Best Margarita Salt Recipe (2024)

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This margarita salt recipe makes the best margarita salt rim! This zesty garnish takes any co*cktail from meh to a masterpiece. Here’s how to make it.

Best Margarita Salt Recipe (1)

Looking to amp up your margaritas? This margarita salt is the best way to transform your glass from meh to marvelous. And it’s seriously simple too! Alex and I made this margarita salt as part of our Frozen Margaritas, but we realized that it would be just about perfect for any you decide to make. From now on, we’ll be adding it to our Classic Margarita and Lemon Margarita (and maybe even our Paloma, too). Keep reading for all there is to know about margarita salt!

Best Margarita Salt Recipe (2)

What is margarita salt?

Margarita salt is the salt added to the rim of a margarita glass. Why is a margarita served with salt? Well, salt intensifies the sweet and sour flavors in the drink. It makes the sour seem brighter, making the overall drink experience that much more pleasurable.

There are lots of store-bought brands of margarita salt out there. But why buy your own when you can make it at home? It’s seriously easy to make, and you don’t end up with random half-used containers lying around.

Best Margarita Salt Recipe (3)

How to make margarita salt

This recipe could not be simpler (literally). Here’s how to make margarita salt:

  1. Place kosher salt, lime zest and orange zest on a cutting board. (Scroll down to the recipe for the exact quantities).
  2. Crush them together using a rolling pin.

That’s it! Now, some recipes will call for drying out the citrus zest in the oven or doing other fancy things. In our testing, we found it’s not necessary: it really is this simple. Store your margarita salt in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 1 month. (It will probably last longer than that; we’re being conservative here.)

Best Margarita Salt Recipe (4)

How to make the perfect margarita salt rim

You might think that making a margarita salt rim wouldn’t have tips and tricks: but like anything in food and drink, it does! Here are our tips to making the perfect rim:

  1. Spread the salt on a plate in an even layer.
  2. Take a lime wedge and cut a notch in the middle: then slide it around the rim of the glass. This perfectly moistens the glass rim without having to use your fingers!
  3. To rim the glass, you’ll want the salt on the outside of the glass only, not the inside where it can fall into the drink. To do this, tilt the glass so that only the outside edge goes into the salt.
  4. Shake off any loose salt into the sink.

What kind of salt for a margarita is best?

The best type of salt to use for a margarita we’ve found is kosher salt. We like the size of the grains and the flavor that it brings. If you’d like to use sea salt for this recipe, you can do this as well. However, do not even think about using iodized table salt! The flavor of this type of salt is much too intense for rimming your drinks.

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Best Margarita Salt Recipe (5)

This recipe is…

Vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free.

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Best Margarita Salt Recipe (6)

Best Margarita Salt Recipe

★★★★★5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Sonja
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: ¼ cup 1x
Print Recipe

Description

This margarita salt recipe makes the best margarita salt rim! This zesty garnish takes any co*cktail from meh to a masterpiece. Here’s how to make it.

Ingredients

Scale

  • 2 tablespoons kosher salt
  • Zest of 1 lime
  • Zest of 1/2 orange

Instructions

  1. Zest the lime. Zest the orange.
  2. Place all ingredients on a cutting board and crush them together using a rolling pin. Break any large pieces of zest with your fingers.
  3. Store in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 1 month.
  • Category: Drink
  • Method: Raw
  • Cuisine: American

Keywords: Margarita Salt, Margarita salt rim, What is margarita salt, What kind of salt for margarita

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And a few more popular drink recipes over here, sans alcohol:

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  • Lavender Lemon Spritzer
  • Sparkling Blood Orange Rosemary Water
  • Best Pourover Coffee
  • Cold Brew Coffee
  • How to Make Kombucha
  • Fruit Infused Water Recipe
  • Lemon Water Recipe
  • Easy Mint Water Recipe
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  • Lime Water Recipe with Mint

vegan vegetarian gluten free

Published on / Last updated on

Categorized In:

