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This homemade horchata recipe is perfect for the warmer months. It makes a fabulously refreshing drink you can keep in the fridge to have with your next Mexican meal, or just as a hot day refreshment.
I love Horchata. It’s delicious stuff and always tastes so good on a hot summer day. It’s the perfect drink to serve with my Taco Tuesday meals and nobody ever complains around here when they find a full glass of it next to their dinner plate.
Healthy Horchata
What makes Horchata healthy?
Traditional Horchata is often made with highly processed, high sugar, high fat, condensed milk. And often, additional sugar is added as well.
In this recipe, I avoid high fat condensed milk, refined sugar and I use brown rice instead of white. And it’s just as delicious as the regular version, if not more so!
I firmly believe that, in order to eat healthy, you don’t have to give up your favorites. You just have to use different ingredients. And this recipe is a perfect example of that.
Is Horchata Healthy?
Is Horchata bad for you? It can be.
While “healthy” is subjective, a homemade Horchata like this is far healthier than the mass produced stuff. So if you’re going to make some, you might as well make it with good, healthy, whole-food ingredients.
Horchata With Rice Milk
Horchata is typically made with coconut milk or rice milk. Most of what you get in restaurants these days is rice based.
Does Horchata Have Milk In It?
While traditional Horchata doesn’t have any dairy at all, it’s not uncommon to add a bit of regular, dairy-based milk for a hint of creaminess.
What’s The Difference Between Spanish Horchata And Mexican Horchata?
This recipe is based on the Mexican version of Horchata, which as I mentioned above, is traditionally made with coconut or rice milk.
The Spanish version is made with a root vegetable called a Tiger nut. It is soaked until it is soft enough to blend, and then made with sugar and cinnamon, just like the Mexican variety.
What You’ll Need To Make This Homemade Horchata Recipe
1cupbrown rice
3cupswarm, filtered water
1largecinnamon stick
1cupunsweetened and unflavored almond milk
3cupscold, filtered water(or more, if you like)
¼cuphoney(adjust to taste)
1tsp.pure vanilla extract
How To Make Horchata
The night before place the brown rice into a sealable container, pour the 3 cups of water over it and also add the cinnamon stick. Seal the container and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight for a minimum of 8 hours and up to 12.
The next day when ready to make your horchata, pour the rice and water into a blender. Break off half of the cinnamon stick and also add it to the blender. Blend until the rice is completely broken down. On my blender it took about 4 minutes. Blending time will depend on your blender.
Once blended place a fine sieve over a pitcher, then place a cheesecloth over the sieve and pour the blended ingredients into the pitcher.
Once all the liquid has been poured over the cheesecloth gather all of the sides and squeeze out any liquid left. Discard the rice.
Next , into the pitcher, pour the almond milk and the 3 cups of water. Mix until well combined then pour in the honey and stir until completely dissolved. Mix in the vanilla extract if using. At this time, taste for sweetness and add more honey if desired. Additionally you can add another cup of water if the horchata is too concentrated for you.
You can now serve over lots of ice, but it’s best to place the pitcher in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to really allow the flavors come together. Stir well before serving and enjoy!
Homemade Horchata Recipe Notes
- It’s very important that the rice has enough soaking time, otherwise it won’t break up easily.
- Often, Horchata has both evaporated and condensed milk added to it, the purpose is to make a thicker drink and of course to sweeten it. To make this recipe healthier I’ve omitted that and simply added almond milk.
- Almonds are another traditional ingredient sometimes added to horchata. I’ve added almond milk instead.
- The cheesecloth will help prevent too much blended rice from being in your horchata and require less stirring before serving.
- By allowing the Horchata to sit in the refrigerator after blending, it not only helps cool it down, but also will really help the flavors come together and taste more delicious.
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Homemade Horchata Recipe
Homemade Horchata Recipe
The traditional horchata gets a healthy make over. You’ll never notice that brown rice was used instead of white. All the deliciousness of “regular” horchata is present in this refreshing and healthy drink.
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Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Mexican
Prep Time: 1 day day 10 minutes minutes
Total Time: 1 day day 10 minutes minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 167kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown rice
- 3 cups warm, filtered water
- 1 large cinnamon stick
- 1 cup unsweetened and unflavored almond milk
- 3 cups cold, filtered water (or more, if you like)
- ¼ cup honey (adjust to taste)
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Garnish
- ice cubes
- ground cinnamon
US Customary – Metric
Instructions
The night before place the brown rice into a sealable container, pour the 3 cups of water over it and also add the cinnamon stick. Seal the container and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight for a minimum of 8 hours and up to 12.
The next day when ready to make your horchata, pour the rice and water into a blender. Break off half of the cinnamon stick and also add it to the blender. Blend until the rice is completely broken down. On my blender it took about 4 minutes. Blending time will depend on your blender.
Once blended place a fine sieve over a pitcher, then place a cheesecloth over the sieve and pour the blended ingredients into the pitcher.
Once all the liquid has been poured over the cheesecloth gather all of the sides and squeeze out any liquid left. Discard the rice.
Next , into the pitcher, pour the almond milk and the 3 cups of water. Mix until well combined then pour in the honey and stir until completely dissolved. Mix in the vanilla extract if using. At this time, taste for sweetness and add more honey if desired. Additionally you can add another cup of water if the horchata is too concentrated for you.
You can now serve over lots of ice, but it’s best to place the pitcher in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to really allow the flavors come together. Stir well before serving and enjoy!
Notes
Please note that the nutrition data given here is a ballpark figure. Exact data is not possible.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cup | Calories: 167kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 68mg | Potassium: 96mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 2IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 74mg | Iron: 1mg
