreciate being able to regulate the amount of sugar I use, also you’re a good son for making this for your mom!
You’re so welcome! And you can even use less sugar in the recipe I provided if you wish. Enjoy!
xo Michael
OH.MY.GOSH!!!!!! Made this today and can hardly wait for happy hour. I think a splash of it would also work well with gin and tonic….just sayin. Thanks for the inspiring ideas.
I don’t have a juicer. Is there another easy way to juice citrus or can you recommend in inexpensive one that works?
I’. kind of new here and I have to say I always look forward to your idea, recipes and posts overall.
You don’t need a juicer. I actually just used a hand juicer like this one: https://amzn.to/2IESOED
xo Michael
Agave simple syrup would work wonderfully too! (1C agave nectar to 1C warm water or agave syrup straight or diluted by half with water)
Love that you can make this at home. I think this is something I will be making as gifts!
I love margarita flavors and I use a mix to make a Mexican lemonada – I’ll have to try using your recipe instead of storebought I am sure it will take them to the next level!!
You’ll love it! Enjoy!!
xo Michael
This homemade margarita mix sounds just awesome for such hot days like this summer. Can’t wait to try it out at the weekend! 🙂
Love that jar!
Yummmm! I love margaritas. I cant wait to make this!
How genius is this! Love the idea!
YUM!!! I love this delicious version!!!
How many oz of mix does this receptor make?
I would like to know this as well 🙂
The recipe is 10 cups of liquid. Roughly one cup equals 8 ounce. So, 80 ounces total.
xo Michael
Hi there, would you recommend the addition of triple sec?
Yes! I’ve added a note to the recipe on how to make a margarita once you have the mix prepared.
xo Michael
So if I am going to make a pitcher, how much tequila to mix?
There are ounces listed in the recipe to make one cocktail. If you wanted to make a pitcher to served 8, you would just multiple those amounts by 8. Adjust to taste. Cheers.
xo Michael
Just made the mix to prep for Cinco de Mayo. Went an extra step and steeped some lime peel in the simple syrup for a bit because I wanted it to be lime forward. It is very refreshing-enough citrus to cut through the seemingly alarming amount of sugar and be balanced. It made just enough to fill my Pyrex batter bowl to the 8 cup mark. Thank you for the recipe!
That lime is a smart idea! And yes, you’re welcome to cut back on the sugar or use less of the mix when you’re making your margaritas.
xo Michael
Can’t wait to try this, homebrewed some triple sec and tequila so this will be perfect. Thank you for sharing recipe. 😁
YES! Send me some of that home-brew! Haha.
xo Michael
Where did you get your cute clear jar you put the mix in? Thanks!
It’s from Target. 🙂
xo Michael
The real deal. A little time consuming to hand juice all the citrus. (I’m getting about 1/4c juice per lemon and 1/4c juice per 2 limes. So roughly 8-10 lemons and 20-25 limes.
Very tasty recipe. Restaurant quality. 100 times better than anything in a store.
How long can this be stored in the fridge?
Wow wow wow. Just got back from Mexico and was craving some good times again. I used our juicer which made it a lot easier and did 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of water so it was a little less sweet. Also added a little orange juice as one bag of small limes did not quite make 2 cups. Anyway, one sip and I was back on the beach. Thank you!!
Thank you for the week’s worth of great ideas and beautiful scenery. Since you are in Pittsburgh – if you are interested in spirits, when this craziness is over, you might want to take a little day trip to Brookville. The Blackbird Distillery is a moonshine artisan distillery. They have a really nice tasting area. I n the town proper there are some little cute shops, a bistro or two and some antique stores. You will be surprised. hope you can make it east. Thanks again for the tips and tricks.
Made your margarita mix for my own Happy Hour this afternoon. I cut the recipe in half – and Michael, it is delicious! I am one happy girl right now! Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear this! Thank you so much! Cheers!!
xo Michael
Our favorite Mexican restaurant has been shut down for COVID so no more Friday night margaritas until now! This is such a simple recipe but was perfect. I actually halved the recipe and stored it in mason jars in the fridge. I normally tweak recipes but kept this one as is and thought the first batch was great but a little sweet or me. I went to a mixture of 2 1/2 ounces of the mix with 2 ounces of Corzo silver, and 1 ounce of Cointreau. Simply an awesome margarita! Thank you for this recipe!
Sorry..I forgot to rate this with my comment..
It’s so funny because I’m obsessed with Margaritas and decided to make my own as well and find that our recipes are identical. I actually have a recipe for making a gallon and had to calculate backwards so I could make a single margarita for myself. Exact recipe and absolutely the best I’ve ever tasted. Thank goodness we have a lemon tree and have now decided to plant a lime tree as well. Love that you were so kind to your mama!
I love this recipe! I had never tried to make my own marg mix before but after trying this, I don’t think I’ll ever by a premade mix again. The flavor is great and it’s so simple (I must admit I have used bottled juice at times – not from concentrate though – and it is still great)! Thank you so much for the recipe!
I took the time to squeeze all of these lemons and limes, and it tasted oh, sooo good.
Absolutely delicious! I squeezed fresh limes and lemons, made the simple syrup, and voila, one of the best margaritas I have ever had. Thanks for this recipe. I will be making this forever.
Thank You for sharing this. I look forward to having a few of these for my Birthday this summer. Looks Delicious
Silly question – do you strain the pulp after juicing the fruit? Thank you!
No question is silly. Personally, I don’t. There isn’t that much pulp, but if that’s something you’d like to remove feel free to strain.
xo Michael