Homemade Horchata

I fell in love with horchata every since my honeymoon in Mexico. Mexican cuisine has some of the best drinks- horchata, hibiscus, chaya, and all of their delicious fruit drinks too! 

Homemade Horchata

The other day, I was out at a Mexican restaurant with my husband and he ordered horchata. I had a sip and thought to myself, "I wonder if I can make my own horchata at home..." 👀

Little did I know it was a 2 day process! But it's TOTALLY worth it! I looked up recipes online and put together my own based on what I found. A standard horchata recipe always starts with rice, water, cinnamon, and milk, and the additional flavorings/sweetness are personal and to your liking. The following is what worked for me and what my husband and I loved! 

Homemade Horchata

Clearly my cat wanted to give it a try!

Let me know if you give it a try!

HOMEMADE HORCHATA
Yields: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup of uncooked rice
- 4 cups of water
- 3 small cinnamon sticks
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1 cup of milk (I used sweetened vanilla almond milk)
- 1/3 cup of maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- ice

TO MAKE:
1. Take your rice and rinse it twice. Then, in a large bowl, add the rice, water, and cinnamon sticks.
2. Give everything a stir and place the bowl in the fridge overnight so that the mixture can steep and the rice can soak overnight.
3. The next day, remove the cinnamon sticks. Put the rice and water in a blender and blend for 2 minutes until everything is well blended. Add in the ground cinnamon and blend again.
4. Strain the mixture using a fine mesh sieve 3-5 times to remove the grounds of rice and so that you are only left with liquid. 
5. Add the mixture to a pitcher and add the milk, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Taste the horchata and adjust the flavor/sweetness to your liking.
6. Give everything a nice stir and pour over ice to serve. Enjoy!