An easy Horchata recipe so you can make this delicious, refreshing, and healthy drink at home - perfect for Cinco De Mayo!

With Cinco De Mayo coming up around the corner, I have a delicious horchata recipe for you to enjoy.

I have such a fondness for horchata. I just love the creamy, cool, soothing feeling I get when I drink a horchata. It's like tasty rice milk, but with cinnamon and other goodness.

Overhead shot of horchata recipe served in a mason jar and garnished with ground cinnamon

Delicious Mexican Horchata drink image, looking down into the drink, which is sprinkled with ground cinnamon.

Oddly enough, I had never really thought about making it for the longest time. But, for some reason, it felt like it was was calling to me, after all these years.

Recipes like this make me realize just how many foods and drinks are out there that can be made easily and well at home. Once you break down that barrier and realize it's something that can be made from scratch, everything opens up.

So, what is in a Mexican horchata? All the ingredients you really need are some rice, milk, cinnamon sticks and water. See? I told you it was crazy simple.

Horchata drink, placed together with serving spoons and whole cinnamon sticks

How to Make Horchata

In order to make horchata at home, you will either need some cheesecloth on hand or a very fine mesh sieve to remove the tiny pieces of rice that sneak through the fine mesh sieve. Otherwise, you probably have everything you need in your kitchen right now.

Oh, and be sure to let the rice soak in the water for at least 8-10 hours, preferably overnight, to get the tasty horchata flavor. It'll still work if you only let it sit for a few hours, but the flavor won't be nearly as rich.

Close up photo of Mexican Horchata drink served with ice cubes and garnished with cinnamon

Is Horchata Vegan?

Unfortunately, many horchata recipes usually call for condensed milk and refined sugar. In typical ASPC fashion, I’ve chosen to make my horchata with 100% whole foods, so you get all creamy, tasty, and refreshing flavors without the empty calories.

I use unsweetened almond milk, which makes this horchata recipe vegan, too. And that pure vanilla extract adds a nice caramel sweetness to the horchata. Oh yes.

Is Horchata good for you?

While it tastes like dessert, Mexican horchata is healthier than you think. Dairy-free and made with naturally-sweet ingredients, like cinnamon, vanilla, and rice, this beverage is actually a decent source of several minerals. While it's still a sweetened drink so it is more of a treat than a normal thing, it's perfectly good for you to drink and enjoy the festivities -- assuming you make your own homemade horchata recipe.

Try it out for yourself and enjoy a refreshing Mexican horchata at home for Cinco De Mayo!

Or, you know, tonight...whatever works 🙂

Horchata Recipe

Lacey Baier

Try this easy Horchata recipe so you can make this delicious, refreshing, and healthy drink at home – perfect for Cinco De Mayo!

5 from 4 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Overnight 8

Total Time 20

Course Drinks

Cuisine Mexican

Servings

Calories 74 kcal

Equipment

*This post may contain affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.

Ingredients

▢ 1 cup white rice, uncooked and rinsed
▢ 4 cups water
▢ 2 cinnamon sticks
▢ ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for garnish
▢ 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (can use any milk of your choice)
▢ ⅓ cup pure maple syrup, plus more to taste
▢ 1 ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
▢ ice

Instructions

Wash and drain rice. Combine rice with cinnamon sticks in water and soak overnight in the refrigerator.
After the rice has soaked for at least 8-10 hours, preferably overnight, discard the cinnamon sticks and pour rice and water into a blender.
Add ¼ tsp. cinnamon and blend on low for 3-5 minutes until well blended.
Pour blended rice mixture through fine mesh sieve two times and then through cheesecloth one more time to remove all gritty bits of rice.
Pour strained mixture into a pitcher, add milk, pure maple syrup, and vanilla and stir well to combine. Add more syrup if needed, to taste.
To serve, pour over ice and garnish with ground cinnamon, if desired.

Video

Notes

Horchata has been a family favorite for as long as I can remember. While there are many variations of horchata, I feel this recipe combines some of the amazing flavors we all know and love in horchata while also allowing for it to not be loaded in processed sugar and fat.

I've also added this mixture to a popsicle mold for frozen horchata pops which were a huge hit with the kids.

Make sure to look for good quality cinnamon sticks to really transfer that depth of flavor to the drink - you won't be disappointed!

Nutrition

Serving: 1 cupCalories: 74 kcalCarbohydrates: 15.7 gProtein: 1.9 gFat: 0.7 gSodium: 48 mgFiber: 0.1 gSugar: 6.9 gVitamin A: 100 IUCalcium: 70 mgIron: 0.4 mg

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?Tag @asweetpeachef on Instagram so we can check it out.

This post contains affiliate links for products I use regularly and highly recommend.

Comments

5 from 4 votes (2 ratings without comment)