Horchata de Arroz is a popular & refreshing Mexican drink made with ground rice, milk and cinnamon. Learn how to make this delicious drink with these step by step instructions!
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Best Horchata Recipe
There is a reason why this drink is the most popular one on Muy Delish. It’s super delicious!
It’s sweet, creamy, and refreshing! Due to the milk in the recipe, it can have a cooling effect that comes in handy when eating spicy food.
My recipe is for traditional Mexican horchata but I’ve seen versions around the web to fit today’s different diet needs: Some use almond or coconut milk to make it lactose-free or they use no calorie-sweeteners for diabetic needs.
While they may taste good, nothing beats the taste of the traditional version! I hope you treat yourself to the real deal at least once in a while.
One of the reasons Horchata is very popular in Mexico, is that it’s the perfect pairing for spicy & flavorful meals. Every time I make Pozole, Entomatadas, or Bistec Ranchero, you’ll see Horchata on my table….It’s also my favorite drink and it’ll be yours soon too 🙂
🩷 xoxo, Ana
Ingredients
- Use any uncooked long grain white rice and 2 cinnamon sticks.
- The milk base comes from evaporated and condensed milk. This is what gives the horchata the wonderful flavor and a creamy consistency.
- If the condensed milk does not make it sweet enough for you, you can add more sugar to taste.
- Ground cinnamon to garnish (optional)
- Vanilla extract (optional) – Just don’t use too much vanilla as we don’t want to overpower the cinnamon & rice flavor.
*** Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
How to make horchata
Making horchata is very simple and the hardest part is waiting for it to soak. After that, making it is a breeze!
1) Rinse the rice in a colander under cold water then place it in a large bowl with a cinnamon stick and 4 cups of water. Cover and refrigerate overnight or a minimum of 4 hours (the longer the better!).
2) Add 1/2 of the rice mixture & 1/2 of the soaking water and some of the cinnamon stick in a blender.
3) Puree until it’s very smooth and forms a watery paste like texture. About 4 minutes long.
4) Using a very fine mesh strainer (or some cheese cloth) pour the mixture over a pitcher. Strain out as much liquid as possible, pushing on the solids with a spatula or spoon.
5) Repeat this process for the rest of the rice & cinnamon mixture.
6) Stir in the canned milks, vanilla, and the additional 4 cups of water. Stir well until everything is incorporated.
Once I tried the famous Horchata from La Santisima Mexican Restaurant in Glendale Arizona and loved it! They add chunks of fruits like cantaloupe, strawberries, grapes plus chopped pecans. It’s so good! I think I’ll do that to mine next time.
What readers are saying:
Readers who have made this recipe are raving about it! Here is what they had to say after enjoying it:
I made several other horchata recipes but I’m throwing those other ones away because I’ve found the one that I like! Your recipe is awesome and my kids love it. I soak the rice in the fridge for an entire day and then overnight. It comes out so creamy. Thanks!
I made this for a catering of 100 guests. It was a Mexican inspired menu. The Horchata was a huge hit! They loved it!
P.s. I never made it before so thank you!
Ana’s Recipe Notes
- I prefer long-grain white rice for a smoother texture.
- Make sure you give it enough time to soak the rice well. This will ensure that will blend the best and will retain all of the rice flavor.
- Texture: If you prefer a smoother horchata, strain it a second time or use a nut milk bag.
- Variations: Some people like to add a little almond extract or use almond milk for a different flavor profile.
How to Store
- Fridge: Place in a sealed container and store it in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to 2-3 days. But I guarantee that you’ll want to drink it all in a day!
- Shake Before Serving: Horchata tends to separate, so shake or stir it well before serving.
- Freezing: If you need to store it longer, you can freeze in an airtight container, leaving some space at the top for expansion. Thaw it in the refrigerator and shake well before serving.
- Avoid Room Temperature: Do not leave it at room temperature for extended periods to prevent spoilage.
You guys, if you go to a Mexican restaurant I guarantee you will see Horchata on the menu. You may have seen it as “Agua de Horchata”. The wonderful thing is it’s super easy to make and you can make it at home!
Thank you for stopping by!
I hope you like this recipe! Do you have any questions I can help you with? Or if you made it, I would love it if you leave a comment or rating below.
