Making rice milk at home is simple, affordable, and healthier than many store-bought options. With just a few ingredients, you can create a smooth, creamy, and dairy-free drink in minutes. It’s perfect for vegans, lactose-intolerant people, or anyone looking for a light milk alternative. Plus, you can customize the taste exactly how you like it.

Quick Answer

How to make rice milk: Soak ¾ cup of uncooked white rice in hot water for 2 hours, then drain. Blend with 4 cups of fresh filtered water for 60 seconds. Strain through a nut milk bag or fine mesh strainer, pour into a glass jar, and refrigerate. It keeps for up to 5 days and costs pennies per batch.

• Step 1: Soak ¾ cup uncooked rice in hot water for 2 hours
• Step 2: Drain soaking water, add rice to blender with 4 cups fresh water
• Step 3: Blend on high for 60 seconds
• Step 4: Strain through nut milk bag, cheesecloth, or fine mesh strainer
• Step 5: Store in sealed glass jar — refrigerate up to 5 days

What Is Rice Milk and Why Are People Making It at Home?

Rice milk is exactly what it sounds like a smooth, mildly sweet, dairy-free beverage made by blending rice with water and straining out the solids. It’s been around far longer than your local coffee shop’s oat milk menu. People in China have been drinking rice-based beverages for over 3,000 years.

In the United States, it started appearing on store shelves in the early 1990s as a niche product for people with severe dairy and nut allergies. Today, it’s mainstream — and the homemade version is having a serious moment.

Why? Three reasons

First, the ingredient labels on store-bought rice milk are genuinely alarming. Flip a carton of Rice Dream and you’ll find canola oil, tricalcium phosphate, carrageenan, and a list of stabilizers that reads like a chemistry exam. None of those are in your kitchen. None of them need to be.

Second, the cost difference is staggering. A standard 32-ounce carton costs between $3.50 and $5.00 at most US grocery stores. A homemade batch of the same size costs roughly $0.08 when you buy rice in bulk. That’s not a typo.

Third, homemade just tastes better. Cleaner, fresher, with a natural sweetness that store-bought versions fake with sweeteners. Once you make it yourself, going back feels like a downgrade.

What You Need to Make Rice Milk

Before you start, here’s everything you’ll need. Nothing exotic. Nothing expensive.

Ingredients (Required):

• ¾ cup uncooked long-grain white rice (or 1 cup cooked/leftover rice)
• 4 cups filtered water (plus extra for soaking)
• 1 pinch of salt

Ingredients (Optional — for flavor):

• 1 Medjool date, pitted (natural sweetener)
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1–2 tablespoons cacao powder (for chocolate rice milk)

Equipment:

• High-speed blender (a Vitamix or Blendtec gives the smoothest result, but a standard blender works fine)
• Nut milk bag, cheesecloth, or fine mesh strainer
• Large mixing bowl or pitcher
• Sealed glass jar for storage

No nut milk bag? No problem. A clean, fine-weave cotton cloth, a double-layered cheesecloth, or a fine mesh kitchen strainer all work well. The nut milk bag gives the smoothest result, but it’s not a dealbreaker.

The Best Rice for Making Rice Milk — And Why It Matters

Not all rice produces the same result. The type you choose affects the flavor, texture, and — this matters — the arsenic level in your finished milk.

Here’s how the most common varieties compare:

Rice Type	Flavor Profile	Texture	Arsenic Level	Best Used For
Basmati (white)	Clean, slightly fragrant	Smooth	Lowest	Everyday drinking, coffee
Jasmine (white)	Floral, mildly sweet	Light	Low	Smoothies, cereal
Long-grain white	Neutral, mild	Medium	Low-Medium	All-purpose
Brown rice	Nutty, earthy	Grainy	Highest	Occasional use only
Short-grain white	Neutral, slightly starchy	Creamiest	Low-Medium	Thicker, barista-style milk

white basmati rice. It consistently tests lowest for inorganic arsenic, produces a clean, smooth milk with no overpowering flavor, and is widely available in the US at a low price point.

