First, start by rinsing the rice in a strainer. I prefer long grain rice for this strawberry horchata recipe.
Add the rice, water and cinnamon stick to a large air tight container. This rice and water mixture should be soaked for at least 8 hours or overnight for best results. Remove the cinnamon stick from the rice and water mixture. It’s okay if some pieces of cinnamon stay behind. Add all of the rice and water to a blender and blend until it is completely smooth. This may take up to 5 minutes depending on the strength of your blender. I highly recommend this Instant Pot blender. It’s powerful and most importantly, affordable. Strain the blended rice mixture through a very fine mesh strainer and transfer this rice liquid to a large pitcher. Discard the bits of rice left on the strainer. Chop the stems off the strawberries and give them a rough chop to make the blending process easier.
Clean the blender and add strawberries and water. Blend the strawberry puree until it is completely smooth. Strain the strawberry puree through a fine mesh strainer and mix the strawberry liquid with the rice liquid in the pitcher. Add vanilla extract and sweetened condensed milk to the pitcher and mix well to incorporate everything together. Finally, serve over ice with more fresh strawberries if desired. Make sure to refrigerate any leftover strawberry horchata.
- I used sweetened condensed milk to give the strawberry horchata a thicker texture and add sweetness. If you prefer a thinner horchata, substitute the sweetened condensed milk for evaporated milk and 1-2 cups of sugar, according to taste.
- It’s very important to use a strong blender to completely blend the rice and water mixture.
- Make sure to use a very fine mesh strainer to remove all the bits and pieces from the rice and strawberry puree.
- If you like a strong cinnamon taste in your horchata, leave the cinnamon stick in when you blend the rice and water.
Calories: 205kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 51mg | Potassium: 209mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 94IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 114mg | Iron: 1mg