Ube Horchata

This smooth and light ube horchata is a great drink to enjoy on a hot summer day. This Asian and Mexican fusion eye-popping purple-colored drink is great to bring to parties and get-togethers. Each sip is nutty and sweet!

I’ve been sort of obsessing over ube lately. Ube has been one of those ingredients that have been very intriguing to me. I love yams and sweet potatoes so naturally, I would gravitate to this delicious ingredient. I’ve used it in my ube mochi waffles, ube cinnamon rolls, ube mochi donuts and ube brownies.

Why make this?

Great for parties. This is a great dessert drink for a hot summer day. It can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator the night before you bring it. Just make sure to give a good mix before serving.

Asian/Mexican Fusion. The fusion of Mexican Horchata and Ube is so unique. You will be surprised at how amazing these two mix together to bring a silky and smooth drink that has subtle flavors of ube.

Why we love this recipe?

Ube flavor. The addition of the ube gives this drink a nice refreshing flavor. Ube is light and subtle and meshes well with the refreshing cold horchata. 

Bright purple color. The color of this drink is going to be the talk of the party if you bring this to get-togethers. 

What is horchata?

Horchata is (Pronounced or-CHAH-tah) a general name given to various plant-based drinks. Many of the types of drinks are soaked herbs, teas, rice, nuts and seeds. It has a lovely cinnamon flavor from the sticks

What does an ube horchata taste like?

I’ve lightly sweetened this recipe with condensed milk. I prefer my drinks less sweet. This drink is light, smooth and refreshing. With just one sip you will immediately release the most satisfying *aaahhhhh*.

It has a rice/almond taste and is creamy and full-bodied with a hint of ube flavor.

Ingredients, variations, adjustments

white rice. I used jasmine rice because it was the white rice I have readily available at home. It’s a long grain rice and creates a light flavor. Any type of rice will work like long grain, jasmine, basmati or short grain. Just make sure it is raw.

cinnamon sticks. I used Saigon cinnamon sticks because this was available at home. Feel free to use any cinnamon stick. If you don’t’ have cinnamon sticks at home cinnamon powder would work as well. I would use 1 tbsp to replace two sticks of cinnamon sticks.

almonds. I used whole almonds. Sliced almonds will work as well. Other nuts will work as well like tiger nuts, cashew or walnuts.

evaporated milk. The evaporated milk adds a milk-like color and texture to the horchata.

ube extract. I’ve added ube extract to many of my recipes. This is what gives the horchata the deep vibrant purple and flavor. I use 1 tablespoon to get the deep vibrant color. 

vanilla extract. Elevates all the flavor in this recipe.

condensed milk. I use half a cup in the mixture. Substitute with sugar or honey. Again, adjust to your preference. What’s great about this recipe is it is up to you how much added sugar you would like. 

Kitchen Equipment for this Recipe

Blender. Any blender will work. You may need to blend longer so the rice, almonds and cinnamon sticks are well blended. I use my Vitamix which takes less than 3 minutes to blend well.

Fine mesh strainer. Straining the mixture after it has blended will make the horchata even smoother. I use a fine mesh strainer like this one to remove larger pieces that didn’t blend well. 

How to make Ube Horchata

Soak the white rice, almonds and cinnamon sticks for a minimum of 6 hours. I like to soak the day before so the rice and cinnamon sticks are soft.

Once the ingredients are softened strain the ingredients. Dispose of the water.

In a blender add the soaked ingredients and evaporated milk and blend until smooth.

Use a fine mesh strainer and strain the blended mixture. Use a spatula to press down to squeeze out all the liquid.

Add the water, ube extract, vanilla extract and condensed milk. Mix until well blended.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve over ice. Adjust the condensed milk to your preference.

TIPS for this recipe

Soak for at least 6 hours. Planning this recipe is key to making sure you can get a perfect ube horchata drink ready. I always soak the rice, almonds and cinnamon sticks the night before I plan to drink it. This guarantees the horchata ingredients are soft and easy to blend.

Refrigerate. Once the horchata is ready refrigerate for 4 hours to get it nice and cold.  

Use a high-powered blender. Using a high-powered blender will blend all the ingredients very fine and make a nice and smooth horchata. 

How to Serve

I like to serve this cold so I refrigerate it for a minimum of 4 hours. Once it is cold I like to add some ice and adjust the sweetness level.

How to store

If you would like to make a big batch and serve it should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge and consumed within 3 days. 

If you make this recipe, and like it, please give it a rating in the recipe card below and let us know in the comments at the end of the post.

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