Brown rice has more fiber and nutrients, but its higher arsenic content and grainier texture make it a less ideal choice for regular milk-making. More on arsenic in a dedicated section below.

How to Make Rice Milk — Step-by-Step (Two Methods)

Method 1 With Soaked Uncooked Rice (Most Popular)

This is the classic method. It takes about 2 hours of passive soak time and roughly 5 minutes of active work.

• Measure and rinse your rice. Put ¾ cup of uncooked white rice in a bowl and rinse under cold water until the water runs clear. This removes surface starch.
• Soak in hot water for 2 hours. Cover the rice with 2 cups of very hot (not boiling) water. After 2 hours, the grains should feel soft on the outside but still slightly firm in the center — you should be able to snap a piece with your fingernail.
• Drain and discard the soaking water. This is important. The soaking water contains excess starch and some arsenic. Never blend with it.
• Add rice and fresh water to the blender. Pour the soaked rice into your blender along with 4 cups of fresh filtered water. Add a pinch of salt and any optional sweetener or vanilla.
• Blend on high for 60 seconds. You don’t need to pulverize every grain completely. A well-blended mixture with tiny rice flecks is exactly right.
• Strain twice. Pour the mixture through a nut milk bag or double-layered cheesecloth into a large bowl or pitcher. Squeeze gently to extract every drop. A second pass through the bag makes a noticeably smoother result.
• Store in a sealed glass jar. Refrigerate immediately. Shake before each use. Drink within 5 days.

Yield: Approximately 4 cups (32 oz) Active time: 5–7 minutes | Total time: 2 hours 10 minutes

Method 2 — With Leftover Cooked Rice (Fastest — 5 Minutes)

Got rice left over from dinner? You’re already halfway there. This method skips the soak and produces a slightly creamier, smoother milk because the rice is already fully softened.

• Measure 1 cup of cooked rice (any variety) into your blender.
• Add 4 cups of filtered water. Season with a pinch of salt and any optional flavoring.
• Blend on high for 60–90 seconds. Cooked rice breaks down faster than soaked uncooked rice, so keep an eye on the texture.
• Strain through a fine mesh strainer or nut milk bag. Less pulp than the uncooked method, so straining is quicker.
• Store and refrigerate. Same rules apply — sealed glass jar, up to 5 days.

Which method wins? The soaked method produces a slightly lighter, more delicate milk. The cooked rice method is creamier and richer. Both are delicious. Use whichever fits your schedule.

How to Customize Your Rice Milk (Flavor Variations)

Plain rice milk is mild and subtly sweet on its own. But with one or two small additions, you can completely transform it.

• Classic sweetened: Add 1 pitted Medjool date or 1 teaspoon of maple syrup before blending. Natural, not cloying.
• Vanilla: Add ½ teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. Makes it taste like a premium cafe drink.
• Chocolate: Add 1–2 tablespoons of cacao or cocoa powder. Blend thoroughly. Kids will lose their minds over this one.
• Horchata-style: Add ½ teaspoon cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon vanilla. Tastes like the Mexican drink version — warm, spiced, and completely addictive.
• Berry milk: Blend in ¼ cup of fresh or frozen strawberries. Strain well. A naturally pink, lightly fruity result.
• Barista-style creamer: Cut the water to 2 cups instead of 4. The result is thick, rich, and perfect for coffee.

Does Homemade Rice Milk Have Arsenic? Here’s the Truth

This is the question most recipe blogs quietly ignore. You deserve a straight answer.

Yes — rice contains inorganic arsenic. It’s a naturally occurring element that rice absorbs from soil and water more efficiently than most other grains. This is a real, documented fact, not a scare story.

The important context: The amount varies significantly by rice type and how you prepare it.

