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Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes

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These Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes are super crispy, crunchy, and easy to make. They’re a great side dish for any meal!

Crispy fried potatoes are probably my favorite food. If I had to choose the most perfect meal, you can bet there will be crispy potatoes – preferably doused in truffle oil and parmesan cheese. I think it’s illegal to not like or include potatoes at every meal where I grew up. Western Pennsylvania is definitely a meat and potatoes kind of place.

A plate of air fryer smashed potatoes on a white plate on a white countertop with a gray napkin and garnished with rosemary.

Why would you smash your potatoes?

It’s because there is more surface area to caramelize. This can apply to roasting any other vegetable as well. I’ve done it before with brussels sprouts too. When you flatten the vegetable, you’re more likely to caramelize a larger amount of the vegetable. Obviously, potatoes are round and hard, so they have to be parboiled first, then allowed to dry briefly before you can smash them into round disks using a large, heavy-bottomed cup or glass.

Ingredients

Potatoes: You can use baby potatoes or you can buy larger red or golden potatoes and quarter them. Both will work great.

Oil: I like to use a little bit of a light-colored oil in the air fryer just to give it a little extra crispiness. I use light-colored oil because it has a higher smoke point and is less prone to burn. I specifically used light-tasting olive oil.

Seasonings: Garlic powder, dried dill, salt, and pepper are my go-to seasonings for just about anything. Not only do they go well on potatoes, but I’ve used this combo on everything from vegetables to salad dressings. Sometimes if I’m feeling a little crazy, I’ll add a dash of cayenne pepper for some heat.

Air fryer smashed potatoes in a black air fryer basket prior to cooking.

How to Make Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes

Like I mentioned above, you start by parboiling the potatoes and allowing them to dry slightly. You don’t want to boil them for so long that they are completely cooked; you want them a little raw still so they don’t fall completely apart.

After they are pressed, you’ll toss on the potatoes in the olive oil, seasonings, and pop them in the air fryer. You’ll then use a heavy-bottomed cup or glass to press the potatoes in the air fryer basket gently. They don’t have to be completely flat.

A plate of air fryer smashed potatoes on a white plate on a white countertop with a gray napkin and garnished with rosemary. A wooden spoon rests upon the gray napkin.

How to Serve Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes

Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes make a great side dish any time of year. You can serve them with anything, but they would make a great Thanksgiving side dish or as part of your Christmas dinner. I love to make them as breakfast potatoes as well.

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Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes

Close up of air fryer smashed potatoes on a white plate garnished with rosemary.
Print Recipe
  • Author: Melissa
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 4 side servings 1x
  • Category: side dish
  • Method: air fryer

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 ½ pounds of baby potatoes (or medium potatoes, quartered)
  • 2 tbsp. light-tasting olive oil
  • ½ tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. dried dill
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water by at least 1″. Add salt to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender but not cooked all the way through about 20 minutes.
  2. Drain the potatoes and allow to dry in the colander for about 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat air fryer to 400 degrees.
  3. Toss potatoes with olive oil, garlic powder, dried dill, salt, and pepper. Lay out in a single layer in the air fryer. Using the bottom of a heavy glass, gently press on each potato until slightly flattened.
  4. Air fry for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. Serve immediately.

Notes

If you have a small air fryer, I would suggest cooking the potatoes in batches. You can keep the smashed potatoes that are cooked warm in a regular oven at around 200 degrees until all batches are cooked.

Keywords: air fryer smashed potatoes, side dish

Mistletoe Margaritas Recipe

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These Mistletoe Margaritas are equally tasty as they are easy. The recipe is made in a pitcher so that it can be easily served for holiday parties and crowds.

If you want to add some extra flair to your holiday party this year, then why not try making these mistletoe margaritas?  This is a quick and easy cocktail made in bulk that will impress your guests. And, they’re perfect to make ahead and keep chilled until serving time.

