The easiest, creamy and slightly sweet homemade Authentic Mexican Horchata.
It’s almost Cinco de Mayo guys! A good excuse to throw a party with your friends and make some awesome homemade Mexican food! I’ll be making several of my favorite Mexican dishes, particularly Authentic Mexican Rice and Cantina-Style Salsa.
I’ve found that my way of judging the quality of a Mexican restaurant is by tasting their Horchata. It can’t be overly sweet or I’m completely turned off.
Horchata is essentially made out of rice, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. There’s an important balance to the creamy rice and cinnamon flavors. This homemade Horchata recipe is incredibly easy to make and DELICIOUS!
Consider serving with:
- Smothered Green Chili Chicken Burritos
- Authentic Mexican Rice
- Cheese Enchiladas
- Grilled Chicken Street Tacos
- Other Cinco de Mayo Favorites
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The easiest, creamy and slightly sweet homemade Authentic Mexican Horchata.
- 1 1/3 cups uncooked long-grain white rice s
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 4 cups water , divided
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/3 - 1/2 cups granulated sugar , to taste
To a blender, add rice, 2 cups of water, and 2 cinnamon sticks.
Blend about for 2 minutes or until the rice and cinnamon sticks are roughly ground. Add the remaining water and blend again.
Pour contents into a pitcher or container with a fitted lid and place on your countertop overnight (or for at least 8 hours).
Pour the rice mixture into a fine mesh strainer, into a pitcher. Discard the rice.
Stir in the milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and sugar (to your preference). Chill until ready to serve. Stir well before serving and serve over ice.
Recipe Video
Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
Bonnie says
I love Horchata.To make it even easier instead of milk and sugar I use sweet and condensed milk. a really good creamy flavor and i know the sugar in blended and not grainy that I sometimes get.
Thanks for all you great tips and easy recipes
Adam says
how much condensed milk?
Dion Genther says
Yes Adam you are correct
Dion Genther says
Condensed is in the authentic methods because it also help it keep longer
Dixie says
Sweet AND condensed 😂
Geri says
How much condensed milk would you use?
Vicki says
Recipe with sweetened condensed milk please?!?!?!
Eric Troy says
I’ve been meaning to make this for a while. Looks good enough to drink! I’ve been reading about the history of the drink. The etymology is confusing but some sources, such as the Oxford Companion to Food, indicates that the North Africa, “horchata de chufa,” made from tiger nuts, is the origin of this one.
What are your thoughts on almonds?
Dion Genther says
I like nuts in general but what if the tiger bites you?
Dion Genther says
Want to come over and sample some nuts?
Dora says
Do you cook the rice first?
Lauren Allen says
No, the rice is uncooked 🙂
Bethany says
Does brown rice work?
Lauren Allen says
Hi Bethany, that should work fine!
mike says
This recipe made a fair approximation of the horchata I get at my favorite local Mexican restaurant. I didn’t realize it was so easy. I definitely recommend using Mexican vanilla if you can get it. Also, in response to Eric, almonds are a great addition.
Joann says
I have made this twice now because the first time was such a hit. Thank you for a delicious and easy recipe. I used cinnamon chunks instead of the sticks because it was what I had on h and and it worked very well.
Sandy says
Trying this recipe easy enough I love the less sugar part. Thank you
Suzanne says
How long will it keep in the fridge?
Lauren Allen says
It should keep well for 3-5 days. enjoy!
Karen M McKown-Arano says
I love horchata but making my own never seems to get me enough rice flavor. I have tried leaving it for days, starting with hot water, blending it a lot, nothing is doing it. Any ideas? When in Mexico I asked my friends how to do it and they all said buy Klass (powdered mix) but it is way too sweet for me. Help, I can’t afford to have to go out to eat all the time. Lol
Aoife says
Can I repost this on my blog?
I just visited Merida and the hostel owner made us some, I would like to share the recipe 😀
Aoife BROPHY says
Can I repost this recipe on my travel blog? I have just tried some in Merida today 😀
Gina says
Anyone try to substitute rice milk bought premade in the refrigerated section? Just curious
Donna says
I was wondering the same thing, my husband is allergic to dairy.
LauraRose says
Has anyone tried using all rice milk–just make more of it and leave out the cow/condensed milk? I have been looking for a recipe that is less sweet–so thanks! I look forward to trying this.
Pita Arreola says
Thank you so much for the recipe, it is very approximate to the Horchata we drink in Mexico. Cinco de mayo is not a real Mexican thing thou, we celebrate our independence day on September 15th.
Maggie Unzueta says
It looks delicious. I wish this were in front of me right now.
Brother Jake says
I made this recipe and also made it with store bought rice milk and store bought almond milk. It all is very similar in flavor. The store bought rice milk or almond milk eliminated the overnight wait and the need to carefully filter the rice particulates. I also experimented with using cinnamon oil instead of sticks and powders but the flavor of the cinnamon changes noticeably. The sticks and powder impart a Cinnabon flavor while the oil imparts a Red-Hot candy flavor. But if you like cinnamon, both are enjoyable. But use the oil very sparingly – only about 1/16th of a tsp. for the entire recipe.