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Bubbly Strawberry MargaritaBubbly Strawberry Margarita
February 5, 2021 | Updated January 11, 2023 | Laura
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Looking for a fun cocktail to set the mood for Valentine's Day? Look no further! This strawberry margarita is made with fresh strawberry sauce, tequila, lime juice, and a bit of sparkling wine to make it bubbly and extra special. Perfect for the time of the year that love is in the air!
The Perfect Valentine's Day Cocktail
Valentine's day is quickly approaching! Do you have plans yet? We don't, but I do know what we will be drinking. These strawberry margaritas are not just a beautiful color. They are absolutely delicious and only have 5 ingredients.
Made with homemade strawberry sauce, this drink skips out on that artificial strawberry flavoring and tastes like a real strawberry- because it is! Sure, it may take a little longer to get that fresh taste, but it is completely worth it! Your date is sure to appreciate the effort. The addition of sparkling wine makes this drink a sparkling delight that is sure to impress and become a new favorite!
The pretty red color of this cocktail and the bubbles makes it a perfect drink for not just Valentine's Day but also New Year's Eve, Christmas, Mother's Day, Sunday brunch, bridal showers, a bachelorette party, and any other special occasion!
Julia Child's Strawberry Sauce
One of my favorite Julia Child recipes to date is her fresh strawberry sauce. You can find it on page 592 of Mastering the Art of French Cooking (affiliate link).
This sauce is AMAZING and adds so much more flavor to cocktails than just plain simple syrup does. The possibilities of this sauce are endless. Put it on your ice cream, drown your desserts in it, stir it into your smoothies, eat it with a spoon straight out of the bowl, or put it in your cocktail. I've already put it in one cocktail, my Chocolate-covered Strawberry Cocktail, and it turned out great! If you like chocolate strawberries then I highly suggest you go check out that cocktail!
I love this bubbly strawberry margarita. I'm a big fan of margaritas and a pretty big fan of strawberry margaritas too. The bubbles from the sparkling wine makes this cocktail oh so fun and makes it just that much more special. Whip some of these cocktails up, deliver food from your favorite restaurant or maybe cook a nice dinner (check out my Julia Child Recipe Checklist for classic romantic dinner ideas), and enjoy!
Strawberry Margarita Recipe: Ingredients
*Some of these ingredient links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.*
✽ Frozen Strawberries: You can also use fresh strawberries if that's what you have on hand. I choose to use frozen because when they are thawed, they are a little easier to force through a sieve.
✽ Sugar: Adding a little bit of sugar cuts down on the tanginess so you get a perfectly balanced drink!
✽ Tequila: When making margaritas, I like to tequila blanco (also known as silver tequila).
✽ Lime Juice: Freshly squeezed lime juice is always the best.
✽ Sparkling Wine/ Brut Champagne: No need to go fancy with the sparkling wine here. Since this sparkling wine is mixed with other ingredients, the cheap stuff will do the trick! However, if you want to go for the fancy stuff, that's okay too!
✽ Garnish: Fresh strawberry slices and/or lime wedges are great options for garnishing the cocktail glass.
How to Make a Sparkling Strawberry Margarita
➊ The first thing to do: make that amazing sauce. Defrost 1/2 cup of frozen sliced strawberries.
You can leave them out at room temperature for about 45 minutes or you can defrost them in the microwave. I usually don't remember to set things out to defrost so the microwave is a handy tool. I did about 90 seconds on 30% power to get the strawberries completely thawed.
Now you must force these strawberries through a sieve into a medium bowl. I like to use a wooden spoon (warning: your spoon may stain reddish-pink) to mash the strawberries and push them up against the edges of the sieve to get them through. You'll end up with this beautiful red strawberry puree in your bowl.
After working those arm muscles, it's time to whisk in a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. Julia Child recommends to mix the sauce with an electric mixer for 10 minutes to fully dissolve the sugar and thicken the sauce up nicely. I do skip this step simply for convenience in this recipe, but, by all means, feel free to include this step for yourself.
To make the strawberry juice thinner and easier to pour, go ahead and whisk in the 1 ounce of silver tequila.
