This ube horchata is the perfect fusion of Asian & Mexican flavors that create a creamy, sweet, and beautifully purple drink. It’s a Filipino twist on horchata, perfect for when you want to experiment with different flavors or surprise a crowd!

Homemade horchata always tastes better (especially when it’s made with love), and you can easily add ube!

Here’s how to make this creamy ube horchata at home!

What is Horchata?

Horchata is a rice beverage most commonly made with white rice, water, cinnamon, milk, evaporated milk, and condensed milk. Sometimes people will also add sliced almonds, various spices, or vanilla extract for extra flavor.

It’s a staple drink in Mexico and Spain, where horchata originated from and is made from tiger nuts! After the Spaniards arrived in Mexico, people adapted the drink to the local produce, swapping tiger nut for white rice. And voila, you have the famous Mexican horchata or agua de horchata.

The result is a creamy, milky, sweet beverage that’s light, refreshing, and satisfying. It’s like drinking a thinner version of ice cream!

What is Ube?

Ube, also known as purple yam, is a sweet root vegetable with thin brown skin on the outside and soft, bright purple flesh on the inside. It’s most similar to a sweet potato, but has nutty, sweet, and vanilla flavor, with a subtle coconut-like aroma.

People often confuse taro and ube, but they’re not the same! Ube tastes most similar to sweet yam but is more vanilla-forward and starchy. It also tastes earthy and nutty, similar to the aftertaste of almonds or pistachio and also has a subtle floral flavor, similar to vanilla. Because of this, some people say ube tastes like a mix of sweet potato, vanilla, and pistachio! It’s delicious with creamy flavors, like white chocolate or cream, but also goes well with earthy or tropical flavors.

Ube is widely grown throughout Southeast Asia, but it’s most famous in the Philippines, where you’ll find ube featured in all kinds of treats. It’s a yam I grew up eating and it’s a nostalgic flavor for me!

What is Ube Horchata?

Ube horchata is simply ube-flavored horchata, which is a fusion of Filipino and Mexican flavors! Honestly, it’s a successful combination considering Filipino and Mexican desserts have a lot of overlapping flavors. You’ll find this in some Filipino coffee shops and even restaurants!

It’s usually bright purple and super creamy and made with ube extract. It’s great on its own, or you can use it as the base for lattes, matcha, and more.

Usually, you enjoy this beverage cold, as heating up horchata might change the consistency.

What Does Ube Horchata Taste Like?

Ube and horchata work so well together. As mentioned, ube has a vanilla-like scent and flavor, which works extremely well with creamy flavors like coconut, white chocolate, etc. Some people add vanilla extract to horchata for a creamy flavor, so it’s like you substituted the vanilla for ube!

Together, you get that delicious vanilla-like scent and flavor, followed by the milky cream and slightly nutty flavor with a dash of cinnamon. You even get that slightly floral and nutty flavor, too.

Honestly, this combination is too perfect as the flavors are complementary.

How to Add Ube Flavor

Ube comes in many forms, including extract, jam, powder, or whole yam, which you can all find in any Filipino or Asian grocery store (except when the yam is out of season).

The easiest and most convenient option for adding ube to horchata is using ube extract. It’s the easiest to find and work with since you can use it instantly. I always use the Butterfly brand, which you can find in all Asian stores, and they also carry other Asian flavors like pandan, coconut, etc. A little goes a long way!

Ube powder is also available, but its larger texture may change the texture of the horchata and make it thicker.

You’ll also find some ube jams or halayas in the jam or spread section, but they are presweetened so you’ll want to add less sugar in your horchata.

Of course, you can use real yam, but it takes a lot of work to cook and mash it for your drink. Steam and peel the ube, then blend it to get a thick paste to flavor your drinks. Similar to powder, this will make your horchata thicker, so you’ll want to strain it after you add the paste.

How to Make Horchata

Horchata is so easy to make at home and honestly tastes better than store-bought horchata. Plus, it costs a fraction of the cost to make.

This easy horchata recipe only requires white rice, water, cinnamon, and 3 types of milk, 2 of which are canned.

The full horchata recipe is just down below, but here’s an overview:

• Soak rice and cinnamon in water
• Blend and strain the mixture
• Add milks
• Add ube
• Store and serve

The longest part about this recipe is soaking the rice, but the actual making part is less than 15 minutes long.

