Sweet and tangy, this Margarita Tart includes fresh lime juice, tequila, and triple sec. A simple-to-prepare tortilla chip crust provides the perfect vessel for the smooth, creamy cocktail-inspired margarita filling.
While eating out few years ago, our server brought my daughter Eliza a margarita instead of the lemonade she ordered.
We knew something was up when her eyes bugged out as she took her first sip.
Eliza spluttered that it wasn’t lemonade, so we tasted it, laughed, and called the server over to ask for a new drink. Good thing she was eight at the time instead of 16, right?
While she didn’t like the alcohol in the drink, she loved the cocktail’s tangy lime flavor.
Now when we’re having Mexican food at our house, she sometimes talks me into buying margarita mix — the kind without alcohol — to serve with our tacos or enchiladas.
So when Haley of Cheap Recipes Blog asked if I wanted to participate in a virtual Cinco de Mayo party, I knew immediately that my contribution would feature some kind of margarita dessert that both kids and adults could enjoy.
As I pondered margaritas in dessert form, I became fixated on the idea of making a tortilla chip crust.
It just seemed right, not only because it felt festive for Cinco de Mayo, but because it would give a bit of salty flavor to the dessert — sort of like the salt on the rim of a margarita glass.
My first tortilla chip crust fell to pieces, but I learned that grinding the chips super finely and increasing the amounts of butter and sugar helped the dry, gritty crumbs hold together.
This corn chip crust is quite similar to a graham cracker crust. With just three ingredients, preparation is a breeze, and it bakes quickly, too.
Unlike graham crackers, tortilla chips are gluten-free. Since I usually don’t have much to offer the gluten-free eaters of the world, I can’t help pointing out that this crust totally works for people who avoid gluten.
I’m thinking it could replace its graham cracker cousin in just about any recipe calling for a graham cracker crust. Just sayin’. Try it and let me know!
For the filling, I adapted a simple lime curd recipe, playing with the amounts of lime juice, tequila, and triple sec to arrive at a sweet, tangy filling reminiscent of margaritas.
This version tastes more limey than your standard margarita. If you want more tequila flavor, adapt the recipe to your own personal taste. So long as you use about 3/4 cups of liquid, the filling should set up just fine.
Sugar, eggs, a pinch of salt, lime zest and juice, plus booze cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Once the mixture thickens, whisk in butter a piece at a time, and then strain the filling into the prepared crust.
Don’t skip the straining!
A fine mesh strainer will catch any stray bits of egg that might have overcooked during heating.
Additionally, the lime zest loses its bright, pretty color during cooking. If you don’t strain it out, the tart will take on an army-green hue.
So strain it, please, unless you’re going for camo-style.
Since the filling cooks on the stove, the alcohol evaporates as it heats. This means you don’t have to limit your intake of margarita tart in quite the same way that you might with that pitcher of margaritas.
It also means you can serve it to your kids.
When my daughters acted shocked that I’d serve them a cocktail-themed dessert with real alcohol in it, I didn’t let them have any of the tequila whipped cream since it contains a small amount of the real thing. Serves them right.
In any case, you need this sweet, tangy, flavorful margarita tart for your Cinco de Mayo festivities.
I’m thinking you also need it anytime you’re having a Mexican-themed dinner.
It’s an easy, prepare-ahead dessert that’s fun, festive, and palate-pleasing. Why settle for just sipping a margarita from your glass when you can enjoy one on your dessert plate as well?
Check out these other great Cinco de Mayo party recipes from this talented group of bloggers:
DIY Guacamole Bar from Haley of Cheap Recipes Blog
Homemade Refried Beans from Greta of Pickles Travel
Crispy Lemongrass Chicken Tacos from Joyce of Pups with Chopsticks
Fiesta Brown Rice Salad from Sharon of The Honour System
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Margarita Tart with Tortilla Chip Crust
Ingredients
- Tortilla Chip Crust
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 ¼ cups finely ground salted tortilla chips (about 6 ounces)
- Filling
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs
- pinch salt
- 4 limes zested
- 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon lime juice (from about 4 limes)
- 1/4 cup tequila
- 2 tablespoons triple sec
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter sliced in 8 pieces
- Topping
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon tequila
- ½ teaspoon triple sec
- fresh lime slices for garnish
- coarse salt for garnish
Instructions
- To prepare the crust, preheat oven to 350° F. Combine butter and sugar in a sauce pan over medium heat. Stir frequently until the butter has melted and the sugar loses its gritty consistency.
