Creamy, homemade rice milk costs pennies to make, needs just 2 ingredients, and is ready in 2 minutes. Naturally dairy-free, lactose-free, allergen-free, and great for nearly all diets!
If you buy rice milk on a regular basis but you’ve never considered making it yourself, here’s your gentle nudge: You need two ingredients and two minutes. It costs mere pennies, and it tastes WAY better than any rice milk you can buy from the store!
Easy Rice Milk Recipe
My recipe is incredibly easy, with the hardest part having to start with cooked rice.
That’s easy to overcome though, especially when you can make Instant Pot White Rice in under 10 minutes. Or better yet, use leftover rice you have stashed away in your fridge or freezer!
Tip: If you don’t have leftover rice, go ahead and make extras when you make it for this easy recipe. Freeze it one cup portions, and then you’ll be ready to go for your next batch!
Rice Milk Benefits
The greatest benefits come from the fact that it’s naturally dairy-free, lactose-free, allergen-free, and great for nearly every diet. It’s a great plant milk for those who cannot have nut milk or soy milk either.
The only catch is when you BUY rice milk. Most brands (like Rice Dream and Better Than Milk) contain unhealthy fats, artificial sweeteners, and preservatives that can interfere with the digestive system.
You’ll get all the benefits when you make it yourself. Keep reading for my easy recipe!
Homemade Rice Milk Recipe Ingredients
You need just two ingredients:
- Rice. Any kind of cooked rice will work. White rice, brown rice, jasmine rice, basmati rice, short grain rice, long grain rice… if you like the way the rice tastes when you make it plain, then it’s suitable for this recipe.
- Water. Filtered water is preferred.
You do need a blender in order to make this recipe. I’ve tried making this in a food processor and it just doesn’t come out as creamy.
How to Make Rice Milk
Step 1: Measure the rice and water into the blender. This recipe starts with 1 cup of cooked rice and 4 cups of water and makes one quart.
Step 2: Blend the ingredients. If you have a high-powered blender, you may only need to run the blender through one round of blending. If you have a regular blender, you may need to blend the milk two or more times. The more times you blend, the smoother and creamier it will be.
Step 3: Strain the milk. Pour the blended milk through a fine mesh strainer to remove the pulp. Another option is to strain the mixture with cheesecloth or a nut milk bag. Keep reading for ways to reuse rice pulp and prevent food waste. The liquid you’re left with is your non-dairy milk!
Tip: When you blend for longer, the rice nearly disappears entirely. This eliminates the need to filter the milk through the sieve.
Store your finished rice milk in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. I like to store in a mason jar and use a pour spout lid like these.
Homemade Rice Drink Flavor Variations
While the basic recipe calls for just cooked rice and water, you can easily change the flavors with just a few tweaks:
- For a thicker drink, you can use more rice or you can also use less water
- Add Ground Cinnamon
- Add Extracts: Almond Extract, Coconut Extract, or Vanilla Extract (or vanilla powder)
- Use Leftover Coconut Rice
- Use coconut milk in place of some of the water
- Horchata Flavor: Cinnamon + Vanilla + Almond Extract
- Add cocoa powder or cacao powder for “chocolate milk”
- Use maple syrup to sweeten and make maple milk
- Add fresh berries for “berry milk”
- Use hot water instead of cold water (this makes creamier milk)
My homemade rice drink recipe is unsweetened, but you can add one whole date (pitted) or 1 teaspoon of coconut sugar if you’d like.
How to Use Leftover Rice Pulp
Reducing food waste is vital to working within a grocery budget, so use rice pulp to make rice pudding, rice porridge, or even to my favorite Minestrone Soup. If you don’t have enough pulp left over, you can always freeze it until you have enough for another recipe.
Rice Milk FAQs
Is rice milk good for you?
Yes, homemade rice milk is good for you! Store-bought, on the other hand, often contains processed and unhealthy oils like safflower oil, canola oil, and sunflower oil. They’re also enriched with synthetic vitamins, contain unnecessary additives, and are loaded with sweeteners.
Which is better rice milk or oat milk?
