Enjoy an Berry Acai Bowl loaded with your favorite toppings for a nutritious and delicious breakfast, snack, or healthy dessert. This acai bowl recipe is easy to blend together in just 5 minutes for a quick pick-me-up any time of the day!
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What is an Acai Bowl?
We often think of smoothie bowls as a breakfast or snack food. However, the basic concept for a spoonable acai berry smoothie actually originated as a Brazilian dessert bowl known as "Açaí na tigela."
Recipes for an acai bowl typically include frozen acai puree and other fruits, milk or juice, and guaraná syrup or other sweetener, all blended together into a thick smoothie.
Then the frosty puree is poured into a bowl and loaded with toppings like fresh berries and chopped nuts. It's the perfect sweet frozen treat on a hot evening!
With all of this healthy nutritious goodness, it's no surprise that bowls with acai berries quickly became popular to enjoy all day long. We love a refreshing fruit smoothie to get the morning going (and keep going!)... So what could be better than a bowlful topped with your favorite goodies?
*For more easy and nutritious breakfasts, be sure to try these recipes:
- Healthy Banana Breakfast Smoothie
- Strawberry Mango Smoothie
- Green Detox Smoothie
- Fresh Fruit Salad Recipe
- Strawberry Smoothie
- Mango Peach Smoothie
Why you should make acai bowls at home?
Smoothie bowls at coffee shops and restaurants are often quite pricey. Plus, you can't always be sure they are made with quality wholesome ingredients. So save yourself money and get the most nutritious dish possible by blending up a bowl right at home.
Customize this acai bowl recipe with your favorite berries. You can even make it vegan, add extra goodies, keep it gluten-free, enjoy for breakfast or as a snack... There are so many options!
Best of all, they are super easy to make in only about 5 minutes. Which is likely less time than it would take to wait in line at a café!
Health benefits of Acai
These berries have long been considered a superfood rich in antioxidants that protect the body from cell damage. In fact, they contain as much as 10x more antioxidants than blueberries, which are also known as a super food!
An acai berry also has a great deal of essential vitamins and minerals, with very few carbs or calories.
Ingredients you will need
Milk: We use low-fat, but you can use whatever milk you prefer. Make this recipe dairy-free by using plant milk like almond or soy.
Frozen Berries: A combination of blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries make a sweet and tangy smoothie bowl.
Frozen Banana: Helps to thicken the mixture.
Greek Yogurt: Whole or low fat.
Frozen Acai Puree: Unsweetened is best when combining with the berries. I absolutely love to use this Sambazon brand organic acai puree packets for this smoothie recipe. You can also use acai powder if you prefer.
Honey: Optional, for a bit more sweetness to cut the tart taste of the berries.
Toppings: Continue reading for ideas on what to put on your berry smoothie bowl!
How to make Acai Bowl?
- In a high speed blender jar, place milk, berries, banana slices, Greek yogurt, frozen acai puree pieces, and honey.
- Start blending on low speed using tamper to push things down and around. Slowly increase the speed when everything starts to combine.
- Blend until smooth. You can always use additional liquid little at time, only if needed. Most likely, you won't need any extra liquid.
- Scoop out the blended smoothie into two serving bowls. Top with your favorite toppings such as sliced bananas, berries, fresh fruits, nuts, granola or muesli, seeds and nut butters. Serve immediately!
Expert Tips
- Freeze your fruits like bananas and berries. This is what creates the thick frozen smoothie consistency. I suggest meal prepping the fruits by portioning into individual bags! Then you have just the right amount ready to blend right before serving.
- Use a high speed blender. Otherwise the fruit won't blend so smoothly.
- Unsweetened is best. The berries and honey in this recipe give the smoothie bowl a perfect bit of sweet flavor. So use unsweetened acai puree or powder, and avoid acai puree loaded with sugar. I recommend unsweetened yogurt, too.
FAQs
Acai Berry (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) is a small, blueish/purple fruit that looks very similar to a blueberry. But where blueberries grow on bushes, acai grows large trees.
The flavor is lightly sweet, tart and almost bitter. They are more "earthy" tasting than most other berries.
Yes, these smoothie bowls are very healthy! Berries are considered packed with immunity-boosting vitamins and essential minerals. The bowls are also made with creamy Greek yogurt for a tasty boost of protein and healthy fats.
However, be mindful of the sugar content here. Although naturally occurring, fruit does tend to have a good amount of sugar per serving.
I suggest enjoying soon after preparing the bowls while they are fresh and cold.
Acai Smoothie Bowl Toppings + Variations
Protein: Feel free to swap out the greek yogurt and/or add your favorite nut butters. Almond, cashew, and peanut butter are all delicious! Together with the berries they make a "peanut butter and jelly" flavored smoothie bowl.
Fresh Fruits and Berries: Add to or substitute the fruit in this acai bowl recipe with your favorite fruits. Other tasty options include frozen mango, cherries, and pineapple.
Top the bowls with fresh blueberries, raspberries, strawberry slices, banana slices, or pieces of whatever other fruits you choose to include.
Crunchy Toppings: Sprinkle on hemp or chia seeds, granolas, chopped nuts, and/or coconut flakes for some great crunch.
Vegan Bowls: Use your favorite nondairy milk and plant-based greek yogurt replacement. Also swap maple syrup for honey to make this a vegan smoothie bowl recipe. Alternatively, you can skip milk altogether and use juice.
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Acai Bowl Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Low-Fat Milk (or juice or dairy-free milk like soy, oat or almond)
- ½ cup Frozen Blueberries
- ½ cup Frozen Strawberries
- ½ cup Frozen Raspberries
- ½ cup Frozen Blackberries
- 1 Frozen Banana (slices)
- ½ cup Greek Yogurt
- 200 grams (2 packets) Unsweetened Frozen Acai Puree (broken into pieces or 4 teaspoons acai powder)
- 2-3 teaspoons Honey (or maple syrup - optional)
- Assorted Toppings of choice (fresh fruits, nuts, berries, granola, nut butter, chia seeds, coconut, etc)
Instructions
- In a high speed blender jar, place milk, berries, banana slices, Greek yogurt, frozen acai puree pieces, and honey.
- Start blending on low speed using tamper to push things down and around. Slowly increase the speed when everything starts to combine.
- Blend until smooth. You can always use additional liquid little at time, only if needed. Most likely, you won't need any extra liquid.
- Scoop out the blended smoothie into two serving bowls and top with your favorite toppings such as sliced bananas, berries, fresh fruits, nuts, granola or muesli, seeds and nut butters. Serve immediately!
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