This Coconut White Christmas Margarita is the perfect holiday cocktail and always a hit! It's made with coconut milk and coconut rum for extra flavor. It can be made both as a single serving and in a pitcher for a bigger party!
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What Makes This Cocktail Special
- This is not your traditional margarita. It's a coconut margarita! There is coconut milk which gives it a tropical taste but the white color definitely gives off a Christmas feel which is why it's great for the winter holidays!
- There's a secret ingredient that intensifies the coconut flavor - It's coconut rum! This is by no means a traditional margarita but a fun one for sure!
- It's perfect for Christmas - The coconut flavor and light creaminess of this cocktail make it perfect for the holidays.
- Fun tip: Garnish your cocktail with a spring of rosemary and a few frozen cranberries to make it even more Christmasy! It's so pretty and it will be a hit at every holiday party.
Ingredients
- Silver tequila - Silver or blanco tequila is what is most used for margaritas. It has a stronger flavor than gold which makes it great for mixed cocktails. It's not aged in oak barrels for as long as gold tequila is so it's clear and doesn't have any woody flavor. Reposado tequila also works as a substitute, it's only aged 2-12 months and is only light gold.
- Cointreau - You can substitute it with Grand Marnier or Triple Sec too. All are orange liqueurs with slightly different flavors. I just prefer Cointreau.
- Coconut rum - This is what makes this margarita different from the classic. You can skip it and only add coconut milk but I highly recommend it!
- Lime juice - A classic addition and a necessity to this cocktail. The high accidity doesn't agree with the coconut milk so the drink will quickly separate, this is unavoidable. Use a straw to stir the drink as you sip it.
- Coconut milk - Any unsweetened coconut milk works here but I like using light coconut milk to keep the cocktail smooth and not thin. This is the main source of the coconut flavor in this cocktail.
- Orange or cranberry bitters - Bitters are always a great idea in cocktails. If you don't have any, you can totally omit them but they add another layer of flavor that compliments everything else.
- Maple syrup - I find the coconut adds sweetness to the cocktail but if you need more (it is Christmas after all), add a teaspoon of maple syrup. You can use simple syrup too, or mix equal parts maple syrup and warm water to make simple maple syrup.
Step-by-Step Instructions
There are only two steps to making this cocktail. Preparing your glass and mixing your cocktail. It's so simple! I've shared a web story on how to make this margarita too.
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- Prep your glass by filling a short glass with ice and adding a few fresh or frozen cranberries.
- Add all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with a handful of ice and shake for 10-15 seconds until it's very cool to touch. Pour the cocktail over the ice and serve. Garnish with a fresh spring of rosemary and serve with a short straw if desired.
This drink, just like any other cocktail, is best served immediately. If you want to make a larger amount for a group, serve it in a pitcher! Just multiply the recipe by however many servings you need.
Non-alcoholic Version
Mix together the coconut milk, maple syrup, lime juice, orange extract/flavor, and coconut extract or flavor. The extracts help replace the orange liqueur and the coconut rum. Make sure your extracts or bitters don't have any alcohol if you need to make your cocktail 100% non-alcoholic.
To make the virgin version of this cocktail more fun, add some flavored sparking water. Cranberry, orange, or lime flavors work great! A coconut-flavored one could be fun too if you can find any.
FAQs
Add coconut extract or flavor! I like the flavor with just coconut milk and coconut rum but feel free to give it that extra flavor if you'd like. ¼ teaspoon should be plenty.
Yes, this is unfortunately unavoidable. The high acidity of limes and the fat content of coconut milk don't agree with each other and the drink will likely separate. To fix this, serve it with a short straw and stir the drink while you sip!
Yes! In this case, I recommend the coconut extract to replace the coconut flavor you lose after skipping the coconut rum. Top up with cranberry sparkling water to make it more fun.
Yes! The recipe makes a single drink, you can click the x2 or x3 buttons to double or triple the serving. If you need more, just double or triple those results.
More Festive Margarita Recipes
Margarita is definitely my favorite cocktail so I'm constantly trying to come up with new versions. Below are three festive ones for the winter. Check out my Cocktails category for the latest cocktail recipes.
Print📖 Recipe
White Christmas Margarita
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 1x
- Category: Cocktail
- Method: Mixing
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This creamy coconut margarita is perfect for Christmas garnished with fresh cranberries and a string of rosemary
Ingredients
- 1 ½ oz silver tequila
- ½ oz Cointreau
- ½ oz coconut rum
- ½ oz freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 oz light coconut milk
- 1 tsp maple syrup (optional)
- 1-2 dashes of orange or cranberry bitters (optional)
- Garnish: fresh or frozen cranberries, fresh springs of rosemary
Instructions
- Fill up a short glass with ice and garnish with a few fresh or frozen cranberries.
- Add all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake until very cool to touch (10-15 seconds).
- Pour the drink into your glass and garnish with a spring of rosemary if desired. Serve immediately.
Notes
The high acidity of the lime doesn’t agree with the fat in coconut milk so the drink might separate. Serve the drink with a straw so you can stir it while sipping to avoid this.
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Christine says
YUP trying this ASAP. Looks so good!
Bill says
Oh, yeah. I'm definitely dreaming of a white Christmas now.
Beth Pierce says
This is perfect. I've been wanting to switch up my holiday cocktail this year.
briannemanz says
I love this white Christmas Margharita. It goes well with my theme of having a white Christmas this year
Dani Torr says
I love coconut flavor in my drink...it sounds delicious. I think I'll add coconut extract to make it even more coconut-y. Next week I'm having a dinner party and I'm sure my friends would love to try this too.
Eileen M Loya says
Nice! I love that you included an non alcoholic version of this cocktail. Now my sister can also enjoy this White Christmas Margarita too.
Elise Ho says
This one is definitely a keeper. It is delicious especially if you adjust the sweetness for your own taste. And of course it’s gorgeous.
Autumn Murray says
Pinned it! I love margaritas but have never tried this kind. I will make this on Christmas Day. In the evening of course. LOL
Thena Franssen says
This is my type of holiday drink! I love an easy recipe that is full of holiday flavor!
Shai says
Has anyone tried coconut cream? Wondering since I already have it I’m my cabinet.
Veronika Sykorova says
You can you coconut cream. I would probably only add 1/2 oz though as it's thicker and more concentrated than coconut milk.
Edna says
The separation in the coconut milk and whatever else it is gives it a bad texture and it’s very boozy. Not great
Veronika Sykorova says
I'm sorry to hear this cocktail didn't work for you! Yes, the coconut milk unfortunately separates from the rest of the ingredients. This is inevitable without any stabilizers like xanthan gum which I wanted to avoid to keep it simple and cleaner. Mixing cream and very acidic lime juice is what causes this. The texture of the coconut milk depend on the brand you buy. Some coconut milk might be grainy if it also doesn't have any gums or other stabilizers which is what creates the grainy texture.