Kat's Kitchen

Starbucks just launched a brand new drink, the Iced Horchata Shaken Espresso. I must say, it is incredibly delicious, and tastes very much like Horchata. They use an horchata syrup as the flavoring of the drink, so I wanted to recreate my own Homemade Horchata Syrup, so you can make your own Iced Horchata Shaken Espresso, as well as any other horchata flavored drinks your heart desires.

What is Horchata?

If you’re not familiar with Horchata, it’s a sweetened, cinnamon-infused rice milk beverage that’s very popular in Mexican cuisine. To make horchata, you soak water, rice and cinnamon stick together, then blend the mixture and strain it to make cinnamon rice milk. Then you add sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla to get a sweet and delicious cinnamon flavored rice milk drink.

This Homemade Horchata Syrup includes many of the same authentic horchata ingredients, giving you a perfect Mexican-inspired horchata flavor.

Why You’ll Love This Homemade Horchata Syrup Recipe

• Save Money: Making your own syrups and drinks at home can help you save an insane amount of money every week or every month!
• Adjust To Your Taste: Make adjustments based on your preference and what you have in the cupboard!
• So Simple: You only need 6 ingredients and 20 minutes of your day to make syrup for the next couple of weeks
• You Control The Batch Size: Make a small batch instead of buying a huge bottle at the store!
• Versatile: Use in coffees, cold foams, teas, and mocktails!

Ingredients You’ll Need:

Please note, full measurements are listed on the recipe card at the bottom of the recipe. Scroll to the end, or click the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top of the page.

White Rice– You can use any white rice you’d like: long grain, medium grain, short grain, basmati, jasmine, etc.

Granulated Cane Sugar: White sugar will sweeten the syrup without adding any additional flavor so the rice and cinnamon notes can shine through. You can opt for light or dark brown sugar for a more caramel flavor, or use a sugar substitute for a sugar free version.

Water: Make sure to use purified water or drinking water for the best tasting Homemade Horchata Syrup.

Cinnamon Sticks: Authentic Mexican Horchata uses cinnamon sticks so I like to do the same for this Homemade Horchata Syrup recipe. If you don’t have cinnamon sticks on hand, you can substitute for ground cinnamon, just note the color will be a darker brown and you may have more a more gritty texture in the final product.

Salt: Adding salt to the syrup will not make the syrup salty, it will just bring out more of the sweetness and flavor of the rice, cinnamon and sugar. Just like adding salt to food enhances the flavor, it does the same thing in a syrup.

Vanilla Extract: Adding a small amount of vanilla elevates this syrup. You can use extract or paste in this recipe.

Substitutions

• White Rice: Ppt for brown rice if that’s all you have!
• Granulated Sugar: Use light or dark brown sugar or even piloncillo. You could also use monk fruit or stevia for a sugar free version.
• Cinnamon Sticks – Opt for ground cinnamon instead if desired.
• Vanilla Extract – Feel free to use vanilla paste instead of extract.

How To Make Homemade Horchata Syrup

1. To a saucepan, add sugar, water, and salt. Break the cinnamon sticks in half, and add to the saucepan.
2. Bring the saucepan over high heat and bring to a roaring boil.
3. Once boiling, add the rice to the saucepan, stir, and lower the heat to a simmer.
4. Simmer the mixture for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to prevent the rice from sticking.
5. After 15 minutes, remove the saucepan from the heat, and strain the rice and cinnamon sticks from the syrup using a strainer.
6. Add the vanilla extract into the syrup and stir to combine.
7. Allow the syrup to cool at room temperature for 1-2 hours before adding a lid and storing in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. Note, the mixture will thicken in the fridge.

How To Store Your Homemade Horchata Syrup?

Store the syrup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three weeks. I like to keep my syrups in a mason jar or a glass syrup bottle!

How Can I Make A Sugar Free Homemade Horchata Syrup?

For a sugar free Homemade Horchata Syrup, use any sugar free substitute like monk fruit or stevia instead of the cane sugar in this recipe.

What Can I Do With the Leftover Rice?

Make Horchata: Instead of throwing out the rice and cinnamon sticks, add both to a blender with 2 cups of hot water and blend until the rice and cinnamon are roughly ground. Let cool and place in the fridge overnight. Pour the mixture through a strainer or cheesecloth and discard the rice. Add 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 2 cups milk, and OPTIONAL 1/4 cup sugar, and stir to combine. Pour the mixture over ice, and enjoy your homemade horchata!

Make rice pudding: Add the rice and cinnamon mixture back into the saucepan and add 2 cups milk. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and let the mixture simmer, partially covered, for 20–25 minutes or until the rice becomes tender. Be sure to stir often to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan. Remove the saucepan from the heat, and serve the rice pudding with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

How Can I Use This Syrup?

• Make a copykat Starbucks Iced Horchata Shaken Espresso at home
• Add your Homemade Horchata Syrup to your matcha or chai latte
• Froth together Homemade Horchata Syrup, milk, and heavy cream until thick for the most delicious Horchata Cold Foam to top any iced drink of choice
• Add to pancakes, waffles, french toast, oatmeal or chia pudding for an horchata-inspired breakfast

More Homemade Syrup Recipes To Try:

• Homemade Pistachio Syrup
• Homemade Brown Sugar Syrup
• Homemade Blackberry Syrup
• Homemade Starbucks Sugar Cookie Syrup
• Starbucks Spiced Apple Drizzle
• Starbucks Apple Brown Sugar Syrup
• Homemade Dunkin Brown Sugar Cookie Syrup