Recipe
🥤 DRINK
Horchata Hondureña
Honduras's own horchata: toasted morro seeds and ground broadleaf coriander seed with rice and cinnamon, blended, strained, and served cold.
Honduran · medium · serves 6
prep 30 min · cook 10 min
~33 cal · 1g protein · 8g carbs · 0g fat · 0g fiber · 0g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Honduran horchata is its own drink, distinct from both the Spanish tiger-nut version and the Mexican rice one. What sets it apart is the pairing of toasted morro (jícaro) seeds with ground semilla de cilantro ancho, broadleaf coriander seed, which gives it a characteristic light-grey colour and a fragrant, faintly herbal, toasted flavour.
The morro and coriander seeds are toasted with a little rice and cinnamon, ground to a powder, then soaked, blended with water, strained, and sweetened. It is served cold, poured over ice, and traditionally finished with a small piece of lime peel resting in the glass. Refreshing and nutritious, it is one of the most recognisable drinks in the country, found in every market and comedor.
Where the Salvadoran morro horchata leans nutty with peanut and sesame, the Honduran one is defined by that broadleaf coriander seed, and this simple version is naturally free of the major allergens.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
1 cup morro (jícaro) seeds
1/4 cup broadleaf coriander seeds (semilla de cilantro ancho)
1/4 cup uncooked rice
1 cinnamon stick
10 cups water
to taste sugar
a few strips lime peel, to serve
Instructions
1
Toast the morro seeds, coriander seeds, rice, and cinnamon in a dry pan until golden and fragrant, taking care not to burn them.
✎ Chef’s note
The toasted broadleaf coriander seed is what makes this Honduran rather than Salvadoran; it gives the drink its grey colour and herbal note.
2
Grind everything to a fine powder.
3
Blend the powder with the water, then let it soak for a while to release its flavour.
4
Strain through a fine cloth, sweeten to taste, and chill.
5
Serve over ice with a strip of lime peel in each glass.
San Pedro Sula tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
San Pedro Sula. San Pedro Sula is Honduras's industrial north, in the coastal country the baleada comes from: a thick flour tortilla folded over refried beans, crema, and crumbled hard cheese. Coconut milk, plantain, and Garifuna seafood soups come in from the Caribbean coast nearby.
🗺️
Honduras. Honduran food centers on corn, beans, and plantain, with the coastal Garifuna tradition bringing coconut-rich seafood soups. Baleadas (folded tortillas with beans and cheese) are the beloved national snack.
🌍
North America. Almost every regional cooking here records who arrived and on what terms. Enslaved West Africans brought rice, okra, black-eyed peas and the techniques behind Lowcountry and Creole food; Chinese railway labour and later Italian, Jewish, Mexican and Vietnamese arrivals built the way the cities eat; and Indigenous foodways sit underneath all of it.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Honduras
BaleadasA thick flour tortilla folded over refried beans, salty cheese, and crema, Honduras’ perfect handheld meal.
Pollo con TajadasHonduran fried or grilled chicken over crisp green-plantain chips with cabbage slaw and sauces.
Sopa de CaracolA rich conch soup in coconut broth with yuca, plantain, and corn, the Garifuna coastal dish Honduras made famous.
Browse all Honduras recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Blender.
Storing it: Cool leftover rice quickly and refrigerate within an hour. Keep up to 2 days and reheat until piping hot all the way through.
Make it a Honduras meal
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Drinks
Frequently asked questions
What is Horchata Hondureña?
Honduras's own horchata: toasted morro seeds and ground broadleaf coriander seed with rice and cinnamon, blended, strained, and served cold.
Where does Horchata Hondureña come from?
Horchata Hondureña is a Honduran dish from San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
Can Horchata Hondureña be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Horchata Hondureña recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Horchata Hondureña safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Horchata Hondureña take to make?
About 40 minutes total (30 minutes prep, 10 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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