How to Make a Virgin Margarita {With a SECRET Ingredient!} (2024)

This drink makeover takes a classic margarita recipe and makes it into a virgin margarita with a secret ingredient that makes it over the top delicious! Margaritas are really the perfect party drink and offering a non-alcoholic option makes a fun drink for everyone to enjoy!

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It seems like the margarita is the quintessential party drink… or at least it is if you are from Texas like me! You can find them at anything from a backyard barbeque to a bridal shower or holiday party. The co*cktail is casual and tasty and I am not sure if I have ever met anyone who didn’t like them. This made the margarita the perfect candidate for my next co*cktail to mocktail makeover.

There are several levels of margaritas you can find. On one hand you can have a reallyexquisite top shelf hand crafted margarita, and on the other you can scoop it out of a bucket. The quality definitely shows through in the taste, and so when I made this non-alcoholic version I wanted to really capture all that a margarita can be when it is made beautifully.

I was never a bartender or waitress, but I do love to eat and really appreciate the difference in flavors. When I traveled often I got into a conversation once with a bartender about the fact that I was from Texas. He was a wealth of knowledge on everything behind the bar and gave me the best lesson I have ever had on margaritas. He told me that when you make them Texas style they always have a splash of orange juice and that has been my secret ingredient ever since.

Naturally that transitioned over to the virgin margarita recipe and gives the drink the distinct balance and depth of flavor you hope for in a really good margarita. I feel like I have used a lot of big fancy words to describe this but the fact is if I am making it you can can count on two things. 1. It will be easy. and 2. It will be delicious! This recipe meets both.

To make the co*cktail you will only need a few ingredients. First, orange juice and limeaide, which you can find in the freezer section. You will want to prepare it per the directions on the can. You can also use fresh lime juice and simple syrup, but that makes things a little more involved so I just stick with the limeaide. They also usually sell a margarita concentrate in the frozen section but I find that it is usually similar just more expensive so I stick to limeaide.

You will also need two varieties of Dasani Sparkling Water, lemon and lime. I did the Whole 30 food challenge a while back and really fell in love with flavored sparkling water. The beauty of it is that you get the bite of carbonation with zero calories, unsweetened, zero artificial colors, and it’s caffeine-free. I especially love that it adds great flavor and body to this recipe while cutting the calories in half! You can grab these at Walmart in a12 pack of 12 oz cans.

I designed this recipe to make one 10 ounce glass of the beverage. You can scale the recipe up proportionally for as many as you would like to serve. So if you want 10 glasses, multiply each ingredient by 10. So for example, 5 cups of limeaide instead of 1/2 cup.

To start combine the prepared limeaide and orange juice in a pitcher. Gently mix in the Dasani sparkling water until everything is combined.

If you would like to rim the glasses with salt (this gives it a more authentic taste!) grab two small plates. Put water on one and salt on the other. Dip the rim evenly into the water and then into the salt.

Next fill each glass up about 2/3 full with ice. Pour the virgin margarita mix over the ice and garnish with fresh lime or lemon.

And that’s all folks! Everything you need to know for how to make a non-alcoholic margarita. Quick, easy and delicious as promised! Stay tuned for one more classic co*cktail turned mocktail tomorrow!