Strawberry horchata fresca

This strawberry horchata recipe is creamy, lightly sweet and also dairy-free! A fun and healthy way to make one of the most pupular Mexican drinks.

Most of recipes for horchata agua fresca includes condensed or evaporated milk but we decided to make a vegan version of horchata fresca by adding almond milk instead.

Of course, you can always make it the old fashioned way but if you have dairy intolerances or just want a more healthy version of this agua fresca, try our recipe, I promise you won’t be disappointed!

A Mexican traditional drink

Horchata in Mexico is a tradition from our spaniard heritage, you will find in the streets of almost every city some big glass containers with many kind of aguas frescas and horchata is for sure always among those.

Strawberry Horchata was one of my favorite drinks in Mexico and still is, so I try to make it often here in Italy, my husband loves it and in summer is very common that we keep a jug with agua de horchata in the fridge to drink throughout the day.

The ingredients

• You can use any kind of milk you want, for example coconut milk add a very delicious and tropical hint. Or oat milk for a creamy consistence. And, if you’d like to add other types of milk, we also have an easy recipe for homemade condensed milk here in the blog.
• We used vanilla extract in this recipe but you can also use other flavours like anise, almond or orange extracts. Just be easy on them, you don’t want to cover the wonderful strawberry flavour.
• We used stevia on this recipe and since not everyone likes to add sugar to their beverages, this recipe is pretty easy to adjust to anybody’s preferences. Of course you can use sugar, stevia, monkfruit, honey, etc. As long as you like it, everything is fine.

How To Make It

Rinse once or twice the rice under cool water. Place it in a large bowl and add the cinnamon stick. Add water until covered for about 2inch (5cm) and let it soak for at least 4 hours or better yet, overnight.

Add the soaked rice and cinnamon along with the soaking water to a blender. Blend it on high until it is completely smooth (about 3-4 minutes).

Using a five sieve or a cheese cloth, strain the liquid into a large pitcher and discard the leftover pulp from rice and cinnamon.

Wash thoroughly the strawberries, add 2/3 to the blender with the remaining water and blend until smooth. Strain into the pitcher with the rice water discarding any leftovers.

Add the almond milk, vanilla extract and sugar/stevia to the pitcher and stir well until combined.

Chop the rest of the strawberries and add to the horchata, adjusting also the other ingredients to your liking (sugar, extracts).

Place the pitcher in the refrigerator and let it cool for 1-2 hours. Or you can also prepare some glasses with crushed ice and serve the strawberry horchata immediately.

Notes

• Don’t add ice to the pitcher with the horchata because it will dilute and become less flavoured, instead, add the ice to glasses and serve as you go.
• If strawberries are not in season, you can also use frozen strawberries to make this fresca! Just let them defrost before blending and proceed as suggested in the recipe.

More mexican frescas to try

• Cucumber lime agua fresca
• Watermelon easy-to-make fresca
• Pineapple mexican agua fresca
• Agua fresca de limón (lemon & chia)

Strawberry horchata agua fresca

8 servings

This strawberry horchata recipe is creamy, lightly sweet and also dairy-free! A fun and healthy way to make one of the most pupular Mexican drinks.

4.67 from 3 votes

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Prep: 15 mins

Total: 15 mins

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup (200g) uncooked white rice
• 6 cups (1.5 L) water
• 10 oz (300g) strawberries
• ⅔ cup (160ml) almond milk or coconut, soy, oats milk
• 1 small cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• stevia or any sweetener you prefer
• crushed ice to serve

Instructions

 

• Rinse the rice under cool water. Place it in a large bowl and add the cinnamon stick. Add water until covered for about 2inch (5cm) and let it soak for at least 4 hours or better yet, overnight.
• Add the soaked rice and cinnamon along with the soaking water to a blender. Blend it on high until it is completely smooth (about 3-4 minutes).
• Strain the liquid into a large pitcher and discard the leftover pulp.
• Wash thoroughly the strawberries, add ⅔ to the blender with half a cup of water and blend until smooth. Strain into the pitcher with the rice water discarding any leftovers.
• Add the almond milk, vanilla extract and stevia to taste. Stir well until combined.
• Chop the rest of the strawberries and add to the horchata, adjusting also the other ingredients to your liking (sugar, extracts).
• Place the pitcher in the refrigerator and let it cool for 1-2 hours. Or you can also serve with crushed ice on tall glasses immediately.

Course Bebidas

Cuisine mexican

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