I’ve never been a fan of overly sweet drinks. Whether they have alcohol or not. I tend to like savory and sour flavors, as well as some heat. So I think I have hit it out of the park with this cilantro jalapeno margarita! The cilantro for the savory, lime for the sour, and jalapeno for the heat. Although don’t be intimidated, the heat is more like a nice little kick at the end and is very subtle.
Another thing I love about this drink, is that you can grow peppers and cilantro at home so you should be able to have extremely fresh ingredients throughout the growing season. I also will show how to do this drink as a non-alcoholic (NA) cooler that is a refreshing change of pace from the usual juice options. Salt is not a super problem with a Margarita, except for the salt rimming the glasses. I worked with a bartender friend of mine to replace the salt rim by making a savory sugar to rim the glasses. So I have used my Chili-Lime Sugar to coat the rim of these (It is also what I use to rim the glasses for my low sodium Bloody Mary.
You can also whip up a batch of my low sodium tomatillo salsa and salt free tortilla chips. It would be the perfect option for a happy hour, Cinco de Mayo, or just because you made it through the day! If you try it out, let me know how you like it. I make then up a pitcher at a time if friends are coming over, the recipe below is for one. You can multiply it out for the pitcher.
Cilantro Jalapeno Margarita
Cilantro Jalapeno Margarita
Ingredients
- 1 oz . Fresh Lime Juice
- 1 Lime Wedge for garnish
- 1 slices Jalapeno (stemmed seeded, thinly sliced lengthwise into 4 )
- 3 sprigs Cilantro
- 1 1/2 oz . White Tequila
- 1 oz . Cointreau (if making non-alcoholic sub 2 oz of lemonade or limeade & 1/2 oz. Soda Water in place of the Tequila and Cointreau)
- 1/2 oz Cilantro Jalapeno syrup see instructions below
- Ice
- Chili Lime Sugar to rim the glass if desired
Instructions
- In a small sauce pan, boil together 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water to make a simple syrup
- As soon as the sugar is dissolved in the water, add the cilantro and 3 of the Jalapeno slices and continue to boil the syrup for 2 more minutes, then lower the heat and cook 2 more minutes to reduce the syrup.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool (Syrup should stay in the fridge for up to 30 days)
- Take your wedge of lime and rub the lip/rim of the glasses
- Turn glass upside down and dip into the chili lime sugar to coat the edge
- Fill the glass 3/4 full with ice.
- In a shaker, add the lime juice, tequila & Cointreau (or limeade and soda water) and the cilantro jalapeno syrup. close the shaker and mix thoroughly for 30 seconds and pour over the ice in the glass.
- Garnish with lime wedge and a slice of the jalapeno
- Enjoy
Notes
Nutrition