Naturally Sweetened Lemonade Margaritas are an easy skinny cocktail recipe that are light and refreshing any time the occasion for a beverage arises.
Over the weekend, I was jogging with one of my girl friends and all I could think about (aside from bacon cheeseburgers and sweet potato fries) was lemonade.
Where are all the lemonade stands when you actually need them?
It was hot outside, we were being little ninnies, and the fact that I had hit the wine bottles the night before just made me feel like I was Odysseus on his epic journey home.
Except in my story, there were no cyclopses (how unfortunate), sirens, pissed off Poseidon, and the only thing keeping me from Ithaca was my inability to run at a halfway decent pace and the fact that I don’t live in Ithaca. So pretty much, I was nothing like Odysseus on his epic journey home, but since I’m the one who’s calling the shots here (get it? shots?), I’m assigning myself points for dramatic effect.
By now, you know I’m not a huge fan of cane sugar and tend to replace it with natural sweeteners whenever possible. So in honor of my dire need for lemonade, I whipped up a batch using pure maple syrup in place of cane sugar. It hit the sweet spot.
My favorite part about the lemonade, other than it breathing life back into my dried-up veins, was the fact that I didn’t have to dissolve sugar on the stove and wait for it to cool down. You simply pour everything into a pitcher and stir it right up.
BOOM! Lemonade.
But then I got to thinking…”Wait a tick…this lemonade needs something. Booze. This lemonade could use some booze.”
So in light of the tequila that has been going anywhere a booze can go, I broke out the bottle and made naturally sweetened lemonade margaritas. And so the cycle continues.
This is kind of like a homemade skinny girl margarita…right? Right.
If you want to get real genius, you can add some herb infusion to the lemonade by chopping up fresh herbs and heating them up with the lemon juice and maple syrup to create a mock herb-y simple syrup. Basil, thyme, parsley, lavender, sage…pretty much any herb goes well in lemonade and also adds a unique element to a margarita. Adding fruit is permissible, too.
So now that we’ve determined all lemonade should be naturally sweetened, and all naturally sweetened lemonade should contain tequila, we can rejoice in the fact that we have both our lemonade and our cocktails down pat.
It’s 5 o’clock somewhere.
Also check out my Vanilla Bean Jasmine Arnold Palmer!
Naturally Sweetened Lemonade Margaritas
Ingredients
For the Naturally Sweetened Lemonade:
- 1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup or agave nectar or more to taste
- 7 cups cold water
For Each Cocoktail
- 2 ounces Tequila
- 8 ounces Naturally Sweetened Lemonade
- Lemon wedges
Instructions
Make the Naturally Sweetened Lemonade:
- Mix all of the ingredients for the lemonade together in a large pitcher.
Make the Lemonade Margaritas:
- Rim glasses with salt, then fill them with ice. Add about 1 to 2 shots (1.5 to 3 ounces) of tequila to each glass and fill the rest of the way with lemonade. Stir, squeeze a wedge of lemon into each glass, and serve. (You can also shake the drink in a tumbler before serving).
it is nice story……..
definitely could kick back and relax with a margarita right now.. wish the weekend and summer would hurry up!
This is a Joanne-approved kind of drink. All natural + tequila. So basically perfect.
Haha! This message has been approved by Joanne. Brought to you by Joanne, of Eats Well with Others.
Let’s hang
Heat always have me craving lemonade. Made with a lil gin. Looks great!
mmmm mmmmm good! Boozy lemonade for the win!
Almost the exact same thing happened to me: I was running with a friend who mentioned the awesome lemonade we had at the farmer’s market a few weeks before. Except, when we got there, they were all out! I think I’ll have to use your recipe to quench my craving!
Ohhhh noooooooooo that would kiiiiiiiill meeeee! Sorry….little drama queen over here. Hope you try the lemonade!
Running in the heat after a night of hitting the wine sounds like absolute torture! I feel like I need a drink just thinking about how horrible that would be! I’ve been trying to use less refined sugars too lately and I love that you used maple syrup in these! I’m now craving a margarita and a huge basket of chips and salsa 🙂
Sounds like you and I need to meet for happy hour. Nothing but good things would come of it 😉
Oh goodness gracious, I need one of these in my life, stat. I’ve been cutting out cane sugar lately and trying a lemonade sweetened with honey has been on my list. But maple syrup – I love this! And tequila, hello. LOVE.
You’ll love it, Kare! Amazing how wonderful things can taste when they’re naturally sweetened. Let’s boycot cane sugar!
Mondays should always come with a side of booze. I decided to run at noon today–the peak of heat. What was my brain thinking? I am always down for a naturally sweetened, and spiked, beverage.
I always end up running in the heat of the day on weekends because I’m too hungover to make it out before it gets scorching hot. Mondays should have the pre-requisite of booze. As in, you don’t get to Monday until you booze. Whatever that means 😉
I love that you added tequila to this. And I also love that you made it with maple syrup 🙂
So glad to hear you’re on team tequila. T E Q U I L A represent!
I have been having non-stop lemonade cravings for the last 2 weeks. For real, homemade boardwalk style lemonade. Can’t drink tequila right now (pregnant) but I am bookmarking this!
Oof Boardwalk lemonade just has an amazing ring to it. Can we drink it down by the sea?! Congrats on the bun in the oven, dear! We can toast with the tequila version after the babe is born 🙂
Perfect drink for a hot summer day especially after a long run! I am so into using maple syrup or honey in this! Natural sweeteners is always the best choice 😉
#naturallysweetenedfordays
Ahh, the perfect cure for a hot ninnie on the run.
Seriously, could these be any easier or more refreshing? I think not.
Heck yeah, I’m glad you’re up for the marg, too! They’re lots of fun. 😀
I seriously can’t wait to make this one tonight, it looks incredible!!
So happy to hear it! I hope you enjoyed it, Matt!
I am SO into using maple syrup in this, win! I also think about food while running, let’s run together?! : )
YES! September, my dear. Dinner + drinks, followed by a run the next day. I’m inserting the clapping hands emoji here.
Please keep all good thoughts going on Friday that I will get in rickety-tickety and get this over with so that I’m ready to rock and roll with you and Stephie next month. Because I plan on having fun and not be shuffling around like an old woman. Can’t wait to see you!!
Can’t wait to see you, too, Momma! And I’m sending my best wishes and all the good jujus your way. Plus, if we can’t rock out with the margs on the rocks in September, we definitely will some other time! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox!
We had the same idea for Monday. Add booze. Make it better.
ALSO…running after drinking is the worst? You know what I do…run WHILE drinking.
Well, I actually rode a bike while drinking (not a run) on vacation. It was a wise idea.
Also, the sequel: Gimme these. Pinned!
Welp, that’s it. Margs in my water bottle…that’ll solve all the things. 😉 Let’s go road biking under the influence. Don’t tell the po I said that.