Vegan Horchata

A sweet creamy drink made from rice is delicious, comforting, and so simple to make. Vegan Horchata will be your new favorite plant-based specialty drink!

VEGAN HORCHATA RECIPE

If you aren't familiar with Horchata, you are in for a real treat! Horchata is a cold beverage made from rice and milk, flavored with cinnamon and sweeteners to be enjoyed as a dessert or a sweet treat.

This recipe comes to us originally from Spain, and has traveled to to Mexico, Latin America, and is even enjoyed in parts of Africa. The recipe has evolved over the years and is made differently in different places. The name horchata is given to any type of plant-based beverage, and can be made from nuts, grains, seeds, or fruit.

The vegan horchata recipe I'm teaching you today is based on a Mexican version, sometimes called Horchata de arroz, or horchata from rice. The base of this sweet drink is white rice, which we'll soak and blend to make a frothy, creamy, rice milk mixed with maple syrup for sweetness and cinnamon for a warm, flavorful kick.

If you love sweet, cold drinks, you should try making my easy Iced Chai Tea Latte too!

IS HORCHATA VEGAN?

Not usually! Horchata is vegetarian though, and It is easy to make a few simple swaps and create this vegan horchata recipe that is just as sweet and creamy as the original.

Horchata can be enjoyed hot or cold, but today I'm showing you how to make a cold horchata drink that's made with natural ingredients and is an excellent breakfast drink or an afternoon pick-me-up.

INGREDIENTS FOR VEGAN HORCHATA

White Rice - Uncooked white rice is the main ingredient in our Vegan Horchata. I suggest rinsing your rice before starting to wash away any impurities.

Water - Rice is soaked in water so that all the starchy goodness can come out of it to create this creamy and delicious beverage.

Ground Cinnamon - The traditional flavoring for rice horchata is cinnamon, and it's so tasty!

Almond Milk - White not entirely necessary, I find that adding almond milk to the rice milk makes a thicker, more appealing drink. You can use any plant-based milk that you like. Oat milk or Cashew milk are great options too.

Maple Syrup - Maple syrup is my vegan sweetener of choice for beverages. See below for some other options I suggest.

Vanilla Extract - a small amount of vanilla makes vegan horchata comforting and delicious.

If you have any questions about making Vegan Horchata, please leave a comment below and I will get back to you ASAP!

HOW TO MAKE VEGAN HORCHATA

Making homemade horchata is really easy, and doesn't even require any cooking. Leave yourself a day to make this, as it does require an overnight soaking in the fridge.

1. Add the uncooked white rice, ground cinnamon, and water to a blender and mix until smooth. This should take at least three minutes in the blender.
2. Allow the blended mixture to sit overnight in the refrigerator, or for at least 8 hours. I typically leave it in the blender pitcher, but you can also transfer it to another container with a lid.
3. The next day, strain the liquid into a bowl using a nut milk bag or a fine mesh strainer. You can discard the solids.
4. Add the maple syrup, almond milk, and vanilla extract.
5. Mix well to combine.
6. Serve your finished Horchata cold, over ice. Garnish with a whole cinnamon stick or a dash of cinnamon.

These numbered steps match the numbered photos above and are for illustration purposes.

VARIATIONS FOR VEGAN HORCHATA

Vegan Horchata, also called Agua de Horchata can be made in a variety of ways. The sweetener you use and the amount that you add is the main way to adjust the flavor of your vegan horchata.

Sweetener options:

I like to use a liquid sweetener because it's then very easy to get it to blend in with the rice milk without adding any heat. Vegan liquid sweetener options include maple syrup, agave nectar, golden syrup, brown rice syrup, and stevia if you're looking for a sugar free option.

You can use granulated sweeteners as well, but you should add them in with the rice while it soaks so that they can dissolve slowly. Try regular white sugar, cane sugar, coconut sugar, or date sugar.

Add any amount of sweetener to your horchata that you enjoy. The amount in the recipe is a suggestion and makes a lightly sweetened drink.

