The creamiest, dreamiest Horchata recipe you’ve ever had, just like they make at Mexican restaurants. The secret to this sweet rice drink is to toast the rice and cinnamon first giving it a truly complex and rich flavor. Check out the video!
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Horchata de arroz is not just the drink Louisa always orders whenever we are within ten feet of a taqueria, Latin market, street vendor or anyone, anywhere selling it. Authentic Mexican horchata is a also a delicious drink that everyone should learn to make at home this summer because it is incredibly refreshing.
This recipe is for Mexican horchata which is different than Spanish Horchata—a drink made from tiger nuts. My secret for making extraordinary horchata is to toast the rice and cinnamon stick first giving it a nutty, complex flavor that screams RICE DRINK! Cause that’s what it is. Ready? Let’s go!
More To Explore
Vegan Horchata Recipe
Matcha Horchata Recipe
Strawberry Tamales with Horchata Sauce
What is Horchata?
Horchata falls into the Agua Fresca category of Mexican food. It is a refreshing sweet drink made from homemade rice milk, cinnamon sticks, and vanilla extract. Sometimes evaporated milk or whole milk is added to make it even creamier.
Horchata was introduced to Mexico via the Spanish and has spread like wildfire all over the Americas, probably because it is so delicious. My friends over at Salt and Wind wrote a brief history of horchata if you want to know more.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
It is the authentic recipe you’ve been searching for. If you love the horchata at your local taqueria, this recipe tastes like that. It is sweet and creamy, rich and refreshing with deep toasted rice flavor.
It’s fast-ish. Most horchata recipes have you soak the rice overnight but toasting it first cuts down the soaking time to only 30 minutes!
What is In A Horchata?
The ingredient list for homemade horchata is short and sweet (literally). Many horchata recipes have nuts but we are sticking to only rice here.
- White rice. Use long grain rice. I personally prefer Jasmine but Basmati would also work.
- Canela. We’ve talked about canela a ton, but just to refresh: This is the softer Ceylon cinnamon sold at Latin markets. Substitute 2 Cassia cinnamon sticks if you can’t find it. These are the harder ones found at almost any grocery store.
- Kosher salt
- Vanilla extract
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Whole milk
- Ground cinnamon
How To Make It
Toasting the rice not only brings out the warm woodsy flavors but also cuts way down on the soaking time to only 30 minutes!
step one
Toast the rice. Combine the long grain rice and stick of canela in a dry skillet. Toast over high heat until rice is golden and cinnamon is fragrant, about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally in the beginning then more and more as the rice toasts until you are stirring constantly for the last 3 minutes or so to prevent burning.
step two
Soak the rice. Pour the toasted rice mixture into a large heatproof bowl. Boil three cups of water and pour over rice. Add a pinch of salt and let sit 30 minutes.
step three
Blend the rice. Pour the soaked rice into a blender (you may have to do this in batches depending on the size of your blender). Add 3 cups of cold water, the sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla. Blend on high until very smooth, about a minute.
step four
Strain. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl. If you like your horchata super smooth, line the strainer with cheesecloth. If you don’t care, the sieve should do the job. Stir in the cold milk.
step five
Serve! Chill horchata until cold and serve over ice with a dash of ground cinnamon on top of each glass. Give it a stir before serving.
Tips and Tricks
- When toasting the rice and cinnamon make sure to stir constantly towards the end of toasting so the rice on the bottom of the pan doesn’t burn.
- Have a large heatproof bowl ready when the rice is done toasting so you can pour it in immediately. Any rice left in the pan too long will burn.
More Non-Alcoholic Drinks To Try!
- Jugo Verde {Mexican Green Juice}
- Simple and Quick Champurrado Recipe
- Rhubarb Agua Fresca
- Agua de Jamaica
- Vegan Atole
- Cinnamon-Vanilla Mexican Coffee
- Pink Rhubarb Lemonade
Would I Change Anything About This Horchata Recipe?
Probably not. It is the ultimate creamy taqueria-style Horchata recipe. Don’t believe me? Give it a try! Let me know when you do by snapping a pic and tagging me on Instagram@holajalapenoand#holajalapenoso I can see or leave me a comment below (don’t forget to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating)! Also, sign up for myweekly newsletter, lots of good stuff there too!
Super Creamy Authentic Horchata Recipe
Yield: 8-10 servings
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Soaking Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
The creamiest, dreamiest Horchata recipe you've ever had, just like they make it at Mexican restaurants. You must try this sweet rice drink.
Ingredients
- 1 cup jasmine rice
- 1 stick canela (Ceylon cinnamon stick) or 2 Cassia cinnamon sticks (the kind found at any supermarket)
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk, divided
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups cold whole milk
- Ground cinnamon, for garnish
- Cheesecloth or nut milk bag for straining, optional
Instructions
- Toast rice and cinnamon. Place rice and canela in a large, dry cast iron skillet or frying pan and toast over medium heat until rice is golden and cinnamon is fragrant, about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally in the beginning and then constantly as the rice starts to toast to prevent burning.
- Soak. Transfer rice and canela to a large heatproof bowl. Add a pinch of salt. Pour 3 cups boiling water over rice and let soak 30 minutes.
- Blend. Pour rice mixture into a blender (you may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your blender). Add 3 cups of cold water, vanilla extract and 1 can of sweetened condensed milk. Blend, starting blender on low, then gradually increasing speed to high until mixture is completely smooth, about 1 minute.
- Strain. Pour mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl. If you want the horchata super smooth line it with a piece of cheesecloth first. Stir rice mixture scraping the bottom of the sieve until all that is left is the rice residue. Discard.
- Add milk. Stir in the cold milk and taste. Add up to another 1/2 cup of sweetened condensed milk depending on how sweet you like it. Remember it won't taste as sweet once it is cold.
- Serve. Pour horchata into a pitcher and chill. Give another stir before serving in glasses over ice. Sprinkle each glass with a bit of ground cinnamon.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 139Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 59mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 0gSugar: 12gProtein: 4g
Did you make this recipe?
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