• Brown rice contains the highest arsenic levels because the outer bran layer — where arsenic concentrates — is still intact.
• White basmati rice (especially from California, India, or Pakistan) consistently tests lowest for inorganic arsenic in studies referenced by the FDA.
• Draining the soaking water before blending reduces arsenic more effectively than skipping the soak altogether. The FDA has also noted that cooking rice in excess water (like pasta) and draining it removes a meaningful portion of inorganic arsenic.

What this means for you: For a healthy adult drinking homemade rice milk occasionally — a few times per week — the arsenic level in white basmati rice milk is not a cause for alarm. This is the same rice millions of people eat as a dietary staple worldwide.

Who should be more careful: Young children and infants (more on this below), and people who are replacing every dairy beverage with rice milk daily at high volumes. In those cases, rotating between different plant-based milks is a wise, practical approach.

The honest truth? Knowing this information and choosing your rice type accordingly puts you miles ahead of anyone buying a random store-bought carton with zero transparency about its ingredients or sourcing.

Homemade vs. Store-Bought Rice Milk — What’s Really the Difference?

Let’s put the two versions side by side and let the numbers speak.

Category	Homemade Rice Milk	Store-Bought (e.g. Rice Dream)
Cost per 32 oz	~$0.08–0.15	$3.50–$5.00
Ingredients	Rice, water, optional date/salt	Rice, water, canola oil, carrageenan, tricalcium phosphate, salt, additives
Sweetener	Your choice or none	Often added (organic rice syrup)
Calcium	Low (natural rice level)	Fortified (typically 25–30% DV)
Vitamin D	None	Often fortified
Taste	Fresh, clean, natural	Processed, slightly flat
Shelf life	4–5 days (refrigerated)	6–12 months (shelf-stable carton)

The honest trade-off: Store-bought rice milk has one real advantage — it’s fortified with calcium and vitamin D. If rice milk is your primary dairy substitute, this matters nutritionally. The solution: take a daily calcium supplement or ensure you’re getting those nutrients elsewhere in your diet, and enjoy the clean, cheap homemade version guilt-free.

Expert Insight — What I’ve Learned After Making Rice Milk 50+ Times

There are things no recipe card tells you. Here are the lessons that only come from doing it wrong first.

The soaking water must go. Every single time. Using it to blend — even once — produces a gluey, starchy result that tastes like liquid rice pudding. Not the goal.

Double-straining is not optional if you care about texture. The first pass removes the bulk of the solids. The second pass is what gives you that silky, smooth, store-quality consistency. Skip it and your milk will have a chalky finish.

The sweet spot for blending is exactly 60 seconds. Under-blend and it’s watery. Over-blend and you’ve aerated so much starch into the liquid that the texture turns slightly gummy. Set a timer. Don’t guess.

Glass jars only for storage. Plastic containers absorb the delicate rice flavor and subtly alter the taste within 24 hours. A simple mason jar with a tight lid is the only vessel worth using.

Separation in the fridge is completely normal. The first time it happens, it looks alarming — a thick layer at the bottom, thin liquid on top. It’s not spoilage. It’s just physics. Shake firmly before every use and it recombines perfectly.

One batch that genuinely humbled me: I used the soaking water AND over-blended for two minutes straight. The result had the texture of watered-down wallpaper paste. The lesson? Rice milk is forgiving, but it does have rules.

Troubleshooting — Why Your Rice Milk Isn’t Coming Out Right

Problem	Most Likely Cause	Fix
Too watery	Not enough rice, or over-strained	Use more rice or reduce water to 3 cups
Slimy or gummy texture	Over-blended, or used soaking water	Blend for exactly 60 seconds; discard soaking water
Starchy, thick flavor	Soaking water used in blend	Always drain and use fresh water
Separates too quickly	Normal behavior — but worsened by plastic containers	Store in glass; shake vigorously before use
Sour smell after 3 days	Milk is past its best	Use as a buttermilk substitute in pancakes or muffins; don’t drink
Bland, flavorless result	Under-seasoned	Add a pinch of salt + ½ tsp vanilla; salt enhances natural sweetness

 

Is Rice Milk Safe for Babies? (The Answer Might Surprise You)

The short answer: not as a primary milk for infants and toddlers under 2.

