This Pineapple Margarita recipe is a celebration of sweet and spicy flavors coming together in one harmonious drink you won’t be able to put down!
The natural sweetness in fresh pineapple pairs beautifully with classic margarita ingredients: tequila, Cointreau, and fresh lime juice. To give it a kick, we’re adding Tajin to the salt rim, which adds warm flavors without being too hot. Because of how sweet pineapple is on its own, there’s no need for agave, simple syrup, or other added sweeteners. Just perfectly balanced pineapple margaritas.
Yes, plural — you’re definitely going to want more than one!!
Ingredients For Pineapple Margarita
Because pineapple juice (either fresh or bottled) is already sweet from the natural sugars in pineapple, there’s no added sweetener in this recipe. We often add agave nectar to margaritas, but here it simply isn’t needed!
Grab your favorite tequila blanco (our is Casamigos!), pineapple juice, fresh lime juice, Cointreau, and Kosher salt and tajin to rim the glass.
For garnish, you’ll want to add thinly sliced jalapeño and some grilled pineapple wedges. Part of the magic of margaritas is in the garnishes they’re served with!
What Is Tajin?
Tajin (pronounced tah-heen) is a blend of chili powder, dehydrated lime juice, and sea salt. It adds salty, sweet, and sour flavors, but has very little heat overall. Using it alongside Kosher salt to rim cocktail glasses adds a little zest to the flavor profile!
If you want an extra spicy jalapeño margarita, you could instead line the rim of the glass with 1 part Kosher salt and ¼ part cayenne pepper.
How To Make A Grilled Pineapple Marg
As far as margarita recipes go, this one is pretty straight forward. We love the special, elevated touch that using grilled or charred pineapple wedges as a garnish adds to the cocktail, but you can certainly use fresh pineapple instead.
- Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, then add tequila blanco, fresh or bottled pineapple juice, fresh lime juice, and Cointreau (or Triple Sec). Secure the lid, then shake to aerate the drink.
- Run a lime wedge along the rim of the glass, then dip upside down into a shallow bowl with equal parts Kosher salt and tajin. Place ice in glass, if using. Strain the pineapple margarita into glasses, then add 1-2 jalapeño slices to each drink. Garnish with grilled pineapple wedges.
Best Tequila For Margaritas
In all our margarita posts, you’ll find the same list of recommended tequilas for making margs at home. We almost always use Casamigos, and almost always stick to silver tequila (blanco) versus tequila reposado (which ages for longer periods of time in oak or stainless steel barrels).
- Casamigos (750ml at $35.99) – hands down, this is the only tequila we use on a regular basis. It’s smooth, herbaceous, and made with 100% agave. Casamigos tequila blanco is our favorite!
- Casa Noble Crystal (750ml at $34.99) – this tequila packs a little more punch than the Casamigos. If you’re looking for a bit more character (think slightly smoky or peppery tones), this may be the tequila for you.
- Herradura Blanco Tequila (750ml at $38.49) – this well known tequila is often the liquid of choice for classic margs, and for good reason — it’s not Patron (which is overhyped), but similarly will not overwhelm the other flavors of your cocktail.
While you can certainly make margaritas with any type of tequila you love, we find those made with silver tequila to be the easiest to drink and leave us feeling best the next day. Ya feel us?
What Is Cointreau?
Cointreau is an orange liqueur. It’s part of the Triple Sec family, similar in flavor, but with a distinctly smooth, clean taste. We use it in all of our margarita recipes.
Sweet and refreshing, but with a kick! If you make this Pineapple Margarita recipe, please let us know by leaving a review and rating below!
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More margarita recipes to try!
And if you’re looking for our absolute favorite cocktail recipe of all time, it’s the Paper Plane, which features bourbon, aperol, amaro nonino, and fresh lemon juice! Totally divine!
Pineapple Margarita Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 oz tequila blanco such as Casamigos
- 4 oz pineapple juice fresh or bottled
- 1 ½ oz fresh lime juice
- 1 ½ oz Cointreau
- pineapple wedges for garnish, about 1-2 per drink
- Kosher salt for rim of glass
- Tajin for rim of glass
- 1 jalapeño thinly sliced, for serving
Instructions
- Make the pineapple marg. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, then add 4 oz pineapple juice, 3 oz tequila, 1 ½ oz fresh lime juice, and 1 ½ oz Cointreau. Secure lid, then shake for 10-12 seconds to aerate the drink.
- Grill pineapple wedges. This step is optional, but adds so much flavor and is delicious for snacking! Heat a large grill pan or grill over medium-high heat. When hot, grill pineapple wedges for 1-2 minutes per side, or until just charred. Set aside.
- Prepare the glass, then serve. Run a lime wedge along the rim of the glass, then dip upside down into a shallow bowl with equal parts Kosher salt and tajin stirred together. Place ice in glass (optional). Strain into glasses, then add 1-2 jalapeño slices to each drink. Garnish with grilled pineapple wedges.
Notes
- What is tajin? It’s a blend of chili powder, dehydrated lime juice, and sea salt. It adds salty, sweet, and sour flavors, but has very little heat overall. Using it alongside Kosher salt to rim cocktail glasses adds a little zest to the flavor profile!
Nutrition
Photography by: Pate of The G&M Kitchen
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