Have you just heard about this other type of margarita? And wonder what this skinny margarita thing everyone is talking about is? You’ve come to the right place!
Skinny margarita is a variant of the margarita. As the name suggests it’s a light version of the regular margarita, both in terms of alcohol and calories. Many people prefer it over the classic margarita also in terms of taste.
That is almost self-explained because of its name. But what does it actually consist of? And is it lighter and better than the regular margarita? Let’s find out.
What Is a Skinny Margarita Made Of?
Now let’s dig a little deeper into this skinny margarita cocktail. We need to find out what it’s made of… or the ingredients if you want.
The skinny margarita is made of tequila, lime juice, orange juice, and agave nectar. These are the most common ingredients. However, the ingredients and the proportions may vary depending on the recipe which you follow.
There are a bunch of different recipes out there having slight moderations. Therefore it may be confusing to find out which one to choose. Now with a little knowledge about the ingredients, you will find it much easier, and can even adjust them according to your goal.
By goal I mean if you want it to be a low-calorie drink or if you want to change the taste of it. This is no problem once you know why the drink is composed the way it is.
Therefore, to make this simple I’ve made a list of all the different ingredients, and some useful information about all of them. Be aware that I’ve also included some ingredients we’ve not talked about yet, since many recipes seem to prefer them.
I’ve categorized them into three groups: Liquor, sweeteners, and sour/citrus ingredients.
List of ingredients in a skinny margarita:
- Base liquor:
- Tequila is the liquor used. When choosing tequila make sure it’s 100% agave and also that it’s a blaco/silver tequila. Both of which will be clearly stated on the label. If not ask someone in the store, they will know.
- Sweetners:
- Agave nectar: This one is by far the most used in this cocktail, and that’s for a good reason! The tequila is made from the blue agave plant, which comes through in the drink. Therefore, having a sweetener that compliments that is no bad idea. This is the one I suggest using for taste purposes.
- Cane sugar: often used in combination with agave nectar. You’ll not find this often in recipes, rather if you buy a pre-made skinny margarita.
- Corn syrup: this one is also one you’ll mostly see in the pre-made products. It’s not too bad aslong as it’s not the HFCS variant, which is the most common…
- Monk fruit: After doing a bunch of research on different recipes I found so many different types of sweeteners used in this drink. Monk fruit is one of them, this is a 0 calorie sweetener. 100-250 times sweeter than regular table sugar! Be careful!
- It’s a antioxidants called mogroside extraced from the fruit and sold in pulver form. Mogorside V is responsible for the sweetnes and make up more than 30% of the product.
- Allulose: classified as “rare sugar”, in family with glucose and fructose, however we can’t metabolize it. Just 0.2-0.4 calories per gram (which is not used).
- 70% as sweet as table sugar.
- Xylitol: suger-alcohol.
- 40% less calories than table sugar. 2.4 cal. per gram.
- Looks and taste like sugar.
- GI=7
- Erythritol: suger-alcohol.
- 0.24 cal. per gram.
- 70% as sweet as table sugar.
- Sour ingredients:
- Lime juice: this one is a must have ingredient. It’s not a margarita without it, it’s important for the balance.
- Orange juice: in many skinny margaritas there is no orange liqueur, this is used as a substitute.
- Orange extract: if you’re more at the low calorie end, this is a great altnerative for gaining the orange taste, which a margarita craves!
This was just a quick summary of different ingredients that may be used, depending on what you’re trying to accomplish. If you want a low-calorie margarita, you will be using different products than if you’re just here for the taste.
Now let’s check the difference between a skinny margarita and a regular one. We’ll also talk about the number of calories in them.
Skinny Margarita vs. Margarita: What’s the difference?
So let’s check how the skinny margarita and regular margarita compare, and what separates when!
The skinny margarita is a light version of the regular margarita. The difference between the two is that a skinny margarita contains less alcohol, and sometimes fewer calories, depending on the recipe. There is no official definition of what its purpose is.
What I mean by no official definition is that the recipes vary a lot! Some of them are made for a keto diet, and others are just less heavy to drink with lighter ingredients. Either way, we are going to explore both of those options!
Let’s start with the most normal one. This is just made to be easier on the tastebuds and the morning after. This version of the skinny margarita contains less alcohol because the orange liqueur is replaced by orange juice and agave syrup.
Here’s a neat table comparing these two:
| Regular Margarita | Skinny Margarita | |
| Base liquor: | 100% agave tequila | 100% agave tequila |
| Sweetener: | Orange liqueur | Agave nectar |
| Sour/citrus: | Lime juice | Lime juice & orange juice |
The difference is that the orange liqueur is replaced by other ingredients, which are there to substitute for the taste. This is done to make the drink more “lightweight”. This skinny margarita will be sweeter and have less alcohol in it.
