Perfect Acai Bowl
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Published Mar 11, 2024, Updated Sep 30, 2024
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Here’s how to make a thick and creamy acai bowl at home in just 5 minutes! It’s a healthy and refreshing snack or breakfast that can be customized with your favorite toppings.
If you’re looking to make your own smoothie bowl at home, you’ve come to the right spot because I have the perfect base recipe to make an epic acai bowl every time the craving hits! But first let’s start with the basics.
What is Acai?
Before we dive into how to make an epic acai bowl, it’s essential to understand what acai is. Acai (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) is a small, dark purple berry native to the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. It’s often referred to as a “superfood,” because of its nutritional profile including:
- Antioxidants: Acai berries are packed with antioxidants, particularly anthocyanins, which give them their vibrant purple hue. These antioxidants help combat free radical (oxidative stress) in the body, potentially reducing the risk of chronic diseases. (Source)
- Vitamins and Minerals: Acai contains essential vitamins and minerals like vitamin C, vitamin A, and potassium, contributing to overall health and immune support. (Source)
- Healthy Fats: Acai berries are a good source of healthy fats, primarily monounsaturated fats like oleic acid, which can support heart health. (Source)
- Fiber: Acai is rich in dietary fiber, promoting digestive health and helping you feel full and satisfied. (Source)
You’ll typically find acai that has been processed into a pulp and frozen at the grocery store. But be sure to check the package label because some brands do add sugar to the acai. You can also buy acai powder, which is usually in the supplement section.
Acai Bowl Ingredients
You only need five simple ingredients to make the base of this acai bowl. Then you can get creative with the toppings. Here’s what you need:
- unsweetened acai packets – these packets are simply acai puree that has been frozen. I personally like the Sambazon brand and always buy the unsweetened variety. The sweetened packs have a lot of sugar added!
- frozen banana – frozen banana adds natural sweetness to the smoothie bowl and makes it thick and creamy. If you don’t love bananas, you can use 1 cup frozen mango instead! Be sure to freeze your bananas after they’ve been peeled. You can freeze them in chunks or chop it into chunks after freezing.
- non-dairy milk – I like to use unsweetened almond or oat milk, but you can use any type of milk you have on hand. You only need a little bit of liquid for this smoothie.
- frozen mixed berries – you can use whatever type of frozen berries you have on hand. I usually use a frozen berry blend, but using either frozen blueberries, strawberries or raspberries works great. You can also use fresh fruit, but frozen fruit does keep the smoothie bowl consistency thicker.
- peanut butter – look for a natural peanut butter where the only ingredients are peanuts and salt. If you have a peanut or nut allergy you can use a different type of nut or seed butter like almond butter, cashew butter or sunflower seed butter. You can also skip the nut butter all together.
How to Make an Acai Bowl
Step 1: Add acai, banana chunks, berries and peanut butter into your blender. Turn your blender on low speed, slowly increasing speed as everything starts to combine. Use the tamper on your blender to push things around. This might take a bit just because everything is frozen and the smoothie bowl will be thick (but this is what we want)! Add milk 1 Tablespoon at a time as needed to reach desired consistency.
Step 2: Once everything is combined and smooth, scoop your blended smoothie into a bowl and top with your favorite toppings like granola, banana slices, fresh fruit and an extra drizzle of peanut butter, if desired.
Brittany’s Tips
- Make sure you are using unsweetened frozen acai berry packets for this recipe.
- Use a high-powdered blender with a tamper like a Vitamix blender. The tamper is critical for pushing the ingredients around and you definitely need a machine that has power when you’re working through this amount of frozen fruit.
- Acai bowls are meant to be super thick and scoopable with a spoon! Using frozen fruit and a small amount of liquid will help ensure your smoothie bowl ends up nice and thick.
- Want a protein-packed acai bowl? Make my protein acai bowl instead!
