Vegan Horchata

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Nondairy Horchata

Vegan horchata is a Mexican rice drink(horchata de arroz) that is refreshing, creamy, light, smooth and sweet.  The cinnamon spice is the perfect complement to this sweet, milky drink. In this homemade horchata recipe, the dairy that is often used in modern recipes, is traded out for a couple plant-based alternatives.  I know you will love this drink and find it a perfect complement to any meal whether it be breakfast, lunch or dinner.  Read all about vegan horchata below.

Traditional horchata is made with just rice, water, sugar and cinnamon. Today it is common to find dairy products such as evaporated milk, condensed milk or regular dairy milk or cream added to it to enhance the creamy and thick texture.  Nondairy horchata is equally as delicious, there is no sacrifice in flavor or consistency.

I first had horchata while I was working at a Mexican bar.  Typically, we served this drink as a fun non-alcoholic beverage but once in a while we would turn it into a horchata cocktail by adding a shot of tequila per request.  If you’re looking for a fun Mexican cocktail drink, give this one a shot.  I had never heard of horchata before working at this particular place, but I instantly fell in love with it and loved the concept of this unique and special drink.  In its homeland, authentic horchata isn’t a unique specialty drink the way it felt to me, it is common place and regularly enjoyed with almost any type of meal.  

Since I discovered horchata for the first time, it has become a lot more popular.  Having been picked up from some huge mainstream stores – starbucks to name a name – the increase in it’s trendiness and pre-made products has skyrocketed.  I have seen pre-made horchata drink mix and even protein powders. In restaurants, I am now seeing frozen horchata, hot horchata, horchata ice cream and even horchata frappuccino.  This has inspired me to make dairy free horchata ice cream, so you may see that posted here on the blog soon!  Other increasingly popular variations I have seen a lot of recently is coconut horchata, almond milk horchata and rice milk horchata, 

After trying numerous iterations of homemade horchata, I have come to this recipe and believe it to be the best horchata recipe which just so happens to omit dairy.  This is a great recipe to make into a vegan horchata mix and can be stored in the fridge in a glass mason jar for up to a week. Then you can remove during meal times, shake well and enjoy with the family all week.

Enjoy this easy horchata recipe!

Horchata Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups of uncooked long grain white rice
• 2 whole cinnamon sticks
• 3 cups water
• 3 cups nut milk
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• Optional for extra cinnamon flavor: a few drop of Frontiers cinnamon flavoring

Instructions for horchata from scratch:

Wash and rinse the rice, then place in the blender with the water and cinnamon sticks, blend until small chunks remain, refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Strain the liquid and add the nut milk, maple syrup and optional extra cinnamon flavor. Serve chilled, enjoy!

Notes:

-This drink should be silky smooth and free from grit. Double straining or using a cheese clothing inside a regular metal mesh strainer should do the trick.

If you don’t want to make your own nut milk: I like to use Nod Pod creamer original and add water 1:1 ratio.

-This recipe is a great alternative for anyone intolerant to dairy, being that it is a lactose free horchata.

-This horchata drink recipe is one that can easily be made to be dairy-free with absolutely no sacrifice in flavor, texture and consistency.

-If you’re looking for a purely authentic horchata recipe (horchata de arroz receta), you may use this recipe but omit the sweetened condensed coconut milk and plant-based creamer.  Add in Pilocillo (Mexican sugar) or regular organic cane sugar. 

-To upgrade the horchata aesthetic, you can garnish with ground cinnamon sprinkled on top or place a cinnamon stick coming up and out of the glass – both look cute. 

Alternative and additions for agua de horchata:

There are so many different variations of horchata based on region, culture, tradition and modernization.  Traditional horchata was made with just rice, water, sugar and cinnamon.  Today many people add dairy milk in the form of evaporated milk, condensed milk or regular milk or cream.  Vegan alternatives to this more modern approach are different nuts and or nut milks/creams or sweetened condensed coconut milk.  Other flavors can be added to make vanilla horchata, maple horchata or chocolate horchata.  

Horchata origin:

Horchata is a Mexican rice drink that has been made and enjoyed for 1000’s of years.

Although the drink can vary from region to region, it is thought that the first drink of this nature was a common drink in Africa called kunnu aya. Horchata de chufa a similar drink except made with tiger nuts and was popularized in Spain after Mexican horchata. Puerto Rico has a similar popular drink called horchata de ajonjoli and is made with sesame seeds, rum and coconut milk.  There was an ancient Egyptian version made from soaked barley called hordeata.  So as you can see there are many ideas of this drink. 

I have seen some recipes with fruit blended into the final product.  Some include tropical fruits to make mango horchata or banana horchata.   This is an idea I want to play around with to see what fun combinations I can come up with – stay tuned for the near future tropical horchatas!

I highly recommend trying out this horchata vegan recipe. If you do try this recipe please rate it or comment below and if you made any alterations and want to let me in on your Mexican rice milk ideas, I would love to hear about it!  If you would like to share or pin on Pinterest I am always thankful.  Check out my food journey on Pinterest at: Molé in the Wall. 

Thanks for checking out this special Mexican vegan horchata recipe.

If you like this recipe, check out my latest post Maine Maple Donuts!

Tags: Horchata recipe vegan, Dairy free horchata recipe Mexican, Easy horchata recipe dairy free, Nondairy horchata