Tin Can Margaritas
Classic margaritas for a crowd couldn’t be easier! These “tin can” margaritas are made with just 4 easy ingredients, including frozen limeade concentrate.
You know what your summer needs? A night with friends filled with fun, laughter, and a big pitcher of margarita. And I am 100% here for you with the easiest big batch margarita cocktail recipe. It all starts with a can of frozen limeade concentrate which you then use to measure the rest of your ingredients. Dump it all into a pitcher with some ice and you’re done! Easy-peasy.
This limeade margarita recipe is, of course, best shared with others. And it can easily be scaled up as needed to fit the size of your gathering. Cheers!
“Great recipe!! I made it 5 times (tonight) and nothing left to show for it! 5 stars in my book and all my guests raved about it as well!⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐” —from reader Laura
Table of Contents
Ingredients you’ll need
- Frozen limeade concentrate, find it in the freezer section at your grocery store!
- Blanco tequila or reposado tequila, per your preference.
- Cointreau, triple sec, grand Marnier or other orange liqueur.
- Fresh lemon juice. Lemon juice is a little sweeter that lime juice and it balances the flavors nicely.
How to make tin can margaritas
You’re going to love this easy margarita recipe!
- Add limeade concentrate to a pitcher. You can let it thaw first or put it in frozen.
- Measure out other ingredients. Use the now-empty concentrate can to measure the tequila, orange liqueur, lemon juice and cold water.
- Stir to combine. Use a large spoon to combine everything and make sure the frozen concentrate is incorporated. Add ice and lime slices to the pitcher, if you want.
- Serve and enjoy! Rim glasses with coarse salt or tajin (for a bit of heat), add ice, and pour the margaritas into each glass. Garnish with lime wedges or lime slices.
Variations
Raspberry margaritas— use frozen pink lemonade concentrate, and fresh lime juice instead of lemon juice. Garnish with fresh raspberries.
Beer margaritas— omit orange liqueur and instead add 12 ounces of beer.
Frozen margaritas— fill blender with 4 cups of ice and add all ingredients except the water. Blend until smooth.
FAQs
Minute Maid is my favorite brand to use for this recipe, but more generic brands will work too. It’s been harder over the years to find limeade concentrate, so you might have to try multiple stores. If you can’t find it, you can use lemonade concentrate and swap the lemon juice for fresh lime juice instead.
This recipe is specifically a big batch recipe that uses concentrate for ease. If you’d like a different recipe, there are lots of other options out there!
Other liquors like gin or vodka can be used in place on tequila for a different cocktail taste. If you want this recipe to be alcohol-free, add one can of limeade concentrate to a pitcher and top with 2 liter bottle of sprite (or club soda for a less-sweet option). Garnish with fresh lime wedges or slices.
Absolutely! This recipe scales up really easily for larger parties and gatherings. Use a large glass beverage dispenser so you can make a super big batch once and be done.
Get the recipe
Tin Can Margaritas
Ingredients
- 12 oz (355 ml) can frozen limeade concentrate
- 1 can (355 ml) tequila
- ½ can (177 ml) triple sec liqueur
- ½ can (177 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 can (177 ml) water , plus more to taste
- Ice
- Lime slices
- Coarse salt
Instructions
- In a large pitcher add the limeade. Use the limeade can to measure out the tequila, triple sec and lemon juice and add to pitcher.
- Add 1 can of water and taste. You'll likely want to add more water, per your preference. Add ice to the pitcher (which will also water down cocktails more).
- Use a lime slice to moisten the rims of your glasses and dip in salt. Add remaining lime slices to pitcher.
- Pour and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- For easiest mixing, let the lime concentrate thaw before using.
- Flavor variations: Raspberry margaritas— use frozen pink lemonade concentrate, and fresh lime juice instead of lemon juice. Garnish with fresh raspberries. Beer margaritas— omit orange liqueur and instead add 12 ounces of beer. Frozen margaritas— fill blender with 4 cups of ice and add all ingredients except the water. Blend until smooth.
Can u make the tin can margaritas ahead of time and put in fridge
Yes absolutely! It should keep well for several days.
Easy and yummy! I added one half can of sparkling lime water.
Every college student knows how to do this!
Not everyone learned this in college! Some of us much, much later. Just trying to help out the rest of us! 🙂
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What the heck is a “can”
This recipe is based off of the cans of frozen limeade you can find in the freezer section. One can is 12oz liquid.
As I was reading through these comments I saw some had added water. I haven’t made this yet but would instead add some lemon lime soda instead. This would give a little fizz to the drink. I have a margarita recipe that uses sweetened lime juice (Geroux) so will use that instead of the hand squeezed just because it’s what I have on hand. Will whip up a batch this weekend.
Yum! Added about a can of water ?
Total waste of tequila.
How come!? Did they not turn out well? Seems like a pretty straightforward recipe??
I can’t find frozen limeade anymore. Do you have a recipe to make your own that would work for your tin can margaritas? Thanks
Hmm. I have noticed that frozen juice concentrates are getting harder to find and I’ve learned which stores near me carry frozen limeade. As far as a substitute goes, I don’t have any solid suggestions. Perhaps google can help?
Homemade limeade
1/2 c fresh limes juice (about 6 limes)
2/3 c sugar
2 quarts water
Add lime juice to pitcher and stir in sugar until dissolved. Fill pitcher with cold water. Chill.
About 12 limes make a cup. Found on Pinterest.
Fantastic margaritas! I used 2 cans water and 1 1/2 -2 cans tequila. Couldn’t be more simple. These are my new go to… thanks so much!
Can I use fresh limes instead of lemons?
Do you think I could use Real Lemon lemon juice instead of squeezing real lemons?
No! They do not taste the same. Don’t ruin good alcohol with inferior ingredients. ?
I didn’t squeeze real lemons. I used Sicilia lemon juice in a plastic bottle (found in the produce section). It’s not from concentrate and it was fine.
I have been making this for years, I do add 1/2 to one can of water depending on my people. I also add about a third of a can of amaretto to make an Italian margarita. It’s yummy
Idea how to make this recipe into jalepeno margaritas?
You could add one sliced jalepeno to the pitcher for a bit of a kick!
nice one…