This Horchata Recipe Will Transport You Straight to Mexico! (2024)

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Author:

Isabel

Published:

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This sweet and creamy horchata recipe is just the refreshing drink you’ve been craving. This authentic Mexican rice drink is made with simple ingredients and is perfect on a sunny day!

This Horchata Recipe Will Transport You Straight to Mexico! (1)

Horchata is my tried and true drink order when I go to a taqueria or a Mexican market. It’s creamy, lightly sweet, and just as refreshing as fruity aguas frescas like watermelon agua fresca or agua de jamaica.

Horchata is made with simple, budget-friendly ingredients that you likely already have stocked in your kitchen. With a little bit of prep, you can make horchata at home, too!

Here’s why I love this recipe:

  • It’s easily customizable! As long as the base of the horchata recipe consists of rice, cinnamon, and water, you can adjust the type of milk and sweetener to suit your preferences. You can make it dairy-free, nut-free, or use a different sweetener.
  • Easy and minimal prep. Horchata is very easy to make, requires little effort, and minimal prep!

What Is Horchata?

Horchata is a popular rice-based Mexican drink made from white rice soaked overnight with almonds, Mexican cinnamon, and water. It’s then blended and mixed with whole milk, evaporated milk, sugar, and vanilla, and served over ice for a creamy treat.

It’s a type of agua fresca that’s found in most Mexican restaurants, markets, street vendors, or taquerias and is one of my personal favorites!

This Horchata Recipe Will Transport You Straight to Mexico! (2)

Horchata Ingredients

  • Long grain white rice: Horchata is traditionally made with white rice. I used long grain white rice but you can also use other varieties like jasmine or basmati.
  • Almonds: These add a nutty flavor to the horchata. I used blanched and slivered almonds but you can use whole or sliced. You can also omit them to make this nut-free.
  • Ceylon cinnamon stick: This cinnamon is also known as Mexican cinnamon. It’s brittle, can be easily broken into small pieces, and is actually blended into the drink. It’s readily available in most Hispanic grocery stores. If you can’t find it near you, I recommend using a regular cinnamon stick and removing it before blending or using 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon.
  • Water: Used to soak the rice, almonds, and cinnamon.
  • Whole milk and evaporated milk: These milks make a creamy base for the horchata. I found that using only evaporated milk made the drink too thick. You can substitute half and half or other milks if you prefer
  • Granulated sugar: This is the sweetener for the horchata. You can adjust the sweetness to your liking or use honey, agave, or sweetened condensed milk instead.
  • Vanilla extract: A teaspoon adds a hint of sweetness and extra flavor.
  • Ground cinnamon: Topping your horchata with a little extra ground cinnamon for flavor and presentation.

How to Make Horchata

Rinse the rice under cool water until the water runs clear.

Soak the rinsed rice, almonds, cinnamon stick, and 3 cups of water in a covered bowl in the refrigerator for 8 hours, or up to 24 hours.

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Blend the soaked rice mixture along with 3 additional cups of water for several minutes until it is completely smooth. Based on the size of your blender, you may have to work in batches.

Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer or a nut milk bag to get rid of the grittiness. You will need to strain the mixture 2-4 times to get a creamy and smooth consistency. It’s a bit of a tedious process but necessary to get it silky smooth.

This Horchata Recipe Will Transport You Straight to Mexico! (4)

Transfer the rice mixture into a large pitcher and add the whole milk, evaporated milk, sugar, and vanilla. Stir together until the ingredients are fully combined.

Serve over ice and garnish with ground cinnamon.

This Horchata Recipe Will Transport You Straight to Mexico! (5)

Recipe Tips

  • Use Ceylon cinnamon. Also referred to as “Mexican cinnamon,” Ceylon cinnamon is light brown, fragile, and has a lot of layers that are easily broken, as opposed to Cassia cinnamon, which is very hard and not easily broken in half. Ceylon cinnamon can be easily found in Hispanic grocery stores or online.
  • Separation of the water and the rice mixture is completely normal, especially if it’s been sitting in the fridge for a day or two. Just mix it together with a large spoon and serve as you normally would.
  • Strain the horchata several times to get it silky smooth. A nut milk bag works best, but a fine mesh strainer also works. Depending on the power of your blender, you will have to strain the mixture 2-4 times to remove any grittiness from the blended rice mixture.

