The Best Michelada Recipe - Isabel Eats (2024)

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Author:

Isabel

Published:

July 21, 2022

This post contains affiliate links. See disclosure policy.

This refreshing Michelada recipe is made with tomato juice, beer, lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and hot sauce. It’s the perfect co*cktail for brunch, or anytime you need to cool down with something with a little extra flavor!

The Best Michelada Recipe - Isabel Eats (1)

Say hello to the best Mexican beer co*cktail – the Michelada! It’s light, refreshing, and made with a dash of hot sauce. My kind of drink.

I made and photographed this Michelada recipe when my husband was out of town, so naturally, I ended up drinking both glasses. Oops! I didn’t want to be wasteful and have to throw one away or anything. I was just doing the right thing if you think about it. At least that’s what I keep telling myself.

If you’ve never heard of a Michelada before, you may be asking yourself…

What is a Michelada?

A Michelada is a popular Mexican beer co*cktail made from tomato juice, beer, spices, and hot sauce.

It’s a refreshing drink that’s often compared to the Bloody Mary co*cktail because they’re both served at brunch, they’re touted as hangover cures, and they both have that tomato-y quality.

The Michelada, however, is mixed with Mexican beer instead of vodka.

The Best Michelada Recipe - Isabel Eats (2)

Michelada Ingredients

Tomato juice (or Clamato juice)
Lime juice
Worcestershire sauce
Soy sauce
Hot sauce (like Tabasco, Tapatio, or Cholula)
Mexican lager beer
Tajin seasoning (or chili powder if you don’t have any)
Salt

Tomato Juice or Clamato juice?

Many Michelada recipes call for tomato juice or Clamato juice, and some recipes don’t use any and opt for only hot sauce and other seasonings.

My personal preference is to use a spicy tomato juice or even a spicy bloody mary mix because it adds even more spice to the drink, and it doesn’t water down the flavor like Clamato juice.

That being said, the drink is traditionally made with Clamato juice which is a tomato juice co*cktail made from tomato juice, spices, and clam juice.

What you decide to use is really up to you and what you prefer!

The Best Michelada Recipe - Isabel Eats (3)

How to make a Michelada

Salt the rim: Run a lime wedge around the rim of a beer glass and dip it in salt and Tajin. Fill the glass halfway with ice cubes.
Add seasonings: Add tomato or Clamato juice, lime juice, Worcestershiresauce, soy sauce, and hot sauce.
Add beer: Top with your favorite Mexican beer. Stir, taste, and adjust seasonings if needed.

The Best Michelada Recipe - Isabel Eats (4)

What is the Best Beer for Micheladas?

Light and refreshing Mexican lagers like Corona Extra, Sol, Tecate, Pacifico, and Modelo Especial are the best beers to use when making Micheladas.

What is the Best Hot Sauce for Micheladas?

Some good options are Tabasco, Tapatio, Cholula, or Louisiana-style hot sauce. It comes down to personal preference!

What’s the Difference Between a Chelada and a Michelada?

A Michelada is a beer co*cktail often mixed with tomato juice, hot sauce, lime juice, and other seasonings like Worcestershire sauce.

A chelada is a much simpler Mexican drink made from only beer, lime juice, and salt.

More Mexican co*cktails

Classic Margarita
Bloody Maria
Paloma
Tequila Sunrise
Corona Sunrise
Chelada

4.77 from 55 votes

Michelada Recipe

servings: 2 drinks

Print Pin Review Save

Prep: 5 minutes minutes

Total: 10 minutes minutes

This refreshing Michelada recipe made with tomato juice, beer, lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and hot sauce.

Video

Ingredients

▢ 2 tablespoons kosher salt (or any flaky sea salt)
▢ ¾ teaspoon Tajin seasoning (or chili powder)
▢ 1 lime, cut into wedges
▢ ice cubes
▢ ⅔ cup tomato juice (or Clamato juice)
▢ ¼ cup lime juice
▢ 4 drops worcestershire sauce
▢ 4 drops soy sauce
▢ 4 drops hot sauce
▢ 12 ounces Mexican lager beer

Instructions

Mix together the salt and Tajin seasoning on a shallow plate. Run a lime wedge along the rim of two pint glasses, then dip the glasses into the salt mixture to coat the rim.
Fill both glasses half full with ice cubes.
Divide the tomato juice, lime juice, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and hot sauce evenly into each glass.
Top both glasses evenly with beer, garnish with lime wedges, and serve.

Notes

Make sure to taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking! I prefer my Michelada extra spicy, so I always add a lot of hot sauce.
Plain tomato juice or any flavored variety will work. The Spicy Hot V8 tomato juice is my personal favorite for micheladas. You can also use Clamato juice. You can even use a spicy bloody mary mix!

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1drink, Calories: 106kcal (5%), Carbohydrates: 26g (9%), Protein: 1g (2%), Fat: 0g, Saturated Fat: 0g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Sodium: 692mg (29%), Potassium: 94mg (3%), Fiber: 0g, Sugar: 4g (4%), Vitamin A: 200IU (4%), Vitamin C: 14mg (17%), Calcium: 10mg (1%), Iron: 0.2mg (1%)

Author: Isabel Orozco-Moore

Category: Mexican

John Shostrom
August 29, 2023
I was never really a beer drinker, but I learned to enjoy Micheladas when I lived in Los Angeles. So, imagine my surprise, on this incredibly hot and humid day in Hong Kong, when I searched for a recipe and stumbled across yours! I had all the ingredients to hand, although I used Asahi ‘Super Dry’ beer, and my partner and I enjoyed our refreshing drinks immensely. Thank you so much!
Reply
Phillip Minyard
June 17, 2023
I/ve always made mine with Clamato juice, lime juice and either Modelo or Sol. Adding just the 4 drops each of Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce adds more depth to the michelada without overpowering it. Good suggestion.
Reply
1. Ana @ Isabel Eats
  June 19, 2023
  Thanks for sharing, Phillip!
  Reply
Dan
March 12, 2023