➋ In a cocktail shake, add in 1 ounce of lime juice and the prepared strawberry/tequila mixture with a couple of ice cubes. Give it all a few good shakes for about 10 seconds or until chilled. Strain it into a glass- I suggest using a lowball glass, margarita glass, or even a champagne flute will do! Lastly, top with 3 ounces of chilled sparkling wine.
Give the drink a quick stir, and garnish the glass with a lime wedge and/or strawberry for a nice finishing touch. Cheers!
Strawberry Bubbly Cocktail: Questions
✽ Can I use fresh fruit instead of frozen?
Absolutely! I like to use frozen strawberries because I find them easier to force through a sieve after they have been thawed. However, with a little extra effort, you'll be able to force the fresh strawberries through to still get a delicious sauce. Just make sure to cut the fresh strawberries into thin slices before forcing them through the sieve.
✽ Why do you choose to use tequila blanco for margaritas?
Tequila blanco is clear, usually un-aged, and is also known as silver tequila. It's flavor mixes well and will give your margarita a true agave flavor.
Gold tequilas are aged in oak barrels and give off a woody flavor. Most people will choose silver over gold when it comes to margaritas.
Looking for more delicious cocktails?
→ Check out all of my favorite cocktail recipes including this orange juice margarita!
Bubbly Strawberry Margarita
By Laura | Laura the Gastronaut
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 1 cocktail
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Looking for a fun cocktail to set the mood for Valentine's Day? Look no further! This simple champagne cocktail is made with fresh strawberry sauce, tequila, lime juice, and a bit of champagne to make it bubbly and extra special. Perfect for the time of year when love is in the air!
*Some of these ingredient links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.*
Ingredients
• 1/2 cup frozen sliced strawberries, see notes below for using fresh strawberries
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 ounce silver tequila
• 1 ounce lime juice
• 3 ounces sparkling wine or champagne
• Garnish: lime wedge and/or strawberry slice, optional
Instructions
➊ Defrost the frozen sliced strawberries by letting them sit out for about 45 minutes or microwaving them 90 seconds on 30% power.
➋ Force the thawed strawberries through a sieve into a bowl. Get as much juice as possible out of them! Whisk in the sugar until well combined. Then whisk in the tequila.
➌ Pour the lime juice, strawberry/tequila mixture, and couple of ice cubes into a cocktail shaker. Give the shaker a few good shakes for about 10 seconds until it's nice and cold.
➍ Strain the cocktail into a cocktail glass. Top with the sparkling wine or champagne and give it a quick stir. Garnish glass with a lime wedge and/or strawberry. Cheers!
Notes
✽ Fresh Strawberries: You can most definitely use fresh strawberries for making the strawberry sauce. Just know that it will take a little more work as fresh strawberries are harder to force through a sieve than thawed pre-frozen strawberries. Hull and wash the fresh strawberries before sieving. I recommend cutting them into smaller pieces or thin slices before forcing them through the sieve to make it a little bit easier on yourself.
✽ Strawberry Sauce: With Julia Child's strawberry sauce recipe, she recommends to mix the sauce with an electric mixer for 10 minutes after adding the sugar. This will fully dissolve the sugar and make the sauce thicker. I skip this step for simplicity, but you can include this step if it is to your liking!
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✽ Did you make this recipe?
Let me know by leaving a comment below and sharing on Instagram. Tag @laurathegastronaut and hashtag it #laurathegastronaut.
Category: Cocktails, Valentine's Day Cuisine: American
Keywords: valentines cocktails, bubbly champagne cocktails, champagne cocktail recipes, valentines day cocktail, champagne punch, summer champagne cocktails
More Great Recipes for Strawberry Drinks:
✽ Chocolate-covered Strawberry Cocktail (another festive drink Valentine's Day)
✽ Frozen Strawberry Cream Soda (this non-alcoholic drink is creamy, sweet, and bubbly)
✽ Sparkling Strawberry Gin (another tasty sparkling strawberry champagne cocktail made with gin- the perfect summer cocktail)
→ Check out all of my cocktail recipes!
Bon appétit!
February 5, 2021 by Laura Ehlers
*This Bubbly Strawberry Margarita blog post and recipe may contain some Amazon affiliate links. These link to products that I personally use and recommend. If you purchase anything using my links, it will not cost you anything. It will though give laurathegastronaut.com some financial support which helps me keep this blog running. Thank you for reading my blogs and your continued support.