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    Home » Recipes » Drinks

    Published: Apr 12, 2018 · Modified: Jan 24, 2023 by Ashley · This post may contain affiliate links. · Leave a Comment

    Mexican Horchata

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    Delicious sweet, creamy homemade horchata is made with rice, cinnamon, and vanilla. It's the perfect drink for cooling off on a hot summer day, and it makes a refreshing accompaniment to your favorite Mexican food.

    Side view of two glasses of Mexican Horchata. this recipe

    Homemade horchata is incredibly easy to make, and it's even better than what you'll get from a Mexican restaurant!

    Jump to:
    • 🥛  What is horchata?
    • 🥘  Ingredients
    • 🔪  Instructions
    • 🥣 Storage
    • 🌟 Top Tip
    • 💭 FAQs
    • 🌮 Mexican-Inspired Recipes to Serve Horchata With
    • 📋 Recipe
    • ⭐ Reviews

    🥛  What is horchata?

    Horchata is a traditional Mexican drink made with rice, cinnamon, almonds, sugar, and milk. It is a creamy and refreshing beverage, often served chilled and enjoyed as a treat during hot summer days or as a refreshing side to spicy and flavorful meals.

    🥘  Ingredients

    • White rice
    • Almonds
    • Cinnamon stick
    • Granulated sugar
    • Vanilla extract
    • Evaporated milk
    • Milk: Dairy-free milk (almond milk would work great) can be used in place of milk and evaporated milk.
    • Water
    • Ground cinnamon
    Pouring Mexican Horchata into a glass.

    🔪  Instructions

    1. Add rice, cinnamon, and almonds to a bowl. Cover ingredients with water and let soak until the rice has slightly softened.
    2. Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the water from the cinnamon, rice, and almond mixture. Pour the strained mixture into a blender.
    3. Blend the cinnamon, rice, and almond mixture with the evaporated milk. Blend until smooth.
    4. Strain the liquid through a fine mesh strainer into a pitcher. Add the sugar, vanilla, and milk, stirring until combined. Pour in the water. Serve with ice and a dash of cinnamon.

    🥣 Storage

    Horchata can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days, depending on the freshness of the ingredients used. The horchata does separate, so make sure to stir it well right before serving.

    Above view of Mexican Horchata.

    🌟 Top Tip

    • Strain the rice mixture after blending. Do not skip this step, or else you will have very grainy horchata.
    • Use cinnamon sticks. Cinnamon sticks provide horchata with the best flavor over ground cinnamon.
    • Give the rice time to soak. The long soaking time allows the flavors of the rice and cinnamon to be absorbed into the water. It also makes the final drink creamier too.

    💭 FAQs

    What do you serve horchata with?

    Horchata is the perfect accompaniment to spicy Mexican foods as its cool, creamy taste and texture provide a bit of relief to the palate.

    Is horchata served hot or cold?

    Horchata is traditionally served cold over ice, although it can also be served warm if desired.

    Why did my horchata separate?

    Separation of the water and rice in horchata is totally normal, especially if it's been sitting in the fridge. Just stir the horchata right before serving.

    🌮 Mexican-Inspired Recipes to Serve Horchata With

    • A plate of creamy chicken quesadillas.
      Creamy Chicken Quesadillas
    • Sweet pork nachos on a sheet pan.
      Sweet Pork Sheet Pan Nachos
    • Above view of three pork tacos with toppings.
      Instant Pot Sweet Pork Tacos
    • Mexican Street corn on a wood surface.
      Mexican Street Corn (Elote)

    If you make this recipe, let me know what you think! I’d love it if you could add a star rating ★ and a comment below. Be sure to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook, too!

    Print

    📋 Recipe

    Mexican Horchata

    Side view of two glasses of Mexican Horchata.
    Print Recipe
    Pin Recipe

    Delicious sweet, creamy homemade horchata is made with rice, cinnamon, and vanilla. It's the perfect drink for cooling off on a hot summer day, and it makes a refreshing accompaniment to your favorite Mexican food.

    • Author: Ashley
    • Prep Time: 10 minutes
    • Inactive Time: 5 hours
    • Cook Time: 0 hours
    • Total Time: 5 hours 10 minutes
    • Yield: 8 servings 1x
    • Category: Drinks
    • Method: Blender
    • Cuisine: Mexican
    • Diet: Gluten Free

    Ingredients

    Units Scale
    • 1 cup white rice
    • ½ cup almonds, chopped
    • 1 cinnamon stick
    • ⅔ cup sugar
    • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
    • 12 ounces evaporated milk
    • 1 ½ cups milk
    • 4 cups water
    • ground cinnamon

    Instructions

    1. Add rice, cinnamon, and almonds to a bowl. Cover ingredients with water (about 1 ½ cups). Let soak for at least 5 hours or overnight, until the rice has slightly softened.
    2. Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the water from the cinnamon, rice and almond mixture. Pour the strained mixture into a blender, and dispose of the water.
    3. Blend the cinnamon, rice, and almond mixture along with the evaporated milk. Blend until the mixture is smooth and the grains of rice are finely ground.
    4. Strain the liquid through a fine mesh strainer into a pitcher. Add the sugar, vanilla, and milk, stirring until combined. Pour in the 4 cups of water. Serve with ice and a dash of cinnamon.

    Equipment

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    pitcher

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    fine mesh strainer

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    blender

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    Notes

    Adapated from My Latina Table.

    Keywords: horchata, drink, mexican

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @wanderestblog on Instagram. I'd love to see what you made!

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    Ashley

    Hi, I'm Ashley! I created Wanderzest as a place to share traditional foods and fusion recipes inspired by different cultures. I hope you enjoy experiencing the world through food with me!

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