This refreshing Tamarind Margarita is bursting with tropical flavors and are a fun way to shake up your margarita routine. It is made with fresh tamarindo puree, limes, syrup and tequila. This is a perfect blend of tangy, sweet, sour, and a little spice if you’d like.
Margarita De Tamarindo
Much like a Classic Margarita this Tamarind Margarita recipe is authentic, fresh and fabulous. It’s made with real tamarindo puree and when combined with fresh squeezed lime juice and tequila just couldn’t be better!
Make a single cocktail or an entire pitcher to enjoy with friends. This Margarita is the perfect sip to add to your next fiesta or just enjoy at home for a casual drink.
What is tamarind?
Tamarind is a tropical fruit native to India, its tree has the same name. This is also known as “India’s Date”. It came to the American continent through the Spaniards who colonized Mexico. From Mexico it spread to the tropical countries of South America.
The fruit is brown in color and has the shape of a pod, which is hard in texture. The seed are hard and is covered with a pulp with a sweet and acid taste. And that pulp is what makes magic!
There are many Mexican recipes that use tamarind and many of them are here on this blog! I welcome you to explore some of them like Agua de Tamarindo, Paletas, Mexican Candy, and on this post, I show you how to make the tamarindo pulp that we’ll be using for this recipe.
What does Tamarindo margarita taste like?
Fresh from the pod, the tamarind’s sticky flesh has a complex flavor, ranging from sweet to tart.
When the tamarind is ripe, the sweetness is stronger than the acidity, but in unripe tamarind, the acidity outweighs the sweetness.
The flavor is hard to describe, but it’s almost like a tropical citrus with a cranberry hint.
Why You’ll Love this Cocktail
Ingredients
- Homemade tamarind paste You can also buy the paste online or at a latin store if you don’t feel like making your own or can’t find fresh tamarind pods. .
- Fresh lime Juice
- Tequila. For this recipe, use a blanco tequila, or unaged, style. Save your aged tequilas for sipping.
- Simple Syrup or agave syrup
- Orange liqueur like triple sec or Cointreau (optional).
- For garnish: Chili lime powder or something like tajin and a lime wedge.
How To Make Tamarind Margarita
- Make the tamarind paste following these instructions. This can be done up to 1 week in advanced.
Make the simple syrup
- In a small saucepan, heat sugar and water until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let cool. If more instructions are needed you can see my post about how to make simple syrup.
Prepare the cocktail glass
- Place the chili lime seasoning on plate. Rub rims of 2 cocktail glasses (or margarita glass) with a lime wedge.
Then dip the glass into the chile powder. Fill glasses with ice and set aside.
Mix the cocktail
- In a cocktail shaker or tall glass, combine tamarind puree, tequila, lime juice, and syrup. Shake or stir the mixture and pour into the prepared cocktail glass.
Make it frozen
How do you make a frozen tamarind margarita?
Making a frozen margarita vs. on the rocks, it’s simple and a fun way to sip your drink! Use the same amount of ingredients called on the recipe and add to a blender or a food processor with 3 cups of ice. Puree until smooth, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Is that easy!
Just watch out for brain freeze lol!
Chef’s Tips
- Make ahead – to make it easy the day of, make the tamarind paste and simple syrup the day before or a up to a week ahead.
- Hosting a party? Make a pitcher of the drink and just serve as you go!
FAQs
It is an excellent source of fiber, vitamins of groups B, C and E. It is used for medicinal purposes thanks to its laxative, diuretic, astringent, antipyretic and antiseptic properties.
Fresh from the pod, the tamarind’s sticky flesh has a complex flavor, ranging from sweet to tart.
When the tamarind is ripe, the sweetness is stronger than the acidity, but in unripe tamarind, the acidity outweighs the sweetness.
The margaritas flavor is hard to describe, but it’s almost like a tropical citrus with a cranberry hint.
In general, it’s better to make cocktails with a white tequila. But, if you’re an experienced person and you are looking for a tequila to mix with a deeper flavor profile, I recommend a reposado that will give a different color and flavor to your favorite margarita.
MORE OF MY Favorite…
Cocktail Recipes
If you make this recipe be sure to leave a rating in the comments below. You can also tag me on Instagram at @anafriasb.
Tamarind Margarita
Ingredients
- 4 oz tamarind paste
- 2 oz simple syrup or agave syrup
- 2 oz lime juice (about 2 large limes)
- 3 to 4 oz silver tequila
- fresh lime juice and chili lime seasoning for the glass rim
- fresh lime wedges for garnish.
Instructions
- Make the tamarind paste following these instructions. This can be done up to 1 week in advance.
Make the simple syrup
- In a small saucepan, heat sugar and water until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let cool.
Prepare the cocktail glass
- Place the chili lime seasoning on a plate. Rub the rims of 2 glasses with a lime wedge; dip them into the chile powder. Fill glasses with ice and set aside.
Mix the cocktail
- In a cocktail mixer or tall glass, combine tamarind puree, tequila, lime juice, and syrup. Shake or stir the mixture and pour into the prepared cocktail glass.
Make it frozen!
- In a blender, add 3 cups of ice and the rest of the ingredients. Blend until it turns into a smoothie consistency. Add more ice if necessary. Pour immediately into glasses and enjoy!
Add Your Own Private Notes
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Nutrition
The nutritional information and US conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data. If this is important to you, please verify with your favourite nutrition calculator and/or unit conversion tool.
My hubby and I really enjoyed these margaritas! We used tequila Blanco and it was delicious!