Strawberry Horchata (horchata de fresa)
This strawberry horchata is creamy, slightly sweet, and so refreshing. Mexican horchata de fresa is also super easy to make and the perfect treat for sunny days!
What Is Strawberry Horchata?
Strawberry horchata is a Mexican drink made of rice, cinnamon, and strawberries. It has a smooth, creamy, and cinnamony taste with a refreshing fruity hint.
In Mexico, this refreshing beverage is known by the name horchata de fresa or agua de horchata con fresa. It is one of the most popular flavors of agua fresca.
It is one of my favorite Mexican drinks too and here are a few reasons why:
- Easy To Make. In order to make horchata with strawberries, all you need to do is soak rice and then blend everything, mix, and serve. Can’t get easier than that!
- Delicious. It is really delicious and creamy, think of strawberries and cream with a hit of hearty cinnamon.
- Refreshing. Served with ice or just chilled from the fridge, is the perfect drink for sunny days.
- Customizable. You can make it dairy-free, or sugar-free. You can use fresh strawberries or frozen strawberries, this recipe can be adapted to your taste preferences or diet.
About Strawberries
Strawberries are an excellent source of vitamin C and manganese, they are also rich in antioxidants which have benefits for heart health.
Those sweet and juicy berries have also a decent amount of potassium and vitamin B9, and besides being delicious, they are low-carb.
Strawberries are used in sweet and savory recipes, so we think you should know how to wash them properly to make this easy Mexican horchata or any other recipe you want.
Related: Why you should wash strawberries.
Ingredients For Horchata de Fresa
- RICE: For a Mexican authentic flavor, go with a long-grain type of rice. Mexican rice should be your first choice but other substitutions work fine too, such as Jasmine or Basmati rice.
- STRAWBERRIES: You can use fresh strawberries or frozen when they are not in season. Save some for garnishing too.
- EVAPORATED MILK: You will need a can of evaporated milk for creaminess. We also have a recipe for evaporated milk if you want to make it yourself.
- SWEETENER: You can use any type of sweetener you prefer, or even go sugar-free.
- AROMA: We used a stick of cinnamon and a teaspoon of vanilla extract in this recipe but you can also use other flavors like anise, almond, or orange extract. Just be easy on them, you don’t want to cover the wonderful strawberry taste.
So, let’s see the detailed recipe and make this delicious and authentic Mexican agua de horchata con fresas!
How To Make Strawberry Horchata
Rinse it once or twice the rice under cold water. Place it in a large bowl and add a whole cinnamon stick.
Add 4 cups of water and let it soak for at least 4 hours or better yet, overnight.
Add the soaked rice and cinnamon along with 2 cups of the soaking water to a blender.
Blend it on high speed until it is completely smooth (about 3-4 minutes).
Using a fine sieve or a cheesecloth, strain the mixture into a large pitcher and discard the leftover pulp from rice and cinnamon. Add the remaining soaking water.
Add 2/3 of the washed strawberries to the blender with 2 cups of water and blend until smooth.
Strain the mixture into the pitcher with the rice water discarding any leftovers.
Add the evaporated milk, vanilla extract, and sweetener 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 chill for 1-2 hours. Or you can also fill some glasses with ice cubes and serve this strawberry horchata immediately.
Useful Notes
- Don’t add ice to the pitcher with the pink horchata because it will dilute and become less flavored, 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. You don’t even need to thaw them, just blend them with the other ingredients.
- If you don’t have cinnamon sticks, you can use ground cinnamon (canela). 1/2 tablespoon should be enough for this strawberry horchata recipe.
- You can use any kind of milk you want, for example, coconut milk adds a very delicious and tropical hint. Or oat milk for a creamier consistency.
- As for sweeteners, other types work too. Think of stevia, monk fruit, or even honey. My mother used to make it with condensed milk, we also have an easy recipe for homemade condensed milk here on our blog, if you want to give it a try!
What to serve with this pink horchata
This Pink Strawberry Horchata is a fun drink and perfect to serve on its own as a treat on sunny days. But it also goes well with so many Mexican dishes, here are our favorites:
- Turkey Quesadillas.
- Tostaguac (avocado tostadas).
- Garnachitas.
- Picadas Veracruzanas.
How To Store
You can make this recipe up to 2 days ahead and kept in the fridge until needed. Place the drink in a pitcher with a lid or use mason jars to store it.
If your pitcher doesn’t have a lid, use kitchen film and wrap the mouth tightly to prevent other smells from getting into the drink.
More Mexican Drinks To Try
- Cucumber lime agua fresca
- Agua de melon.
- Watermelon easy-to-make fresca
- Pineapple Mexican agua fresca
- Agua fresca de limón
Strawberry Horchata (horchata de fresa)
Ingredients
- 1 cup long grain white rice
- 6 cups water
- 10 oz strawberries (washed, hulled, and cut into chunks)
- 1-12 oz can evaporated milk (read notes)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup sugar (or any sweetener you prefer)
- ice cubes (to serve)
Instructions
- Rinse the rice under cold water. Place it in a large bowl and add the cinnamon stick.
- Add 4 cups of water and let it soak for at least 4 hours or better yet, overnight.
- Add the soaked rice and cinnamon along with 2 cups of soaking water to a blender.
- Blend it on high for 3-4 minutes.
- Strain the liquid into a large pitcher and discard the leftover pulp. Add also the remaining soaking water.
- Add ⅔ of the strawberries to the blender with 2 cups of water and blend until smooth. Strain into the pitcher.
- Add the evaporated milk, vanilla extract, and sugar. Stir well until combined.
- Add the remaining strawberries to the pitcher and adjust the sweetness to taste.
- Fill some glasses with ice cubes and serve immediately.
Notes
- You can also use other sweeteners instead of sugar, such as stevia, monk fruit, or honey.
- Don’t add ice to the pitcher with the horchata because it will dilute and become less flavored, 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. You don’t even need to thaw them, just blend them with the other ingredients.
- If you don’t have cinnamon sticks, you can use grounded cinnamon. 1/2 tablespoon should be enough for this recipe.
Nutrition Information
Did you like this Mexican Strawberry Horchata recipe? Then please don’t forget to rate it and leave us a comment below! And also…
The only thing I included rice into a desser was the great “arroz con leche” that actually has lemmon, this similar recipe surprised me, it taste really good, refreshing and simple, not very into almod milk so indeed I used the regular one with no problem! 5/5 for me this recipe!
One of my most favourite chefs for a reason.After quarantine ill come out the world’s greatest chef 💪🏼
You give me an idea for this coming Saturday. Looks good and easy to prepare. Thank you!
Hello. Is the 6 cups of water part of the soaking process? I appreciate any clarification on this. Thank you.
Hi Vida, yes, for soaking the rice you will need about 4-5 cups of water, depending on the bowl capacity, then the rest is for blending the strawberries.