This delicious dairy-free recipe for Easy Strawberry Horchata is a fun and fruity twist on the classic Spanish beverage. Long before plant-based milk was all the rage, horchata has been enjoyed by people around the world. Lightly sweet and creamy, this recipe highlights my favorite spring fruit.
Soak rice in 6 cups of water for 2 to 4 hours. Make sure you use a container that is large enough to keep the rice submerged.
Place soaked rice and water in blender with cinnamon stick broken in half and cloves and blend for 1 to 2 minutes until well blended.
Strain through a sieve and discard solids.
Return strained liquid to a blender with vanilla extract, strawberries, and sugar and blend for 1 to 2 minutes and strain, if desired.
Taste and add more water or sugar to your liking or sweetened condensed milk if you want a creamy strawberry horchata.
If the sweetness is to your liking, garnish with fresh sliced strawberries and pour into glasses filled with ice.
Notes
Cinnamon: I prefer making horchata with canela, or whole cinnamon sticks. In a pinch, swap in two teaspoons of ground cinnamon instead.
Cloves: No cloves? Feel free to omit or add a pinch of ground cloves if you happen to have on hand.
Vanilla extract: Traditional horchata has cinnamon and vanilla, which I have used here. You can certainly feel free to substitute with almond extract.
Sugar: No cane sugar? Feel free to substitute with granulated sugar.
Serving and Storage: This strawberry horchata is best served nice and cold, preferably over a tall glass of ice. For best flavor, keep your horchata refrigerated and use within 3 days.
Nutrition Information does not include sweetened condensed milk.