Get in the mood for fall with our festive and flavorful apple cider margaritas! The perfect transitional cocktail from summer margs to autumn with a cinnamon sugar rim and fresh apple cider. Just takes 5 minutes! It's a WHOLE LOTTA YUM!
This Apple Cider Margarita Recipe is so good!
While we'd planned on creating multiple festive fall cocktail recipes this past month, we were so obsessed with these apple cider margaritas, they've literally become our new favorite fall cocktail. We know you'll love these as much as we do!!
Out with the summer Aperol spritz and in with the autumn tequila and cider cocktails.
We tested this recipe multiple different ways and this exact combination was the winner. It is a margarita recipe without lime so purists might gasp at that thought. We tried it with lime and without, with honey instead of simple syrup, without a cinnamon sugar rim, with Triple Sec vs Cointreau, and hands down, the recipe as written was the winner among multiple taste testers.
Serve the apple cider margaritas with our fall charcuterie board, your friends will be impressed with your creativity and won't ever know how easy it was to pull together.
And if you love margs but not the calories or sugar, check out our low carb margarita recipe that's sugar-free. It can be your new Taco Tuesday cocktail or get the tips to make our apple cider margaritas without sugar.
Ingredient list
Our apple cinnamon margarita starts with high-quality ingredients. Your cocktails are only as good as the quality of the ingredients you use so that of course means a smooth tequila and Cointreau instead of Triple Sec.
- tequila - our personal favorite is 1800 Silver Tequila, the flavor is: clean, delicate, balanced, smooth. Medium finish. Use whatever your favorite brand is.
- apple cider - unfiltered fresh pasteurized apple cider is highly recommended for best flavor.
- Cointreau - this type of orange liquor is highly recommended for best flavor over Triple Sec, but we do get Cointreau is 2-3x times the cost of Triple Sec.
- simple syrup - we also love to use agave simple syrup or make our own low carb no sugar version at home
- Sugar - the sugar and cinnamon are just for the rim, other types of granulated sweetener can be used instead
- Cinnamon
- Garnish ideas- apple slices, star anise, cinnamon stick, and a rosemary sprig
** Please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the exact quantities **
Supplies
- Cocktail shaker - or a mason jar and cocktail strainer
Dietary swaps
As written, the tequila apple cider cocktail is vegan and gluten-free.
- Refined Sugar Free- use orange juice instead of Cointreau, agave nectar, or keto simple syrup (recipe coming soon!) instead of simple syrup, and a natural sweetener such as monk fruit for the cinnamon sugar rim.
Variations
Sparkling apple cider margarita - use sparkling apple cider in place of the fresh apple cider
Spicy cider margarita - To add a spicy kick, add jalapeno slices as a garnish or add jalapeno slices to the cocktail shaker when you're mixing the ingredients.
Make a frozen cocktail - to make a frozen apple cider margarita, add all of the margarita ingredients to a blender along with 2 cups of ice and blend it until the ice is crushed.
Make a skinny version- To make a skinny apple cider margarita, use orange juice instead of Cointreau.
How to Make Apple Cider Margarita Recipe
1. Mix cinnamon sugar on a small plate for the cinnamon sugar rim
2. Fill a shaker with ice
3. Add tequila, fresh apple cider, Cointreau, and simple syrup. Shake until the cold makes your hand hurt.
4. Dip your glass in the cinnamon sugar. We dipped a little paper towel into apple cider to wet the rim first to help it stick), you can also use a lime wedge.
5. Add ice to your glass and pour the margarita into the glass.
6. Garnish with anise, a cinnamon stick, or an apple slice. Enjoy!
Making a Pitcher
Just multiply the recipe by the number of servings you want! For a pitcher of 6 margaritas, you'll need:
- 12 oz tequila
- 6 oz fresh apple cider
- 6 oz Cointreau
- 6 oz simple syrup
- cinnamon sugar for the glass rims
- garnishes
Recipe notes
- It's easy to double this recipe, two cocktails can be made in a cocktail shaker at a time.
- For best results, use fresh high quality apple cider you can get from a local source at your grocery store.
- Technically Triple Sec can be substituted for Cointreau but it isn't as tasty or as high of quality. We'd recommend adding a touch more apple cider to your drink if you use Triple Sec.
Reader Questions
Cointreau is a premium orange liqueur made with fresh, distilled oranges. Triple sec is a less expensive orange liqueur made with dried oranges and typically has a lower alcohol content.
Unfiltered apple cider is the natural juice of apples that has been pressed and has not been processed or pasteurized, sometimes it may come flash pasteurized. This type of cider will contain sediment and may be cloudy. Filtered apple cider has been processed to remove sediments and impurities, resulting in a clear liquid.
Yes, you can make the margaritas ahead of time and store them in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Just be sure to add the ice when you're ready to serve.
More Fall Recipes
- Fall charcuterie board
- Halloween deviled eggs
- Apple crisp recipe without oats
- Pumpkin spice latte (without sugar)
- Low carb pumpkin cream cheese bread
Come connect with us on Instagram! Be sure to tag us (wholelotta.yum) when you make a recipe. You can also find us on Facebook, and Pinterest.
Apple Cider Margaritas
Get in the mood for fall with our festive and flavorful apple cider margaritas! The perfect transitional cocktail from summer margs to autumn with a cinnamon sugar rim and fresh apple cider. Just takes 5 minutes!
Ingredients
- 2 oz tequila
- 1 oz fresh apple cider
- 1 oz Cointreau
- 1 oz simple syrup
- Sugar
- Cinnamon
- Garnish ideas- apple slices, star anise, cinnamon stick, and a rosemary sprig
Instructions
1. Mix cinnamon sugar on a small plate for the cinnamon sugar rim
2. Fill a shaker with ice
3. Add tequila, fresh apple cider, Cointreau, and simple syrup. Shake until the cold makes your hand hurt.
4. Dip your glass in the cinnamon sugar (we dipped a little paper towel into apple cider to wet the rim first to help it stick).
5. Add ice to your glass and pour the margarita into the glass.
6. Garnish with anise, a cinnamon stick, or an apple slice. Enjoy!
A Pitcher
For a pitcher of 6 margaritas, you’ll need:
- 12 oz tequila
- 6 oz fresh apple cider
- 6 oz Cointreau
- 6 oz simple syrup
- cinnamon sugar for the glass rims
- garnishes
Moisten the glass rims with cider, lime juice, or water. Dip the rims in the cinnamon sugar. Fill a pitcher halfway with ice, and add the tequila, apple cider, Cointreau, and simple syrup. Add ice to the glasses and pour the margaritas into the glasses. Garnish and enjoy!
Notes
It's easy to double this recipe, two cocktails can be made in a cocktail shaker at a time.
To add a spicy kick, add jalapeno slices as a garnish or add jalapeno slices to the cocktail shaker when you're mixing the ingredients.
For best results, use fresh high quality apple cider you can get from a local source at your grocery store.
Technically Triple Sec can be substituted for Cointreau but it isn't as tasty or as high of quality. We'd recommend adding a touch more apple cider to your drink if you use Triple Sec.
To make a skinny apple cider margarita, use orange juice instead of Cointreau.
Nutrition Information
Yield 1 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 395Total Fat 0gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 0mgSodium 11mgCarbohydrates 52gFiber 1gSugar 47gProtein 0g
The nutrional information is just an estimate and was calculated by an automated calculator. If you're on a restricted health program please manually calculate this information using the brands of ingredients you have since brands can vary.
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