Homemade Vegan Horchata

I’m so excited to share my latest creation with our Almond Cow! A couple of weeks back, my husband and I were at a local Mexican farm-to-table restaurant and at the end of our meal, the manager came over with two little servings of the most delicious rice milk horchata. It was all creamy and cinnamon-y; basically the perfect drink for a chilly night. I immediately imagined myself making it at home for Christmas Eve and left inspired to try to make some with my Almond Cow!

I tried a few versions, but the best tasting was a mix of rice milk and almond milk. I’m well versed at making almond milk with the Almond Cow but had never made rice milk with it before. It turned out to be pretty easy. Just like almonds, the rice needs to be soaked first for a minimum of 7-8 hours.

You can make this with or without rum. I used a rum made here at a local distillery, but I think any light rum would work for this.

Some of you may know that my husband and I met while bartending together, so I always consult with him on drink recipes. Teddy had the tough job of taste-testing the horchata and declared the final version to be by far and away the best. We both aren’t big on overly sweet drinks, so the version below is not as sweet as some may like it. Feel free to add more sweetener if that’s your thing!

Homemade Vegan Horchata

5 1/2 cups filtered water (6 cups if you’re not using rum)

1/2 cup light rum

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 Tbsp. date honey (you can swap it for honey, maple syrup, or actual dates)

1/2 tsp. cinnamon + more to garnish

1 1/2 cups almonds

1 cup white basmati rice

Start by soaking the rice and almonds for 7-12 hours. I soak them separately, but you can soak them together if you wish. After they’re finished, drain off the water they’ve soaked in.

Put the filtered water, rum, and vanilla in the pitcher- you should be at the minimum fill line. Then take half the rice and half of the almonds and place them in the blender basket of the Almond Cow, along with half the cinnamon, dates (if you’re using whole, pitted dates), and/or honey. Attach the blender basket with solid ingredients to the top of the Almond Cow with the blade inside the blender basket. Then place the whole top, with the basket attached, into the pitcher and turn it on. After it’s done blending up this batch of solids, you’ll see it starting to look like milk and notice it already smells delicious! But, we want this extra creamy and delicious, so you’re not done!

Toss out or set aside the ground up ingredients from the basket, but KEEP the liquid in the pitcher. We’re going to give it a double dose! Put the other half of the rice and almonds into the blender basket, re-attach the top, and then place it in the pitcher that still has the same liquid from the first round. Turn it on one more time and you’re done! Pour yourself some frothy, creamy horchata over ice and don’t forget to sprinkle some more cinnamon on top!

Want to try Almond Cow for yourself? Use code MAISONPUR to save $15 and receive free shipping in the US (not valid Cyber Monday). Or if you’re feeling lucky, head over to Instagram where I’ve teamed up with them to give one away to a lucky winner! Cheers!