Neither rice milk nor oat milk are better than the other, but some may tolerate one drink over the other. One is made with rice, while the other is made with oats. I think milk from oats has a distinct oat taste while rice milk taste neutral. It’s just a matter of preference!
Is rice milk the same as horchata?
Rice milk is similar to horchata, but it’s not exactly the same. Traditional horchata uses whole milk, uncooked rice, almonds, cinnamon sticks, and it’s sweetened with a good bit of sugar.
You can get a similar flavor to horchata by making the recipe below and adding cinnamon, almond extract, and vanilla extract.
Is rice milk a good milk alternative?
Yes, it is a good alternative to cow’s milk if you don’t tolerate dairy. This recipe is a great vegan dairy-free milk that’s gluten free and nut free if you have an allergy. It can be used in recipes like The Best Vegan Lemon Scones and Dairy-Free Alfredo Sauce, as well as common uses like coffee creamer and in a bowl of Oatmeal.
OTHER PLANT-BASED MILK OPTIONS:
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Dairy Alternative: Homemade Rice Milk
Creamy, homemade rice milk costs pennies to make, needs just 2 ingredients, and is ready in 2 minutes. Naturally dairy-free, lactose-free, allergen-free, and great for nearly all diets!
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 2 minutes
- Yield: 4 cups 1x
- Category: Beverages
- Method: Blend
- Cuisine: American
Instructions
- Measure the rice into a blender and add 4 cups of filtered water. Blend until smooth, approximately 1 minute. You may want to blend again for ultra-smooth consistency. Store in the refrigerator and enjoy cold; shake before using.
Notes
- For two cups: ½ cup rice, 2 cups water
- For one cup: ¼ cup rice, 1 cup water
Nutrition
- Calories: 169
Tiffany
Rice cakes used puffed rice, like the cereal, and as far as I know, it takes a serious machine to make rice puff up like that. I haven’t seen an alternative using cooked rice though either. Maybe “rice balls” would be a better search term? I think I’ve seen those around!
J'Marinde
Please put an edit ability in for comments. I see some errors I cannot now correct. thanks.
;->
J'Marinde
When I put all 4 c. of water in and turned on my (Kitchen Aid) machine, it threw water all over my kitchen when I tried to blend it. I have better luck starting with the rice and a 1/2 C. or a bit more of the water, blending it and slowly adding a bit more, then straining it and blending in the rest of the water. I also found tht I liked this better if I blended it with soem commercial milk when drinking it.
Alexa J.
This was really easy to make, and I love how customizable the flavor is! I made two cups of rice milk and added a splash of honey. It still tastes kind of bland to me, BUT it’s a great way to stretch my store-bought almond milk 🙂
I also made a really simple spinach and rice dish to go with the milk – it’s perfect since the spinach supplies the calcium that the rice milk doesn’t! 🙂 I don’t know if I want to try making coconut milk or almond milk next-but I’ll definitely be using more of your recipes!
Frieska
Hi! I definitely will try this since i looove rice milk. Thank u, from Jakarta, Indonesia. ☺
Rosa
Thank you so much for this recipe. Super easy, practical, and one saves a lot of money and on ingesting low-quality, cheaper processed Vegan milks. I did a banana, cinnamon milkshake with mine! 😉
Tiffany
That sounds really good Rosa – so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Mimi
This was super easy!!! Thanks a million $$$ lol
Tiffany
You’re absolutely welcome!
Leslie Sansone Williams
Just whipped up one cup as an experiment. I’ll strain it as you recommended. Thanks so much for sharing this information!
Tiffany
You’re welcome!
J'Marinde
Can you tell me how long it keeps in the refrig?
Can one use this for making yogurt using the crockpot/oven light method and commercial yogurt for starter? Thanks! And thanks for these wonderful, inspirational and educational posts!
J'Marinde
A question – -should the “4 C of filtered water be hot or cold? You specify hot water for the 1/4 C. rice method. thanks – and
does it matter if i just use cold tap water if I do not have filtered water on hand?
Tiffany
Hello! Hot water makes it a bit easier for the rice to break up into smaller pieces (resulting in a better milk), but I’ve used room temperature water without a problem too. I’ve even used tap water, so I think cold tap would be fine as well. You might need an extra blend, but you’ll be good!
