Happy Friday everyone 🙂 I hope you had a great week and are ready to take on the weekend…I know we are!

Today we are sharing with you our favorite homemade horchata recipe. Not only is it absolutely delishhh, but it is also free of refined sugar and sweetened with dates.After putting together the recipe, you are going to be left with rice pulp. At first, we were just planning on composting it as we did not know of any other use, but handy-dandy google helped us make use of it and prevent the waste! We tossed the pulp (roughly 1 cup) with about 1 cup of almond milk and whisked it together on the stovetop over medium-low heat. What results is a super creamy and rich rice pudding that makes for an amazing dessert that is refined-sugar free! If you are making this horchata for a Cinco de Mayo celebration, we suggest you spice it up—add in some rum or if you would prefer a non-alcoholic spike, espresso is a great alternative!

We like to add the alcohol or espresso in per serving so that we spike it to preference and perfection. If you have any other suggestions for spiking the horchata, let us know! We’d love to try them out. If you make this recipe or any of our other Cinco de Mayo recipes, make sure you tag us @sweetsimplevegan and @consciouschris on Instagram so that we don’t miss it, we love seeing your photos!

Date-Sweetened Horchata (Refined Sugar-Free w/ Spiked Options)

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• Author: Jasmine @ Sweet Simple Vegan
• Total Time: 8 hours 25 minutes
• Yield: 4 cups

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Description

An easy homemade horchata recipe that requires just 6-ingredients and is SO easy to make. Not only is it delicious, but it is also free of refined sugar and sweetened with dates!

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Ingredients

• 1 cup organic white rice (or rice of choice)
• 2 cinnamon sticks (or 3/4–1 teaspoon ground)*
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup pitted Medjool dates
• 1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups almond milk
• A pinch of salt

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Instructions

1. Soak the rice and cinnamon sticks (if using) in 4 cups of water 6-8 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse.
2. Transfer the rice and cinnamon sticks to a high-speed blender along with all of the remaining ingredients except for the almond milk and blend for 2 minutes (it doesn’t have to be 100% pulverized). If you are using ground cinnamon, don’t add it in just yet! Adjust seasonings to taste, adding more dates for more sweetness if needed.
3. Pour the blended liquid into through a fine mesh strainer or nut milk bag and strain out the liquid as best you can. If you are using a nut milk bag, make sure you constantly grip the top to prevent any liquid or pulp from being expelled upward. Once strained, add the almond milk (and ground cinnamon if using) to the liquid and mix through.
4. Transfer the mixture to an airtight container and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
5. Serve in glasses over ice. We like to add a shot of rum OR espresso to our glasses of horchata when serving to spice it up!

Notes

• If using ground cinnamon, do not soak it with the rice. Add it to the blender the next day with the remaining ingredients.
• You can also alternatively use a cheesecloth, very thin towel, or a clean t-shirt.
• Will keep in the refrigerator for several days.

• Prep Time: 8 hours 25 minutes

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