- Mix in finely ground tortilla chips, stirring until well combined. Transfer crumbs to a 9 to 9/ 1/2-inch tart pan with a removable bottom or a 9-inch pie pan. Working carefully -- the mixture will be quite warm -- distribute crumbs evenly and firmly press them into the bottom and up the sides to form a crust (a small measuring cup helps, although fingers work best for the sides).
- Bake crust until it smells fragrant and has just started to brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
- For the filling, whisk together sugar and eggs in a medium saucepan. Add lime zest, juice, tequila, triple sec, and salt; whisk until smooth. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens to the consistency of loose pudding, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and whisk in butter, a few slices at a time, until completely melted and smooth.
- Pour filling through a fine strainer into prepared tart crust. Jostle tart pan until the filling is evenly distributed. Cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes and then chill in the refrigerator for at least four hours until set.
- For the whipped cream, combine cream, confectioners’ sugar, tequila, and triple sec in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer or whisk by hand until peaks form. Spoon or pipe atop the tart. Garnish with lime slices. Sprinkle with coarse salt before serving if desired.
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What a fabulous idea! I love the tangy flavour of a margarita and this tart looks even better than the drink. So creative with that tortilla crust. Yum!
Thanks, Sharon! Happy Cinco de Mayo!
What is triple sec listed in ingredients ?
Triple sec is a an orange-flavored liqueur made from the dried peels of bitter and sweet orange. It’s really quite yummy. I used Cointreau – a brand of triple sec — in this recipe. Hope this helps!
So amazing! I love the tortilla crust! I would not have guessed that it could work so well!
Thanks so much! Funny, about the crust, isn’t it! I wish I’d thought of trying it before!
oh my gosh! That is so creative! Tortilla chips as a crust!! I think I might start doing that with all my pies! haha 🙂 I know Terry will love this. He always asks for me to make a ‘limey’ pie since he loves limes so much but I am always so intimidated with any form of baking, but not anymore!! 😀
This tart is super easy, Joyce, and it’s definitely limey! Hope you guys enjoy it!
I am waiting for the perfect event to bring this tart to… I just LOVE the tortilla chip crust idea. You’re so creative!
Also love the restaurant story… that’s one you’ll always remember, for sure. Haha… 🙂
Crazy serving a margarita to a kid, isn’t it? They were so so sorry, but we really thought it was funny. I hope you enjoy this tart, Haley. Every time I’ve served it, people love the filling in combination with the tortilla chip crust. Thanks for organizing us for Cinco de Mayo!
Made this a few days ago. It was great! Thanks for the recipe. Everyone who tasted it loved it 😀
I doubled the amount of tequila and triple sec in the whipped cream, Because I really wanted those margarita flavors 😉 My filling didn’t seem to thicken properly, so I added a tablespoon of corn starch to it. That seemed to have done the trick!
Glad to hear this tart was a hit! It’s one of my favorite recipes! I have not run into problems with thickening, so I’d love to hear more about what happened to see if I can prevent the same thing happening to someone else in the future! I’m wondering how long you cooked the filling before saving the day with your solution of adding cornstarch to the filling? So glad that did the trick, and thanks for sharing the idea!
Had the last bit of leftover pie tonight. Amazing how well the crust stood up to being filled that long. A regular graham cracker crust tends to soften after being stored with filling in the fridge for a few days.
I can’t remember how long I cooked it for… It definitely did thicken, but I wasn’t confident that it had thickened enough. It probably would have set up alright in the fridge when the butter solidified again. But I didn’t want to gamble, and figured better safe than sorry and added the starch. I don’t think the filling really can be too thick 🙂
I love how well the crust holds up, too! I’ve been looking forward to trying it with other fillings. And thanks for following up about your experience. The filling does thicken quite a bit as it cools because of the butter, but I’m glad to hear that a little cornstarch helps the process along without detracting from the taste!
The only white corn tortilla chips I could find were flavored with salt and lime. Luckily that was very fitting for this recipe 🙂 But in general, do you think regular yellow corn tortilla chips would work as well?
I bet the salt and lime chips added something awesome to your tart! You could really use any kind of tortilla chips with the crust. I bet blue chips would look nice with certain kinds of fillings…the possibilities are endless!
I’m interested in turning this into bars for a party instead of a tart. Do you think the filling is thick enough to cut into bars?
Great idea! I think the filling should be fine, but you might try a shortbread crust instead. The tortilla chip crust might not hang together well in bar form. Happy baking!