Peter's Pan
Uhmmmm Kifer.. is a probiotic living organism.. rice milk while good, is not in the same category.
Tiffany
Correct Peter, kefir is not the same as rice milk, but I wasn’t comparing nutrition content. The parallel is drawn at the ease of making them both.
Ben
I was just wondering what could you add to get all your vitamins? Please and thanks!! Great information, thank you so much!
*Ben
Mercedes
Someone might have asked you this question already. What about the left over water that we boil with the rice? Does that count?
Tiffany
Hi Mercedes! I’ve never made rice and had leftover water… ? My rice always absorbs it all!
Mercedes
I rinse my rice first, than i use plenty of water to cook with and then i drain it. Like when you make pasta? So i thought that water could be used as a rice milk?
Tiffany
Oh, I see. Sure, you could use that water!
Renee
I had no idea it would be this easy, will give it a try. Great way to say some money. It is definitely a healthier option than the store ones with high fructose corn syrup.
Stuart
Hi. Really enjoying what I’m reading on your site here, lots of things that we buy but are easily made.
I just followed your recipe for the rice milk, after buying some to see if I was drinkable and deciding to make some (tried other milks that I just couldn’t stand in the past). Not sure why, but the one I bought is a little sweet tasting, yet doesn’t list any sweetener in the ingredients. I found it quite enjoyable. Ingredients listed were the sunflower oil, 10% rice flour, calcium, sea salt, emulsifier, acidity regulator.
The stuff I made, I used white rice, all that was in the cupboard, and at 1 part rice to 4 parts water it just tasted like bland watery rice. Tried 3 parts water and cooking the rice a little more, that turned like a thin runny slime, if that makes sense, but still tasted like watery rice. Very bland and really not something I could offer to the kids.
I figured there isn’t really anything added in the one I bought that would add the flavour, so I assumed it all came from the rice used. Would using brown rice add a nicer flavour? Any other hints you could give to make it more useful? I’m looking at this for using in coffee, adding to cereal, that sort of thing.
I’m located in Australia if that makes any difference to things.
Cheers
Stu
Tiffany
Hi Stuart, as in the recipe, I recommend vanilla and cinnamon to enhance the flavor. I don’t know what caused the sweet flavor in the store-bought brand, other than what could have been used as the emulsifier and acidity regulator. Neither of those are ingredients themselves, but what ingredients do… mustard is an emulsifier, as is egg yolk… does that makes sense?
If you try the cinnamon and vanilla and still don’t like the flavor, try a few drops of stevia to taste. 🙂
Stuart
Beauty, thanks Tiffany. Makes perfect sense. I’ll keep playing and see how I go. Cheers
Jenny
This is a great recipe & I’m so glad you posted it. Seriously, thank you. I do notice, however, that you have affiliate links to the very product (s) you are criticizing. You make money on these items if people click through & buy. Don’t you find this to be contradictory to what you preach? I love your blog & recipes but it’s hard to see genuineness when you are profiting off of products you condemn.
Tiffany
I appreciate your honesty Jenny, and I hope my comments will clarify my intentions a bit. First, those links are primarily in place to show the brand and price association with the products mentioned. Amazon is one of the few (possibly the only) site that shows the same brand for the same price to everywhere across the country. Company sites don’t show prices, and local stores vary regionally. Neither of those options would work to get my point across.
Also, I don’t believe linking to the product is contradictory to my comments regarding it. I link to products and articles all the time, and a link (in my opinion) doesn’t mean I’m supporting it – especially when I state so within the context. With so many readers being in different places in real food journey, I can’t take for granted that anyone knows anything for certain – even a mere mention of a brand name – as some only recognize by what the container looks like.
In regards to making a profit, I do earn a very small commission on affiliate links, and its that commission that helps to cover the costs associated with running this blog. That’s not a standard quip copy and pasted from a government disclosure – it’s the truth! Unfortunately, there are costs associated with running Crumbs, and we’re not able to cover them all out of our own household budget. The commission helps to offset that.
I appreciate your encouragement and it’s because of readers like you that this blog continues to exist. Thank you, for both the positive note and the challenge to remain an open and transparent blogger.
