Ditch Frozen Drinks And Enjoy Margarita Ice Cream Floats For The Rest Of The Summer

Frozen margaritas are summer favorites, veritable tequila-spiked slushies that provide a zesty and sweet pairing for chips and guacamole or a tasty plate of tacos. While there's nothing wrong with a tequila-spiked frozen drink, you can ditch the shaved ice for the ultimate frozen upgrade by adding a scoop of ice cream to your next margarita.

As evidenced by boozy milkshakes, White Russians, and rum-raisin ice cream, alcohol and dairy are a worthy pairing. A scoop of ice cream is the sweet, creamy complement to add richness and volume to a margarita's tangy citrus mixers. It'll also bring out the sweet notes of agave in tequila while also balancing its spicy, alcoholic finish. To make a true ice cream float out of a margarita, add a pour of lemon-lime soda or soda water to a classic margarita on the rocks recipe. The bubbles will give the margarita float that characteristic refreshing crispness while the tequila will provide a warming richness to match the luxuriousness of the ice cream.

A margarita float uses ice cream to keep the drink cool and to infuse it with creaminess. So, instead of pouring the mixers and tequila over ice cubes, you'll be pouring them over a scoop of ice cream. You could even prepare the floats in advance by scooping the ice cream into cocktail glasses to store in the freezer until you're ready to build the cocktail.

Margaritas encompass a growing range of fruity flavors, so the combination of ice cream, soda, and margarita recipes welcomes culinary creativity. Since vanilla, caramel, and cinnamon are common dessert-adjacent tasting notes for tequila, you could bring out those notes with vanilla, salted caramel, or brown sugar and cinnamon ice cream. Coincidentally, a scoop of vanilla ice cream is also the flavor of choice for root beer and Coke floats as well as Boston coolers.

A scoop of vanilla ice cream and orange soda with tequila, triple sec, and lime juice will put an orange Creamsicle twist on the classic margarita recipe. You could add coconut ice cream to a mango margarita with soda water for an extra tropical float. This recipe for grapefruit margarita with smoky mezcal would work well with grapefruit soda or ginger ale and a scoop of cinnamon and brown sugar ice cream. Sprite and a scoop of strawberry ice cream or peach sherbet would transform this recipe for Reese Witherspoon's watermelon margarita into a delightful summer dessert.