Salting That Rim – Let’s Do It!
Find out how to salt the rim of your margarita glass here with a step-by-step photo tutorial. Elevate your cocktails with an easy salt rim.
Want to salt the rim of your cocktail glass? You definitely don’t need a fancy glass-rimming kit to get the job done. A dish, some salt, and a lime wedge are all you need to rim a glass for your next margarita. A simple salt rim really takes your homemade margarita from good to great.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
How To Salt The Rim Of A Glass
Step #1
Some people say you should chill your glass before rimming. If you remember ahead of time, go for it. In my life, margaritas are pretty spontaneous so I know well that a room-temperature glass works too.
If you’re doing a bunch of margaritas and/or if you have that glass-rimming kit mentioned above, you’ll want to juice some limes and put the liquid on a rimmed plate or into the rimmer where it says “lime juice”. If you’re just making a few, do this.
Get yourself a quarter of a lime.
Step #2
Cut a notch in the lime.
See the notch?
Step #3
Run that notch all around the glass.
All the way around.
Till it’s good and wet like this.
Step #4
Put some salt in a dish that is bigger than the diameter of your glass. What kind of salt? Here we’ve used kosher. But find out what we discovered in our rim-salt taste-test here.
Step #5
Tip the glass over into the salt. Now, I always do this like a cookie cutter, twisting it around.
But I know other people say that this method leads to salt getting on the inside of the glass and then falling into your drink. I like a bit of salt in my drink so I don’t mind. If you do mind, what you do instead is to hold the glass at an angle such that only the outside planes of the glass touch the salt.
Step #6
Done! Hold it up and admire your salted handiwork.
Margarita Recipes
Now that you know how to prep the margarita glass, find out how to pick the perfect tequila and then use your knowledge to make one of the cocktail recipes below.
Podcast Episode: Salting Margarita Glass
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this recipe, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print
How to Salt the Rim of a Margarita Glass
- Prep Time: 1 minute
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 1 minute
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
- Category: Drink
- Method: No-Cook
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
Yes, you can have a wonderful margarita with salt rim at home. Here’s how.
Ingredients
- 1 lime
- a glass
- kosher salt
- a dish that is bigger in diameter than the glass
Instructions
- If you remember ahead of time, chill your glass. If you’re doing a bunch of margaritas and/or if you have a glass-rimming kit, you’ll want to juice some limes and put the liquid on a rimmed plate or into the rimmer where it says “lime juice”. If you’re just making a few, do the following.
- Get yourself a quarter of a lime. Cut a notch in the fruit part of the lime quarter.
- Run that notch all around the rim of the glass until the glass rim is really wet.
- Put some salt in the dish.
- Tip the glass over into the salt. I always do this like a cookie cutter, twisting it around, because I don’t mind if some salt falls in my drink. If you do mind, hold the glass at an angle such that only the outside of the glass touches the salt. Done!
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This post originally appeared in March 2016 and was revised and republished in April 2025.
That was exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you so much for that excellent instruction.
You’re welcome, Lauren!
Very helpful recipe , where did you get that cute little dish for this?
Lei, Thank you so much! That dish is from Home Depot! It’s one of the terracotta plates that goes under a flower pot. I’m pretty sure that they’re not all food-safe though so if you’re going to use one in that way, make sure to check that it’s safe first.
Isn’t that neat. the instructions are so easy! Just need to buy a lime.
Thanks, Anna! Enjoy!
I’ve been using my Cointreau since I left my first comment and it works great. Thank you for your reply.
Great! Thanks for following up with us, Christopher!
Does lime juice make the difference? I tried water yesterday and the salt didn’t stick well.
Lime juice (or other juices) work better than water because they stay a little sticky as they dry. If your only option is water, a finer grain salt may stay better.
Love this! I’ve wanted to learn how to do this forever and now I can!
The author’s added personal touch and wording was really an added plus! #sassy 😉
Yay! I’m glad you enjoyed, Meg. Now, enjoy that delicious margarita!