Authentic Mexican horchata gets a splash of fruit with this Strawberry Horchata (Agua de Horchata de Fresa) fusion! The creamy rice milk drink is extra refreshing in summer with the added strawberries!
Strawberry Horchata
I absolutely love this pink horchata. The color is so pretty and perfect for baby or bridal showers!
If you love strawberry milk, then this is absolutely for you. Plus, it’s all natural made with real strawberries – no concentrates or powder mixes.
I’ve been obsessed with strawberries lately. I recently posted a Strawberry Milkshake without Ice Cream recipe and if you haven’t made my Fresas con Crema (Mexican Strawberries & Cream) yet, you have to try! One word: divine.
How to Make Strawberry Horchata
It’s very easy to make horchata and there are several different methods and ingredients you can use or eliminate to customize it to your taste.
The following are the ingredients I personally like along with my notes:
White rice
Rice is hydrated in water before blending to make the rice milk. This will produce a smoother milk with less grit.
At the very minimum allow 30 minutes. I prefer to soak overnight and you can go up to 24 hours.
Some people discard the soaking water and add fresh water before blending. Some blend it all together. I’ve tested both methods for horchata de fresa and notice no difference in taste or texture.
Cinnamon
I use 1 stick of cinnamon to infuse the rice while it’s soaking. I discard it before blending the rice since I prefer the strawberries to be the main flavor of this horchata.
You can leave the cinnamon out altogether or you can add ground cinnamon to taste at the end.
Strawberries
It’s not strawberry horchata without the strawberries. You can use fresh or frozen strawberries for the horchata.
I prefer frozen since they’re always in season and inexpensive. Fresh strawberries for garnish are a must. 😊
Sugar
I prefer the extra little flavor pure raw cane sugar adds (aka turbinado/sugar in the raw, NOT brown sugar), but regular granulated white sugar is just fine.
Evaporated milk
Should there be dairy in horchata? That’s up to you. I love the touch of silky, rich creaminess a can of evaporated milk adds.
I’ve also substituted vanilla almond milk with equally delicious results since ground almonds are sometimes used in traditional horchatas.
Or, you could leave out any milk additions and let the flavor be pure rice milk.
Want to really bump up the thick and creamy factor? Use sweetened condensed milk instead of evaporated milk! You won’t need to add as much sugar – start with 1/2 cup and taste from there.
One final note:
I use a Vitamix blender which is pretty powerful to pulverize the rice. No matter how fine of a grind you achieve, it will always separate from the water after time.
Just give the horchata a stir before pouring an ice cold glass and enjoy!

Strawberry Horchata
Authentic Mexican horchata is infused with a refreshing burst of strawberry for a sweet, creamy drink!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups white rice, uncooked
- 7 cups water, divided
- 1 stick of cinnamon (optional)
- 1 lb strawberries (fresh or frozen)
- 1-2 cups sugar*
- 1 can (14oz) evaporated milk (optional)**
- Fresh strawberries, for garnish
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine the rice, 3 cups of water and cinnamon stick (if using). Let sit for at least 30 minutes, but preferably overnight, to hydrate and soften.
- After soaking rice, remove cinnamon stick (or leave it if you want a strong cinnamon flavor) and add the rice along with the soaking water to blender. Blend on high speed until completely pulverized and mixture is smooth. This may take several minutes depending on the strength of your blender.
- Using a strainer, pour the rice water into a 2-quart pitcher and discard any pulp in the strainer.
- Rinse the blender and add the strawberries, 1 cup sugar and 4 cups of water. Blend until smooth. Using the strainer again, pour strawberry puree into the rice water and stir. Add the evaporated milk, if using.
- Taste it to see if more sugar is needed. If so, I like to put the sugar in the blender with a ladle or two of the horchata and blend to dissolve.
- If the sweetness is to your liking, garnish with fresh sliced strawberries and pour into glasses filled with ice.
Notes
*I prefer using pure raw cane sugar (or turbinado/sugar in the raw), but regular granulated white sugar is just fine.
**the milk can be eliminated completely, or you may use almond milk OR you can use sweetened condensed milk and reduce the sugar by 1 cup (you may not need to use any sugar at all).
See post for more information on ingredients.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 313Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 59mgCarbohydrates: 68gFiber: 1gSugar: 57gProtein: 4g
Kaitlyn
Wednesday 8th of April 2020
Could I substitute the sugar for a simple syrup so I don’t have to blend again?
Rebekah
Wednesday 8th of April 2020
Yep! As long as your sugar is dissolved any method should work such as simple syrup or a little bit of warm water.
Ve
Friday 31st of January 2020
It says one serving but about how many cups do you get from this?
Rebekah
Friday 31st of January 2020
Hi! The recipe makes 3 quarts = 12 cups
Jeff the Chef
Saturday 22nd of June 2019
It's so cool that you blended it with rice. How interesting. Does it taste like the pink drink from Starbucks? Because I do love those.
Rebekah
Tuesday 25th of June 2019
I've never had the Starbucks drink! It tastes like Mexican horchata and strawberry milk had a baby :-)