Horchata Recipe

The combination of blended and strained rice, almonds, and milk is at once rich and refreshing.

By
J. Kenji López-Alt
Kenji Lopez Alt
J. Kenji López-Alt
Culinary Consultant
Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.
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Updated October 24, 2018
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Horchata is a creamy almond-based drink. The soothing, sweet beverage is a perfect foil to any chili pepper laden dish. The drink owes its creamy consistency to the combination of almonds, rice, water, and milk. Horchata is prepared by blanching and soaking almonds, pulverizing rice, and combining the ingredients in a blender and straining the mixture with cheesecloth.

Recipe Details

Horchata Recipe

Active 3 mins
Total 12 hrs
Serves 6 servings
Makes 1 1/2 quarts
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup uncooked long-grain rice

  • 1 cup blanched almonds

  • 2/3 cup white sugar, plus more to taste

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1 quart water

  • 2 cups milk

Directions

  1. Combine rice and almonds in blender. Blend on high speed, stopping to shake jar as necessary until roughly powdered, about 30 seconds. Add remaining ingredients to blender and blend on high speed for a further 1 minute. Refrigerate and let steep overnight. The next day, strain through a fine mesh strainer. Add more sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla to taste. Serve chilled over ice.

Special equipment

Blender

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
303Calories
14gFat
39gCarbs
8gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories303
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 14g18%
Saturated Fat 2g10%
Cholesterol 7mg2%
Sodium 160mg7%
Total Carbohydrate 39g14%
Dietary Fiber 3g10%
Total Sugars 28g
Protein 8g
Vitamin C 0mg1%
Calcium 171mg13%
Iron 1mg7%
Potassium 291mg6%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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