Turn Canned Trader Joe's Rosé Into A Spicy Margarita With 2 Extra Steps

Trader Joe's is full of unique foods and food items you can't find anywhere else, but aside from being more affordable than other grocery stores, one of the pros to shopping there is the plethora of online recipes you'll have at your disposal. Trader Joe's food items often serve as shortcut ingredients, making your meals much quicker and less complicated to prepare — and thanks to its vast social media fan base, you often don't even have to think about them yourself. A great example of that is the spicy margarita recipe that Amanda Hernandez shared on Instagram using Trader Joe's canned, non-alcoholic sparkling rosé teas.

Using a topless can opener, Hernandez started by cutting the top off these cans completely. While optional, this step turned the cans into topless glasses, which allowed her to add a rim directly to the Trader Joe's can — but you can just as easily rim your actual margarita glasses. The margarita recipe itself is just as simple. In the video, Hernandez sets the contents of the cans aside and mixes tequila with sliced jalapeños and ice in a cocktail shaker before pouring everything back into the cans over ice.

While Hernandez makes it look fancy, the basis of this recipe really only requires two steps: Rimming your glass with a spicy seasoning (Tajín is the usual go-to, but you could also opt for Trader Joe's chile lime seasoning) and mixing your canned rosé with tequila.

The beauty of Hernandez's recipe is its simplicity, but also the sheer amount of variations it can inspire — most of which don't require any additional steps, just alternative ingredients. While shopping at Trader Joe's, you're sure to come across a wide range of unique canned beverages. But even just sticking with the sparkling rosé teas gives you room for variations. For instance, because of the combination of smoky and sweet flavors in the spicy rim, you might consider swapping the tequila and reaching for a smokier mezcal instead.

The combination of spicy and smokey is a great way to introduce people to the spirit. Some people don't like spicy drinks either, though. In this case, you might consider serving the drinks with a half rim instead of a full or opting for a different kind of rim completely. Salt is the obvious option — of which Trader Joe's has many, including the Portuguese flor de sal which would provide a very nice, flaky mouthfeel that's perfect for rimming your margarita. Salt is a great option in this case because it will also help to offset the sweetness of the sparkling rosé tea beverage.

But, for those who prefer a sweeter alcoholic drink — or a non-alcoholic drink completely — you can opt for something completely different. Consider doing a sugar rim, or grab a bottle of non-alcoholic tequila.