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Home » Recipes » Cocktails

Vegan Horchata Recipe

Carine By Carine Claudepierre
Published on 12/07/2021 - Last updated on 05/01/2023

5 from 173 votes
Jump to Recipe Pin Facebook Save Saved!
💬 8 Comments

This recipe may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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This refreshing Vegan Horchata recipe is a creamy, slightly sweet rice almond milk drink with a hint of cinnamon and vanilla.

It’s a lovely white alcohol-free cocktail for Christmas or to refresh in summer.

Vegan Horchata Recipe Dairy Free with Almond Milk Refined Sugar free healthy paleo The conscious plant kitchen plant based

As you know, we celebrate Christmas on the other side of the globe.

Christmas in summer means we are all into refreshing cocktails, and this dairy-free Horchata recipe is perfect for this occasion.

Plus, even the kids can have some, so it’s a great family cocktail for the holiday season.

Table of contents
  1. What’s Horchata
  2. Is Horchata Vegan?
  3. How To Make Vegan Horchata
  4. Frequently Asked Questions
  5. More Vegan Drink Recipes
  6. Vegan Horchata

What’s Horchata

Horchata, also known as Orxata, is a drink made of nuts or rice.

Most authentic Horchata recipes are made of homemade rice milk, combined with regular cow milk or evaporated milk, sugar, and spices.

It’s a sweet beverage that originated in North Africa in the 11th Century and spread through the Spanish Empire to South America, where it’s now very popular.

It’s a non-alcoholic refreshing drink, a creamy ‘Agua Fresca’ translating to refreshing water.

The drink is flavored with a hint of cinnamon and vanilla.

Is Horchata Vegan?

Not always, most Horchata recipes are made from rice milk and regular cow milk to add a creamy texture to the drink, so they are not vegan.

Vegan Horchata Recipe Dairy Free with Almond Milk Refined Sugar free healthy paleo The conscious plant kitchen plant based

How To Make Vegan Horchata

A Vegan Horchata is a dairy-free non-alcoholic drink with a lovely white color, creamy texture, and delicious vanilla cinnamon flavor.

It’s not only a great drink for summer but also a lovely refreshing alcohol-free Christmas cocktail.

Ingredients

You are probably wondering what horchata is made of. Well, it’s pretty simple. This Vegan Horchata recipe is made of a simple few ingredients:

  • Long Grain White Rice
  • Cold Water
  • Unsweetened Almond Milk – we used activated almond milk. It contains more almonds, and it’s thicker, making the drink creamier. Other options are coconut milk, soy milk, or oat milk but these three plant-based milk also add a strong flavor to the Horchata recipe, which masks the traditional rice flavor. The last option is to use rice milk, and you will turn your drink into a rice pudding flavor!
  • Vanilla Extract
  • Unrefined Cane Sugar – or any granulated sugar you love, we like using unrefined cane sugar for a healthier twist.
  • Ground Cinnamon
  • Cinnamon Sticks to serve.

The Day Before

It takes some time and patience to make a delicious creamy Horchata cocktail. The day before, place the long-grain white rice in a blender with water.

Blend on the high-speed setting until the water is cloudy white and thick, and the rice is pulsed into fine ground.

If your blender is not powerful enough for this process, pre-soak the rice in lukewarm water for an hour to soften.

Store the mixture in an airtight container in the fridge and soak overnight.

How to make Vegan Horchata

Assembling The Drink

Filter the rice milk over a sieve, fine mesh strainer, or nut milk bag.

Discard the rice strain and keep the rice milk.

Stir the rice water with the remaining ingredients.  I personally like to blend the ingredients again to pulse the sugar nicely into the milk and avoid the sugar gravitating to the bottom of the drink.

Store the drink in the fridge in a jug over ice to keep it fresh before serving.

Start with a minimal amount of sugar and adjust to taste.

Serving

Serve over ice in a tall glass with a cinnamon stick in the glass to enhance the cinnamon flavor.

Enjoy your horchata with your Vegan Cornbread or Vegan Birria Tacos.

Vegan Horchata Recipe Dairy Free with Almond Milk Refined Sugar free healthy paleo The conscious plant kitchen plant based

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Make A Fast Horchata Without a Blender?

Yes, you can! By using ready-made rice milk from the store and 3 cups of rice milk, you can make a quick and easy horchata recipe.

Can I Add Alcohol To An Horchata?

Absolutely, make this recipe boozy by adding 1/4 cup of white or blue tequila for delicious cocktails.

Is Horchata Healthy?

Horchata is a sweet milk drink with a good amount of added sugar from lactose and sugar.
However, this plant-based horchata recipe is much healthier than the classic horchata recipe because it contains less saturated fat by using plant-based milk and less sugar added using unrefined sugar as a sweetener.

How To Make Vegan Horchata Creamier?

You can make it super-creamy by using fresh plant-based milk like fresh almond milk instead of UHT almond milk which is often watery.
You can also use coconut milk, oat milk, or soy milk. They contain more fat and make drinks thicker and creamier.

What Dinner Can I Pair It With?

Like any other milky drink, the Vegan Horchata is perfect to soften the effect of a spicy dish.
So you can use it as the drink for Vegan Birria Tacos, it’s a divine combination!

More Vegan Drink Recipes

Below I listed some more vegan cocktail recipes and vegan smoothie recipes to refresh and share any time of the year.

  • Vegan Coquito Recipe
  • Healthy Pumpkin Spice Latte
  • Skinny Spicy Margarita recipe
  • Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte
  • Strawberry Banana Smoothie Bowl
  • WeetBix Smoothie
  • Avocado Matcha Smoothie
  • Vegan Mango Lassi
  • Chocolate Avocado Smoothie
  • Vegan Mango Smoothie
  • Spirulina Smoothie
  • Tropical Smoothie

Have you made this Mexican Horchata recipe? Share a comment or review below, and let me know how much you love it.