Rice milk is low in protein, low in fat, and not nutritionally complete enough to meet the developmental needs of young children. Infants need dense, calorie-rich nutrition for brain and body development — rice milk doesn’t provide that at the levels required.

There’s also the arsenic concern. Young children are more sensitive to inorganic arsenic than adults, and the UK’s Food Standards Agency specifically advises against rice milk as a primary drink for children under 4.5 years old.

That said:

• Using a small amount of rice milk as a cooking ingredient in baby food (think soft rice porridge or a gentle sauce) is generally considered safe
• For children over 2 with multiple allergies, a fortified rice milk can be used as part of a varied diet — but always under the guidance of a pediatrician or registered dietitian
• Adults and older children can enjoy homemade rice milk freely as part of a balanced diet

If you’re a parent navigating this, talk to your doctor before making rice milk a daily staple for your little one. That’s the honest, responsible answer.

Conclusion

Homemade rice milk is a great way to enjoy a natural, preservative-free alternative to dairy. It’s easy to prepare, budget-friendly, and allows full control over sweetness and flavor. Whether you prefer it plain or flavored with vanilla or dates, the flexibility makes it a favorite choice. With just a blender and a few minutes, you can always have fresh rice milk ready. Try it once, and it might become a regular part of your kitchen routine. Healthy, simple, and delicious—homemade rice milk truly checks all the boxes.

FAQs

How long does homemade rice milk last in the fridge?

Homemade rice milk lasts 4 to 5 days when stored in a sealed glass jar in the refrigerator. Always shake it before using — separation is completely normal and doesn’t mean it’s gone bad. Discard it if you notice a sour or off smell.

What is the ratio of rice to water for rice milk?

The standard ratio is 1 cup of rice to 4 cups of water — whether you’re using soaked uncooked rice or cooked leftover rice. For a thicker, creamier milk (great for coffee), reduce the water to 2 to 3 cups. For a lighter drinking milk, stick with the 1:4 ratio.

Can I use rice milk instead of cow’s milk in recipes?

Yes — rice milk works well as a 1:1 substitute in smoothies, cereal, overnight oats, pancake batter, and most baked goods like muffins, cakes, and banana bread. Because it’s thinner than cow’s milk, reduce the quantity slightly when making cream sauces to avoid a watery result.

Does rice milk need to be strained?

Only if you used uncooked or soaked rice. If you blend cooked rice for 90 seconds or more, the solids break down enough that straining becomes largely optional. That said, a quick pass through a fine mesh strainer always improves the final texture — it takes 30 seconds and is worth doing.

What can I do with the leftover rice pulp?

Don’t throw it away. The leftover rice solids are packed with starch and subtle flavor. Stir them into rice pudding, fold into pancake or muffin batter for extra body, add to a bowl of oatmeal for thickness, or blend a small amount into a smoothie for fiber. Zero waste, maximum value.

Why does my homemade rice milk taste bland?

Rice has a naturally mild, gentle flavor — that’s not a defect, it’s a feature. But if it tastes flat to you, a pinch of salt is the single best fix. Salt enhances the perception of sweetness without adding any sugar. From there, add ½ teaspoon of vanilla or a small date to taste. You’ll be surprised at the difference.

Is rice milk good for people with nut allergies?

Yes — it’s one of the safest plant-based milks for allergy sufferers. Rice milk is naturally free of nuts, soy, and gluten (when made with certified gluten-free rice), making it the most hypoallergenic option in the plant-based milk category. Always check that your rice is processed in a nut-free facility if cross-contamination is a concern.