This is one of our favorite breakfast drinks, and a very versatile recipe where you can easily change up the ingredients, consistency, and flavor of this drink to suit your taste. Like this dairy free and vegan horchata made with the addition of nuts.
What is horchata?
Authentic horchata (pronounced or-chaa-tah) is a naturally vegan drink made by blending soaked tiger nuts. However, this drink has evolved into many delicious variations over the years, and is popular in many Mexican restaurants in the US now too. These days horchata is an umbrella term for drinks made by blending soaked rice, with other nuts or milk (including dairy free and vegan horchata). Horchata is said to have originated in North Africa, where this drink was made from soaked grains such as barley. After this variation spread to Spain, horchata was introduced to other regions (particularly Latin America) through colonization, where barley and tiger nuts were replaced with rice. Eventually cinnamon was added to the drink and other variations made with sesame seeds, melon seeds, and other nuts became popular too. Mexican horchata can also be made without any dairy by making rice and almond milk, but adding milk is very common too. The addition of milk makes this popular Mexican drink super creamy and delicious, and so refreshing too!
Horchata ingredients
Raw rice – Long grain white rice is the best choice for horchata. I usually use basmati or jasmine rice as this is what I usually have at home. You could use brown rice, but because it has more fiber, the drink may not be as creamy, and straining the drink would be a must then. Cinnamon – Known as Canela in Mexico, it’s the most important flavor in Mexican horchata. For authentic canela flavor, use Ceylon cinnamon. This cinnamon is more floral and sweet in flavor. If you cannot find Ceylon cinnamon, you can use Indonesian cinnamon (korintje cinnamon) that is a little stronger than Ceylon cinnamon. Water – To soak and blend the rice. Evaporated milk – Evaporated milk is basically concentrated milk. I prefer to use evaporated milk made with whole milk, not the low fat version. So it’s creamier and richer than regular milk. Which makes this horchata even creamier. Condensed milk – Sweetened evaporated milk. This not only adds sweetness to horchata, but also helps to add further creamy richness. If you want to add a different sweetener, then replace the condensed milk with extra evaporated milk and your choice of sweetener instead. Salt – Not essential, but it does help to balance the sweetness and all the flavors. Optional add-ins for extra flavor – Such as vanilla extract and nutmeg.
How to make horchata (step by step instructions)
Step one
Wash the rice (image 1). To reduce the grittiness and starchiness in horchata, it’s crucial to wash the rice before soaking it. Some recipes call for soaking unwashed rice and then discarding the soaked rice water. This method also removes extra starch, but I like to blend the rice in the soaking water as it contains flavor from the cinnamon too. Wash the rice in a colander until the water runs clear. Then place the rice in a large jug or container. Place the cinnamon stick in the rice as well.
Step two
Soak the rice (image 2). Pour boiling water to the rice. The water should completely cover the rice. Cover the container and let the rice soak for at least 4 hours. I prefer to let it soak overnight. While I have soaked the rice at room temperature, you can let it soak in the fridge too.
Step three
Blend the rice. The next day, place the soaking water, soaked rice, and soaked cinnamon in the blender (image 3). Add some extra water and salt, and blend the rice until it’s really smooth and silky. I like to let the blender run for about 3 – 4 minutes to get a really smooth silky texture (image 4). This mixture will warm up during the blending process in a high powered blender, but that’s OK!
Step four
Strain the drink. If you blended the rice with a high powered blender, then you may find that you don’t need to strain the mixture at all! There is no unpleasant grittiness in the final horchata. However, if you want to make sure there are no large pieces or rice that can cause grittiness, you can pass it through a sieve or fine mesh strainer to remove these pieces. However, you will need to use a nut milk bag to remove all the pulp to get a milk-like smooth drink. The finer the sieve, the more pulp you capture, and the larger the mesh size, the more pulp that will pass through. I like to strain the horchata through a fine sieve to capture any large gritty pieces, but leave the rest (image 5).
