Prickly Pear Margarita

This vibrant frozen cocktail gets its magenta hue and tangy-sweet flavor from cactus fruit.

Makes
2 cocktails
Time
15 minutes, plus infusing

PHOTO: MURRAY HALL • FOOD STYLING: THU BUSER

Updated on July 25, 2025

The prickly pear cactus, a staple throughout the deserts of the American Southwest, is prized for its bulbous red fruit, which forms the basis of a variety of Mexican and Tex-Mex preparations. This frozen margarita, which takes its distinctive flavor and vivid color from the fruit, comes from the now-closed Las Canarias restaurant in San Antonio, Texas.

Featured in “Texas’ Margarita Miles” by Robb Walsh in the June/July 2008 issue.

Ingredients

For the prickly pear-infused tequila:

One 750-ml bottle silver tequila
10 prickly pears, peeled

For the margaritas:

2 oz. frozen limeade
1½ oz. Cointreau

Instructions

Step 1

Make the prickly pear-infused tequila: To a 32-ounce jar, add the tequila and prickly pears. Cover and set aside at room temperature to infuse for at least 2 days, or up to 5.

Step 2

Make the margaritas: Place a strainer over a blender jar and mash one of the tequila-infused prickly pears through it into the blender. Discard the seeds. Add the limeade, Cointreau, 4 ounces of the infused tequila, and 2 cups of crushed ice and purée until slushy. Pour into cocktail glasses.

Make the prickly pear-infused tequila: To a 32-ounce jar, add the tequila and prickly pears. Cover and set aside at room temperature to infuse for at least 2 days, or up to 5.
Make the margaritas: Place a strainer over a blender jar and mash one of the tequila-infused prickly pears through it into the blender. Discard the seeds. Add the limeade, Cointreau, 4 ounces of the infused tequila, and 2 cups of crushed ice and purée until slushy. Pour into cocktail glasses.