Ultimate Strawberry Margarita Mimosa Recipe: Your Go-To Brunch & Cinco de Mayo Cocktail
Get ready to elevate your celebration with the ultimate Strawberry Margarita Mimosa! This vibrant, effervescent drink is the perfect fusion of two beloved classics: the zesty, tequila-infused margarita and the light, bubbly mimosa. With the sweet, refreshing burst of strawberries tying it all together, this cocktail isn’t just a drink; it’s an experience. Whether you’re planning a festive Cinco de Mayo gathering, a leisurely brunch with friends, or simply unwinding during happy hour, this easy-to-make pitcher cocktail is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. Forget worrying about the clock – when a drink tastes this good, any time is the right time to enjoy it!
Cinco de Mayo is here, and this year, it might even land on a Taco Tuesday! Could the stars align any better for a flavor-packed celebration? While large gatherings might be on hold, there’s no reason your home celebration can’t be just as spirited. We’re all spending more time at home, which means we can indulge in delightful cocktails throughout the day – from brunch to dinner. To make sure your at-home festivities are truly special, I’ve crafted a cocktail worthy of the occasion.
This Strawberry Margarita Mimosa is truly my favorite kind of mash-up. It takes the best of both worlds: the bright, bubbly elegance of a mimosa, and the bold, zesty kick of a classic margarita. The addition of fresh, sweet strawberries provides a beautiful fruity balance, smoothing out the tartness and adding a gorgeous pink hue. It’s a cocktail that feels both sophisticated and fun, perfect for toasting to good times and great food.
I know I’ve been sharing a lot of drink recipes lately, but with celebrations shifting to home, having a repertoire of fantastic cocktails is essential! Don’t worry, delicious food recipes are on their way later this week. But first, let’s ensure your at-home celebrations are extra festive and memorable with this incredible sparkling creation.
Ingredients for Your Margarita Mimosa
Crafting this delightful cocktail requires just a few simple ingredients that come together to create a complex and refreshing flavor profile. Here’s what you’ll need for this vibrant drink:
- Fresh Strawberries: The star of the show, providing natural sweetness and a beautiful color.
- Orange Juice: The classic mimosa base. You can choose pulp-free for a smoother drink or with pulp for added texture.
- Silver Tequila: Adds the essential margarita kick. Silver (Blanco) tequila offers a clean, pure agave flavor that blends beautifully.
- Fresh Lime Juice: Crucial for that signature margarita tang. Always opt for fresh-squeezed for the best results.
- Coarse Salt & Lime Wedge: For rimming the glasses, enhancing the margarita experience.
- Champagne or Prosecco: The sparkling element that turns this into a mimosa. Choose your favorite dry or brut variety.
- Garnish: Extra strawberries and lime wheels for an inviting presentation.
With these ingredients, you’re just minutes away from enjoying a truly spectacular cocktail!
Equipment Essentials
Making this cocktail is wonderfully straightforward, especially since it’s designed to be mixed in a pitcher – perfect for serving a crowd or enjoying throughout the day. Here are the must-haves for this recipe:
- Blender: A good quality blender, like a Vitamix, is essential for blending the strawberries and orange juice into a perfectly smooth puree. This ensures no chunks and a consistent flavor.
- Large Pitcher: You’ll need a spacious pitcher to combine your strawberry-tequila base. This allows for easy mixing and chilling.
- Long Wooden Spoon: Ideal for stirring the ingredients together in the pitcher, ensuring everything is well combined without over-aerating.
- Cocktail Glasses: While flutes are traditional for mimosas, I personally love using double old-fashioned glasses for this drink. Their wider rim makes salting easier, and they offer a comfortable hold.
- Small Plate: For holding the coarse salt for rimming your glasses.
Gathering these simple tools will make the cocktail-making process a breeze, letting you focus on the fun part: enjoying your delicious creation!