How to Serve Horchata

Horchata is best served ice cold with your favorite Mexican dish! Here are a few ideas:

  • With tacos like tacos al pastor, carnitas, or chicken tinga.
  • Alongside appetizers and snacks like homemade tortilla chips and queso blanco, esquites, and taco dip.
  • Served with traditional Mexican recipes like enmoladas, chile verde, tamales, and chile relleno.

Recipe Variations

There are different ways to make horchata but the recipe is very flexible. Here are some variations:

  • Milk: You can make this horchata dairy-free by swapping the whole and evaporated milk for almond, soy, coconut, oat, or cashew milk. Just note the flavor may be different.
  • Sweetener: You can use your preferred sweetener and adjust the sweetness if you don’t want to use granulated sugar. You can use 6-12 ounces of sweetened condensed milk, or brown sugar, agave, or honey to taste.
  • Almonds: I don’t recommend using a different type of nut than almonds, but you can omit them to make this recipe nut-free. You can also toast the almonds for an extra nutty flavor.
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Storage

Horchata can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Separation of the milk and rice mixture is normal. When serving, just stir until the ingredients are fully combined again.

One of my favorite ways to store leftover horchata is to pour it into an ice cube tray, and freeze to make horchata ice cubes! I love adding these to my coffee in the afternoon for a special iced horchata coffee treat.

More Mexican Recipes

  • Agua de Pepino (cucumber agua fresca)
  • Agua de Melon
  • Agua de Tamarindo (Tamarindo Drink)
  • Paletas de Fresa (Strawberries and cream popsicles)

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Prep: 10 minutes minutes

Soaking Time: 8 hours hours

Total: 8 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

This sweet and creamy horchata recipe is an authentic and traditional Mexican rice drink made from rice, milk, cinnamon, and water!

Video

This Horchata Recipe Will Transport You Straight to Mexico! (8)

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Rinse the rice under running water until the water runs clear.

  • Add the rinsed rice, almonds, cinnamon stick, and 3 cups of water to a large bowl or pitcher. Cover and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, up to 24 hours.

  • Pour the bowl of ingredients into a large blender and add in the 3 cups of remaining water. Blend on high until completely smooth, about 2 to 5 minutes depending on the power of your blender. You may need to work in batches depending on the size of your blender.

  • Strain the blended mixture through a fine mesh strainer or nut milk bag to remove any solids. This may require straining 2 to 4 times to remove all the grittiness.

  • When completely smooth, pour it into a large pitcher and mix in the milk, evaporated milk, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract. Stir until all the ingredients are well combined.

  • Serve over ice and top with ground cinnamon.

Notes

  • Ceylon cinnamon: Also referred to as “Mexican cinnamon.” Ceylon cinnamon is light brown, fragile, and has a lot of layers that are easily broken, as opposed to Cassia cinnamon which is very hard and is not easily broken in half. Ceylon cinnamon can be easily found in Hispanic grocery stores or online. If you’re not using Mexican cinnamon, remove the cinnamon stick from the mixture before blending.
  • Separation of the water and the rice mixture is completely normal, especially if it’s been sitting in the fridge for a day or two. Just mix it together with a large spoon and serve as you normally would.
  • To make it dairy-free, use a dairy milk alternative like almond, soy, coconut, oat, or cashew milk.
  • To make it nut-free, you can simply omit the almonds. No need to replace them.
  • To make this using sweetened condensed milk, replace the granulated sugar with 6-12 ounces of sweetened condensed milk for an extra creamy treat.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1cup, Calories: 287kcal (14%), Carbohydrates: 41g (14%), Protein: 9g (18%), Fat: 10g (15%), Saturated Fat: 4g (20%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 0.001g, Cholesterol: 23mg (8%), Sodium: 91mg (4%), Potassium: 340mg (10%), Fiber: 1g (4%), Sugar: 22g (24%), Vitamin A: 252IU (5%), Vitamin C: 1mg (1%), Calcium: 256mg (26%), Iron: 1mg (6%)

Author: Isabel Orozco-Moore

Category: Mexican

This post was originally published in May 2018 and has been updated with new photos, more helpful tips, and a better overall recipe and instructions.