A top view of two glasses of mistletoe margaritas with bowl of limes and cranberries on the side with a gray napkin underneath. Everything sits upon a white marble countertop.

Ingredients

Cranberry juice: I simply used the cranberry juice cocktail, but if you prefer the 100% cranberry juice I’m sure that would work too. It just might be a bit sourer, but sour is one of the major flavor profiles of margaritas.

Tequila: I use white tequila or “blanco” for this margarita. White tequila is also called “silver” tequila. Silver is generally unaged and does great in cocktails. Darker tequila can be used for cocktails but is aged. Because of the aging process, it’s a bit more complex in flavor so it typically does better for shots.

Lime juice: Fresh is best, but if you wanted to save yourself some extra time you could buy the bottled. Having one of these hand citrus juicers is very handy.

Coarse salt for rim: This is strictly optional – it all depends on how you like your margaritas. Personally, I prefer salted, especially for mistletoe margaritas. If you like sweeter margaritas, you could try a sugar rim to balance the tart. 

Garnishes – fresh cranberries, lime wedges, and rosemary springs: These are optional but make the margaritas look so festive and pretty sitting in the pitcher and in the glasses. And since fresh cranberries naturally float, you can freeze the cranberries in advance and use them as “ice” to keep the margaritas cold. 

Two mistletoe margaritas situated on the left with limes on the side and a pitcher of mistletoe margaritas in the background and atop of a white marble countertop.

How to Serve Mistletoe Margaritas

You’ll want to use a pitcher large enough to hold at least 6 margaritas. You can double or triple the recipe if you are having a large gathering. I do use frozen “cranberries” as ice, but I also use some regular ice as well. So I mix all of my ice with all of the ingredients in the pitcher and give it a good stir. You can make this the day before your party and store it in your fridge, but I would leave out the ice until you’re ready to serve. 

If you need a few other party or holiday gathering ideas to serve:

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Mistletoe Margaritas

A close up of two mistletoe margaritas with a salted rim and rosemary as a garnish. In the background with a blue bowl of limes, a crystal bowl of fresh cranberries, and a pitcher of the cranberry margaritas on top of a white marble countertop.
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These Mistletoe Margaritas are equally tasty as they are easy. The recipe is made in a pitcher so that it can be easily served for holiday parties and crowds.

  • Author: Melissa
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 6 cocktails 1x
  • Category: cocktails

Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 cups cranberry juice
  • 1 1/2 cups tequila blanco
  • 1/2 cup lime juice (or the juice of about 3 medium-large limes)
  • 1/2 cup fresh cranberries, for garnish 
  • Additional lime wedges and rosemary sprigs for garnish
  • Salt or sugar for rims

Instructions

  1. Stir cranberry juice, tequila, and lime juice in a pitcher with ice. Add cranberries and a few lime wedges, which will float for garnish. 
  2. Serve cocktails with a sprig of rosemary, additional lime wedges, and a salt or sugar rim. 

Notes

Tip: freeze cranberries in advance and use as “ice cubes” to keep drinks cold

Keywords: Mistletoe Margaritas, Cranberry Margaritas, Holiday Recipes

Chicken Marsala Meatballs

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These chicken marsala meatballs have all the delicious flavors of chicken marsala rolled into a meatball. They work great for dinner paired with a couple of side dishes. Or, you can also serve these as appetizers at your next holiday gathering. Using these as a Thanksgiving or Christmas appetizer will certainly be a crowd-pleaser.

We all need a good meatball recipe in our lives, and these Chicken Marsala Meatballs are just the ticket. That might be the Italian in me speaking, but I’m sure non-Italians agree. I also think we all need a meal that we can make without a recipe. A recipe that we have down pat and could make blindfolded. Chicken Marsala is one of those recipes for me. It was one of the first things I learned to make when I started adulting. You can’t beat a braised chicken in a sweet and savory wine sauce with mushrooms. Back in those early adulting years, I used cheap cooking marsala wine from the grocery store (I mean, I wasn’t even 21 yet, people). These days, I use authentic sweet Marsala wine.

