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Drinks · Mexican

Horchata

Rice and cinnamon soaked, blended and strained into a cold, lightly sweet drink. No cooking.

Hands-on
15 min
Hands-off
3 h 30 min
Total
3 h 45 min
Makes
8 servings
Serves
8

15 min hands-on, 3 h soak, then about 30 min to chill (3 h 45 min in total). Soaking longer, up to overnight in the fridge, is fine.

  • easy
  • vegan
  • vegetarian
  • gluten-free
  • dairy-free
  • agua-fresca
  • summer
  • no-cook
  • alcohol-free

Verified against at least two trusted test kitchens or food-safety guides · Last checked · What this means

Illustration of Horchata
Amount
Units

Ingredients

You need: fine sieve (for rinsing and straining) · blender with a lid · large bowl or container with a lid (at least 2.5 litres / 2 1/2 quarts) · cheesecloth (optional, for a smoother drink) · large jug or pitcher

Contains: none of the 9 major allergens in the listed ingredients

Method

  1. Rinse the rice

    Put the 200 g (1 cup) rice in a sieve and rinse it under cold running water. Shake off the excess.

  2. Rough-grind with cinnamon

    Put the rice, the broken cinnamon stick and 950 ml (4 cups) cold water in the blender. Put the lid on and pulse a few times until the rice is coarsely ground.

    Otto tried this firstOtto blends dry rice with no water and gets a cloud of rice dust. The water goes in first.

  3. Soak in the fridge

    Pour it into a large bowl or container and add another 950 ml (4 cups) cold water. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or up to overnight.

  4. Blend smooth

    Blend the rice mixture in batches until very smooth. Fill the blender only part-way each time and hold the lid down.

  5. Strain

    Line a fine sieve with cheesecloth and set it over a jug. Pour each batch through, pressing on the pulp to get all the liquid out. Throw away the pulp.

    Otto tried this firstOtto skips straining and pours a glass of wet sand. Strain it, and through cheesecloth if you have it.

  6. Sweeten and chill

    Stir in the 100 g (1/2 cup) sugar until it dissolves, then taste and add more if you like. Chill in the fridge until cold.

  7. Stir and serve over ice

    Horchata settles as it stands, so stir it well. Pour into glasses filled with ice and garnish with a cinnamon stick and a light dusting of ground cinnamon.

Swaps

  • Instead of part of the water (creamier version): whole milk: a creamier version blends the soaked rice with milk and sugar (2 cups rice soaked in 3 cups hot water, then 4 cups whole milk and 1 cup sugar) This version contains milk and must be kept in the fridge.
  • Instead of vanilla flavour: 1 tbsp vanilla extract, blended in

Make ahead, store & reheat

Make ahead
Soak the rice overnight in the fridge and blend in the morning. Once strained, keep it in the fridge.
Storage
Keep it covered in the fridge and stir before pouring. No tested keeping time exists, so we don't give one. Make it close to when you'll drink it. Don't leave it out of the fridge for more than 2 hours, especially the milk version (the food-safety two-hour rule).

If something goes wrong

  • Gritty drink Why: It wasn't blended long enough, or the strainer was too coarse.
    Blend until completely smooth and strain through cheesecloth or a fine sieve, pressing the pulp.
  • Cinnamon stick won't break up Why: It's cassia, the hard, thick-barked kind.
    True (Ceylon) cinnamon crumbles into the drink. If you use cassia, it stays in hard pieces: the strainer catches them, and you throw them away with the pulp.

Good to know

  • Mexican canela (Ceylon cinnamon) is soft and papery and blends straight into the drink.
  • It separates as it stands. A quick stir brings it back.

Safety

  • Blender blades are sharp. Keep the lid on while blending and unplug it before reaching in. Kids can help pour and stir.
  • The soak happens in the fridge here. Some recipes soak at room temperature for a few hours; we use the cold option.
  • Keep the finished drink cold and don't leave it out for more than 2 hours (1 hour above 32°C / 90°F).
  • The water version has no milk. The creamy version made with milk contains milk.