Cherry Limeade Margaritas
5
on Jul 22, 2022
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Sweet, tart, and delightfully refreshing, my Cherry Limeade Margaritas are the stuff of summertime dreams. Made with real cherries and fresh limes, these tasty adult beverages are a long cry from pre-made versions that are loaded with artificial colors and flavors.
Whizz up a batch in your blender using just five simple ingredients in five minutes. Your guests will surely thank you!
This is genius, if I do say so myself. There are days I crave a large cup of cherry limeade filled with crushed ice from Sonic to quench my thirst, especially after a day on the ball field watching my kiddos games.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
After a day of watching Blake play baseball in the sun, there’s rarely anything I crave more than a large cup of Sonic cherry limeade over crushed ice to quench my thirst. While I still adore my takeout staple, I don’t love filling my body with artificial ingredients. Luckily, I’ve discovered the secret to making this brightly colored libation at home using only four ingredients!
I got the inspiration from this cherry limeade recipe – I loved that her recipe was so rustic and simple compared to others I had seen online. Most recipes are made with maraschino cherry juice and limeade concentrate, but this one is all fresh, made with real cherries and limes.
While the healthy-ish sparkling soda is delicious all on its own, spiking it with a shot of tequila has become my newest obsession. These cherry limeade margaritas have all the sweet-tart flavor I crave, plus just enough booze to give me a little buzz. They’re the ultimate way to unwind after a long, hot day.
You don’t need a cherry pitter, but if you have one, this lovely concoction comes together in mere minutes. Throw in pitted cherries, lime wedges (skin and all), water, sugar, blend, and strain — that’s it. Place cherry limeade in a pitcher and refrigerate. Best of all, it makes enough to share. So, what are you waiting for? Let’s get to Happy Hour already!
Ingredients & Substitutions
As promised, you don’t need much to make real, honest-to-goodness cherry limeade margaritas. Here’s your shopping list:
- Cherries – I used sweet red cherries, but feel free to swap in fan-favorite Ranier cherries instead. If you don’t have a cherry pitter on hand, you have a few options: grab a bag from the frozen aisle, or try one of these 5 methods.
- Limes – You’ll be blending up the rind and all for superior lime flavor. Be sure to give them a good wash before quartering them!
- Water – Use filtered water for the best flavor. If you are making plain ol’ cherry limeade sans tequila, consider using only 2 cups of still water in step 1 and using sparkling for the rest.
- Granulated Sugar – Feel free to swap in agave nectar instead.
- Ice – If you want the real Sonic-style experience, you can invest in a countertop nugget ice machine. Otherwise, I find that crushing regular ice cubes does a good enough job. Just be sure to use filtered water for the best flavor.
- Tequila Blanco – I like the light, citrusy flavor of tequila blanco for these limeade margaritas. Feel free to swap in vodka if you prefer!
- Sparkling Water – I love the big bubbles of naturally sparkling mineral water like Mountain Valley Spring Water or Topo Chico, but feel free to use club soda if that’s what you have on hand.
How To Make Cherry Limeade Margaritas
Step 1: Blend. Combine the cherries and limes in a blender with sugar and 2 cups of water. Blend until the ingredients are pureed.
Step 2: Strain the juice and add the rest of the water through a strainer.
Step 3: Spike & Serve. Add cherry limeade to cocktail glasses filled with ice, stir in tequila, top with a splash of sparkling water, and garnish with cherries and lime slices. Salud!
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure thing! If I’ve planned well, I like to blend up the limeade in the morning before going to all the games so that it has plenty of time to chill in the fridge. Once blended, it should last for about 5 days in the fridge. You can also freeze it into ice cubes or paletas if you want to make it last even longer!
Absolutely! I suggest following the recipe through step 1, then using sparkling water to complete the batch after straining. A little extra effervescence goes a long way! If you want to gussy it up further, consider using a lemon-lime soda like 7UP or Sprite.
While most cherry limeade recipes call for preserved, syrupy-sweet maraschino cherries and frozen limeade concentrate, this pretty thirst-quencher is made with real, sweet cherries and fresh limes. I suggest using either Bing, Ranier, or sweet Black cherries here. If you opt for a more tart variety like Montmorency or Morello, you may want to up the sugar content a bit to compensate.
More Summertime Swigs
Did you try this recipe for my ultra-refreshing Cherry Limeade Margaritas? Let me know how it turned out by rating and reviewing it below, or by tagging me in your social posts so I can cheer you on!
Cherry Limeade Margaritas
Ingredients
- 3 cups cherries, pitted
- 2 limes, quartered (skin on)
- 5 cups water
- ½ cups granulated sugar
- ice
- 1 ounce tequila blanco, per serving
- sparkling water
Instructions
- Combine the cherries and limes in a blender with sugar and 2 cups of water. Blend until the ingredients are pureed.
- Strain the juice and add the rest of the water through a strainer.
- Serve in cocktail glasses filled with ice, stir in tequila, top with a splash of sparking water, and garnish with cherries and lime slices.
Notes
- Once blended, cherry limeade should last for about 5 days in the fridge. You can freeze any leftovers into ice cubes or paletas to make it last even longer!
- I suggest using tequila blanco for the brightest flavor. You can also feel free to spike your cherry limeade with vodka if you prefer.
- MOCKTAIL: Follow the recipe through step 1, then using sparkling water to complete the batch after straining. A little extra effervescence goes a long way! If you want to gussy it up further, consider using a lemon-lime soda like 7UP or Sprite.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Photography by Jenna Sparks.
Loved this recipe, made it for friends when I hosted a Mexican food dinner party. I added more sugar than the recipe called for, to make it sweet enough to balance against the acidity of the limes.
Now this is the drink that I need ASAP. It has got really hot here, so a margarita like this would be a life saver!
Yes I did add the rest of the water. The cherries were halved when I measured them, so too many cherries I guess, still tastes great. Maybe more tequilla will lighten up the color some, LOL. Thanks for a very refreshing recipe.
I just made a batch of this and it is very tasty, however I think I may have put in too many cherries because instead of a pretty rosie pink color the drink is a muddled brown color. How do you measure the cherries? Whole or already pitted? And about how much of the cherry lime mixture are you adding to that 1oz of Tequilla? And about how much sparkling water? Thank you.
So happy to hear you made it! I measured the cherries whole. Did you add remainder of water in pitcher? I added about 1 1/2 cups cherry limeade to 1 ounce of tequila and just a splash of sparking water for a fizzy top.