Chicken marsala meatballs with a bottle of marsala wine in the background

Ingredients

Baby Bella mushrooms: These mushrooms are also called crimini mushrooms. Instead of adding the mushrooms in the sauce with these Chicken Marsala Meatballs, I decided to put the mushrooms in the meatballs to bump up the flavor and keep them from drying out as mushrooms hold a ton of taste but a lot of water too. Non-mushroom lovers may be reluctant to see the mushrooms in the sauce, but now they won’t even know they are there!

Olive oil: Since ground chicken is leaner, you need a little bit of fat to help keep the meatball tender.

Ground chicken: It’s so easy to find ground chicken in grocery stores, but in case you have trouble you can also substitute ground turkey in a pinch.

Egg and panko breadcrumbs: These two ingredients help keep the chicken marsala meatballs bound together. Too much or too little of either of these things can cause the meatball to break apart.

Grated parmesan: Fresh is always best for parmesan, but use whatever is your favorite. You can also sub in grated pecorino cheese, but keep in mind that you might have to decrease how much salt you season with as pecorino is saltier than parmesan.

Spices: I used garlic powder, onion powder, and a bit of salt and pepper to season these meatballs.

Chicken stock: I opt for the lower sodium stocks so that I can control the saltiness of a recipe. My favorite is Kitchen Basics Unsalted Chicken Stock always.

Marsala wine: I definitely recommend using authentic Marsala wine (unless you are under 21!) Marsala wine is a fortified, higher alcohol wine (the one I used was 18% ABV) hailing from the Italian island of Sicily. Wine Folly recommends a simple entry-level marsala wine ($10-15) for cooking. 

Cornstarch powder: You only need this if you have trouble thickening the sauce. You want the sauce to be thick enough to coat the meatballs, so you can use a bit of starch to thicken the sauce if needed. You can also sub in tapioca starch if that’s more available to you.

Parsley: This is optional, but sure does look nice and gives a fresh kick of flavor. Always buy the flat-leaf parsley, it has a much better flavor than the curly parsley.

Overview of chicken marsala meatballs with parsley garnish

How to Make Chicken Marsala Meatballs

You’ll need to first preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Then, you’ll grind up the mushrooms and then saute them for about 7-10 minutes. Mushrooms contain a lot of water, so you’ll need to “sweat” some of the liquid out so that you don’t have soggy meatballs.

In the meantime, you begin to prep the meatballs by combining the ground chicken, egg, panko, parmesan, garlic/onion powder, and salt/pepper in a bowl. When the mushrooms are done cooking, you’ll add those to the bowl and roll into meatballs of your desired size. I rolled my into smaller meatballs and got about 30-35 meatballs.

You’ll want to keep the mushroom pan for making the sauce while the meatballs cook. You’ll pop the meatballs in the oven to roast for about 18-20 minutes or until thoroughly cooked through.

While the meatballs roast, you can make the marsala wine sauce. You’ll reduce the marsala wine down along with some chicken stock. If you need to thicken the sauce a bit, you can use some cornstarch dissolved in some cold water to thicken it up. You want the sauce to be thick enough to coat the meatballs. Once the meatballs are done toss them in the skillet with the sauce.

Tips for Serving as an Appetizer

If you are using them for a party appetizer and need them to keep warm, you can do this through a few methods listed below, but make sure no matter what that you keep an eye on them to make sure that the sauce doesn’t dry out and burn. If you notice this or want to prevent this from happening, you can just add a little bit of chicken stock to keep the meatballs and sauce from drying out.

You can keep them warm by:

  • Putting them in a shallow casserole dish in an oven preheated to about 200 degrees.
  • If you have a slow cooker, crockpot, or Instant Pot, you can keep the meatballs in there on the warm setting.
  • If you have a large skillet or dutch oven, you can keep them on the stovetop on the lowest possible setting.

