Homemade Horchata
Horchata is a cinnamon-infused almond and rice milk served in Latin America. Learn how to make horchata here!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
54Comments
Jump to recipe
Today I’m popping in to let you know about my guest post over at one of my favorite blogs, Turntable Kitchen. I’ve been a fan of Kasey’s thoughtful writing and inspiring recipes for a long time, but recently had the pleasure of meeting her in real life when we were in New York over the same weekend. Serendipity!
When Kasey asked me to share a recipe inspired by my travels, I decided to make horchata, which is a refreshing, cinnamon-infused rice and almond milk served in Latin America. So far I’ve only sampled horchata in Colorado and New York, but I hope to get a chance to try authentic horchata when I’m in Belize later this week. That’s right, I’m going to Belize! More on that soon.
You know me, I couldn’t resist turning my horchata recipe into a cocktail by adding dark rum—an excellent idea, if I do say so myself. If you want to booze up your horchata, I highly recommend adding Gosling’s spiced rum. I also tried Kraken spiced rum (pretty good) and vodka (not complementary). I have a hunch that a White Russian made with horchata instead of milk would be mighty tasty, however. Who wants to come up with a clever name for that concoction?
Lastly, if you’re tempted to make horchata popsicles, don’t—they turn out chalky and icy. If you’re thinking about making horchata muesli, do—and add fresh cherries. Amazing! (Curious about muesli? Check out my post on simple summer breakfasts.) I’ll quit rambling, but thanks again to Kasey and Matt for inviting me to guest post and please give horchata a try soon.
Homemade Horchata
Horchata is a sweet, cinnamon-infused almond and rice milk served in Latin America. I sweeten my horchata with agave and turn it into a cocktail by adding rum! Note that the ingredients require an overnight soak. Recipe yields about 4 cups horchata.
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup long grain brown* or white rice (dry/uncooked)
- 1 ¼ cup blanched almonds**
- 3-inch piece of cinnamon stick
- 4 ½ cups water, divided
- ⅓ to ½ cup light agave nectar, to taste
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the rice, almonds, cinnamon stick and 2 ½ cups hot water. Allow the mixture to cool, then cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Pour the mixture into a blender, add agave (start with ⅓ cup, you can add more later) and blend on high for several minutes, until the mixture is as smooth as possible. Add one cup of cold water and blend for 10 seconds.
- Place a large metal sieve over a large bowl. Line the sieve with cheesecloth (or use a nut milk bag or clean paint straining bag, found at hardware stores). Pour the mixture through slowly, stirring as you pour.
- Press on the solids with a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Lift the cheesecloth/bag and squeeze the rest of the liquid out. Discard the remaining dryish pulp. Pour the mixture into a pitcher and stir in the last cup of water. Pour into glasses filled with ice and serve.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Rick Bayless.
*Rice selection: I made my horchata with brown rice because The Kitchn told me I could.
**Almond notes: You can either buy pre-blanched almonds or blanch your own. Just pour 1 ¼ cup whole almonds into a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Let the almonds sit for a minute, then drain them in a colander and rinse with cold water. Use your hands to slide the skins off and proceed with the recipe as directed.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I *love* horchata. It tastes kinda like melted ice cream….
It does! Horchata also reminds me of Momofuku cereal milk, which brings to mind some crazy possibilities…
I’ve actually never had horchata but it sounds like something I would really enjoy. Love that you added rum too, rum makes everything better!
This sounds quite refreshing. I’ve seen agave on so many cocktail menus in LA lately but this one is way more original!
So fun! I totally need a glass of this asap.
this drink looks yummmmmy. especially with the rum. pleaseandthankyou. i have kahlua in my pantry. now i’m inspired to go find something to mix with it…
BELIZE!!!????
Belize it! Oof, sorry, I need more sleep. I’m going there to eat and explore, it’s going to be grand.
I love horchata, and have been looking for a good recipe. Love that this one uses almonds and agave instead of milk and sugar. I will definitely be adding rum. : )
Am I the only one that sang “horchata” like the Vampire Weekend song? :) looks yummy!
1. you just won my heart. i love horchata.
2. belize? more on that NOW!
This type of horchata sounds delicious especially with some rum in it ;) The type of a I’ve had before is the type made in Spain. Here is a link I found to a recipe: http://user.xmission.com/~dderhak/recipe/horchc.htm It is made with tiger nuts. There’s an interesting story about it on that page. Will try out your version soon :) Thank you.
Umm, a) You’re awesome.
and b) You’re awesome.
and c) Move to KC.
Ooh, this sounds fantastic! I Love the idea to add spiced rum for a creamy and decadent cocktail :)
I love horchata! And it’s easy to find at a lot of the food trucks around Nashville. So I, uh, don’t have to make my own. :)
A: I’m so excited (and a tad jealous) for you – Belize!!! Safe travels!
B: this drink looks like it needs to happen in my life (you know I’ll be adding the rum) ASAP.
C: next time your in NYC I hope we grab cocktails!!
Ha – just realized bev did the a b c thing too. Welp, now I feel unoriginal ;)
Ha! No worries, I liked it. :)
I have never heard of horchata! But I am adding this to my to-do list immediately. It sounds amazing and so perfect for summer time!
Would you be opposed to putting rumchata in as your source of rum goodness?
i can’t wait to make this. it looks incredible. thanks for sharing! and have an epic trip to belize!! see you in a few weeks! :)
Thanks, friend, can’t wait to see you! If you make the horchata (and please do!), read the comments on the post at Turntable Kitchen first. I forgot to add some little details to the recipe and can’t fix it because it’s not my site, and she’s on vacation for the week! eeps!
So happy I found this right before the heat sets in this weekend!
I’ve heard so much about Horchata but have never had any. I’m not a fan at all of sweet drinks but maybe I’ll give it a try without any sugar? Thanks for the recipe & enjoy your trip!
