Strawberry Horchata | The Recipe Critic

Elevate the flavors of traditional horchata with this strawberry horchata recipe! It’s a creamy drink soaked in rice water and cinnamon sticks, then sweetened with a strawberry puree. Everyone loves the strawberry version of this rich, milky Mexican drink!

Any time the weather gets warmer, I love to break out all of the refreshing drink recipes! Some of my favorites are Brazilian lemonade, a mango lassi, or a mint julep! 

What is Strawberry Horchata?

Horchata is a popular Mexican drink known as a sweetened rice milk and this strawberry horchata version is even better! It starts with a blended combination of rice, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon sticks then mixes with a sweet strawberry puree. Then comes the addition of sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk. It adds the perfect sweetness and creaminess to the drink! I love balancing out the creamy cinnamon sweetness by adding a fresh strawberry puree makes this horchata irresistible.

It’s super creamy, refreshing, and filled with sweet strawberry flavor. The fresh strawberry flavor adds the perfect touch. In fact, strawberries are the perfect touch in a lot of my favorite recipes. Try this tasty salad, this easy cake, or the best strawberry banana bread!

Ingredients You’ll Need

This homemade strawberry horchata uses simple ingredients that you get at the grocery store. It is a true authentic Mexican treat and a perfect refreshing drink for a warm day.

• Cinnamon Sticks: Find these at your local grocery store in the spice section.
• Vanilla: This is the best flavor combination with vanilla.
• Rice: Long-grained white rice is best.
• Hot Water: It is best to use hot water. After soaking in the rice it becomes a creamy milk rice.
• Sugar: Add in more sugar to sweeten or less if it is too sweet.
• Strawberries: The star of this drink! Use fresh strawberries and save some to garnish when serving.
• Lemon Juice: The acidity balances out the sweetness and brightens the flavors in the strawberry puree.
• Sweetened Condensed Milk: The creamy sweetness this adds to the strawberry horchata is a must!
• Evaporated Milk: Adds richness and creaminess to the horchata.
• Ice: Horchata is served with ice so that it is nice and cold!

How to Make Strawberry Horchata

Homemade strawberry horchata is time-consuming but only because of the time it needs to soak. The rest of the recipe is very easy and I walk you through all the steps! Plan ahead of time to make this refreshing beverage. It’s worth it!

1. Soak: Break the cinnamon sticks into pieces and the cinnamon, vanilla, rice, and hot water to a container or bowl and stir until combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours to soak the rice.
2. Blend the Strawberry Mixture: Prepare a strawberry sauce by adding the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a container, cover, then refrigerate until you are ready to finish preparing the horchata.
3. Blend and Strain the Rice Mixture: After the rice mixture has soaked for at least 6 hours, add it to a blender and blend for 2-3 minutes on high speed. Strain through a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth or a coffee filter into a large pitcher, but discard all of the solids.
4. Add in the Both Kinds of Milk and Strawberry Puree: Add in the sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk. Stir in the strawberry puree.
5. Serve: Taste and adjust to your preferences by adding cold water, a little more sugar, or milk. When it tastes the way you like, fill the rest of the pitcher with ice and fresh strawberries. Serve immediately.