Side Dish Ideas for Serving as a Meal

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Chicken Marsala Meatballs

Close up of chicken marsala meatballs garnished with parsley
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  • Author: Melissa
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 30–35 small meatballs 1x
  • Category: appetizers, dinner, meatballs
  • Method: baking, roasting

Ingredients

Scale
  • 8 oz. cremini or baby bella mushrooms
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 pound ground chicken 
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 3/4 cup chicken stock
  • 3/4cup of marsala wine
  • 1 tbsp. cornstarch, as needed
  • Chopped parsley, optional (for garnish)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Pulse mushrooms in food processor until coarsely chopped (it’s ok if the pieces aren’t uniform). Heat skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil,  then the ground mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Saute mushrooms until their liquid fully evaporated about 7-10 minutes. Turn off heat and set pan aside to cool slightly.
  2. Add ground chicken, egg, panko, parmesan, garlic/onion powder in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add cooked, ground mushrooms and mix everything together until just combined. Set aside mushroom pan for making sauce. Roll into small meatballs (should yield about 30-35 meatballs). 
  3. Line a baking sheet with tin foil or parchment paper. Bake meatballs for about 18-20 minutes or until meatballs cooked through. 
  4. Meanwhile, reheat the pan used to cook mushrooms. Pour the Marsala wine into the pan and boil down for a few seconds to cook out some of the alcohol. Add the chicken stock and simmer for a few minutes or until sauce is reduced – about 3-5 minutes. If sauce is needing thickening, mix the cornstarch (or tapioca powder) with just enough cold water to dissolve. Add to cornstarch slurry to sauce to thicken enough to coat meatballs. Add meatballs to skillet to coat. Garnish with chopped parsley (if using).

Notes

If you are using them for a party appetizer and need them to keep warm, you can do this by: 

  • Putting them in a shallow casserole dish in an oven preheated to about 200 degrees.
  • If you have a slow cooker, crockpot, or Instant Pot, you can keep the meatballs in there on the warm setting.
  • If you have a large skillet or dutch oven, you can keep them on the stovetop on the lowest possible setting.

*Important: Make sure no matter what that you keep an eye on them to make sure that the sauce doesn’t dry out and burn. If you notice this or want to prevent this from happening, you can just add a little bit of chicken stock to keep the meatballs and sauce from drying out.

Keywords: chicken marsala meatballs, appetizer, dinner, meatballs

Vampire’s Kiss Cocktail Recipe

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Celebrate Halloween with a Bubbly Vampire’s Kiss Cocktail

The Vampire’s Kiss Cocktail is a super fun and festive cocktail recipe. This fruity vodka cocktail includes raspberry liqueur and sparkling rosé for a frizzy, blood-red Halloween drink.

I love a good festive Halloween cocktail. My favorite thing to do on Halloween is to sip cocktails while handing out candy on the porch. In fact, my friend and I have made it a tradition to make up a batch of cocktails in a large drink dispenser and provide the adults with a “treat” while they walk around the neighborhood. 

Ingredients 

Vodka: You just need to use your favorite vodka. Nothing special is needed here. Here’s a little tip – if you are a Costco member, the Kirkland vodka is actually quite good and very inexpensive. 

Raspberry liqueur: My favorite is Chambord, which is a French raspberry liqueur. And, it’s readily available at any liquor store. I typically keep a bottle on my bar cart – it’s also great to add to prosecco. Sometimes, I also mix it with Bailey’s for a “jelly doughnut” shot. 

Cranberry juice: I used cranberry juice cocktail, but I’m sure it would taste great with 100% cranberry juice or any other red-hued juice like pomegranate. 

