This passion fruit margarita is tangy and tart with fresh passion fruit pulp shaken with tequila blanco, lime, and a little triple sec. It takes about five minutes.
About this recipe
This is a classic margarita build with passion fruit taking the place of some of the citrus. Passion fruit is intensely tart and very floral, so it doesn’t just add sweetness; it adds a second layer of acid on top of the lime. That’s why the sweetener matters here more than it does in a plain lime margarita.
One thing to watch. Passion fruit purée and fresh passion fruit pulp are not the same ingredient. Most commercial purées are already sweetened, and fresh pulp is not sweetened at all, so it comes in much more sour. If you’re using fresh fruit you’ll need the full 0.5 oz (15ml) of simple syrup and possibly a little bit more. If you’re using a sweetened purée, taste it before you add the syrup because you may want less. Two fresh passion fruits give you roughly 1 oz (30ml) of pulp.
The seeds are up to you. Straining through the regular cocktail strainer leaves most of them in the drink, which looks good and gives a bit of crunch. If you want it clean, double strain through a fine mesh strainer.
Salt on the rim is the traditional margarita move, and it works especially well here because salt makes tropical fruit taste sweeter and rounder. For more tequila drinks, have a look at my frozen cherry margarita and tequila sour.
Method
- Run a lime wedge around the rim of a rocks glass and dip it in salt. Scoop the passion fruit pulp into a cocktail shaker, or measure in the purée.
- Add the tequila, lime juice, triple sec, and simple syrup, then fill the shaker with ice.
- Shake hard for about 15 seconds, until the outside of the shaker is frosty. Strain into the rimmed glass over fresh ice.
- Garnish with half a fresh passion fruit balanced on the rim.
Tips
- Taste your passion fruit first. Sweetened purée and fresh pulp are different. Adjust the simple syrup to suit what you’re using.
- Shake hard. Fifteen seconds of proper shaking chills the drink and adds the small amount of water it needs to taste balanced.
- Fresh ice in the glass. The ice in the shaker has already partly melted. Straining onto new ice keeps the drink cold without watering it down further.
- Pick ripe passion fruit. The skin should be wrinkled, not smooth. Smooth ones are underripe and much more sour.
Variations
- Spicy passion fruit margarita: Muddle two or three slices of jalapeño in the shaker before adding the other ingredients. The heat works really well against the tropical fruit.
- Frozen: Blend everything with a cup of ice until smooth. You may want a little extra simple syrup because freezing mutes sweetness.
- Sugar rim: Swap the salt for sugar, or use a half and half mix, for something closer to a dessert drink.
- Passion fruit and mango: Replace half the passion fruit with mango purée for something softer and less sharp.
- Mocktail version: Leave out the tequila and triple sec, use 1 oz (30ml) passion fruit and 0.5 oz (15ml) lime, and top with soda water. There are more ideas in my mocktail recipes.
Related recipes
- Frozen Cherry Margarita – blended and fruity
- Blackberry Margarita – another fresh fruit margarita
- Cardamom Margarita – warm and spiced
- Tequila Sour – silky egg white foam
- Passionfruit Spritz Mocktail – the alcohol free way to use up passion fruit
Passion Fruit Margarita
Ingredients
For the rim
- 1 tsp sea salt or sugar for a sweeter rim
- lime wedge to moisten the rim
For the drink
- 2 oz tequila blanco
- 1 oz lime juice fresh
- pulp of 2 fresh passion fruits or 1 oz passionfruit puree
- 0.5 oz triple sec
- 0.5 oz simple syrup adjust to taste depending on the passion fruit
- ice
To garnish
- half a fresh passion fruit
Instructions
- Run a lime wedge around the rim of a rocks glass, then dip the rim in the flaky salt to coat.
- Scoop the pulp from the passion fruits into a cocktail shaker, or measure in the purée.
- Add the tequila, lime juice, triple sec, and simple syrup.
- Fill the shaker with ice and shake hard for 15 seconds, until the shaker is frosty on the outside.
- Strain into the rimmed glass filled with fresh ice.
- Balance half a fresh passion fruit on the rim to garnish. Serve immediately.
