Powder, Blended or Carton? The Best Horchata Mix to Buy

Horchata is the creamy one among the aguas frescas: rice soaked with cinnamon, blended, strained and sweetened, sometimes with milk and sometimes without. Making it from scratch takes a night of soaking and a fine strainer, so most home cooks reach for a mix. The trouble is that “horchata mix” covers very different things, from sweetened powders and pouring concentrates to cartons you just chill and pour.

This guide sorts those types out, names the mixes worth buying, and is plain about what is in each one: the sugar, the sweeteners and the allergens, exactly as each label or listing states them. It also covers the non-rice versions, from Salvadoran horchata de morro to Spanish horchata de chufa, and a short from-scratch method for days when you have the time.

Julia’s earns a commission on purchases made through links on this page, at no cost to you. Recommendations are based on what a working Mexican kitchen looks for in a horchata mix, the makers’ own ingredient and product information, and published retailer ingredient panels, which we cite.

Quick verdict: which horchata mix to buy

The rest of this page explains the differences, and which type suits the way you serve it.

Five horchata mixes side by side

Our five standout picks, one for each kind of horchata drinker, with the type, size and allergen information each maker or listing states. All eight products are reviewed in full below.

Product images from Amazon. Ingredients and allergens are as stated by each maker, listing or retailer panel at the time of writing; formulas change, so read the label on the package you receive.

Our picks for the best horchata mix

These eight products cover the common ways to get horchata into a glass without soaking rice overnight: sweetened powders, a powder with no added sugar, café-style blended mixes, two ready-to-drink options, a Central American horchata de morro and, for the Spanish version, the tiger nuts to make it yourself. Each pick says what the label or listing states about sugar and allergens, and gives one honest reason to skip it.

How to choose a horchata mix

Five questions sort out which of these suits you. Flavor matters, but type and label matter more.

1. Powder, concentrate or ready to drink

Powders such as Klass, La Monjita and De Mi Pais’s morro mix keep for a long time in the pantry and cost the least per glass, but you measure and stir each pitcher. Liquid concentrates are the fastest way to make gallons at once, but check that the label lists ingredients and allergens before you buy one. Ready-to-drink cartons and cans, such as Dream and De Mi Pais, need no work at all but take the most space and cost the most per glass.

2. Agua fresca or blended crème

An agua fresca mix makes a thin, refreshing drink to have with a meal, the way horchata is served at a taquería. Café-style “blended crème” mixes, such as Big Train and Caffe D’Vita, add milk solids, oil and stabilizers so they turn thick when blended with ice. Both are horchata, but they do different jobs: one sits beside a plate of tacos, the other is closer to dessert.

3. Sugar and sweeteners

Most mixes arrive sweetened, and some add a low-calorie sweetener to sugar: Klass’s current retailer panel lists sucralose. If you want to decide the sweetness yourself, choose a no-sugar-added mix such as La Monjita’s, or make it from scratch. Ready-to-drink horchata is sweetened in the carton, so read the nutrition panel for total sugars.

4. Allergens: milk, soy, sesame and nuts

Many horchata mixes contain milk even when the name suggests only rice. Of the picks here, Klass, La Monjita, Big Train, Caffe D’Vita and the ready-to-drink De Mi Pais all contain milk or dairy, and Big Train also contains soy. De Mi Pais’s morro mix contains sesame. Some homemade Mexican recipes add almonds, and horchata de morro recipes often include peanuts, so never assume a horchata is nut-free: read the label, and where a listing gives no allergen statement, check the package before serving it to anyone with allergies. Dream is the dairy-free pick, and tiger nuts, despite the name, are tubers rather than tree nuts.

5. Rice, morro or tiger nut

Mexican horchata is rice and cinnamon. Salvadoran and Honduran horchata de morro is darker and nuttier from toasted morro and other seeds. Spanish horchata de chufa is made from tiger nuts. If you are buying for someone who grew up with one of them, buy that one: the others will taste like a different drink, because they are.