Sparkling rosé wine: If I’m just making this for myself or a couple of people, I like to buy sparkling rosé in a can. They have so many that taste great nowadays, and you don’t have to worry about half of a bottle going flat if you don’t use it all. One of my favorites is Underwood Rosé Bubbles. You can also substitute sparkling water or prosecco. The rosé is fun since it adds to the blood-red color of the cocktail.

Two glasses of vampire's kiss cocktail garnished with cranberries with a gold cocktail shaker and pumpkins in the background.

How to Make the Vampire’s Kiss Cocktail

You fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add all of the ingredients except for the sparkling wine. Shake it all really well. Then you can strain into an old-fashioned glass with ice or you can strain into a champagne coupe for straight up. Top it with the sparkling rosé wine. I garnished mine with cranberries to go with the red theme, but if you want a spooky garnish you can try propping up some vampire teeth on the side of the glass. 

More Fall and Halloween Drinks

If you’re looking for more festive fall and Halloween themed cocktails you might want to check out a few of my other favorites:

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Vampire’s Kiss Cocktail Recipe

Two glasses of vampire's kiss cocktail garnished with cranberries with a gold cocktail shaker and a cut out bat figure in the background.
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  • Author: Melissa
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 1 cocktail 1x
  • Category: Halloween cocktails

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 oz. vodka
  • 1 ½ oz. raspberry liqueur (like Chambord)
  • 2–4 oz. cranberry juice
  • Sparkling rosé wine, to taste

Instructions

  1. Add the vodka, raspberry liqueur, and cranberry juice to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well.
  2. Strain into a cocktail glass filled with or without ice. Top with sparkling rosé wine to taste.

Keywords: Vampire’s Kiss cocktail, Halloween cocktails

Pumpkin Cold Brew Recipe

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Pumpkin Cold Brew Coffee is a delicious way to enjoy fall and all things pumpkin spice. It’s the perfect drink for fall lovers!

Pumpkin Cold Brew is a must if you live in a hot climate as I do. South Carolina doesn’t really get fall weather until late October or early November, even though I’m ready for all things pumpkin spice by Labor Day. And, I’m not usually ready for hot coffee until well past Labor Day. Plus, Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew isn’t cheap! If you want to enjoy your pumpkin spice without shelling out the cash, then this recipe is definitely for you. 

Coffee is typically brewed through a process that involves both infusion and heat. The heat speeds up the infusion of the coffee into the water. In cold brew,  you don’t use heat and because of that, you have to allow the cold brew to “brew” for several hours (ideally overnight) since you don’t have heat speeding up the process. Some studies have shown that cold brew may be less acidic than hot coffee, which is good news for folks with sensitive tummy issues or acid reflux. 

Cold brew coffee is strong, so some like to dilute it with milk or water for a smoother taste. So it really gives a great flavor when a creamy pumpkin foam is added to the coffee. 

An overhead view of a glass of pumpkin cold brew with ice sitting next to an orange towel and cinnamon sticks on a white background.

Ingredients for Pumpkin Cold Brew

  • Brown sugar: You can use other types of sweetener, but I like using brown sugar because it gives off an extra fall vibe from the taste of molasses. 
  • Pumpkin puree: Use the canned stuff – it works perfectly. Just make sure that you get the 100% pumpkin, not the canned pumpkin pie puree – it’s completely different. 
  • Pumpkin pie spice: Really pumpkin pie spice is a blend of several warming spices. Typically it contains cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. You can buy it ready-made in the store, or blend your own. 
  • Half and half: I prefer half and half, but if you want to substitute plant-based milk I would recommend one that contains fat so that the cold brew will have a creamy mouthfeel. 
  • Evaporated milk: Evaporated milk is a great ingredient to use in flavored, creamy coffees because evaporated milk is concentrated and slightly caramelized, which results in a creamy and slightly sweet taste. 
  • Cold brew: You can brew your own or you can buy it ready-made.