Acai Bowl Toppings
Feel free to get creative with your toppings! Most smoothie shops create a pretty design on top of the bowls with a row of sliced bananas, fresh berries and a sprinkle of chia seeds, coconut flakes and even cacao nibs. Of course you can get creative with your favorite toppings. Here are some ideas:
- sprinkle on granola or unsweetened coconut flakes for some crunch.
- add extra fresh berries – a sliced strawberry or fresh blueberries work great!
- fresh banana slices look lovely spread in a row on top.
- sliced kiwis (or kiwi flowers) make for such a pretty acai bowl topper.
- add a sprinkle chia seeds or flax seeds for a little extra protein and fiber.
- add a drizzle of nut butter on top. I love using peanut butter or almond butter.
- layer the acai bowl with chia pudding for a fun addition.
Frequently Asked Questions
Acai bowls are basically smoothie bowls that are made with acai fruit as the base. Imagine a velvety, berry-flavored frozen treat that’s not only indulgent but also nutrient-packed. That’s the essence of an acai bowl. It’s a delightful marriage of flavors and textures, where the richness of the acai puree harmonizes with an array of toppings that can range from fresh fruits and nuts to granola and honey.
Yes! Like I mentioned above, acai is a healthy little super-fruit and loaded with antioxidants. Watch for added sugars in your acai mixture and make sure your bowl is well rounded with protein, fat and fiber for a filling snack or meal.
More Smoothie Bowls to Try
- Ultimate Green Smoothie Bowl
- Ultimate Healthy Smoothie Bowl
- 15 Amazing Smoothie Bowl Recipes
- Dragon Fruit Smoothie Bowl
- Pumpkin Smoothie Bowl
- Maqui Berry Smoothie Bowl
Check out all of the smoothie recipes here on EBF!
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Perfect Acai Bowl
Ingredients
- 2 unsweetened acai packets
- 1 frozen banana, in chunks
- ¼ cup non-dairy milk, if needed
- ½ cup frozen mixed berries
- 1 Tablespoon peanut butter, (or nut butter of choice)
- toppings of choice: a drizzle of nut butter, granola, berries, banana slices, chia seeds etc.
Instructions
- Let frozen acai packets sit out at room temperature for a couple minutes, just enough for the packaging to loosen. Remove from package and cut or break the frozen pack into pieces.
- Add acai, banana chunks, berries and peanut butter into your blender.
- Pop the lid on your blender and begin on low, slowly increasing speed as everything starts to combine. Use the tamper on your blender to push things around. This might take a bit just because everything is frozen and the smoothie bowl will be thick (but this is what we want)! Add milk 1 Tablespoon at a time as needed to reach desired consistency.
- Once everything is combined and smooth, scoop your blended smoothie into a bowl and top with granola, banana slices, fresh fruit and an extra drizzle of peanut butter, if desired.
Video
Notes
- Thick smoothie bowls can be hard to make unless you have a high-powered blender with a tamper. The tamper is critical for pushing the ingredients around and you definitely need a machine that has power when you’re working through this amount of frozen fruit. I’ve found that my Vitamix blender works great for smoothie bowls like this one!
- Banana – don’t like banana? Swap the banana for 1 cup frozen mango.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thanks for the delicious and easy recipe! I found it makes 2 good sized small bowls or one large, the small size are perfect portion for us.
YUM! I am so glad you are loving this recipe, Kay. Thank you for taking the time to share your review & star rating, it means so much to me!
Where do I get the açaí packets?
You can get them in the frozen section, typically where you would find frozen fruit.
How do you drizzle the peanut butter on top from a jar? My PB looked like a glob on top of the bowl instead of a pretty drizzle LOL Do I need a squeeze bottle instead?
Hi Victoria – I recommend using all natural peanut butter for the drippy consistency. It is made with just peanuts and sometimes sea salt and always gives the perfect drizzle. Hope that helps!
Do I need to add more milk if I’m adding In protein powder?
Hi Lianne – Yes, you will most likely need to adjust the amount of milk depending on how thick the protein powder makes your mixture. Hope you enjoy this recipe!