Last Updated May 21st, 2023 at 11:50 pm by Lisa
One sip of these Spicy Bloody Marys, and you will never want the bottled mix again! These have the right amount of heat, and bolder spices than boring tomato juice mixes. Fire-roasted grilled chilies, onions, and fresh ripe garden tomatoes create different flavors that are complex and extraordinary.
Take your Sunday brunch and football game day parties to the next level with a big batch of your own homemade bloody mary mix. Set up the ultimate bloody mary bar with classic garnishes and favorite toppings like crunchy celery, beef sticks, pepperoncini's, pickled green beans, stuffed olives, and dill pickle spears...
Best Spicy Bloody Mary Recipe
For years and years, I grabbed store-bought pre-made bloody mary mixes or tried to make one with clamato juice or plain tomato juice, Mr & Mrs T, or other bottled fancy bloody mary mixers. No one ever said, hey these are a great bloody mary. So I set out to make the best bloody mary recipe possible, that people raved over!
I worked on this recipe for weeks, and served these to dear friends in the desert, in Palm Springs out by the pool one morning.
They loved the spicy, fresh clean taste of homemade bloody marys. One of my friends said, "You know I have never really liked them until now!" That's when I knew the recipe was right.
Once you make your own mix, you will know it's worth the effort. Oh, and the ingredients are so simple to grab at the store...
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- fresh tomatoes (plum tomato size)
- small onion
- fresh or canned chiles (see notes below)
- fresh lemon juice
- prepared horseradish
- Worcestershire sauce
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- ice
- vodka
- garnishes: celery stalks, stuffed olives, beef sticks etc.
- Preheat the outdoor grill or indoor cast iron grill plate on the stove. Place whole green chiles, tomatoes, and onion quarters on the hot grill.
- Grill for 10-15 minutes until tomatoes, chiles, and onion, are all roasted with black marks. The grilling really enhances the flavors.
- Let your green chiles, tomatoes, and onions cool, remove the seeds from your chilies-they can add way too much heat! Place the deseeded chiles, tomatoes, and onion in a high-speed blender. Next add celery ribs, lemon juice, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder.
- Puree in a high-speed blender. Optional: strain the bloody mary mix through a mesh strainer to remove the tiny bits of tomato peel or any seeds that are left.
- Rim Glasses: Place hot sauce (like Cholula or Sriracha sauce) on a small plate. Put your salt; sea salt, Lawry's season salt, celery salt, Old Bay Seasoning, black lava salt, or homemade sriracha salt on a small plate. Dip the glass rim into hot sauce, and next dip into the salt of your choice.
- Pour ice into your rimmed glasses, add vodka, pour bloody mary into glasses, mix and garnish as you wish.
What Chiles Are Best?
The main secret to this homemade bloody mary mix recipe is using real chiles and grilling them. Canned chiles are good choices too in a pinch and will work.
- Fresh Jalapenos be sure to fire-grill them for extra flavor, canned jalapenos are fine too. Taste them to make sure they are not too hot!
- Chipotle In Adobo Sauce are dried and smoked jalapenos in a can. These are usually very hot, go easy with them. One is usually enough.
- Anaheim Chiles will be delicious, be sure to fire-grill these fresh chiles to get that flavor in your mix.
- Hatch Chiles can be fresh or use canned Hatch chile products available in the grocery store. Fresh Hatch chiles must be roasted to bring out their special flavor and taste and to remove their tough outer skins. Take a look at my entire tutorial on roasting Hatch Chiles at home and tons of recipes to use with them.
Chile Roast And Grilling Tips
In a large bowl, rinse your chiles in cool water. Heat your grill on medium-high, and place your stainless grill tray over the burner. It isn't necessary, you can grill the chiles right on the grill grate but helps to roast them more evenly. You can also do this on a stove top.
Space the chiles in a single layer, and turn using long tongs until black char blisters form on each side of the chiles. Remove the charred chile skin, stems, and seeds as they have too much intense heat for a good bloody mary.
