Passion Fruit Margarita

Add a tropical twist to your cocktail repertoire with the Passion Fruit Margarita. It’s a vibrant and refreshing drink that combines the tangy sweetness of passion fruit with the classic flavors of a margarita. This exotic cocktail is perfect for summer gatherings or a relaxing taco night at home.

About this Passion Fruit Margarita recipe

Passion fruit is one of my lifelong obsessions. My grandparents lived overseas and always had passion fruit yogurt for breakfast when we visited. I loved the bright flavor and the crunchy seeds!

Where I live, finding passion fruit at the grocery store is a total treat and I was so pleased to bring some home recently. I knew I had to make it into some cocktails! (And some yogurt, too, of course.)

The margarita is perfect for passion fruit because it’s already a sweet-tart cocktail. The tropical tanginess of passion fruit adds a totally delicious twist to tequila and citrus. This drink also uses a splash of passion fruit liqueur known as Passoã, but as always I’ll give you some options for substitutions.

More margarita recipes: Prickly Pear Margarita • Watermelon Margarita • Texas Margarita • Devil’s Margarita • Beer Margarita

Why you’ll love this recipe

The Passion Fruit Margarita is a delicious, flavorful and refreshing summer cocktail.

• Passion fruit juice makes for a delightful twist to add to your taco night.
• This rich, exotic margarita is easy for beginner home bartenders to assemble.
• The natural flavors of passion fruit are the perfect way to make flavorful beverages. I’ll never get over delicious tropical fruit flavors!

What is passion fruit?

Passion fruits are small, tropical fruits about the size of a lime or kiwi. They have a tough and leathery outer rind that can be purple or yellow when ripe. Inside is a sweet and tart juicy pulp and crunchy black seeds.

If you’ve never had passion fruit, it’s kinda similar in flavor to a pineapple or mango, but a little more tart, yet still sweet!

The flavor of passion fruit is very similar to pineapple or kiwi, but they can be more sour than a lime. It can have a hint of a melon flavor too. Very tasty and super tropical!

Tools & glassware

To make a margarita or two, you’ll need a basic bar tool set that includes a cocktail shaker, a Hawthorne strainer and a jigger for measuring ingredients.

You’ll also want to grab a few plates for preparing the glasses with salt and sugar rims.

Margaritas are often served in margarita glasses, stemmed glasses with big bowls for iced and frozen drinks. They can also be served in rocks glasses, which are short tumblers like I’ve used here. But don’t stress about the right glassware — it’s margarita night!

Ingredients

Here’s what to snag on your next errand run:

• Tequila: A blanco tequila, AKA silver tequila, is crisp and has a clear color, perfect for mixing in this yellow cocktail. We like Tito’s and Lunazul lately.
• Passoã: This is a hot pink-colored passion fruit liqueur you can find at your liquor store. It adds an extra layer of passion fruit flavor, but if you can’t find it, don’t worry. Any clear orange liqueur will work in its place. You can keep it simple with triple sec or go top shelf with Cointreau or Grand Marnier.
• Agave nectar: Feel free to substitute regular simple syrup.
• Passion fruit purée: You can purée your own passion fruit, or you can use store-bought purée. Some packages may call it passion fruit nectar. I’ve purchased the Funkin brand and have liked it a lot. Passion fruit juice is much lighter in color and less tart, too, so it may not look quite the same but it will still taste good.
• Lime juice: Fresh is best! But keep in mind the store-bought stuff is a bit more tart than fresh lime juice, so you may need to add a little more agave to balance things out.
• Coarse salt or sugar: This goes on the rim! You can make your own margarita sugar or salt, or have fun with a flavored rim like chili lime seasoning for a hint of spice.

Garnishes

Margaritas usually get a lime slice or lime wedge garnish, so that’s perfect here if you want to keep things simple. I used dehydrated lime slices here.

You can use fresh passion fruit of course, too! Cut one in half and float one of the halves on top of the drink. It will make it look like it came from a tiki bar!

Best tequila for margaritas

For a Passion Fruit Margarita, use a blanco tequila, which is known for its crisp flavor and clear color, ideal for mixing into drinks without changing their color.

Tito’s and Lunazul are excellent choices. Alternatively, a reposado tequila can add more complexity or a smoky mezcal can introduce additional layers of flavor.

Substitutions & variations

Margaritas are such a versatile recipe. There are a few ways to mix things up:

No passion fruit juice? Grab some fresh passion fruit and use it to make passion fruit syrup. Then use it in a classic margarita instead of agave, and sub the triple sec for Passoã.

Spicy passion fruit margarita: In place of the tequila, use jalapeño-infused tequila. Another option is to use jalapeño simple syrup instead of the agave nectar. Garnish with jalapeño slices too!

Virgin passion fruit margarita: Use a zero-proof spirit that mimics tequila, like Seedlip Grove 42 or Ritual tequila alternative, in place of the tequila. The Passoã is a little harder to replace, so sub in some orange juice or a non-alcoholic orange liqueur like Lyre’s Orange Sec.

Quick passion fruit margarita: Instead of using lime juice and agave nectar, you can use margarita mix to keep things quick and easy.

Big batch passion fruit margaritas: Use the +/- buttons in the recipe card below to scale up the recipe for a party. Stir all the ingredients together in a large pitcher and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve them.

Instructions

Before you do anything, learn how to cut a passion fruit if you’ve never eaten one before. The pulp on the inside is what you will use to make this delicious tropical-inspired simple syrup. Then use it to make passion fruit purée, straining out the seedy and fibrous passion fruit pulp.

Sprinkle salt, sugar or Tajín onto a plate. Use a lime wedge to moisten the rim of a glass. Dip the rim of the glass into the salt or sugar to coat it.

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine tequila, passion fruit liqueur (or triple sec), agave nectar, passion fruit purée and lime juice. Shake vigorously.

Strain the mixture into the prepared glass and finish by garnishing with a lime slice or a passion fruit half.

Tips & tricks

Here are some tips and tricks for making this recipe:

• Quality ingredients matter in a cocktail. For great-tasting cocktails, a good bottle can make a big difference. For best results, go for a mid-price tequila like Tito’s or a top-shelf tequila like Patron. Likewise, fresh passion fruit purée and fresh-squeezed lime juice is the way to go.
• Rim the glass. You can use nice salt or sugar for the rim. Chili-lime seasoning adds a hint of spice to every sip.
• Add a garnish! A lime wedge or piece of passion fruit makes this cocktail look more professional. Plus, the aromas from the garnish will enhance every sip.

Food pairings

These would be perfect for all kinds of occasions! For starters, there are the holidays: Cinco de Mayo on May 5 and National Margarita Day observed on February 22 each year. But it’s never a bad time to have a margarita!

Think your weekly taco nights, especially Taco Tuesday, along side some homemade tortilla chips and a dip like queso fundido. These tart passion fruit margs would be great with this homemade Taco Bell nacho fries recipe.

These are also fun for poolside and beach sipping, bachelor/bachelorette parties and summer cookouts. Serve them with some passion fruit pudding cake or margarita bars.

FAQ

More margarita recipes

• Coconut Margarita
• Pineapple Margarita
• Blue Margarita