How to Make Pumpkin Cold Brew

First, you’ll make a pumpkin syrup using brown sugar, pumpkin puree, pie spice, and a bit of water. This recipe makes just enough for one cold brew, but feel free to double, triple, quadruple the syrup if you want to use it for other purposes or have it ready for more pumpkin cold brew later in the week. 

After, you’ll make the foam for the cold brew by frothing together the half and half, evaporated milk, and the pumpkin syrup. Then you can top your cold brew with the frothy pumpkin foam. If you don’t own a frother, I have a few ideas for you in the next section. 

Two tall glasses of pumpkin cold brew sitting on an orange towel in front of white subway tile. One cold brew has cream in it and one is black. There is plain black cold brew behind the glasses of pumpkin cold brew.

Recipe Notes and Tips

There are several ways you can froth the milk. One of the obvious ones is buying a milk frother like this one. But you might be able to just use what you already have available at home. Personally, I used an immersion blender, but you could use a regular old blender. 

Another alternative would be using a french press. To use the french press method, you would add the half and half, evaporated milk, and pumpkin syrup to the carafe and then use the plunger lid to push up and down repeatedly until the pumpkin foam forms. 

You can keep the half and half cold and the evaporated milk at room temperature to create a cold foam, which makes the most sense when making a cold brew. But, you could heat the milk products a bit in the microwave before frothing if you want a warm/cold sensation when drinking the cold brew.  

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Pumpkin Cold Brew Recipe

Two tall glasses of pumpkin cold brew sitting on an orange towel in front of white subway tile.
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  • Author: Melissa
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: Coffee

Ingredients

Scale
  • Pumpkin Spice Syrup (Makes about 1/4 cup of syrup)
    • 1/4 cup brown sugar
    • 2 tbsp. pumpkin puree
    • 1/8–1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
    • 3 tbsp. water
  • Cream foam
    • 1/2 cup half and half
    • 1/2 cup evaporated milk
  • 48 oz. cold brew (homemade or store-bought)

Instructions

  1. Make the pumpkin syrup by combining brown sugar, pumpkin puree, pie spice, and water in a small saucepan. Stir and warm on the stove until sugar is melted and dissolved. Remove from heat to cool. You can pour into a heat-proof container and pop in the fridge or freezer to cool down faster. You can also double or triple the syrup depending on how much sweetness you like or to use throughout the week. 
  2. Make the foam by blending together the half and half, evaporated milk, and pumpkin syrup using either a frother, immersion blender or French press (see recipe notes). Depending on your desired sweetness you can increase or decrease syrup to your liking. 
  3. Divide the cold brew into 4 glasses. Top each with the sweetened cold foam.

Notes

To make the cold foam you can use a milk frother, immersion blender, or regular blender to blend all of the foam ingredients together. 

 

Additionally, you can use a french press by adding the cold foam ingredients to the carafe, and then use the plunger lid to push up and down repeatedly until the pumpkin foam forms. 

Keywords: pumpkin, cold brew, coffee

Pumpkin Spice Margarita

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This Pumpkin Spice Margarita is the perfect drink for holidays like Halloween and Thanksgiving or any crisp fall day!

I know that liking anything pumpkin spice-related is very basic, cliché, or whatever. But, I do not care one bit. I like what I like, and based on the fact that you are reading this, I think you agree too.

Two glasses of pumpkin spice margaritas with an orange kitchen towel, sliced oranges, a lit candle, and cinnamon sticks next to it. The background is white and there is a tequila bottle in the light gray background.