Crafting Your Strawberry Margarita Mimosa
This recipe is designed for simplicity and maximum flavor, allowing you to whip up a batch quickly and enjoy your celebration. Follow these easy steps to create your perfect Strawberry Margarita Mimosa:
Step 1: Blend Berries and Juice
Start by combining the fresh strawberries (stems removed) and your choice of orange juice in a blender. Blend until the mixture is completely smooth and no strawberry chunks remain. For an extra smooth finish, you can strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, though this is optional. This step creates the vibrant, fruity base that defines this cocktail.
Step 2: Create the Cocktail Base
Pour the blended strawberry-orange juice mixture into a large pitcher. Add the silver tequila and fresh lime juice. Stir everything together thoroughly with a long wooden spoon until well combined. Once mixed, place the pitcher in the refrigerator to chill. This not only keeps your drink refreshingly cold but also allows the flavors to meld beautifully, enhancing the overall taste.
Step 3: Prepare Your Glasses
While your cocktail base is chilling, prepare your serving glasses. Take a lime wedge and rub it around the rims of six cocktail glasses. This creates a moist surface for the salt. Pour coarse salt onto a small, flat plate, then gently roll the rim of each glass in the salt, ensuring an even coating. The salted rim is a signature margarita element that adds a delightful contrast to the sweet and tart flavors. Fill each prepared glass with ice and set them aside.
Step 4: Finish and Serve
Once you’re ready to serve, retrieve your chilled strawberry-tequila mixture from the refrigerator. Divide the mixture evenly among the ice-filled, rimmed glasses. Then, carefully top off each glass with your chosen champagne or prosecco. The sparkling wine adds the essential fizz and lightness of a mimosa. For a final flourish, garnish each drink with a fresh strawberry and a lime wheel. Serve immediately and enjoy the vibrant flavors of your homemade Strawberry Margarita Mimosa!
Ingredient Spotlight: Choosing the Best
The quality of your ingredients significantly impacts the final taste of your Strawberry Margarita Mimosa. Here’s how to choose the best:
- Strawberries: Always opt for ripe, fresh strawberries when possible. They offer the best natural sweetness and aroma. If fresh are out of season, frozen unsweetened strawberries work wonderfully – just be sure to thaw and drain them thoroughly to avoid diluting the cocktail.
- Orange Juice: Freshly squeezed orange juice will yield the most vibrant flavor. However, a good quality store-bought, pulp-free orange juice works perfectly fine for convenience. The “pulp-free” option generally results in a smoother drink, though with pulp is acceptable if you prefer.
- Tequila: The recipe calls for silver (Blanco) tequila, which is unaged and offers a crisp, clean agave flavor that lets the fruit shine. If you prefer a slightly smoother, subtly oak-aged note, a reposado tequila can also be a good choice, but it might alter the color slightly.
- Lime Juice: This is non-negotiable – use fresh lime juice! Bottled lime juice simply doesn’t compare in terms of brightness and natural acidity, which is crucial for balancing the sweetness of the strawberries and orange.
- Champagne or Prosecco: For mimosas, a dry (Brut) champagne or prosecco is generally preferred. This prevents the drink from becoming overly sweet, allowing the fruit and tequila flavors to stand out. Cava is another excellent and often more affordable sparkling wine option.
Tips & Tricks for the Perfect Cocktail
Making this Strawberry Margarita Mimosa is simple, but a few extra tips can elevate your experience:
- Frozen vs. Fresh Strawberries: You can absolutely use frozen strawberries if fresh ones aren’t available. Just remember to thaw and drain them beforehand to prevent excess water from diluting your drink. Freezing fresh strawberries yourself can also be a great way to preserve seasonal bounty.
- Tequila Choice: While silver (Blanco) tequila is recommended for its clean flavor, don’t hesitate to use gold (Reposado or Añejo) tequila if you prefer its nuanced, often oakier notes. Experiment to find your favorite!
- Batch Prep for Parties: The beauty of this recipe is that the strawberry-tequila base can be made ahead of time and chilled. Prepare the base up to 24 hours in advance, then simply rim glasses and top with bubbly just before serving. This makes entertaining a breeze!