Your friend, Carine

Did You Like This Recipe?

Leave a comment below or head to our Facebook page for tips, our Instagram page for inspiration, our Pinterest for saving recipes, and Flipboard to get all the new ones!

Vegan Horchata Recipe Dairy Free with Almond Milk Refined Sugar free healthy paleo The conscious plant kitchen plant based

Vegan Horchata

A refreshing Vegan Horchata recipe is a creamy, slightly sweet rice milk drink with a hint of cinnamon and vanilla. It's a lovely white alcohol-free cocktail for Christmas or to refresh in summer.
Pin Print Review Save Saved!
Prep Time: 5 minutes mins
Resting Time: 8 hours hrs
Total Time: 8 hours hrs 5 minutes mins
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Mexican
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 126.2 kcal
Author: Carine Claudepierre
5 from 173 votes

Ingredients

US Customary – Metric
  • 1 ¼ cup Uncooked Long-grain White Rice
  • 3 cups Water
  • 2 cups Unsweetened Fresh Almond Milk - avoid UHT plant-based milk that are more watery
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • ⅓ – ⅔ cup Unrefined Cane Sugar
  • 2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon

Instructions

  • In a blender, add uncooked rice and water. Blend on the high-speed setting until it breaks up roughly and the water is white and cloudy. Set aside in the fridge overnight in a sealed container.
  • The next day, stir the rice mixture, pour the rice mixture into a fine-mesh strainer over a mixing bowl. Discard the rice in the mesh.
  • In the mixing bowl, stir in almond milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and sugar. You can blend again for a few seconds to combine the sugar into the milk. Adjust the sugar to taste. I used 1/3 cup for a low-sugar drink. Add up to 2/3 cup of sugar.
  • Transfer to a pitcher and store in the fridge until time to serve.
  • Give a good stir in the pitcher before serving and serve over ice cubes with a stick of cinnamon.

Storage

  • Store up to 5 days in a sealed jug in the fridge.

Equipment

Vitamix Blender
Vitamix Ascent A2500 Blender
Sieves
Sieve
Measuring Cups
Measuring Cups and Spoons
Mixing Bowls
Mixing Bowl
Glass Pitcher
Pitcher
Share on Facebook Pin Recipe

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving (3/4 cup) | Calories: 126.2kcal | Carbohydrates: 34.3g | Protein: 0.4g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Sodium: 114.4mg | Potassium: 14.9mg | Fiber: 0.6g | Sugar: 33.5g | Vitamin A: 2IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 110.3mg | Iron: 0.1mg | Magnesium: 1.7mg | Phosphorus: 0.5mg | Zinc: 0.1mg
Carine Claudepierre & Damien Maurer

About The Author

Carine
Hi, I'm Carine, the food blogger, author, recipe developer, photographer, and published author of a cookbook and founder of The Conscious Plant Kitchen with my husband Damien. Learn more about us.

Found In:

Category:

CocktailsRecipesSmoothies & Drinks

Ingredients:

CinnamonPlant-Based MilkRiceSugarVanilla

Cooking Method:

No-Bake

Diet:

Dairy-FreeEgg-FreeGluten-FreeVeganVegetarian

Meal Types:

Drink

Season:

Vegan Christmas Recipes

Level:

Easy

Preparation:

5 Ingredients

Inspiration

Mexican

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    8 comments
  1. joji says:
    May 13, 2023 at 9:34 am

    5 stars
    Ive look at several vegan horchata recipes. They are all similar to this one.
    This s great! I did change the almond mile to adding almonds to the blender and soaked them with the rice and adjusted the water to suit. I didn’t make sense to my to add milk to my milk and i’m trying to avoid store bought milks. I am happy with the result. Love your site!

    Reply
  2. Bridgette says:
    September 18, 2022 at 8:32 pm

    5 stars
    I’ve made this twice in two days it’s that good. Even my Mexican non vegan boyfriend approves lol

    Reply
    • Carine says:
      September 19, 2022 at 1:57 pm

      Thanks!

      Reply
  3. Jordan says:
    August 25, 2022 at 10:16 am

    5 stars
    Absolutely delicious! This is a perfect recipe but i did make a couple of changes that were a good addition. I used condensed coconut milk instead of the added sugar, which made it a lil thicker. Yet, the original recipe is still the best and simplest.

    Reply
  4. Cassandra says:
    May 29, 2022 at 2:13 pm

    Can you use stevia instead of sugar?

    Reply
    • Carine says:
      May 31, 2022 at 4:08 pm

      Probably I am not sure how it will goes and how much you need as I didn’t try this option yet.

      Reply
  5. Marky Mamder says:
    December 21, 2021 at 6:12 pm

    Sorry but I never saw a line stating how many 3/4 cup servings it makes?!
    Could you include that, please!?
    Thanks and Merry Christmas!
    Marky Mamder
    PipeCreek, Texas

    Reply
    • Carine says:
      December 21, 2021 at 6:45 pm

      The recipe serve 6 glasses of 3/4 cup each. Serving size appears before the recipe ingredient. Enjoy ! Merry Christmas to you too. Carine

      Reply

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Hi, We are Carine & Damien

Carine Claudepierre Damien Maurer

Welcome to the Conscious Plant Kitchen, we are happy to meet you here! I am Carine Claudepierre, a foodie, certified nutritionist, wife of Damien Maurer, a vegan runner, and here I share with you my easy plant-based recipes! Who Are Carine & Damien?

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Vegan Horchata
Vegan Horchata