Gracias!!!! xx, Ana
Print Recipe:
Traditional Mexican Horchata
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked white rice
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 12 ounce can evaporated milk
- 12 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 8 cups of warm water - divided
- Sugar to taste
- Ground cinnamon to garnish - optional
- ½ teaspoon vanilla - optional
Instructions
- Place the rice in a colander and rinse under cold water. Place the rice, cinnamon sticks (see note #1 below) and 4 cups of water into a bowl. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight (preferably) or a minimum of 4 hours.
- Once you're ready to blend the rice, remove most of the cinnamon sticks but it's okay to leave small pieces with the rice.
- Blend the rice in two separate batches by adding 1/2 of the rice & water with some of the cinnamon stick left behind. Puree until it's very smooth and forms a watery paste like texture. About 4 minutes long.
- Using a very fine strainer (or some cheese cloth) pour the blended mixture over a pitcher. Strain out as much liquid as possible, pushing on the solids with a spatula or spoon.
- Repeat this process for the rest of the rice, water & cinnamon mixture.
- Stir in the canned milks, vanilla, and the additional 4 cups of water. Stir well until everything is incorporated.
- Taste and add sugar or water if needed according to taste.
- Chill and stir well before serving over ice. It's normal to have some rice paste sink to the bottom of the jar/glass. Just stir before you serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Break the cinnamon sticks in large pieces before you place in the bowl to soak. This will give more flavor from the inside of the cinnamon.
- If you don’t have cinnamon sticks, you can soak the rice with 1 tablespoon of cinnamon powder.
- If you decided to use vanilla, don’t add too much of it as it will overpower the cinnamon & rice flavor.
- Stora in Fridge: Place in a sealed container and store it in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to 2-3 days. But I guarantee that you’ll want to drink it all in a day!
- Shake Before Serving: Horchata tends to separate, so shake or stir it well before serving.
- Avoid Room Temperature: Do not leave it at room temperature for extended periods to prevent spoilage.
Your Private Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in July 2014. It has been updated to revise the content and photographs. The original delicious recipe remains the same. Enjoy!
FAQs
Any white rice will work: long grain, jasmine, basmati, short grain. Just make sure it’s raw white rice!
Yes! Since we’ll be using the same soaking water to make the horchata, I recommend you wash it to have a clean drink.
Place the bowl in the fridge since we’ll be using that same water for our final Horchata drink. This water already contains a lot of the rice & cinnamon flavor and we don’t want to waste it!
Use almond milk or coconut milk. But you’ll need to sweeten it with sugar or your favorite sweetener. This may change the authenticity and it may not provide the same results as this recipe.
Only curiosity, and I have no expertise or ethnic history, but I read so much about the heavy prevalence of lactose intolerance among Mexican people and a lot of recipes that suggest authentic horchata is dairy free. I do see that there are many different version, obviously starting with the tiger nut Spanish version but even just provincial changes, but I just wonder at the addition of milk as an “authentic” ingredient. Just wonder–not positing or arguing. And my kids like it with a little American style cinnamon and almond milk, so the point is moot, but it’s still something I want to look in to more.
Very refreshing and easy to make!
We learned this recipe from my son-in-laws mother. The only difference is she uses almonds in hers. She soaks with the rice, water & cinnamon sticks. Then blends them.
Positively adored this homemade Horchata! It was so refreshing after a really hot day working outside.
Thank you, Paula!!!
i spiled it on the floor 🙁
So sorry to hear this Jake.
And another thing… I keep forgetting to wash the rice first. Is that bad? In other recipes some would rinse and some wouldn’t.
Hi Ty! Thank you so much for the kind review! You can definitely rinse the rice prior to soaking it but don’t do it after it has been soaked. I’m so happy you and your kids love this horchata recipe! It’s super easy to make plus delicious!. Let me know if you need any other help. xo,Ana
Hello!!!!! I made several other horchata recipes but I’m throwing those other ones away because I’ve found the one that I like! Your recipe is awesome and my kids love it. I soak the rice in the fridge for an entire day and then overnight. It comes out so creamy. Thanks!
Filtering was honestly very frustrating and messy. I ended up having to go to the store and buy a cheesecloth and it worked way better than a strainer. After all of that, I had my doubts if this was all worth it… Wow, this recipe is delicious! Way better than the other horchata recipes I’ve tried. It uses less rice than other recipes and somehow the blending making it more creamier and full of flavor. If you’re not using condensed milk, just put 4 cups of milk with around 1/4 cup of milk according to tastes. Will definitely make again!