Rona
I say fair play to you!! “A very small commission” will not go very far towards covering your costs… I notice there are a lot of readers who are very grateful for your recipes and tips… money saving and health inspiring 🙂 Maybe they would like to donate a little each, so you didn’t have to rely on commissions? Nice blog, Tiffany, thank you.
Tiffany
You’re most welcome Rona! 🙂
Jayne
I’m in France VENDEE
Danny Boil
I call bullshit on this – mostly.
As you keep reading the ingredients, you’ll find a slew of vitamins and minerals. Hmmm… well then. I guess if it only has water, brown rice, high-oleic safflower oil and vitamins and minerals, it can’t be that bad for us, right?
WRONG.
It’s those vitamins and minerals that should worry us the most! Our bodies do not process fake foods very well, and that includes synthetic vitamins and minerals.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is NO chemical difference between manufactured vitamins and organic ones – same goes for the minerals….
I don’t think half the stuff added to rice milk, really needs to be there either like corn syrup etc..
But I think from memory, adding some vitamins to rice milk is essential for people who more or less live off it, because rice milk is deficient in some vitamins and minerals – like it’s not a whole food by it’s self.
And some incredients do make it TASTE better – which in terms of practical consideration, gets the product sold, as not many people want plain old “rice and water” milk…
And for the nut jobs without blenders, you can buy bags of rice flour, so soak it up and serve it up.
Erica K.
I have to disagree on the minerals part. Certain forms of minerals (i.e. ionic compounds, oxidation states, complex ions, etc.) are better absorbed in the body than other forms. The most ideal one isn’t necessarily what’s added to the fortified foods that we eat, so a 45% value for calcium on the label might actually be as low as 1% in practical terms, as a hypothetical example. There’s also the issue of balancing nutrients to assure that said vitamins and minerals will have optimal absorption rates. This is more common in *natural* than fortified foods. One last thing on this part – can you be sure that manufacturers are taking proper measures to eliminate anti nutrients in their final product? Skipping a proper soaking of the rice would also inhibit metabolic pathways and essentially waste a lot of what’s in the rice, nutritionally speaking.
As for the corn syrup, there are more health friendly sweeteners out there than just corn syrup; corn syrup is just cheaper and more addictive in terms of flavor and flavor enhancements. One could also cite the number of health issues related to corn syrup, but we don’t have to go there to know that it’s fairly common knowledge…
Bobby Shen
Hi,
When I made rice milk with parboiled rice I found that the rice milk was rather sour I don’t know if this is a sign that the milk has spoiled.
Tiffany
Hi Bobby! Was it sour when you drank it immediately? Or did it sit for a few days?
Kate
I had dethawed some fish in the fridge overnight, and when I woke up the next morning the entire kitchen wreaked of fish–btw I’m pregnant. We didnt have milk for me to soak the fish in to get rid of this fishy smell…but I knew we had a tin of rice in the pantry, and I knew milk could be made! Your recipe was the first I found. 25 minutes kater, the fish were in milk, two fresh arm & hammers were open in the fridge, and I am relieved. A tip: after the blend, I poured the milk through an ultra fine strainer to remove goop and half blended rice. I cant say its as tasty as the rice milk from the store, but I know it’s much healthier, and that’s everything!! As a person who is not one to drink a glass of milk, I can see myself using this rice milk to add to my tea, hot cereals, and inrecipes that call for milk. Nicely done, ultra easy, and above all HEALTHY! Thanks!!
Tiffany
Wow Kate! You’re most welcome, but I’m terribly sorry you had to deal with the fish smell – while pregnant no less! Thankfully, you’ve found a new way to enjoy your favorite beverages and I’m honored to have helped. 🙂 BTW, thanks for the tip on ridding the fish smell. I had no clue!
Bren
This is great in fresh fruit smoothies
Aishah M
I’m trying to do another week of no spending and I’m out of milk. But I have plenty of distilled water and about 50 lbs of rice. It looks like we’ll be using rice milk this week. Thanks for sharing.
Tiffany
LOL, rice milk for us too. And coconut milk. Tip: super-thick rice milk makes for a not-too-bad coffee creamer. 🙂