Ingredients for Pumpkin Spice Margarita

  • Pumpkin puree: I always go with just the plain canned kind. Just make sure you’re getting the 100% pure pumpkin. Libby’s is a go-to brand.
  • Orange juice: I love the taste of oranges with winter squashes like pumpkin or butternut squash, so it’s a perfect choice as a mixer in this margarita.
  • Orange liqueur: There are many types of orange liquors. Some of the most popular orange liqueurs are Grand Marnier and Cointreau.
  • Tequila: I used silver tequila for this recipe. I tend to stick to silver tequilas when I make margaritas. It’s a personal preference, but go with what you like.
  • Ground cinnamon and sugar: There is no added sugar in the actual margarita, but the cinnamon-sugar rim is the perfect hint of sweetness that makes the drink taste well balanced.
  • Garnishes – orange peel or cinnamon stick: Garnishes are always optional, but they make a drink feel extra special even if it is a regular weekday evening.

How to Make a Pumpkin Spice Margarita

First, you’ll wet the rim of the glass with either water or the juicy side of an orange wedge and roll the rim in the ground cinnamon and sugar. You can add ice to the glass if you want it on the rocks, as I did, but you can also serve it straight up. All of the rest of the ingredients except for the garnishes are added to a cocktail shaker with ice. After shaking well, you strain into the cinnamon-sugar rimmed glass. Top with your favorite garnish, and you are good to go.

An overview of the pumpkin spice margaritas in two glasses with a cinnamon sugar rim. There are whole cinnamon sticks, slice oranges, and orange kitchen towel, and springs of rosemary in a white cup - all on a gray background.

How to Serve for a Halloween or Thanksgiving Margarita

This Pumpkin Spice Margarita is so incredibly perfect for the fall holidays – Halloween and Thanksgiving. For Thanksgiving, I usually break out the cocktails while I cook and prep – it makes it a lot more fun. Although be careful you don’t have a kitchen accident because you imbibed a bit too much. I typically go with wine with the actual Thanksgiving dinner,  but this cocktail would be excellent with the meal as well. The recipe can easily be multiplied and put into a pitcher if you have a crowd of people.

For Halloween, since I’m childfree, I tend to enjoy Halloween sitting on my porch passing out candy while drinking a cocktail – and this one would be an excellent option for that. It’s usually still pretty hot outside in the south for Halloween, so I tend to like nice icy and festive drinks instead of warm or hot drinks. But if you’re located in a colder climate, you might want to check out my spiked Apple Cider Hot Toddy. It’ll definitely keep you warm. Fun fact – two years ago, my friends and I passed out candy to the kids and a cocktail to all the parents. It was a super simple one with just juice and vodka. Needless to say, we were pretty popular that night. We had a few repeat trick-or-treaters on the count of parents wanting more of their “treat.” It was really fun and a great way to strike up a conversation with new people.

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Pumpkin Spice Margarita

An close up of the pumpkin spice margarita that has a orange peel and whole cinnamon stick on top. The margaritas have a cinnamon sugar rim. There are whole cinnamon sticks, slice oranges, and orange kitchen towel, and springs of rosemary in a white cup.
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★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

This Pumpkin Spice Margarita is the perfect drink for holidays like Halloween and Thanksgiving or any crisp fall day!

  • Author: Melissa
  • Prep Time: 5 min
  • Cook Time: 0 min
  • Total Time: 5 min
  • Yield: 1 cocktail 1x
  • Category: cocktails
  • Method: Mixing

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 tbsp. pumpkin puree
  • 3 oz. of  orange juice
  • 1 oz. orange liqueur
  • 2 oz. of tequila
  • Ground cinnamon and sugar, to taste for the rim
  • Orange peel and/or cinnamon sticks for garnish

Instructions

  1. For the cinnamon-sugar rim, add your desired amount of ground cinnamon and sugar to a small plate. Wet the rim of the glass with water or the fleshy part of a citrus wedge, if available. Roll the rim in the cinnamon and sugar on the plate. Fill the glass with ice if you want the margarita on the rocks.
  2. Add the pumpkin puree, orange juice, orange liqueur, and tequila with some ice to a cocktail shaker. Pour the margarita mix into the glass and top with an orange peel or cinnamon stick (if using garnishes).

Keywords: Pumpkin spice margarita, thanksgiving margarita