A normal margarita following IBA’s official recipe on a classic margarita is 33% ABV. If we follow the same recipe, but the ingredients to fit the skinny margarita will be 21% ABV, probably weaker as this recipe is quite strong. The recipe we use is a bit weaker as well, as you’ll see a bit further down the page.
However! If you’re looking for a low-calorie version of the margarita. The ingredients will not be the same as shown above! That one is actually more calories in than a regular tequila. The number of calories, we’ll discuss later in the article! If you want to skip ahead, click here. Anyways, now let’s discuss the ingredients for a low-calorie skinny margarita.
Here is another neat table comparing the regular tequila to a low-calorie skinny margarita:
| Regular Margarita | Skinny Margarita | |
| Base liquor: | 100% agave tequila | 100% agave tequila |
| Sweetener: | Orange liqueur | Low-calorie sweeteners, like allulose, etc. |
| Sour/citrus: | Lime juice | Lime juice and orange extract |
Alright, tables have changed! Badom psh. But they literally have… Now we’ve changed all the ingredients that made it a calorie bomb, with low-calorie ingredients instead. If we now go ahead and calculate how many calories there are in this one, following the “same” recipe as earlier, the result is…
DRUM ROLL EFFECT! The calories for this skinny margarita will be 110 calories! Which is insane, compared to a normal skinny margarita or regular margarita. Which we’ll discover now.
Next up we’ll discuss nutrition (calories, carbs…) in a skinny margarita (and regular margarita) depending on the ingredients you choose. Let’s get to it!
How Many Calories In a Skinny Margarita
Now we’ll further explore the nutrition and amount of calories in the skinny margarita and regular margarita depending on the ingredients!
On average, there are 178 calories in one portion of skinny margarita. Keep in mind that a margarita portion is on average 4 fl. oz., which is more than what an average cocktail contains. However, there are low-calorie skinny margaritas that can be as low as 145 calories, in a 4 fl. oz. drink.
I know that the low-calorie skinny margarita mentioned earlier had fewer calories! That one was following the official recipe published by IBA. However, on average a margarita portion will be 4 fl. oz. per serving. Which is a bit more than what IBA suggests.
Here is a list of the ingredients I’m using in the examples and how many calories are in each:
| Ingredients: | Amount of calories: |
| 100% agave tequila: | 69 per fl. oz. |
| Contreau (orange liqueur): | 95 per fl. oz. |
| Agave nectar: | 20 per TEAspoon. |
| Allulose: | 0 |
| Orange juice: | 13 per fl. oz. |
| Orange extract: | 0 |
| Lime juice: | 7.6 per fl. oz. |
You can use this list when you are going to make your own margarita!
Here is the recipe for the low-calorie skinny margarita:
| Ingredients: | Amount: |
| 100% agave tequila | 2 fl. oz. |
| Lime juice | 1 fl. oz. |
| Orange extract | 1 fl. oz. |
| Allulose | 1 teaspoon |
Here is some information about the nutrients in a skinny margarita both the normal one and the low-calorie skinny margarita.
How Many Carbs in a Skinny Margarita? (Carbohydrates)
On average there are 10.3 grams of carbohydrates in one portion of skinny margarita. Be aware that this is for a normal-sized 4 fl. oz. skinny margarita. There is, however, low carb. skinny margaritas that only contain 2 grams.
How Much Protein in a Skinny Margarita?
There are 0.4 grams of protein in an average-sized skinny margarita, which is 4 fl. oz. In low-calorie versions of the skinny margarita, it can be as low as 0.2 grams.
How Much Fat is there in a Skinny Margarita?
In general, there is no fat in a skinny margarita following a normal recipe. However, there may be some additional ingredients containing fat in other variants of the drink.
How Many Carbs in a Regular Margarita?
There are about 9 carbohydrates in a normal portion of margarita, which is 4 fl. oz. However, not to be confused with the number of calories which is 240 in a 4 fl. oz. portion. The number of carbohydrates will vary, depending on the brand of each ingredient.
Why Is It Called Skinny Margarita?
Many people seem to wonder why it’s called “skinny” margarita. If you have read this whole article, you’ve probably already figured it out. Anyways here is my take on it.
It’s called a skinny margarita because it’s a light version of the classic margarita. There are many different recipes for skinny margarita. Some of them are aiming to make it easier to drink with less alcohol, while others to make the number of calories as low as possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to Order Skinny Margarita?
You can order a skinny margarita in many of the places that serve normal margaritas. It’s possible it’s not included in the menu, in which case you have to ask for it. If they have the ingredients, they can probably make it.