I hear you, I am not usually a fan of super sweet drinks either. The original recipe called for one cup of sugar and I reduced it down to 1/3 cup agave nectar, but you might like it with just a drizzle of agave. I tried it without any sweetener at all and wasn’t crazy about it, but to each her own!
Interesting! Never heard of horchata, and I live in Belize, though haven’t been here even a year yet. It sounds delicious. I’ll be interested to hear if you find it here — and if so, where!
Hey Emily! I never found horchata, but I kind of forgot to look for it. I was happy drinking all the watermelon juice and pineapple juice! On the flight in, the girl next to me told me that she has had horchata made with seaweed in Belize, but I definitely didn’t see that on any menus.
Yes, the fresh juices here are wonderful. I made watermelon juice in the blender last week and liked it better than that you buy because I didn’t use sugar. It doesn’t need it, but they tend to add a lot here.
I’ve never had horchata bit it sounds delicious and i love your picture!!
I made Horchata last year and then turned around and used it to make French Toast. Outstanding. Wow.
Now that is a good idea. I might have to make more horchata so I can try horchata French toast!
Hi Kate:
Found you via the Foodista feature – Congrats!
We’re Texans living in Brazil. I’ve never had horchata, but I miss Almond Milk so much (not available here) that I decided to try this. Wondy-ful recipe – I thought I had smuggled a box of Silk! ;)
One question – did you find any way to use the almond/rice pulp? I was thinking perhaps I could dry it, to use as a meal in a baked good….Just curious.
Great question, Alison, and no, unfortunately, I didn’t come up with a use for the almond/rice pulp. I know you can use almond meal in baked good recipes, but I wasn’t sure how the rice would factor in! Surely it would work in recipes for almond meal… right?
I found your recipe while searching for a way to use the left over pulp! I wondered about using it in Fiands as a substitute to almond meal and rice flour, but decided not to do that as the rice was still grainy. I ended up cooking the pulp with milk and a small amount of sugar to make a rice pudding as the rice thickened the mixture. Not fancy at all but tasty enough and no wastage!
I’ve never had horchata made of rice/almond milk. Really authentic horchata is from Spain, not South America. It’s made from the chufa (tiger nut in the US). The history of it starts in Egypt but the drink and name of the drink started in Spain. The area where my dad is from, Valencia, has the best climate for growing chufas so I can’t visit without drinking a ton of horchata! My favorite is horchata granzada which means its like a slushie. So good! Here’s a link to a little history about it’s origins and name: http://www.popsynth.com/horchata.htm
I found this on pinterest ,
I lived in Spain when I was a child an remembered the joy of this drink from then ,
I just made some of my own blend,
Rice milk /Almond mild, cinnamon ,vanilla been,nutmeg , and honey.
warming on the stove top so yummy smelling in my belly makes me so happy. thanks for putting this out there. it has brought me back to very found memory’s of childhood .
Hi! Horchata is a delicious drink! but if you want to try the authentic drink, you have to go to El Salvador, horchata a is traditional drink there.
Each country prepares horchata slightly different. But Belize was a British colony, and besides is a Caribbean country, so the food is more Caribbean.
Caribbean countries do it too, but I guess because Belize was British…
Yummy! I completed making this today and it reminds me of an Indian spiced rice pudding. It’s very decadent yet dairy free. I just couldn’t believe how little liquid is left after the straining of the pulp. Is there a way to use that pulp without wasting it?
I’m glad you enjoyed the horchata, Nora. Are you sure you strained out as much water as possible? I wish I knew of a good use for the pulp, but I’m not sure since it contains both almonds and rice. I know that when people make almond milk, they save the pulp and use it as almond meal.
Hmmm… Bartender can I get a Russian Hor?
Hola Hola! I’m mexican and since i was a child used to drink a lots of horchata ❤
Just let you know but there’s some places in Mexico where they serve it hot which is good too.
Btw thanx for this easy recepie
I bet warm horchata is a treat! Thanks for the idea, Juan!
I hate wasting food. Isn’t there anything I can make with that “dryish pulp” that is left. Can I cook it with some water and make rice pudding or baby food or something?
Hi Mimi, I hear you! I’ve tried drying out the pulp and using it in place of almond meal, but unfortunately it really doesn’t have much flavor after it’s been blended with water. If you find a great solution, please let me know.
Do you put the cinnamon stick in tge blender too?
Yes, you do! It should be soft enough at that point.
Great recipe flavor-wise. A bit too sweet for me so next time I will use less agave. I wonder if you have a solution for the grittiness after making? I used a Vitamix blender to prepare and strained through a nut milk bag but found the Horchata a bit gritty.
Hi Kate,
I haven’t made this drink yet because I just discovered your blog and I’m excited to try some of your recipes. But, I wanted to share with you of the best horchata I drank in Mexico from a street vendor after a series of wrong turns on the outskirts of Oaxaca City. It had little chunks of fresh cataloupe and flaky almonds! The combination of horchata and cantaloupe was incredible. I mean, this was one of those finds when traveling that leaves you remembering for the rest of your life. I will try your horchata sometime. I really also enjoyed your reader’s comments below, especially those who shared a personal experience with horchata – I never knew it had so much history. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing! Sounds interesting for sure.
Can I used pre sliced almonds?
You can either buy pre-blanched almonds or blanch your own. Just pour 1 ¼ cup whole almonds into a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Let the almonds sit for a minute, then drain them in a colander and rinse with cold water. Use your hands to slide the skins off and proceed with the recipe as directed.
For me the Rick Bayless website/ recipe brought me to a page that said the url was typed wrong. Just letting you know!
Sorry to hear that! Unfortunately this was an older post and I don’t have control over outside links staying current.