Home → Recipes → Vegan Horchata

Drinks

Vegan Horchata

Cinnamon-laced rice milk over ice, the way it's poured across Mexico. There was never any dairy in it to begin with.

Prep15 min (+ 4 h soak) Cook— MakesServes 4

DrinksHeritageNaturally vegan

The story

Horchata's family tree runs from North African tiger-nut milk through Valencia to the rice horchata of Mexico — a thousand-year-old reminder that plant milk is a tradition, not a trend.

Vegan Horchata Made with plants

Method

  1. Soak

    Cover the rice and cinnamon sticks with the water and leave to soak for at least 4 hours, or overnight in the fridge. This softens the rice and infuses the cinnamon.

  2. Blend

    Tip the whole lot — soaking water included — into a blender with the vanilla, maple syrup and salt. Blend on high for a full minute.

  3. Strain

    Strain through a nut-milk bag or fine sieve into a jug, pressing gently. Strain twice for extra-silky horchata.

  4. Serve cold

    Pour over plenty of ice and dust with ground cinnamon. Stir before serving — the good stuff settles.

Little tips ♡

  • Short-grain rice gives the creamiest result.
  • Swap maple for agave or blend in 2 soaked dates.
  • Add a shot of cold espresso for a horchata iced latte.

Made it? Share it → #WorldPlantMilkDay

More recipes   Join the 7-Day Challenge