Prickly Pear Frozen Margarita
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on Jul 24, 2011, Updated Jan 30, 2021
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July 24th is National Tequila Day! But how to celebrate the big day? We’ve decided to toast today with a wonderful memory about grandma.
Grandma loved tunas (prickly pears) so much that she had several cactus plants growing along her fence in her backyard. Funny, only in the desert of El Paso! I remember the vibrant flowers that grew on the cacti and knew the yummy prickly pears would soon appear. When the time was right and the prickly pears were ripe, we’d go tuna picking. I was always in awe of how well she picked these red prickly pieces of fruit. Grandma actually let me pick some myself.
While writing this post, I literally laughed out loud and wondered if I’d let my own kids pick these like grandma and I once did. Ahhhh, those were the good ‘ol days when kids got to learn from experience and we were less sheltered. Gotta remember this next time I coddle my kids too much.
I tried to remain calm and not prick myself with the needles which seemed to be on every side of the tuna. Once we had our fruit, grandma and I would go inside and sit at her kitchen table. She would cautiously trim off all the needles from each fruit and then peel each one with a knife.
The intense colors hidden behind the skin captivated me and made my mouth water as I watched her prepare each one. I couldn’t wait to bite into one. Because these desert pears have lots of seeds, we each had a napkin by our plate where we’d spit the seeds into.
Recently I was shopping at my local Latin market and spotted some prickly pears and I reminisced about my childhood memories and decided to buy some. All the way home I thought about the pears and delighted in the idea of sharing them and my childhood story with my kids.
Then it hit me, what if I made a beautiful cocktail, a margarita using this gorgeous fruit as the base. After several experiments and several tastings I finally came up with this version. So here you are, a prickly pear frozen margarita to cool off your summer nights.
How are you planning to celebrate National Tequila Day?
Photography by Jeanine Thurston
Prickly Pear Frozen Margarita
Ingredients
- 4 prickly pears, peeled and sliced
- ¼ cup water
- 3 ½ cups crushed ice
- 3 ounces freshly-squeezed lime juice
- 3 ounces frozen limeade
- 6 ounces Silver Tequila
- 4 ½ ounces Triple Sec
- 3 tablespoon agave nectar
- Lime wedge and coarse salt for garnish
Instructions
- Blend prickly pears with water. Strain into a bowl and discard seeds.
- In a blender, add crushed ice, lime juice, limeade, tequila, triple sec, prickly pear puree, and agave nectar; cover and pulse ingredients.
- Pour into a coarse-salt rimmed margarita glass; add a star fruit slice for a garnish and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
tell me how you get the stickers off the tunas,, i want to make some jelly.. got recipe???
I buy them already cleaned, but I know harvesting and preparing them can be a challenge. Did you know that you can put them in the blender and blend them whole, spines and all. This is the easiest method, and then strain. On this website you can find other great tips: https://tucson.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/tips-for-harvesting-and-preparing-prickly-pear-fruit/article_92bb3326-a618-59ae-890b-6bb88573c7cd.html
I love this story, Yvette! Thank you for sharing. There were lots of seeds in those fruits, but they were very delicious!
Thank you for reading Larisa! Its one of my favorite memories with my grandma.
This drink is absolutely breathtaking and sounds delicious! I can’t wait to prepare it for friends, and try a non-alcohol version for myself.
What a great cocktail, bet the flavor is awesome!! Thanks for popping by & leaving such sweet comment today 🙂
Thank you Marla! We need to figure out how we can work together. LOVE your photography, your blog, and your mission! We should collaborate somehow and share healthy Mexican recipes on your site 😉 We would love to show how Mexican recipes can be made delicious, healthy, and most of all, simple.
Looks delicious! I’ve got to admit, I’ve never tried prickly pear! But, this looks gorgeous and I can only imagine how yummy it tastes! I also loved reading about your childhood memories with your grandma! Cheers!
Thank you so much Emme! I’m so happy to have these memories about my grandma. She will forever be in my heart 😉 Salud!
This is freaking brilliant! I love tunas and I love tequila, What a combo! 🙂
Thanks Ben! Salud!
What a lovely recipe! I don’t have the ingredients to make this margarita today but will definitely be celebrating the occasion with my favorite tequila cocktail – a tequila sunrise – whose ingredients I always have in stock 🙂
Mmmm! Sounds tasy! I haven’t had one in years! I think its time 😉
Simply stunning. I love prickly pears and they color, ahh goregous. Thanks you for sharing, gotta love grandmas! Super jealous of Jeanine’s pictures, lol
Gracias Bonnie! We are VERY lucky to have Jeanine on our team. One day I hope to have her photography skills. She’s been snapping pics for over 20 years, so I’m guessing it’s gonna take me some time to catch up. LOL! And don’t be jealous missy – your photos are AWESOME!