Strawberry horchata is like traditional horchata, but with fresh strawberries added. It's also known as "horchata de fresa" in Spanish, and has a pretty, crowd-pleasing pink color. Lightly sweetened and refreshing, it's perfect for summer parties or any warm-weather gathering with its creamy texture and gentle spice.
Strawberry Horchata Recipe Essentials
- 🍽️ Course: Drink
- ⏱️ Cooking Time: 4 hours soak + 15 minutes prep
- 🍴 Servings: 8 glasses
- 🍓 Flavor Profile: Creamy, lightly sweet, and fruity with strawberry, cinnamon, and vanilla
- 🌮 Best Served With: Mexican dishes, brunch spreads, or as a refreshing dessert drink with watermelon agua fresca
- 🧊 Make Ahead?: Yes, best made ahead and chilled before serving
Summarize and Save This Content On
I've always loved horchata, the traditional Mexican drink made with rice, milk, cinnamon, and a touch of sweetness. This recipe is super approachable for home cooks and makes a large batch, perfect for sharing. Adding fresh strawberries gives it a bright, summery twist that's both refreshing and fun to serve.
Some alcoholic sweet strawberry drink recipes you should try are this creamy strawberry martini and a pink mojito.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It's made with real fruit: This strawberry horchata is made using real, fresh strawberries. So, you get natural flavor and color without any artificial ingredients.
- It's not too sweet: The flavor of this horchata is only lightly sweet, so it's not too heavy or rich, which makes it feel refreshing and not like a dessert.
- It only takes 20 minutes of work: You only need to spend 20 minutes preparing this horchata recipe, and the rest of the time is inactive. It's really quick and easy.
Ingredients
Below are the most important ingredients for this strawberry horchata. You can find everything at your local grocery store.
- Basmati rice: I prefer basmati rice for this recipe, but any long-grain white rice would work great.
- Cinnamon: Whole cinnamon sticks are preferred to get the most authentic and pronounced flavor. They blend up great!
- Condensed and evaporated milk: The evaporated milk adds creaminess, while the sweetened condensed milk acts as the sweetener.
- Strawberries: These are important to get that real strawberry flavor in your horchata. Don't worry, they are blended to remove the seeds. Just cut off the tops, and you're good to go. Grab some extra berries and make this strawberry charlotte too.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations
- Spiked: Add a shot of rum or tequila to turn this into a delicious summer cocktail.
- Mango: Swap all or half of the strawberries with mango for a tropical twist.
- Watermelon: Swap all or half of the strawberries with watermelon for a brighter summer flavor.
How to Make Strawberry Horchata
Before you get started on this strawberry horchata recipe, rinse your rice well. Then you can work on the other steps.
Step 1: Soak the rice. Bring the water to almost a boil and pour it into a large bowl with the rice and cinnamon sticks. After it cools, place it in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
Step 2: Make the strawberry puree. Combine the strawberries with lemon and sugar. Then, transfer it to the fridge until you're ready to make the horchata.
Step 3: Blend the rice mixture. After the rice has soaked, pour the mixture (including the cinnamon sticks) into the blender and pulse until smooth.
Step 4: Strain it. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer and then through a nut bag or cheesecloth. After straining, transfer it to a pitcher.
Step 5: Add the puree and milk. Pour the strawberry puree, evaporated milk, condensed milk, and vanilla into the pitcher.
Step 6: Pour over ice. Serve in a glass over ice with cheesecake fruit salad.
This drink is great when served with my cucumber agua fresca and this delicious Chamoyada for Cinco de Mayo.
Expert Tips
- Straining well is key: I strain my horchata twice, just to ensure it's as smooth as possible. Once through a fine mesh strainer and then using a nut milk bag or cheesecloth. This ensures you get all the pulp out.
- Rinse the rice first: I recommend rinsing the basmati rice well before soaking it to remove some of the starch. This helps it soften better as it soaks.
- Make the strawberry puree in advance: I find that making the strawberry puree a few hours or even a full day ahead is helpful, because it allows it plenty of time to cool before you make the horchata. It also saves some time since you have to allow the rice at least 4 hours to soak.
- Freeze it in ice cube trays: I like to freeze this strawberry horchata in ice cube trays to flavor a fresh batch without diluting it.
I highly recommend this strawberry banana milkshake as another creamy and refreshing strawberry beverage to try.
Serving Suggestions
- Summer drinks: Some more refreshing drinks you can serve this summer, along with this strawberry horchata, are spicy jalapeno margaritas and homemade sweet tea.
- Backyard BBQ: Enjoy an ice-cold horchata de fresa at a BBQ with this smoked beef ribs recipe.
- Mexican pairings: Keep the theme and make some slow-cooked chicken nachos to go with your horchata.
Strawberry Horchata Recipe FAQs
It's gritty because the rice hasn't fully softened or the mixture wasn't strained well enough, leaving behind fine rice pulp. Be sure to soak long enough, and I highly recommend that you strain the mixture twice to remove all the rice pulp to keep the horchata smooth and creamy.
It's smooth, creamy, lightly spiced, and sweet, just like regular horchata with fresh strawberry flavor from the puree.
No, you don't need to. A minimum of 4 hours is needed to help blend the rice properly. However, I prefer longer if possible, but it isn't necessary.
Yes, you can. Thaw them and drain any excess liquid before you puree them. I like to do this when strawberries aren't in season.
I recommend drinking the strawberry horchata within 3-4 days. If it's put in an airtight container, it can last in the fridge for 5 days.
More Delicious Strawberry Recipes
If you try this recipe and love it please leave a star rating in the recipe card below or even better, drop a review in the comment section. I always appreciate your feedback. Be sure to follow along with me on Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube for more easy recipes!
Strawberry Horchata
Ingredients
- 1 cup long grain rice I used Basmati
- 6 cups water hot
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 14 ounce sweetened condensed milk 1 can
- 12 ounce evaporated milk 1 can
- ½ tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 pounds strawberries washed and tops removed (about 1 ½ pounds after processing)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice freshly squeezed
Instructions
- Place rice in a strainer and rinse thoroughly with cool water, then transfer to a large bowl that will fit in your fridge.
- Bring 6 cups of water almost to a boil, you want it very warm, to hot, to soften the rice easier, but not boiling, then pour on the rice. Drop in 2 cinnamon sticks and allow it to cool, then cover and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Prepare strawberry puree by blending strawberries sugar and lemon juice on high until very smooth.
- Pour into a large jar and store in the fridge until ready to use.
- In 2 batches blend the rice water, along with cinnamon sticks, on high speed in a blender for about 4 minutes. Strain very well with a fine mesh strainer or nut milk bag into a large pitcher.
- Pour sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and vanilla extract to the pitcher and stir well to dissolve and combine.
- Pour strawberry puree in and stir well, then serve over ice.
Notes
- I strain my horchata twice to get it perfectly smooth: first through a fine mesh strainer, then again using a nut milk bag or cheesecloth. This helps remove any remaining pulp for the best texture.
- I recommend rinsing the basmati rice well before soaking to remove excess starch, which helps it soften more evenly as it sits.
- I highly recommend straining the mixture twice to remove all the rice pulp and keep the horchata smooth and creamy. If it isn't strained well or the rice hasn't soaked long enough, the texture can turn out gritty.
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