VEGAN HORCHATA FLAVORS

The flavor of horchata with cinnamon is pretty darn perfect, but we can take perfection a step further to make one of these tasty alternatives:

• Strawberry Horchata: For a fruity drink, after you've strained the rice from the horchata, add it back to a blender with a handful of ripe strawberries, then strain again before adding the almond milk and sweetener. This method can be used with other fruits too. Try bananas, peaches, or pineapple.
• Coconut Horchata: Instead of adding almond milk, add canned coconut milk to create a tropical version of this cool drink.
• Coffee Horchata: Swap out the almond milk for the same amount of cold brew coffee to make a buzzy caffeinated drink.
• Almond and Rice Horchata: Swap out some of the rice with the same weight of raw almonds. You'll soak both together in water overnight and strain in the morning. This drink will have extra nutrients and a nutty flavor.

WHAT TO SERVE WITH VEGAN HORCHATA

Horchata is the perfect accompaniment to any Mexican style feast!

Try an icy horchata with Mexican Tater Tot Casserole or Air Fryer Mexican Corn on the Cob.

WHAT TOOLS DO I NEED TO MAKE HORCHATA?

Blender: To properly and easily make horchata, you'll need a blender to grind the rice with water. Any blender should be able to handle this, but you may get smoother results using a high powered blender such as a Vitamix or a Blendtec. If your have a small blender, like a Nutribullet, you may need to blend the rice in two batches.

Strainer: We'll strain the solids out of the rice water mixture to get a smooth creamy drink. You can do this with a nut milk strainer bag which is designed specifically for tasks like this, or you can use a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth.

CAN I MAKE THIS WITH BROWN RICE?

I haven't tried making vegan horchata with brown rice. I think that you could try, but the flavor will not be quite as light. You may not be able to blend the brown rice as well as the white rice since it's firmer. If you have trouble, soak the rice first, then blend after it sits overnight.

CAN I MAKE HORCHATA WITH SHORT OR MEDIUM RICE?

Long grain white rice is preferred when making horchata. Shorter grain rice has a higher starch content, which will effect the texture of your drink, so it should be avoided.

WHAT ABOUT JASMINE RICE OR BASMATI RICE?

Long grain versions of either of these types of rice can be used to make horchata. Jasmine and Basmati both have lovely flavors, which will transfer to your drink.

DO YOU RINSE RICE BEFORE MAKING HORCHATA?

I do recommend rinsing rice before cooking with it and suggest that you rise your rice thoroughly before using it to make horchata.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MEXICAN HORCHATA AND SPANISH HORCHATA?

This recipe is for Mexican horchata, which is a plant-based beverage made from rice, while a traditional Spanish horchata is made with tiger nuts. Tiger nuts aren't very common in the United States, although they are available and sold mostly as a health food. They're expensive, so I don't think I'll be making a tiger nut horchata version soon. Making horchata with rice is much more budget-friendly!

DOES HORCHATA HAVE ALCOHOL IN IT?

You can make a cocktail of sorts using horchata if you want to. The creaminess and cinnamon flavor of horchata mixes well with dark rum. If you've had RumChata liqueur, it's based on a rum and horchata cocktail mixture. Otherwise, on its own, horchata is a non-alcoholic beverage.

Another alcoholic horchata drink, popular throughout Latin America, is called a "dirty horchata" This drink features horchata topped off with cinnamon, coffee, and a splash of either dark rum or Kahlua.

CAN I ENJOY HORCHATA HOT?

You can! Heat your horchata on the stovetop or in the microwave until it's warm enough to drink. A hot horchata is delicious on a snowy day after sledding or while curled up on the couch.

MORE HEALTHY VEGAN DRINKS

I love making my own healthy drinks at home to save money and keep them fresh! Try one of these recipes next.

Strawberry Almond Milk is a sweet treat that kids and adults alike go nuts for. It reminds me of the strawberry milk we had as kids, but it's much better for you.

Iced Matcha Lattes are expensive at Starbucks but not quite so bad if you make them at home.

Turmeric Shots are an immune boosting beverage and really easy to whip up.

You might also like to enjoy a soothing lemon ginger tea.