Frozen Strawberry Margaritas

A margarita is a fabulous chameleon of a cocktail. Serve it up classic, serve it up frozen, add in some fruit… There are just so many ways you can make it your own without sacrificing taste.

Right now, strawberries are in high season. They’re ripe, sweet, and guess what? That sweetness complements the earthy agave flavors in tequila.

If your idea of a frozen Strawberry Margarita makes you think electric pink and maybe a headache afterwards, this fresh take, whipped up frozen for those hot, summer months, is a refreshing change.

While muddled strawberries would work for an on the rocks margarita, frozen strawberry slices give an intense, strawberry flavor, and super smooth frozen version. This recipe is for 4 drinks, but it will easily scale up or down depending on how many you desire.

What's in a Strawberry Margarita?

A Frozen Strawberry Margarita builds on the classic margarita with blanco/silver (unaged) tequila, lime juice, simple syrup, and Cointreau—but with the addition of fresh, frozen strawberries.

The addition of strawberries in this frozen version of a margarita adds a bright, zingy punch to what could otherwise be a flat blended beverage.

You might notice that the sugar content in this recipe may be slightly higher than you would see in a margarita on the rocks, and that is due to a frozen drink's tendency to slightly dull flavors.

However, using fresh, frozen strawberries enhances that higher sugar content with a flavorful freshness that is anything but dull. It’s early summer in cup!

Tips and Tricks on Making the Perfect Frozen Strawberry Margarita

Yes, all the ingredients go into the blender, but here’s some helpful tips from what tequila to buy, to how to choose the right kind of strawberries.

• Use a blanco, or unaged, tequila for making this drink. A reposado or añejo’s nuanced flavors will get lost in this frozen drink and might clash with the strawberry flavor. My go-to tequila for making this—and lots of other mixed tequila cocktails—is Cazadores. It’s a nation-wide brand at a solid price point. If you need more info on the best tequilas to buy, use, and when, check out our guide to tequila.
• Freeze everything! With frozen drink season knocking on my door, I’ve been stocking up on portioned out ounces of lime juice, simple syrup, and fruit purees. Keeping as many ingredients frozen as possible means less ice watering down your drink, too.
• Use sliced or diced frozen berries rather than whole (your blender will thank you).

How to Freeze and Fresh Strawberries

Frozen strawberries mostly come whole at the supermarket but have the potential to wreak havoc on your blender, seizing up the blades—even more so if it’s not high-powered.

If you can, get sliced or diced, and, if that’s not an option, I’d suggest buying fresh, slicing, and then freezing yourself. If you’re in the market for a new blender, here are a few options to consider.

To freeze fresh strawberries start with well-washed, hulled (meaning the center stem and leaves are removed) strawberries. Slice them at least a 1/4-inch thick. Lay them on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Freeze until frozen solid, and then transfer them to an airtight, freezer-safe, container. They’ll last up to 6 months in the freezer.

Don’t have a high-powered blender or something powerful enough to blend up frozen strawberries? Use a food processor.

My bar blender is almost 20 years old and is not blending things as smoothly as I’d like, so I’ve turned to my food processor, which produces a silky smooth frozen margarita every time. If using a food processor, you may need to halve this recipe so it doesn’t overflow.

Make Ahead Strawberry Margaritas

If I were batching this cocktail for a party, I’d blend all the ingredients, minus the ice, and store in a container in the freezer the night before. You can easily double or triple the recipe this way so you can refill drinks all night long.

The day of, dump it all into a blender with some ice (you’ll need less than you would making it with room temperature ingredients) and whiz it up.

Don’t try and skip the ice though! You’ll need some water content to balance out the drink to take the place of ice that is shaken or stirred in a non-frozen cocktail. Otherwise, you’d end up with a much more potent cocktail.

Strawberry Margarita Garnish and Glass Options

Keep it simple! A singular sliced fresh strawberry on top is a signal to guests about what’s inside the cocktail (although its vivid red color might be a giveaway).

If you’d like to get a little fancy with rimming your glass, grind together coarse salt with dehydrated strawberries. It adds a little extra color and aroma to the cocktail and glass.

And speaking of the glass, I prefer a double rocks glass for this cocktail. If you have a fun margarita glass you want to use, go for it!

Try All the Margaritas!

• Classic Margarita
• Frozen Cucumber Margaritas
• Frozen Pitcher Margaritas
• Blueberry Pitcher Margarita
• Watermelon Pitcher Margarita