Side view of two glasses filled with Horchata with cinnamon sticks in view.

Dairy-free Horchata

Relax and cool down with the dairy-free version of this popular Latin American drink using U.S.-grown rice!

  • Servings
    6
  • Serving Size
    1 glass

Ingredients

  • 1⅓ cups long grain white rice, uncooked
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 4 cups water, divided
  • 1½ cups almond milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon, ground
  • ½ cup sugar, granulated

Directions

  • To a blender, add rice, 2 cups water, and cinnamon sticks.
  • Blend for 2 minutes or until the rice and cinnamon sticks are roughly ground.
  • Add the remaining water and blend again.
  • Let ingredients soak together at room temperature, overnight.
  • Pour the rice mixture through a fine mesh strainer, into a pitcher. Discard the rice.
  • Stir in the milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and sugar (to your preference). Chill until ready to serve. Stir well before serving and serve over ice.

Recipe Notes

Break the cinnamon sticks in large pieces before you place in the bowl to soak. This will give more flavor from the inside of the cinnamon.

If you don’t have cinnamon sticks, you can soak the rice with 1 tablespoon of cinnamon powder.