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This horchata recipe is a refreshing, cinnamon-flavored Mexican drink filled with flavor! It’s festive and perfect for any occasion.
Horchata is practically a cinnamon-filled treat like our Arroz con Leche. If you love horchata, you’ll also love our Mexican hot chocolate recipe!
We Love Horchata!
But what is horchata (pronounced “or-chaa-tuh”)?
It’s a drink made with milk and ground rice, mixed with cinnamon and a little vanilla. Everyone loves this cinnamon drink, especially with your Mexican meal.
Why we love this horchata recipe:
- Easy. It is SUPER easy and prepped in minutes.
- Delicious. It’s deliciously sweet and found in most Mexican restaurants.
- Enjoy any time. It is a refreshing beverage served with a main meal, dessert, or on its own.
Mexican horchata is made with ground rice and Spanish horchata is made with tiger nuts. We love both, but we are especially obsessed with this Mexican version!
Ingredients
- long-grain white rice uncooked – Rinse the rice to remove any dust before using it in the recipe. Soaking the rice in a bowl of water all night will soften it and make it easier to blend and grind. Strain the rice before beginning to make this homemade Horchata recipe.
- water
- cinnamon sticks
- milk – Replace cow’s milk with almond milk or coconut milk. The drink will have a different taste, but both are wonderful dairy-free alternatives
- vanilla extract
- ground cinnamon – Add more flavor by mixing some other spices like nutmeg, cloves, or star anise.
- sugar – The sugar can be increased or reduced depending on preference. Use an alternative sweetener like stevia, honey, or maple syrup
How to Make Horchata
- RICE. Add uncooked rice, 2 cups water, and cinnamon sticks to your blender and blend until roughly ground. Add the rest of the water and blend for an additional minute. Pour the rice milk into a pitcher and refrigerate overnight.
- STRAIN. Strain the mixture through a mesh strainer (or cheesecloth) and discard chunks.
- SEASON. Add milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and sugar into the rice water and chill before serving over ice, or heat it and serve it warm. There is no wrong way because both are divine!
Quick Tips
- Chill the rice mixture for at least 4 hours, overnight is best.
- Rice. Due to the blended rice, the texture with be grittier than traditional milk but this horchata recipe should still have a liquid consistency.
Storing Info
- STORE. Store your easy horchata recipe in a pitcher chilled in the fridge. It will last for about a week!
- FREEZE it in a freezer-safe container for up to a month.
For More Mexican Treats:
Horchata Recipe
Ingredients
- 1⅓ cup long-grain rice uncooked
- 5 cups water divided
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅔ cup sugar
Instructions
- Add uncooked rice, 2 cups water, and cinnamon sticks to your blender and blend until roughly ground. Add the rest of the water and blend for an additional minute. Pour this into a pitcher and refrigerate overnight.
- Strain the mixture through a mesh strainer (or cheesecloth) and discard chunks.
- Add milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and sugar into the rice water and chill before serving over ice.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi! If i fiRst soak the rice overnight, do i use tHat same water To blend the rice? Or drain The SOAKING water and tHen use “clean” water?
That’s a good question. I haven’t tried soaking them ahead of time. I’d have to experiment myself.
Yes, celina. discard the water that the rice was soaked in and use fresh.
Just discovered this recipe and I am anxious to try it. It sounds delicious. We all know that when Fall arrives everything will be Pumpkin Spice 🎃. I am going to try adding some additional spices or substitutions. Pumpkin Pie Spice Seasoning is a possibility. Maybe a bit of Pumpkin Puree. Even using a bit of Eggnog for the holidays. I am off to the store for the rice. Thank you for sharing your recipe. **
You’re welcome! Hope you enjoy!
You’ll be surprised how good this Is. its takes a little bit of effort but its SO yummy.
My Nephew was just talking about this the other night and how much he loved it. He lived in Mexico for a couple years!! YUMMY
OH yum! I can not wait to try this.
This is the best horchata recipe ever! Only homemade horchata from now on! Thanks for sharing
Glad to share & I am glad you liked it!
My husbsnd served a mission in mexico and loves ehen i make RECIPES from there. He really loves this HORCHATA. He also likeD your arroz con leche.
We all love horchata and we love that we can make it at home even more!
we are huge horchata fans! This was the perfect blend of cinnamon and vanilla!
I never knew how simple and easy this is to make! Love it!
What a unique recipe! I have never heard of this before, but it sounds delicious!
It took some time for me to get used to horchata, but now I love it & this recipe is delicious! Easy & so comforting!
I have been looking for a good horchata recipe. It is my girls favorite and this recipe wins hands down. Thank you so much for sharing! You made moving away from TX a little bit easier this year.