How to Make Ube Horchata Vegan

Actually, traditional horchata is vegan because it’s made with soaked rice or nuts, sugar, and water. No dairy involved!

However, modern horchata has dairy milk in multiple forms: regular milk, evaporated milk, and condensed milk. So, most horchata these days isn’t vegan or lactose-intolerant friendly. However, you can make homemade horchata vegan easily by replacing the dairy with non-dairy alternatives!

You can easily swap out the milk for your favorite nondairy milk like oat milk or coconut milk; just substitute the ingredients 1 to 1.

For an evaporated milk alternative, you can use a barista-blend of the milk you like or use half the amount but in cream form, like oat or coconut cream.

You can also use coconut, oat, or vegan condensed milk for dairy-free condensed milk.

Because we’re making substitutions, you might have to experiment with ratios to get the flavor right, but it’s very easy to veganize!

How to Make Ube Horchata

Here’s what you’ll need to make a creamy ube horchata at home:

• 1 tsp ube extract (⅛ tsp per serving)
• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 3 cups of water
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 can of evaporated milk
• 1 can of condensed milk
• 2 sticks of cinnamon
• A dash of ground cinnamon
• 1 cup ice

Ube Horchata Recipe

1. Wash Rice: Wash white rice 4-5 times until the water is semi-translucent or clear. This helps remove any extra starch that makes your horchata chalky and keeps it smoother longer.
2. Soak Rice. Add water, rice, and cinnamon sticks to a large bowl or pitcher and let it soak on the counter or in the fridge for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.
3. Blend Rice and Cinnamon. Once the rice soaks, blend everything in a blender until you see no large chunks and everything is blended well. Careful not to overblend.
4. Strain Horchata. Using a strainer, fine mesh sieve, or cheesecloth, strain your horchata 2-3 times or until most of the sediment is removed.
5. Add Milks. Add your whole milk, condensed milk, and evaporated milk and mix until well-combined. Make sure all the condensed milk dissolves.
6. Add Ube Extract. Once you have your horchata, you can either add the ube when you serve it or make the entire thing ube flavored. You can add your ube extract into the horchata and mix until the entire thing is purple.
7. Assemble Drink. Add ice and a dash of cinnamon to a glass, then pour the ube horchata over it. Garnish with a dash of cinnamon and a cinnamon stick. You can also pour regular horchata first, then add ube horchata on top for a gradient look.
8. Mix and Enjoy!

How to Store Ube Horchata

Store the ube horchata in an airtight bottle, jug, or pitcher in the fridge, and it will remain smooth and creamy for about 1 week. As the horchata sits, the rice will start to absorb the water and make the horchata slimy.

In the beginning, you can shake it up and it will still be pretty smooth, but over time it will get more and more gummy and may take on a sour taste either from fermenting or spoiled milk. If it gets to this point, it’s time to toss the ube horchata.

If you have a large batch and want to store it long term, you can freeze it either in a tub or ziplog bag, and it will keep for 2-3 months. When you want to consume, thaw it in the fridge and mix it to get a smoother consistency. The texture may change from being frozen, but still safe to consume. If it has a funny taste, texture, or smell, best to toss it.

Other Ube Recipes to Try

If you like this sweet, creamy, and cinnamon ube horchata, then you have to try other ube or horchata recipes! You’ll love these flavors in coffee, matcha, or milk tea. Here’s some recipe inspiration for your next creation:

• Ube matcha latte
• Tres leches latte
• Horchata matcha latte (Must Try!)
• Tres leches matcha latte
• Horchata chai latte
• Ube dalgona coffee
• Ube coconut milk
• Vietnamese ube coffee

Tips:

Here are some tips for making a delicious ube horchata at home!

• More Milk, Less Water: If you want an ultra creamy horchata, substitute one cup of water for milk! You’ll get a much creamier horchata.
• Strain Your Horchata Extra: Keep getting grainy horchata? Make sure you’re straining it out enough times! If, after straining multiple times, you still see large pieces of sediment, use a finer strainer or cheesecloth. Some sediment is normal, though! Also, make sure you’re soaking your rice enough; softer rice makes the texture smoother.
• Make an Ube Layer: You can make this drink even prettier by mixing the ube extract with a third of the horchata and serving it on top of regular horchata and ice. This creates a mesmerizing cascading effect!