All you need are three simple ingredients to make a spooky Halloween margarita! Glowing green without added food dyes or specialty products, this festive cocktail is easy to make in pitcher form for a Halloween party.

A Halloween Midori margarita served over ice.

If you're looking for the easiest Halloween cocktail with tequila, look no further than this Halloween margarita.

There are plenty of spooky, festive Halloween drinks out there, but they often call for hard-to-find ingredients, food coloring, pricey accessories, or dry ice. I love the eerie vibe dry ice wisps bring in a photo, but I am not about the important care and safety cautions required when actually handling or putting dry ice in beverages to drink. Let's not stress, right? Especially when alcohol is involved.

This Halloween margarita, on the other hand, uses just three ingredients, all readily available at the supermarket or liquor store. There's nothing to prep ahead, not even a simple syrup.

What results is a glowing green cocktail with a unique citrusy/melon flavor that will effortlessly jazz up your next Halloween party. An ectoplasm cocktail, perhaps, if you're a fan of Ghostbusters (or Stardew Valley, for a deeper cut!).

Cocktail Ingredients

Limes and bottles of Midori and tequila.

Midori: This is a Japanese melon liqueur. It's sweet, fairly bold in its melon flavoring, and a vibrant green color. If planning for a party, one 375-mL bottle (pictured above) ran me about $13 and yields enough for 10 drinks. Looking to use up your bottle? Bookmark this Grinch cocktail for the holiday season.
Tequila: Choose your favorite blanco (silver) tequila for this margarita. Do not use a gold tequila variety as it will muddy the bright green color.
Lime Juice: Freshly squeezed, please! The tartness plays off of the sweeter melon liqueur beautifully.

Easy Steps

Squeeze the Limes - Each drink will use about one small lime's worth of juice.
Shake - Pour tequila, Midori, and lime juice into a shaker glass halfway-filled with ice. Secure the lid and shake briskly for 15 seconds.
Pour - Strain the drink over ice into serving glasses.
Garnish - The quickest, tastiest decoration? A gummy eyeball. Pop one into each glass when serving. They'll sink to the bottom, add a little extra fruit flavor to the last sip, and remain chewy for a sweet treat to enjoy the end of the drink. I bought these at Target.

Recipe Notes

I also tested this Halloween margarita with the addition of Cointreau. Love triple sec in regular margaritas (or a cranberry apple margarita - yum!), but found even a tiny amount distracted from the melon flavoring that makes this drink so nice.
A salted rim is a classic margarita feature, and black sanding sugar would make a festive option here. If going this route, I would not coat the full rim to allow guests a sugarless area to sip, as black sanding sugar can dye your lips, mouth, etc.
Looking for a Halloween party dessert pairing? Orange and (naturally) black Halloween spritz cookies are super delicious, spot-on with the theme, and easier to make cute than you might think.

A gummy eyeball in the bottom of a Halloween margarita.

Halloween Cocktail Pitcher

This is an easy drink to make ahead of time as none of the ingredients are carbonated. To make 8 margaritas, choose a pitcher that can comfortably hold 28 ounces/3 ½ cups of liquid, not including ice.

12 ounces tequila (1 ½ cups)
10 ounces Midori (1 ¼ cups)
6 ounces lime juice (¾ cup)

Pour all into a pitcher, stir very well, and chill. Stir again before serving. You can add ice to the pitcher just prior to serving, but I recommend just adding ice to the individual glasses. Ice will water down and dilute the pitcher as it sits and melts.

A Halloween margarita in a stemless margarita glass.

More Fall Drinks

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