How To Set Up A Bloody Mary Bar
The fun part of your party will be the bloody mary bar! Set up a table and have people mix their own spicy bloody mary cocktails. Set out a big pitcher of the best bloody mary mix you have ever had, and lots of wonderful garnishes ready to go.
A great addition is a printed recipe card in a frame, with inspiration, and how to make them is helpful for people who have never had one before. It might say, something like "6 ounces of mix per 1 shot of vodka". Give hints for less spicy or salty, and great ways to garnish their cocktail creations with cocktail picks, and how to rim the glass with different seasoned salts.
Let them know to use a little bit less horseradish or hot sauce to reduce the spiciness, and try an extra squeeze of lime juice it's wonderful or even a dash of pickle juice or olive juice! Then garnish away...
PRO PARTY TIP: You can set everything on a tray and chill in the fridge the night before. Then just pull the tray out for your party!
Bloody Mary Bar Checklist
- tall glasses
- a bowl of ice
- a large pitcher of bloody mary mix
- a good, chilled bottle of vodka
- shot glass to measure for a single serving of vodka
- bottle Worcestershire sauce bottle
- Cholula hot sauce or Tabasco
- small plates for rimming glasses with salt
- Old Bay Seasoning, celery salt, black lava salt, or homemade sriracha salt for the rim
- assorted garnishes - see below for inspiration
- bamboo skewers for people to make their own garnish sticks
- large Mason jars ~ serve celery and tall things in jars!
- small bowls ~ serve things in bowls like olives and pepperoncinis
A Bloody Maria calls for tequila in place of the vodka Bloody Marys are mixed with, and Texas gets all the credit for this creative twist!
Ultimate Bloody Mary Bar Garnish Ideas
The classic bloody mary became famous as a hangover cure with all the salty savory flavors. Start with the rim of the glass. Dip it in hot sauce and then salt or better yet, celery salt, Old Bay Seasoning, black lava salt, or try my homemade sriracha salt! Go crazy with your garnishes, thats half the fun...
- maple bacon, crispy bacon strips, or candied bacon
- whole green stuffed olives
- pickled asparagus
- slim jim sticks
- cocktail onions
- whole pepperoncinis
- cooked crab leg or claws
- celery sticks
- lemon wedges or lime wedges
- caper berries
- cherry tomatoes
- mini sweet peppers (fresh)
- cornichons
- Worcestershire sauce
- prepared horseradish sauce
- Tabasco sauce
- homemade pickled green beans ~ one of my easy recipes-no canning!
- dill pickle spears or chips
- cocktail shrimp (roasted or cooked)
- rim the glass with homemade sriracha salt or celery salt
More Cocktails and Drinks
CoronaRita Margaritas are classic drinks made with a margarita and a mini “Coronita” turned upside down into the drink. Perfect when you can’t decide between a margarita and an icy cold Corona! Spicy Micheladas are light, refreshing tomato (clamato) juice Mexican beer cocktails. Sip at brunch, lazy relaxed weekend game days, and Cinco de Mayo!
Straight from my trip to Cuba, this Mojito is 100% an Authentic Cuban Mojito! Learn the secret ingredient in these famous Cuban classic cocktails and the secrets which make them totally authentic. Fireball Whisky Cocktails are made with orange, cinnamon, cloves, apple cider, and cinnamon-flavored whiskey. Serve these fireball whisky drinks for game days, brunch, Fall parties, and holiday meals like Thanksgiving.
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Spicy Bloody Mary Mix Recipe
Ingredients
Bloody Mary Mix
- 8 small tomatoes roma tomato size or larger
- 1 small onion quartered
- 2 tablespoons green chiles use canned or roasted chopped jalapeno, Hatch Green Chiles, or Anaheim chiles.
- 4 celery ribs
- ½ fresh lemon juiced
- 1 tablespoon horseradish
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
- ½ onion powder
- ½ garlic powder
- 1 cup ice
- 1 ½ cups (4-6 shots) Vodka
Garnishes
- homemade pickled green beans
- celery sticks
- hot sauce dip rim of glass
- seasoning salt Lawrys or Sriacha salt
- stuffed olives
- Slim Jim beef jerky sticks
- whole pepperoncini's
Instructions
- Preheat outdoor grill or indoor cast iron grill plate on stove.
