Spread some Christmas cheer when you serve this Cranberry Margarita at your next holiday party! This festive take on a classic cocktail features tequila, lime juice and grand marnier dressed up with cranberry juice and a few other tasty additions. Easy to make and oh so smooth to sip on!

A cranberry margarita is garnished with berries and rosemary.


Cranberry Margarita

This cranberry margarita recipe is the reason for the season, guys! It’s seriously so deliciously smooth, tart, sweet… It checks all of the right boxes. As much as I love a classic margarita, it just doesn’t hit the spot during the month of December. This time of year, I crave those Christmas-y flavors like cranberry! Luckily, tangy cranberries and margarita ingredients go together fabulously.

Tequila, grand marnier and lime juice are the classic flavors that make this cocktail still a margarita. To spruce it up with some Christmas cheer, we splash in some cranberry juice, ginger, and a little bit of honey for sweetness. It’s so refreshing! This time of year is so loaded with heavier recipes, it’s nice to sip on something fresh and fruity. Plus, it’s great that it’s just a little sweet and not overly sugary like so many other holiday recipes.

It’s also fabulous just how quickly this Christmas margarita is assembled. Essentially, all you need to do is toss all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker, shake until well mixed, and enjoy over ice. It’s a wonderful drink to serve at Christmas parties because you can make it so quickly. That way, you can host without playing busy bartender the entire time!

Margarita is being poured into a rimmed glass.

How to Make a Cranberry Margarita

Shake, pour, enjoy! This cranberry margarita recipe couldn’t be any easier. Scroll to the bottom of this page for more detailed ingredients and step-by-step instructions.

  1. Shake. Add the cranberry juice, grand marnier, lime juice, ginger and honey to a cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously until combined.
  2. Rim the glasses. Rub the rims of your glasses with a lime wedge. Then, dip them into sugar to create a pretty sugar rim.
  3. Pour. Fill each glass with ice and/or frozen cranberries. Pour the margarita into the glass to fill it up.
  4. Garnish and serve. Garnish the glasses with limes, cranberries, and rosemary sprigs. Cheers!
Rosemary garnishes a few glasses of cranberry margaritas.

Ingredient Notes

Let’s take a quick look at your shopping list:

  • Cranberry Juice – Make sure it’s cranberry juice and NOT cranberry juice cocktail! Cranberry juice cocktail is super sweet.
  • Tequila – Use a good quality/middle of the road tequila.
  • Grand Marnier – You can also use this in the best apple cider margarita recipe.
  • Lime Juice – Freshly squeezed lime juice is preferred over the bottled alternative.
  • Ginger – Fresh crushed ginger adds the most amazing flavor! In a pinch, you can use dried ginger, but the flavor will be different.
  • Honey – Caster ginger also works well.
  • Sugar – This is just used to rim the glasses.

Can I make it ahead of time?

I think these cranberry margs are best when served immediately. However, you can certainly make a pitcher and let it chill in the fridge for a few hours if you want to prep for a party! Just make sure not to add ice since it’ll just melt.

What kind of alcohol is used in a cranberry margarita?

Tequila! While you don’t need a top shelf expensive bottle, try to stay away from super cheap options. A good rule of thumb is that your cocktails will only ever be as good as the alcohol you use! However, when you have a lot of other ingredients in the mix like this recipe, you don’t need to be too picky.

Several glasses are garnished and rimmed with sugar.

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Several glasses are garnished and rimmed with sugar.

Get the Recipe: Cranberry Margarita Recipe

Yield: 2
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Total Time: 2 minutes
Simply refreshing, sweet and tart Cranberry margaritas are bright with holiday flavor. A festive cocktail for the holiday season.
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Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup cranberry juice
  • 1/2 cup tequila
  • 1/4 cup grand mariner
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh crushed ginger
  • 1 teaspoon honey or caster sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar, for rim garnish
  • Lime slices, apple slices and cinnamon sticks for serving

Equipment

  • 1 cocktail shaker

Instructions 

  • Mix the apple cider, tequila, grand marnier, lime juice, ginger and honey together until well blended.
  • Rub the edge of a glass with a lime wedge and dip the rim into the sugar.
  • Fill each glass with ice and pour the margarita into the glass to fill.
  • Garnish with the lime, frozen cranberries and rosemary sprigs.
  • Serve immediately.

Notes

Ginger is available in the produce section in a squeeze bottle. If you can’t find it, you can add 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger from the spice section or omit it entirely. The fresh ginger will have bits of ginger in the drink.
Calories: 348kcal, Carbohydrates: 37g, Protein: 0.3g, Fat: 0.2g, Saturated Fat: 0.01g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.05g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g, Sodium: 3mg, Potassium: 70mg, Fiber: 0.1g, Sugar: 36g, Vitamin A: 36IU, Vitamin C: 10mg, Calcium: 8mg, Iron: 0.2mg
Author: Kellie
Course: adult beverage, Cocktail
Cuisine: American, Mexican