Isabel, this is a fantastic recipe. I never thought about using soy sauce before but it does deepen the flavor. Instead of ice I rinse my mug with water and put it in the freezer that way the Michelada is not watered down. If your not doing anything on a Sunday you need to listen to 92.3 “The Fox” out of El Paso Texas. Its a mix of golden oldies and Tejano music, it goes perfectly with a Michelada on a nice Sunday afternoon
Reply
1. Ana @ Isabel Eats
  March 13, 2023
  Hi Dan! That’s a great tip, thanks for sharing. We’re glad you enjoyed this recipe!
  Reply
2. Michelle Maldonado
  February 26, 2024
  
  Awh thank you for sharing with us the mixture of tejano and oldies music
  Reply
Cindy
June 16, 2022

A true Michelada! Thank you for this delicious, mouth – watering post!
Reply
Estu
February 17, 2021

Worcestershire sauce… its American sauce hahaha. Took me a while to figure that out in Mexico. My Mexican wife (I mean doesn’t speak English wife) lives on Michelada’s. Everywhere I go in Mexico, from Querteratero to Chetumal I get differences in them. I am trying to find the perfect one.
Reply
Richard H Bennett
April 23, 2020
I was raised in E. Los Angeles and tomato beer was the thing. Then I grew up some and made true micheladas. I love them. Now my daughter the heart doc scolds me for all the sodium just in the clamato juice. So I compromised I use low salt spicey V8 juice, more Picante sauce, more lime, and some crushed up cilantro. Yummy a heart-healthy michelada.
Reply
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Chris
December 14, 2019
LOVE micheladas!!! After returning to the US from living in Mexico City for 4 years I bought 8 glass mugs like the ones you show to keep in the freezer for micheladas. I have turned so many people on to this wonderful Mexican drink, especially in the summer though I like them all the time. When you can get Key Limes, they are slightly sweeter and appeal to some. Great recipe and I had not thought to use Clamato, duh!
Reply
Nelda
September 18, 2019

Instead of just salt on the rim, you can try Tajin seasoning instead. Yummm.
Reply
1. Isabel
  September 19, 2019
  I’ve seen that at restaurants before. Great idea!
  Reply
2. Bkhuna
  July 25, 2020
  That’s the way I do it. Tajin is also always at the ready for corn on the cob.
  Reply
  1. David
    April 10, 2021
    
    It is delicious on watermelon too!
    Reply
RGB
August 4, 2019
Would love to see the recipe for a pitcher, has anyone figured that ratio out?
Reply
1. LainieLou
  August 16, 2023
  
  Hi RGB- I believe a pitcher would be equivalent to approximately 5 -12oz drinks (60 oz) and I would adjuster the serving slider on the recipe from 2 (default) to 5 and see if that works for a pitcher. Don’t add ice to the pitcher – only the glass when serving to keep it from being watered down. Good luck!
  This is a fantastic drink and I wish I would have found this earlier in life. I love the fizz the beer gives the drink and could easily spend a hot afternoon drinking myself silly. Thanks for the terrific recipe!
  Reply
Kenani
August 19, 2018

Dear Isabel, Actually you can substitute fish sauce for soy sauce and it kicks the flavor up quite a bit, but be careful it’s very salty add a touch then taste it, before adding more. Thank you.
Reply
1. Isabel
  August 20, 2018
  Thanks, Kenani. I’m definitely going to try that next time!
  Reply
j
June 7, 2018
This is a variation of a Canadian drink called a Caesar. Instead of beer it calls for vodka or gin. It is delicious. You must try it. I will try this to compare and let you know. My heart and tastebuds belong to the Caesar but I am willing to give the Michelada a chance. 🙂
Reply
1. Stephen
  October 7, 2018
  
  No, the Caesar and the Michelada are both variations of the American Bloody Mary. I like all three, but the Bloody Mary is clearly the one that gave rise to the others.
  Reply
  1. Barbara
    December 30, 2018
    Love the recipe but need to provide you with the historical facts of the Caesar
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesar_(co*cktail)
    BTW, plan to try a variation on your Michelada with a new toy I received for Christmas, the smoking gun.Ill let you know what it adds to the Michelada:-) https://www.sousvidetools.com/toolshed/recipes/smoked-bloody-mary-smoky-mary/
    Reply
    1. Isabel
      January 1, 2019
      Ooh, that smoking gun sounds great! I’ve always wanted to try one!
      Reply
  2. Jeff
    October 15, 2019
    Ah, most definitely! I have been trying to perfect my miches a lot lately and I wish I had seen your receipe a long time ago! Most of my problems are attributed to me making it way to complicated. I’ve been using too many ingredients and to make things worse, I haven’t documented what and how much to use. Which makes for loads of fun when you finally get a good one then attempt to recreate it later. Anyway, I’m about to try your recipe and I’d be willing to bet that simplicity will get me where I’ve been trying to go all this time.
    Reply
  3. BigRed
    June 18, 2021
    
    Ooooo! Love your recipe!
    When I’m hot and thirsty.. I just grab a frosty cold mug from my freezer, the spicy Clamato and whatever Mexican beer is in the fridge, squeeze in a lime if I have it , or maybe hit it with some Trader Joe’s chili lime seasoning . THATS IT! Quick and simple! I HATE TO BE HOT!
    Reply
Ricky Shearer
January 10, 2018

I love the recipe and I appreciate it. I am always looking for different ways to improve or give a different twist to my own recipe. It is fairly similar to mine with only a few additions. Great job!
Reply