Be sure to make this a few times before making it for company. Sweetened Condensed Milk comes out of a can like thick heavy syrup. So I heated the 4 C of water before adding it. I tried to use a kitchen towel instead of cheese cloth. I will head to the store for cheese cloth before I finish. I hope two days in fridge is OK for soaking rice.
I love horchata and had your amazing recipe at a friend’s house. Would this work using a food processor?
Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes!
Sorry for the late reply Ruth! I’m so happy you liked it!
I don’t think a food processor will blend the rice all the way. You need a more fine blades (and shorter to the bottom) to blend it. Let me know if you try it and it works out!
This is my first time making horchata and it turned out perfectly! I used basmati rice and whole milk (no condensed or evaporated milk). Yum!
Amazing receipe, very authentic! Got amazing complements! Thank you.
Delicious! I used my Vitamix blender, blended for 4 minutes and then strained through a nut bag, but there really was nothing to strain, so next time I will skip the straining step. I also doubled the recipe and accidentally put too much rice and not enough water in one batch I was blending, and it came out as a very thick paste and the next batch was mostly liquid. I just used a whisk to mix the two together and it came out fine. Next time, after soaking I will separate the water from the rice and blend it more evenly. Feliz Cinco de Mayo!
…and thank you very much for sharing this delicious and simple recipe!
Thank you Mary! I’m thrilled that you liked this recipe.I really appreciate the feedback!
xo,
Ana
I’m sorry… but Horchsta is a Valencia (Spain) traditional drink, made with ‘chufas’… just crushed with water!
Tiger nut milk shake!
Hi Francisco, nowhere in my post I claimed this Horchata is the world’s original drink. However, I do say that this is MEXICO’s traditional drink (it doesn’t matter where it originated) and what I mean by that, is the flavors of this recipe are what we’re used to in Mexico.
Saludos amigo!
Hello,
Would it still work if I substituted the condensed and evaporated milk with lactose free milk?
Hi Apolline, will the condensed milk be condensed lactose free? Or just regular lactose free milk? if yes, then it should work! If you’re not using any condensed type milk, then add sugar to taste. The condensed milk is what makes it sweet.
I hope this helps! Enjoy your Horchata and let me know if you have any other questions.
xo, Ana
Loved this recipe! It turned out amazing and my kids couldn’t get enough!
Hi Nicole! Thank you so much for your kind review. It makes me happy that everyone including the kids loved it! Stay well!
Ana
Traditional Horchata does not have any milk. Its rice, cinnamon, sugar, water.
In what country? Mexican horchata does have milk. At least where I’m from it does!
I made this for a catering of 100 guests. It was a Mexican inspired menu. The Horchata was a huge hit! They loved it!
P.s. I never made it before so thank you!
Yay! This makes me so happy Sid! That must’ve been a fun party. Thanks for making my horchata! xo, Ana
Hello I’m going to make 4 gallons of horchata can you help me out on the measurements how much I would need please
Hi Joshua, this sounds like a party! If you multiply the recipe by 6 times, it will make 4.5 gallons. That’s probably what I would do. Blend the rice in different batches to make sure you don’t burn the blender’s motor. Let me know if you have any other questions. Ejoy!
I don’t have a full cup of white rice. Would it be OK if I filled the rest up with brown?
Hi Keelia! I think it should work as long as it’s not the majority of it. I haven’t tried making horchata with brown rice but I think it may get a little nutty taste. It will blend well with the cinnamon. Please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
xo, Ana
Appreciate the recipe – will adjust mine a bit. I’ve been making something similar for frozen horchata pops but cook the rice like congee (same water to rice ratio), add a couple cans of sweetened condensed milk, cinnamon, and vanilla. Rather than straining the rice, I’ve been keeping it so it has a thicker base – doesn’t melt as fast. Will try some evaporated milk and see if that helps.
If I use cinnamon powder, do I still try to remove as much as I can of it before blending? Thank you.
Hi Talia, it’s not needed to remove most of the cinnamon. You can remove a little bit of the top layer if you want. Or just use a teaspoon of ground cinnamon when soaking and don’t remove before blending. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Enjoy!
Ana
The recipe It was simple to understand, simple to follow and I ended with a Delicious drink that reminded me of the taste I enjoyed at my favorite restaurant
Thank you so much for the review on this Horchata AJ! I really appreciate the feedback.
So good! I was worried at first because I couldn’t reach a paste with the blender, the rice stayed separated at the bottom still. But it was soooo yummy! Thanks for the recipe ;P
Thank you, Alison!!!