Step five
Add the final ingredients (image 6). This includes the remaining water, evaporated milk, and condensed milk (images 7 and 8). I like to add the milk and condensed milk first. Stir and taste it. Then add water to adjust the taste to my liking.
Step six
Chill and serve. Horchata is best served ice cold, so make sure to store it in the fridge for a few hours to chill before serving. Serve with ice in a glass, with a sprinkling of cinnamon on top. To make it even more decadent, top it with whipped cream!
Recipe tips
Make sure to wash the rice well before soaking it! Use a good quality cinnamon for good flavor. Ceylon cinnamon is the traditional cinnamon that is used to make horchata. However, you can also use Korintje cinnamon (Indonesian cinnamon) if that’s what you have. But avoid using saigon cinnamon, since this can be very strong. Use a high powered blender like vitamix or blendtec to blend the soaked rice. There are many other high powered blenders in the market now too. A high powered blender will also reduce the “grittiness” in the drink. Make sure not to add too much water when blending the rice. It helps blend the rice to a smoother consistency when the blender isn’t packed with a lot of liquid. Chill the horchata before serving.
Different types of rice to make horchata
Long grain rice is what is mainly used in Mexican recipes, so that’s why Mexican horchata recipes call for long grain rice. You can use basmati or jasmine rice. However, jasmine rice is a marginally better option because it has a naturally sweeter taste than basmati. I’ve used both, and can’t complain about either! Both types of rice result in a delicious horchata. You could also use brown jasmine rice which would give your horchata a nuttier taste.
Different types of sweeteners to make horchata
If you don’t like to use condensed milk, or don’t have condensed milk, you can sweeten your horchata with other sweeteners. Instead of the condensed milk, add extra evaporated milk. Then to make the Mexican horchata sweet, you can add,
White sugar Brown sugar Panela Maple syrup Honey Stevia Monkfruit
Recipe variations (flavored horchata)
Dairy free and vegan horchata – If you’re looking for a dairy-free alternative, you can easily make a vegan horchata! My favorite version of horchata is my rice and almond horchata that is vegan and yet still ultra creamy. Strawberry horchata – A really delicious fruity variation, where you add strawberries while blending to add strawberry flavor. Chocolate horchata – Add 1 tbsp (or more) of dutch processed cocoa powder to the drink. To make sure it doesn’t taste too chalky, mix the cocoa powder with boiling water to form a loose paste to bloom the cocoa powder before adding it. Another alternative is to soak cocoa nibs with the rice. Coffee horchata – Add a few shots of espresso, OR add strongly brewed coffee instead of the water. You can add instant coffee too. Dirty horchata – A dirty horchata is an alcoholic coffee horchata. Add a generous amount of rum to your horchata. You can also add kahlua to intensify the coffee flavor, but this will also make the horchata sweeter. Horchata ice cream – You can use this horchata to make ice cream too. Alcoholic horchata – There’s a reason why Rumchata exists. It’s because rum and horchata pair very well together! So you can also add rum to your horchata.
Serving ideas (recipe pairings)
This easy horchata recipe is the perfect beverage for a hot day and for cinco de mayo celebrations! Just some ice in a glass and top it with horchata and sip away. But it’s also the perfect drink to pair with Spanish or Mexican dishes (like pork carnitas and pork carnitas tacos). Horchata is also a very refreshing beverage to drink during outdoor picnics or bbqs (like BBQ pork ribs, Thai chicken skewers, LA galbi etc.). Because of how creamy and sweet this is, horchata pairs well with any kind of spicy food. Including many of my authentic curry recipes, or spicy grilled food, or spicy burgers too (like this Nashville hot chicken sandwich)!
Storage
As soon as the horchata is made, it must be stored in the fridge. It can last in the fridge for up to 5 days, but ours only last about 2 days! Make sure to use a clean airtight container with a tight-fitting lid.
Frequently asked questions