  • co*cktails
  • Drink Recipes
  • Recipes

Tagged with:

  • co*cktail
  • Dairy-Free
  • Drinks
  • Gluten-Free Recipes
  • Margarita
  • Plant-Based
  • Recipe
  • Salt
  • Vegan Recipes
  • Vegetarian Recipes

About the authors

Best Margarita Salt Recipe (7)

Sonja & Alex

Hi, we’re Alex and Sonja Overhiser, married cookbook authors, food bloggers, and recipe developers. We founded A Couple Cooks to share fresh, seasonal recipes for memorable kitchen moments! Our recipes are made by two real people and work every time.

About Us

Best Margarita Salt Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the best salt to use for margaritas? ›

What Is The Best Salt For Margarita Rim? The best salt to use is kosher salt, which is more coarse and won't dissolve quickly as table salt will. However, several variations from spicy salt to flavored salt are available today, giving the kosher standard a run for its money.

What is the best salt to rim a glass with? ›

To Rim a Glass

Flaky sea salt, such as neutral Maldon or Himalayan pink salt, is the bartender go-to for rimming glasses. Slightly large, coarse grains may work best for glass rims, marshall notes, as they tend to have less moisture and therefore stay crystallized longer.

What is different about margarita salt? ›

Ideally, you would use sea salt (coarse, flaky, pink Himalayan) as opposed to fine table salt. The key is to make sure you don't get too much salt on the inside of the glass so the salt doesn't overwhelm the flavor of the margarita itself.

What kind of salt do bartenders use? ›

Hawaiian red salt is especially good, but even ordinary table salt will work if that's all you have.

Is pink Himalayan salt good for margaritas? ›

Himalayan salt also known as pink rock salt is becoming popular among people who like margaritas because of its unique qualities. These rosy-colored crystals not only make your margarita look nice but they also add just the right amount of crunch.

What do bartenders use to salt rim? ›

The most familiar item to rim a glass with is probably the salt you find on a margarita, but you can use the same principle with sugar, cocoa powder or nibs, chili powder, dried or fresh herbs, or wherever your imagination takes you.

What do bartenders use to make salt stick to glass? ›

Liquid: You'll need a liquid like lemon juice, lime juice, or simple syrup on the rim of your glass to make the salt stick. If you want a flavorless liquid, water is an easy option. 3. Dishware: Although some bartenders use saucers designed specifically for salt rimming, a small plate or tea saucer will work as well.

What do bartenders use to rim glasses? ›

4 Ingredients You Can Use to Rim a Glass

Sugar: Sugaring the rim of a co*cktail glass gives your drink a frosted look. It's especially striking if you use colored sugar. 2. Salt: Types of salt frequently used for a salt rim include kosher salt, sea salt, and celery salt.

How does margarita salt stick to glass? ›

You need the salt to stick to the rim of the glass, of course, and that's easily done with lemon or lime juice, which turns sticky as it dries.

Why does margarita salt turn blue? ›

Table salt turns blue when lemon juice is added to it because the citric acid in the lemon releases iodine from the salt. The iodine in the salt turns the salt a bluish color.

What kind of sugar do you use for margarita rims? ›

Just like simple syrup, you can use your favorite specialty sugar for rimming. Turbinado, demerara, powdered, and brown sugars are all good options.

How do you make margarita salt stay? ›

You need the salt to stick to the rim of the glass, of course, and that's easily done with lemon or lime juice, which turns sticky as it dries.

What kind of salt do you use for margarita rims? ›

Salt: Use kosher salt, sea salt, or celery salt for your co*cktail's salt rim. Avoid using iodized table salt, which clumps together and has an overly strong flavor.

What is the difference between sea salt and kosher salt? ›

Size: Kosher salt is large, and because it's industrially processed, it's more uniform in size. Sea salt crystals can be fine, flaky, chunky or coarse. Appearance: Kosher salt crystals are coarse and pebble-shaped, whereas sea salt is more delicate and crystals can take on a flaky or pyramid-like shape.

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