It was good but I messed up the blending part ig I didn’t understand half of my mixture .. but it still ended up tasting wonderful.. better then some of these restaurants..
Hello!
Just left the rice water to soak overnight ! But , to confirm, youre saying to add an additional 4 cups right at the end ?
That’s correct Jane! Still use the water from the rice. Enjoy!
Perfect horchata.
Where did you get the beautiful cutting/serving board with the carved edge?
Hi Julie, someone got it for me at a home boutique in California a long time ago! I can’t remember the name. I love it too!
I’ve been exploring for a bit making different Horchata recipes and your is truly the best! I cannot wait to make it again and again. I think my search is over. Thanks for such fantastic recipe!
Hey Ana! I was looking for a recipe on this, and found yours. It looks great, and not too much trouble to make. I’m from Norway, so we have some different terms for things. Is “evaporated milk” just the unsweetened version of what you call “condensed milk”? ‘Cause here it’ll say “sweetened condensed milk” and “unsweetened condensed milk” on boxes (The latter often under the brand “Vikingmelk”), but I’ve never seen “fordampet melk”/”evaporated milk” on anything.
Hi Andreas! For this you want to use sweetened condensed milk plus evaporated milk. If you don’t find evaporated milk just replace that amount with regular milk.
However, if you know what evaporated milk tastes, experiment with the unsweetened condensed version too and see if it’s a good substitute. If not, stick to regular milk. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Warm hugs from Portugal 🙂
Ana
Hi, thanks for sharing this recipe!
I only have normal milk on hand right now, so is it okay if I use that, or is it necessary to use sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk? And if I could use normal milk how much sugar would you recommend using to sweeten it?
Thank you!
This horchata recipe turned out amazing! I served it at a recent brunch- my daughter and I love horchata- and this recipe is perfect and delicious! I’m excited to make it again and again.
I left the cinnamon sticks with the rice to blend and it was AWSOME the kids kept saying it was better than the restaurant:) thank you for the recipe.
I plan to make this for Christmas, and I have a question about the condensed milk. Does that mean sweetened condensed milk or just evaporated milk? Thanks!
Hi Caitlin!
It’s one can of sweetened condensed milk and one can of evaporated milk. I just added that in the recipe card to clear any confusion. Thanks for the question! Merry christmas!
Awesome recipe
Thank you, Ryan!!
When is sugar first added and about how much? All the recipe says is to “add more sugar.”
Hi Susan, it should be according to taste. The recipe card mentions that. Thanks for the question. Enjoy!
The sweetened condensed milk contains sugar
Can you tell me where you bought the wooden thing you are using to hold the cups in your photo? It’s beautiful!
This is delicious. I doubled the recipe so that I can have one virgin batch, and a batch to mix with rum. This is absolutely divine. I definitely need to find a better contraption to strain the contents, but that has nothing to do with the recipe. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!!!! 100/10
so what is the answer how do you get it to puree? thanks
Hi Mia, thanks for stopping by! If you soak the rice for at least 4 hours, it should puree well. You may still have a little paste that comes out but that will be strained anyways. Some people have reported that they didn’t end up with a paste at all!
Make sure you use a blender with good power as well. That could be one of the problem for some people.
Please let me know if you have any other questions. Enjoy!
Thanks! I make Horchata for my family (it is my favorite drink and I often crave it). I always soak the rice overnight and the next day I use the Oster duralast classic blender (which only has stir, milkshake, smoothie and ice power settings) I start off on stir and then alternate on milkshake and smoothie for like 5 minutes. At the end, (after straining out the liquid) there is plenty of paste/sludge at the bottom of the blender (which I choose not to strain into the pitcher because I don’t want sludge in the drink). After finishing making all my horchata and chilling it in the fridge for a few hours, I find that there is tons of sludge at the bottom of the pitcher. My blender is kinda old, but is there something else I’m doing wrong? Maybe I should only do the smoothie setting. Or maybe something wrong with my straining. Should I be straining the sludge? thanks!
Hi Mia! Great question! Okay so you’ll always have some of the sludge no matter how good your blender is. It’ll settle at the bottom of the jar and glass after you serve it. You can just stir it before you serve it and just don’t worry about what settles in the glass. The only Horchatas I see that don’t do this, are the pre-made ones from an envelope (which are not as good as the homemade ones!). So don’t worry if you have some sludge settling at the bottom. However, if you have too much, perhaps it is not blended as good it should just as you suspect.
Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks so much for the comment…I may update the post to include your concern. Thank you and have a wonderful day! xo, Ana
I always soak the rice overnight and the next day I use the Oster duralast classic blender (which only has stir, milkshake, smoothie and ice power settings) I start off on stir and then alternate on milkshake and smoothie for like 5 minutes. I strain using a metal mesh strainer. After Im done making all of my horchata and its chilled and my family finishes drinking it, like 1/4 of the pitcher is just sludge. it makes me upset to have so much sludge at the end. My blender is kinda old, but is there something else I’m doing wrong? Maybe I should only do the smoothie setting. Or maybe something wrong with my straining. could I please get some advice? also for my specific blender, what setting should I use or how should I do it (alternate?). what setting would be the “puree” setting? the smoothie setting? i don’t know which setting to use. thank you so much❤️
You probably use a strainer that allows too much fine particles through. A nut bag or very fine cloth (90 or 100 cheesecloth) to strain is best bet to reduce debris that result in sludge.
I followed the directions but at no point did mine puree? Any advice?
I figured it out lol -L
Thank you L! I’m so happy to hear your horchata turned out! Thanks for the 5 star rating. It means a lot!
Love this recipe! Curious how a dairy free/coconut version would work? Any thoughts? Thank you!!!!
I haven’t made the coconut version but I’m on a mission! Let me make it and I’ll report back to you or if you do first, let me know!
You can use sweetened coconut condensed milk and coconut milk (I prefer coconut cream because it’s thicker) with some sugar. The sweetened coconut milk can be difficult to find depending on where you live but can be purchase from Amazon.
Very good! Perfect amount of sweetness and I recommend adding vanilla.
The vanilla does add the perfect tough… I’m so happy you liked it Lucy! Thanks for the review xoxo, Ana
Delicious delicious delicious!!!
This is delish! I wish there was something I could do with the strained out rice/cinnamon sludge though….
you can make rice pudding but you wouldn’t get the rice chunks, I made it with the paste the leftover rice and water made and it turned out delish!
I have never had horchata. I seldom try any drinks for that matter. I think I recall an old Chinese fix for stomach upset. Rice water. This is rice water…and yum! I tasted coconut? Rice soaking as we speak. Thank you. Just wonderful.
I just prepared this horchata ❤️❤️❤️❤️ can’t wait to try it later!!!! Is chilling on the fridge. Thanks Ana 😊😊
I followed directions exactly and used a very fine mesh strainer… Yet I still had large bits of rice after blending and straining. I blended and strained a second time to try to remove some bits, which did help! However I am still left with a chalky feeling in my mouth afterwards. I added some more water to try to improve that, but not much improvement. Any ideas what I could have done wrong?? Flavor is delicious at least!!
You can buy a nut milk bag. I first use a metal strainer, then I pass the liquid through a cheesecloth, then I pass THAT liquid through a nut milk bag and it filters out the pasty rice residue. I am left with pure liquid and no chalkiness whatsoever. Hope this helps!
It’s gone as soon as I make it!
Mmmmm, rumchata!! Yummy! Thanks Ana!
Forgot to rate it lol
Can you substitute the last 4 cups of water with like coconut milk? Not the 4 cups that you soak the rice in but 4 that you add last with the other milks? Just curious. This will be my second time making it and it was delicious.
Having lived and traveled in Central America and Mexico for close to 20 years, as well as living in Egypt where Horchata originated, this horchata recipe, while good, is WAY too Creamy, and way too sweet leaving a tummy ache if you drink too much.
The best horchata recipie is made from
2 cups rice
2 cups almond milk
4 cups Water
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 All Spice
1/3 cp Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
Take the rice and water, blend it up, let it sit for 12 hours and add the other ingredients. Let sit for 6 hours more and strain it. Horchata should be watery light and refreshing able to drink as much as you like, not heavy and creamy.
idk man it tasted just like my Tio’s
Lol people like you are obnoxious. “Hey I know you were born and raised in Mexico but my experience traveling there means I know better abd your family recipe is wrong”…That’s what you sound like
Besides you do realize every family has their own version of horchata right? That’s how cuisine works.As for your “sensitive tummy”(seriously are you 12) that’s a you problem not a recipe problem.
Lol I thought the same thing!! I couldn’t have said it any better!Jeez rude much! I’ve been making it since I found it and it’s wonderful!
Yes! Thank you! I’m trying to tell people it’s not a milk beverage!!!