How we picked these eight horchata products

We started from what a Mexican kitchen wants from horchata: rice and cinnamon flavor, a texture that suits the way it is served, and a label you can trust. We then looked at the horchata powders, concentrates, blended mixes and ready-to-drink products sold on Amazon in the United States, checked that each was in stock, and took ingredients and directions from the maker’s own pages where they exist, the brand’s Amazon listing, and published retailer ingredient panels, saying in each review which source we used and where a detail is not stated. We chose eight to cover the main types and the three main bases rather than listing near-identical powders. We left out a popular liquid concentrate because its listing gives no ingredients or allergens, and horchata can contain milk or nuts; we only recommend horchata whose label information we can check. We left out generic sellers with no identifiable maker, flavoring concentrates that contain no rice or sweetener, protein shakes and electrolyte packets with a horchata flavor, and products that were out of stock or nearly so, including Califia Farms’ horchata almond milk and the canned Rio Grande horchata. We have not tasted these side by side; where we describe texture or style, it follows from the ingredients and the maker’s description.

Horchata from scratch, briefly

A mix is convenient, but rice horchata needs only rice, cinnamon, sugar and water, and a blender. The University of Illinois Extension publishes a simple version that serves five:

1. Soak 1 cup of uncooked long-grain white rice in water overnight, then drain it.
2. Blend the rice with 1/2 cup water, 2 cups milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon on high for about a minute and a half, until the rice is fully ground.
3. Add the remaining 1/2 cup water and 2 cups milk and blend for another minute.
4. Strain through cheesecloth, letting it drain on its own; the extension recipe says not to squeeze the cloth, which would push grit into the drink.
5. Chill and serve over ice.

For a dairy-free agua fresca in the market style, replace the milk with water and add a cinnamon stick to the soak; North Dakota State University’s version blends the rice with water and cinnamon sticks and adds milk and sugar only after straining. Keep homemade horchata in the fridge and drink it within a day or two.

Horchata questions, answered

What is horchata made of?

Mexican horchata is made from rice soaked and blended with cinnamon, sweetened with sugar and sometimes made with milk. Other versions use morro seeds (El Salvador and Honduras) or tiger nuts (Spain). Our guide to aguas frescas explains where horchata sits among the other fresh drinks.

Does horchata mix contain dairy?

Often, yes. Klass, La Monjita, Big Train, Caffe D’Vita and De Mi Pais’s ready-to-drink horchata all contain milk or dairy, according to their labels or listings. For dairy-free horchata, choose Dream’s rice drink or make it from scratch with water.

Is horchata nut-free?

Not always. Some recipes add almonds, horchata de morro recipes often include peanuts and seeds, and several listings give no full allergen statement. Read the package every time if nuts or seeds are a concern.

Can you make horchata with milk instead of water?

Yes. Most powders mix with either, and De Mi Pais and Caffe D’Vita both suggest milk for a creamier glass. Milk makes it richer and heavier; water keeps it closer to a market agua fresca.

How long does horchata keep once made?

Treat it like milk: keep it covered in the fridge and drink it within a day or two, and follow the label for ready-to-drink cartons, which must be refrigerated once opened.

Our final pick for horchata at home

Buy Klass Aguas Frescas Horchata for an everyday pitcher, La Monjita No Sugar if you want to sweeten it yourself, and Dream if you need it dairy-free with no prep. For frozen horchata, choose Big Train’s blended crème; for a party, a few pouches of Klass make a big batch. Whichever you choose, read the label for milk, soy, sesame and nuts, serve it very cold over ice, and put it next to something spicy, which is where horchata does its best work.

Horchata is one drink on a full Mexican drinks table. Our home margarita bar guide covers the glasses, rimmers and tools for the grown-up side of the table, our list of Mexican pantry staples worth buying online covers the dry goods to keep alongside it, and what to drink with Mexican food helps match drinks to dishes.

And if you would rather someone else made the drinks tonight, see the drinks list or call to order.