Short answer: yes—you can absolutely make Kool-Aid Margaritas, and they’re gloriously neon, slushy, and dangerously nostalgic. This recipe swaps the usual sweetener for powdered Kool-Aid so the drink tastes like summer sleepovers with a grown-up tequila glow.
I wrote this because I wanted something that tastes like childhood and makes you feel oddly sophisticated at the same time. These are frozen, easy to customize (grape, cherry, or tropical punch all sing), and perfect for backyard nights, pool parties, or serving to friends who will immediately say, “Wait, is that Kool-Aid?” with a grin.
Ingredients
- 2 cups ice (crushed or large cubes)
- 1 cup (8 fl oz) blanco tequila
- 1/2 cup (4 fl oz) triple sec or Cointreau
- 1/2 cup (4 fl oz) freshly squeezed lime juice (about 4–6 limes)
- 3 tablespoons (about 4 standard packets) Kool-Aid powder, flavor of your choice (grape, cherry, or tropical work great)
- 1–2 tablespoons simple syrup or agave (optional—use if you like it sweeter)
- Coarse salt or coarse sugar for rim
- 1 teaspoon Kool-Aid powder for rimming (optional—adds color and nostalgia)
- Lime wheels or wedges, for garnish
Instructions
- Prep the glasses: Pour coarse salt (or sugar) onto a small plate and sprinkle 1 teaspoon Kool-Aid powder into it. Rub a lime wedge around each margarita glass rim, then dip the rim into the salt + Kool-Aid mixture so you get a neon-speckled rim. Set glasses aside.
- Measure the cocktail: In a blender, add the ice, tequila, triple sec, lime juice, and 3 tablespoons Kool-Aid powder. If you want it sweeter, add 1–2 tablespoons simple syrup or agave.
- Blend to slush: Pulse or blend on high until the ice is a smooth slushy texture—think frozen margarita, not a milkshake. Stop and taste: if the Kool-Aid flavor is too faint, add another 1/2 tablespoon; if it’s too intense, add a splash more lime or 1–2 tablespoons water.
- Pour and garnish: Pour the slushy margarita into the prepared glasses. Garnish with a lime wheel and, if you’re extra, a tiny pinch of Kool-Aid powder on top for that childhood dusting.
- Serve immediately: These are best right away while they’re icy and bright. If you need to hold the mix, keep it in the blender jar in the fridge for up to 30 minutes and re-blend briefly before serving.
Tips & Notes
Flavor swaps: Grape is the truest neon-margarita vibe; cherry is tart and fruit-candy; tropical punch makes a sunset margarita. Mix flavors (half grape, half tropical) for a layered effect.
Non-alcoholic version: Skip the tequila and triple sec. Use club soda or lemon-lime soda (chilled) and blend with ice and Kool-Aid for a slushy mocktail that still looks like a bad idea—and in the best way.
Pro tip: If you don’t want to use the packets straight into the blender, dissolve Kool-Aid in 1/4 cup hot water to make concentrated syrup, then chill and add. That gives a silkier texture and more even color.
Rim ideas: Swap salt for coarse sanding sugar if you want a sweeter rim. For a party trick, split the rim with salt on one half and Kool-Aid sugar on the other.
A weird little fact
Kool-Aid started as a liquid concentrate called “Fruit Smack” in 1927 and was transformed into the powdered packets we know today. Little Edwin Perkins probably never imagined his neon powder would someday hang out with tequila—the perfect meeting of childhood and culpable adulthood.
Takeaway: Kool-Aid Margaritas are a playful, customizable way to make a party drink that looks like nostalgia and tastes like summer camp with an edge. Start with the recipe below, taste as you go, and don’t be afraid to go neon.