- Place whole green chiles, tomatoes, and onion quarters on the hot grill.
- Grill for 10-15 minutes until tomatoes, chiles, onion, are roasted with black marks. The grilling really enhances the flavors!
- Let your green chiles, tomatoes, and onions cool, and remove the seeds from your chilies-they can add way too much heat!
- Place the grilled deseeded chiles, tomatoes, and onion in a high-speed blender. Next add celery ribs, lemon juice, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder.
- Puree in a high-speed blender. Optional: strain the bloody mary mix through a mesh strainer to remove the tiny bits of tomato peel or any seeds that are left.
- Keep the bloody mary mix chilled until ready to serve.
Bloody Mary Garnishes
- To rim the glasses, place hot sauce (like Cholula or Sriracha sauce) on a small plate.
- Pour your salt choice like Lawry's season salt, celery salt, black lava salt, or homemade sriracha salt on a small plate.
- Dip the glass rim into hot sauce, and next dip into the salt of your choice.
- Pour ice into your rimmed glasses, add a vodka shot, pour bloody mary into glasses, mix and garnish as you wish.
Notes
Ultimate Bloody Mary Bar Garnish Ideas
- maple bacon, crispy bacon strips, or candied bacon
- whole green stuffed olives
- pickled asparagus
- slim jim sticks
- cocktail onions
- whole pepperoncinis
- cooked crab leg or claws
- celery sticks
- lemon wedges or lime wedges
- caper berries
- cherry tomatoes
- mini sweet peppers (fresh)
- cornichons
- Worcestershire sauce
- prepared horseradish sauce
- Tabasco sauce
- homemade pickled green beans ~ one of my easy recipes-no canning!
- dill pickle spears or chips
- cocktail shrimp (roasted or cooked)
- rim the glass with homemade sriracha salt or celery salt
How To Set Up A Bloody Mary Bar
You can set everything on a tray and chill it in the fridge the night before. Then just pull the tray out and have your party!- tall glasses
- a bowl of ice
- a large pitcher of bloody mary mix
- a good, chilled bottle of vodka
- shot glass to measure for a single serving of vodka
- bottle Worcestershire sauce bottle
- Cholula hot sauce or Tabasco
- small plates for rimming glasses with salt
- Old Bay Seasoning, celery salt, black lava salt, or homemade sriracha salt for the rim
- assorted garnishes - see below for inspiration
- bamboo skewers for people to make their own garnish sticks
- large Mason jars~ serve celery and tall things in jars!
- small bowls ~ serve things in bowls like olives and pepperoncinis
chiles to try
- Fresh Jalapenos be sure to fire-grill them for extra flavor, canned jalapenos are fine too. Taste them to make sure they are not too hot!
- Chipotle In Adobo Sauce are dried and smoked jalapenos in a can. These are usually very hot, go easy with them. One is usually enough.
- Anaheim Chiles will be delicious, be sure to fire-grill these fresh chiles to get that flavor in your mix.
- Hatch Chiles can be fresh or use canned Hatch chile products available in the grocery store. Fresh Hatch chiles must be roasted to bring out their special flavor and taste and to remove their tough outer skins. Take a look at my entire tutorial on roasting Hatch Chiles at home and tons of recipes to use with them.
This recipe is a keeper. Delicious!
So glad you made the Bloody Marys! Once you make your own, you might never go back to bottled
Oh my word ... I just adore Bloody Marys. Your Recipes look Luscious.
Your Recipe calls for (8) Small Tomatoes. I'm baffled. Please tell me WHAT
you consider a Small Tomato ~~~~ Cherry - Plum ???????????
Thanks, in advance.
Good point! A plum size tomato will work great... (cherry is way too small) This recipe changed my friend's mind about bloody marys, as they had never had a real one from fresh produce. Enjoy it!!!
Made these this weekend for my uncle who is a professed Bloody Mary connoisseur and we both loved them! I’m definitely going to double the recipe next time – yum!