Dirty Horchata

Updated July 1, 2020

Dirty Horchata
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
15 minutes, plus overnight soaking
Rating
4(955)
Comments
Read comments

Horchata, a sweet cinnamon drink popular throughout Latin America, is typically made by soaking white rice in water, straining through a fine-mesh sieve to eliminate solids, if desired, then sweetening the liquid with sugar and cinnamon. But the horchata at Guisados, a chain of taco restaurants in Los Angeles, is different. It's made with whole milk and is served plain, or “dirty” with a shot of cold brew concentrate — and the chain sells up to 700 a day. This is an adaptation of its caffeinated version, and it serves a crowd. (You can leave out the coffee or halve the recipe, if you like.) Enjoy it with something spicy on a hot summer’s day. —Kiera Wright-Ruiz

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings
  • 2cups uncooked long-grain white rice
  • 1(14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1tablespoon ground nutmeg
  • 1tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • ½gallon whole milk
  • 2cups cold brew concentrate or espresso, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

496 calories; 13 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 80 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 39 grams sugars; 15 grams protein; 177 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Add the rice and 2½ cups water to a large container and cover. Soak at room temperature for a minimum of 8 hours.

  2. Step 2

    Pour the rice and soaking liquid into a blender, and blend until all the rice is finely ground, 2 to 3 minutes. (If necessary, stop your blender periodically to prevent overheating.) Add condensed milk, nutmeg and cinnamon; blend until combined. Pour the mixture into a large pitcher or bowl. Add the whole milk and whisk until incorporated.

  3. Step 3

    To serve, divide horchata among ice-filled glasses and top with cold brew concentrate, to taste (about 2 to 3 tablespoons cold brew for each cup of horchata).

Tip
  • The horchata is best consumed the day it's made, but will keep up to 2 days in a covered container in the refrigerator. Stir vigorously before serving.

Ratings

4 out of 5
955 user ratings
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Comments

Delicious! I made it exactly as written except I used spaghetti instead of rice, maple syrup instead of condensed milk, turmeric and cumin instead of nutmeg and cinnamon, and goat's milk instead of cow's milk. Also used sacrificial blood instead of cold brew. Also spiked it with the screams of my enemies. Also drank from a cursed chalice over ice.

Tried this recipe and it was delicious! The sacrificial blood was hard to get though, my mother wouldn't lay still. Next time I will try the dog..maybe less salty. Any suggestions?

let me just say this. yum. made it exactly as written but used one quart of almond milk instead of the half gallon whole milk. spiked it with kahlua and also drank plain over ice.

This horchata isn't as flavorful as other recipes I've tried and doesn't provide that punch of flavor to stand up to the espresso.

In Santa Fe we have a coffee shop called Iconik. They make their own horchata and make iced or hot horchata lattés. They’ll even make a delicious, not overly sweet chocolate horchata latté.🤎

Halving the recipe still made plenty of servings. Subbed pumpkin pie spice since I didn't have nutmeg. Would strain next time. Espresso instead of cold brew!

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Credits

Adapted from Guisados, Los Angeles

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