The internet makes finding delicious keto recipes a breeze, but sometimes you don’t need another easy weeknight dinner – you need a good cocktail! Low-carb tequila cocktails are easy to make at home or order at a bar with just a few tweaks to classic cocktail recipes. From a keto tequila sunrise to sip by the pool to a keto margarita for your next taco night, we’ve found the best keto tequila drinks to quench your thirst!
What is the Keto Diet?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard or seen the term keto floating around. The keto diet is a low-carb, high protein, and high-fat diet that’s designed to trick your body into burning fat rather than carbohydrates.
When you aren’t eating low-carb, your body burns the carbohydrates that you eat for energy before burning fat in your body. If you aren’t eating as many carbs, the fat gets burned faster.
The diet was originally intended to treat childhood epilepsy, but somewhere along the way, adults realized it could make a major impact on weight loss efforts!
Eating a keto diet looks a little different for everyone, but in general, you should be eating less than 50 grams of carbs per day. Some keto diet followers restrict themselves to as little as 20 grams of carbs per day!
While many cocktails are loaded with sugars, which translates to high-carb, you do have options for filling your cocktail glass with a keto-friendly drink.
Is Tequila Keto?
No one wants to give up all of their favorite things just to go on a diet. Luckily, most hard liquors are keto-friendly! Tequila contains 0 carbs per serving.
Even the most enthusiastic tequila lover isn’t always excited to drink tequila straight. Fortunately, there are plenty of keto tequila cocktail recipes to try!
Keto Margarita
A classic margarita is one of the most popular tequila drinks. Making a low-carb tequila margarita is easy! Since margaritas don’t include many ingredients finding keto-friendly options isn’t hard.
Lime juice and simple sugar-free syrup are combined with tequila in a cocktail shaker before being poured over ice. Garnish your glass with rim salt and a lime wedge for an authentic margarita experience.
Ingredients
- Tequila
- Fresh lime juice
- Rim salt
- Sugar-free simple syrup
Keto Mexican Moscow Mule
The difference between a regular Moscow mule and a Mexican Moscow mule is that the Mexican version packs a serious flavor punch! Using tequila instead of vodka and adding a bit of spice will make you wish you tried a Mexican Moscow mule sooner.
This tequila cocktail is low carb and low sugar, making it perfect for the ketogenic diet. Lime juice, tequila, orange extract, cilantro, and jalapeno are placed in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously to bring out the cilantro and jalapeno flavors!
Strain into a copper Moscow mule mug, top with fresh mint leaves and enjoy.
Ingredients
- Tequila
- Fresh lime juice
- Orange extract
- Diet ginger beer
- Cilantro
- Jalapeno
Keto Tequila Sunrise
Tequila sunrise is the tropical cocktail escape we all need sometimes. Fit it into your keto diet with just a few recipe adjustments! This is one of the easiest keto tequila drinks to make.
Add tequila, low-sugar or sugar-free orange juice, and ice cubes to a cocktail shaker.
Shake until combined, then strain into a hurricane glass.
Add the grenadine, stir gently, and garnish with an orange slice. Keto tequila sunrise cocktails are great to serve at a pool party and get everyone into the summertime spirit!
Ingredients
- Tequila
- Low sugar orange juice
- Grenadine syrup
The Paloma cocktail is one of the most famous tequila cocktails there are. The only thing better than a normal Paloma cocktail is a keto Paloma cocktail!
This keto Paloma recipe switches fresh grapefruit juice for diet grapefruit soda for a low-carb drink that tastes so good you’ll forget it’s sugar-free and low-carb!
Add rim salt to your glass and garnish with grapefruit zest or grapefruit slices for a keto tequila cocktail that’s perfectly citrusy.
Ingredients
- Tequila
- Fresh lime juice
- Sugar-free grapefruit soda
Keto Ranch Water Cocktail
by Keto Casita
This cocktail got its name because it was invented in West Texas, where there are a lot of ranches. Don’t worry. It won’t taste like salad dressing! The ranch water cocktail is simple with a straightforward flavor profile.
To put it simply, this is a tequila cocktail version of a vodka soda. Instead, it’s tequila and sparkling water. Combine everything in a cocktail shaker, shake, and pour over a highball glass with ice cubes. Garnish with a lime wedge for a little extra color.
Ingredients
- Lime juice
- Tequila
- Sparkling water or club soda
- Jalapeno slices
Not all tequila is created equal when it comes to tequila cocktails. Since all tequila has no carbs, you won’t have to worry about getting something that fits into your keto diet. Instead, you want to focus on finding a tequila that will taste good in the cocktail.
All of the keto drinks we shared are best made with pure agave tequila, also known as Blanco or silver tequila. Mid-range tequila has a good enough taste to be enjoyed in a cocktail without breaking the bank. It’s best to stay away from the cheapest brands and avoid gold tequila with artificial caramel coloring!
FAQs
Can I drink tequila on keto?
Straight tequila has zero net carbs, officially making it keto-friendly. You can often even find a keto version of your favorite tequila cocktail to enjoy it with. Just remember that while tequila is free of carbs, it isn’t free of calories. You might not be concerned about calories while living the keto lifestyle, but at some point being aware of the calories in your tequila might come in handy.
What goes with tequila on keto?
There are a number of mixers that go well with tequila and are suitable for a low-carb diet. With some lime and sugar-free simple syrup, you can easily craft a keto margarita. Some low-carb tomato or vegetable juice and some spices mixed with tequila create a yummy bloody maria (tequila’s version of the bloody mary). Even some sparkling water with lime or lemon wedges makes for an easy keto cocktail.
What brand of tequila is keto-friendly
All brands of straight tequila have zero net carbs. The only thing you have to worry about are premade mixed tequila cocktails you find at the store or some of the standard tequila mixers you find at the average bar.
What’s the Best Type of Tequila for Low Carb Tequila Cocktails?
Whether it’s a keto margarita, a keto tequila sunrise, or tequila and sparkling water with sugar-free water flavor drops, there are so many ways to enjoy keto-friendly tequila cocktails without sabotaging all of your healthy lifestyle efforts. Say cheers and enjoy it all guilt-free!
Keto Tequila Drinks
- Keto Margarita
- Keto Mexican Moscow Mule
- Keto Tequila Sunrise
- Keto Paloma Cocktail
- Keto Ranch Water Cocktail