Photography by Ashley McLaughlin.

4.79 from 56 votes (29 ratings without comment)

Leave a Reply

  1. Brian Wilson

    This Horchata Recipe Will Transport You Straight to Mexico! (9)
    I’ve made this a couple of times now for my Latina friends at work, and it’s definitely Latina approved (Ecuadorian and Colombian). Making another batch this weekend to share on Monday. Thanks for this delicious recipe!

    Reply

  2. Katherine Michelle

    This Horchata Recipe Will Transport You Straight to Mexico! (10)
    This was my first time making horchata and it was delicious! Next time I will try it with the sweetened condensed milk 🙂

    Reply

  3. Rita Catherine Vinatieri

    This Horchata Recipe Will Transport You Straight to Mexico! (11)
    Oh my gosh!! This is so delicious and refreshing. I once had a glass of Horchata at a church function and immediately fell in love with it. I’ve been so excited to try this recipe and I wasn’t disappointed. I made ice cubes with it also, to put in my coffee, as suggested. Thank you Isabel.

    Reply

  4. Nancy Sanchez

    This Horchata Recipe Will Transport You Straight to Mexico! (12)
    It was delicious and refreshing. We can’t stop drinking it.

    Reply

  5. Michaelanne

    This Horchata Recipe Will Transport You Straight to Mexico! (13)
    Thank you!

    Reply

  6. Karina

    This Horchata Recipe Will Transport You Straight to Mexico! (14)
    Love this recipe! I used a nut bag and it worked really well! I will be making this all summer!

    Reply

  7. Edith V

    This Horchata Recipe Will Transport You Straight to Mexico! (15)
    Just perfect and so delicious! You need to make this for you and your family!

    Reply

  8. Deanna

    This Horchata Recipe Will Transport You Straight to Mexico! (16)
    This was so tasty. Reminded me of my Mom’s rice pudding! I made it with homemade oat milk, as well as the evaporated milk and it worked out nicely.

    Reply

  9. Adrienne

    This Horchata Recipe Will Transport You Straight to Mexico! (17)
    So refreshing and tasty! I love cinnamon so I was generous with it!

    Reply

  10. Edith V

    This Horchata Recipe Will Transport You Straight to Mexico! (18)
    Just perfect, so creamy and yummy 10 out of 10!

    Reply

  11. Christy de la Torre

    This Horchata Recipe Will Transport You Straight to Mexico! (19)
    We made this today, and it is delicious! I love that you control the sweetness, because a lot of the ones in restaurants are too sweet. Love this recipe!

    Reply

  12. Lois Barrett

    This Horchata Recipe Will Transport You Straight to Mexico! (20)
    This recipe produces delicious horchata. I used 2% milk instead of whole milk. Other than that change, everything else was as the recipe stated. It was easy to mix up, blend, and strain. I’ll be making it often. Thanks,
    Lois Barrett

    Reply

  13. Aaron Meier

    This Horchata Recipe Will Transport You Straight to Mexico! (21)
    Horchata was refreshing and delicious. I will need to get the nut milk bag, I strained it several times and still got a lot of sedimentation on the bottom, it resulted in the last few gulps being very gritty. The rest was very smooth and delicious, will make again. Next time I may substitute almond milk for the evaporated milk and omit the blanched almonds, may cut down on the grit a bit.

    Reply

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FAQs

How did horchata get to Mexico? ›

The Moors then brought horchata to West Africa and Spain in the 8th century. As it spread through Spain, France, and England, the drink continued to be enjoyed both for its refreshing quality and for its perceived health benefits. The concept of horchata then spread from Spain to Mexico in the course of colonization.

How to explain horchata? ›

Horchata is a sweet and usually dairy-free beverage made of soaked grains (or nuts and seeds) and water that is flavored with spices. Although each culture brings its own preferences and flavor profiles into the preparation, and other ingredients are added, horchata is, in essence, a simple and humble beverage.