- Non-Alcoholic Version: To make a delicious mocktail, simply omit the tequila and replace the champagne/prosecco with sparkling cider, sparkling water, or non-alcoholic sparkling wine. It will still be incredibly refreshing!
- Sweetness Adjustment: If your strawberries aren’t very sweet, or you prefer a sweeter drink, you can add a touch of agave nectar or simple syrup to the strawberry-orange juice blend. Start with a teaspoon and adjust to taste.
- Rim Variations: While coarse salt is traditional for margaritas, consider a sugar-salt mix or even pure sugar for a sweeter rim, especially if serving for brunch. For an extra kick, mix a pinch of chili powder into your salt!
Serving Suggestions & Food Pairings
The Strawberry Margarita Mimosa is incredibly versatile, making it suitable for a wide range of occasions and food pairings:
- Cinco de Mayo: This cocktail is a natural fit for Cinco de Mayo. Pair it with classic Mexican dishes like tacos, enchiladas, or nachos. The fruity, tangy notes cut through richer, spicier flavors beautifully.
- Brunch: A mimosa is a brunch staple, and this strawberry margarita twist makes it even more exciting. Serve alongside savory breakfast burritos, huevos rancheros, or lighter options like fruit salads and yogurt parfaits. The sweetness of the strawberries complements both sweet and savory brunch fare.
- Happy Hour & Appetizers: This drink makes for a fantastic happy hour cocktail. Serve it with light appetizers such as shrimp ceviche, guacamole and chips, or mini quesadillas.
- Summer Gatherings: Its refreshing quality makes it perfect for outdoor summer parties, BBQs, or poolside lounging. It pairs well with grilled chicken or fish tacos, and even fruit skewers.
- Easy Weeknight Treat: Don’t limit this drink to special occasions! Sometimes, a vibrant cocktail is all you need to elevate a simple weeknight meal, like a super simple and flavorful salmon sandwich that’s ready in just 20 minutes!
Presentation matters too! Serve these in clear glasses to showcase their beautiful color, and always offer fresh garnishes like lime wheels and whole strawberries for a professional touch.
More Tasty Margarita Recipes
If you love margaritas as much as we do, you’ll want to explore these other fantastic recipes to add to your repertoire. Each offers a unique twist on the classic:
- Limeade Margaritas: Simple, zesty, and refreshing – perfect for a quick and easy margarita fix.
- Smoky Jalapeno Margarita: For those who like a little heat and a intriguing smoky depth in their cocktail.
- Chili Lime Margarita: A spicy and tangy delight that tantalizes the taste buds.
- The Perfect Margarita: Our go-to recipe for a perfectly balanced, classic margarita every time.
Need Inspiration for Cinco de Mayo Dinner?
A great cocktail deserves an equally great meal! If you’re looking for dinner ideas to complement your Strawberry Margarita Mimosa, dive into my extensive collection of Mexican-inspired recipes. You’ll find everything from hearty main courses to delicious sides that will make your celebration complete.
Watch Our Recipe Video
For more delicious Mexican-inspired meal ideas, check out our video on how to make Triple Layer Chipotle Chicken Queso Nachos. They’re the perfect indulgent treat to go along with your festive cocktails!
Strawberry Margarita Mimosa
equipment
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Pitcher
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long wooden spoon
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Vitamix Blender
ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups strawberries stems removed
- 2 cups orange juice pulp-free or with pulp, whatever your preference
- 2/3 cup silver tequila
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- Coarse salt & lime wedge for rimming
- 1 bottle champagne or prosecco
- Garnish: strawberries lime wheels
instructions
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Add strawberries and orange juice to a blender. Blend until smooth.
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Combine strawberry orange mixture, tequila, and lime juice in a pitcher. Set aside in the refrigerator.
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Rub the edges of 6 cocktail glasses with a lime wedge. Rim the edges of the glasses with coarse salt. Fill glasses with ice and set aside.
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Divide strawberry orange tequila mixture between glasses. Top with champagne or prosecco.
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Garnish with strawberries and lime wheels before serving.