Is horchata Mexican or Spanish? ›

While Mexican-style horchata is the most commonly known variety in the US, horchata actually originated in Spain, and there are various types of horchatas throughout the Spanish-speaking world. Horchata was born in the region of Valencia in Southern Spain.

Is horchata made of milk or water? ›

Horchata is made by blending white rice and cinnamon sticks in water and letting them soak overnight. After the rice and cinnamon are discarded, the remaining liquid is then flavored with vanilla, sugar, and ground cinnamon. Horchata is often thickened with milk and always served cold.

Can you get horchata in Mexico? ›

Mexican horchata is a beverage made from rice and cinnamon and white sugar. Sometimes milk is added for more 'richness'. In some parts of Mexico, horchata is made with melon seeds, almonds and/or coconut. I use to eat some typical food in the streets (México city).

Is Mexican horchata healthy? ›

Mexican horchata makes for a comforting and refreshing drink that pairs especially well with spicy foods. It's actually quite rich in micronutrients like B-vitamins, copper, and selenium, making it a nutritious beverage.

What race is horchata? ›

Horchata is a traditional drink originating from Spain and Latin America, typically made from ground almonds, rice, or tiger nuts, mixed with water and sweetened with sugar. It's often flavored with cinnamon and sometimes includes other ingredients like vanilla or lime zest.

Is horchata good for pregnancy? ›

It's recommended for all age groups, and even those who are lactose intolerant, and pregnant women (it contains more iron and potassium than a single glass of milk!). It has no cholesterol. It helps to reduce the cholesterol and the triglycerides due to its composition in greasy acids similar to the olive oil.

Where is horchata drunk? ›

The drink originated in west Africa, and it is estimated that during the 11th century, it began to spread throughout Hispania (now Spain and Portugal). There are 13th-century records of an horchata-like beverage made near Valencia, where it remains a common drink.

Is horchata nice? ›

Horchata is a delicious, healthy drink that can be enjoyed hot or cold.

How long is horchata good for? ›

To limit bacteria growth, it should be refrigerated after 2 hours and the drink consumed within 5 days. This version has been updated. The rice needs to be soaked for at least 2 hours at room temperature, and up to overnight in the refrigerator. The horchata can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.

Why is horchata so popular? ›

Horchata is sweet and refreshing and often made with a touch of lemon and cinnamon. It's usually consumed through the summer months when temperatures in Valencia rise. It's healthy – full of iron, potassium, and antioxidants – and provides a great alternative “milk” for people who don't drink dairy.

What the heck is horchata? ›

In general, horchata is a sweet, dairy-free beverage that is made via a process of soaking grains, nuts, or seeds overnight in water. This mixture is then drained, and sugar or other spices are added to sweeten the beverage.

Who invented horchata? ›

According to historical records, horchata owes its invention to the Ancient Egyptians. The drink they made incorporated barley and was known as a safe and refreshing source of nutrients; variations of this ancient beverage persist in parts of North Africa till today.

How does horchata taste? ›

The smooth, creamy cinnamon taste of Mexico's cold milky beverage can now be found in a variety of food products. Typically made from rice, grains or nut milks, horchata is a favorite beverage in Mexican restaurants. In addition to cinnamon, vanilla is a common ingredient.

What is the history of Spanish horchata? ›

History of Horchata

Horchata was popularized in Spain, but its roots date back as far as 2400 BC in North Africa. In fact, many researchers believe horchata was present in ancient cultures long before this time. In Egypt, remnants of a similar drink have been found in archeological sites.

Is horchata Mexican or Guatemalan? ›

Horchata, or agua de horchata in Spanish, is a creamy and refreshing beverage that originated in North Africa. Horchata de arroz is one of the most popular varieties of horchata in Mexico and Guatemala.

Does horchata come from El Salvador? ›

In El Salvador, horchata is made from the seeds of the morro, a fruit that looks a little like green coconut and grows attached to the trunk or large branches of the morro tree. After drying in the sun, the seeds are ground and mixed with water to make the horchata.

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