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5-Minute Acai Bowl Recipe

Need a new morning breakfast or a post-workout refuel? This energizing acai bowl is it! Packed with nutritious ingredients and bursting with flavor, these bowls are a great start to your day. The frozen fruity acai base is topped with plenty of creamy and crunchy toppings for a mix of flavors and textures. If you are new to acai bowls, we’ll go over all the details – what they are, how to make them, nutrition and health benefits, and the best toppings to make the best acai bowl at home!

If you like nutritious and delicious breakfasts, try my breakfast meal prep, whipped cottage cheese, and yogurt parfaits next time.

Acai bowl with granola, blueberries, and strawberries.

If you have no idea what an Aรงaรญ bowl is (technically it’s aรงaรญ but I’ll use acai)…know that you are not alone. I probably wouldn’t know either except that I worked in the natural food industry for five years (meaning you see everything out there!)…and then I lived in West Hollywood, California. And in LA, acai bowls are available at every juice bar. And said juice bars are on every corner.

So we’re going to start at the beginning. There’s a lot to cover so scroll on through, or click on the specific section in the table of contents to jump to the section you’re interested in.

Acai Bowl Pronunciation

Wondering how to pronounce acai?

Repeat after me: ah-sigh-ee.

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

What You’ll Love About Acai Bowls

  • Delicious and nutritious
  • A fun way to eat smoothies
  • Endless variations and topping combinations
  • Ready in just 5 minutes
  • Made with simple ingredients
  • Naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan-friendly

Ingredients

  • Aรงaรญ packets – Look for the frozen acai puree packets, not acai powder. You will find them in the frozen fruit section of your store. The Sambazon brand is a popular and high-quality choice. You can also find the pouches of acai puree at Trader Joe’s and Costco in the freezer section. Acai doesn’t have a ton of flavor or sweetness on its own, which is why you’ll typically see it used for a bowl or smoothie, combined with other ingredients.
  • Banana – This is a classic addition to acai bowls and helps to add natural sweetness and flavor to the base. It works best if your bananas are frozen, which will help to keep the mixture nice and thick. Peel and break bananas in half before putting them in the freezer.
  • Berries – For some extra natural sweetness, flavor, and nutrition, we’re also blending the acai base with frozen blueberries and strawberries. You can use your favorite berries, but just like the frozen bananas, it helps to use frozen berries to keep the texture thick.
  • Honey – Acai is low in sugar, so I think it helps to have a bit of natural sweetness either from fruit, honey, or a combination of both. Add sweetener to taste, you can adjust according to your preference.
  • Liquid – I’ve used almond milk, but you can use your milk of choice – dairy or non-dairy. You can use coconut milk, coconut water, apple juice, or any other fruit juice.
Ingredients to make acai bowl

DIY Acai Bowl Topping Ideas

There are so many ways to add some fun and exciting toppings to your acai bowl at home! Here are a few ideas:

  • Fresh fruit – Fresh berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries all work well), kiwi, and sliced banana are popular toppings.
  • Granola – Use homemade granola or your favorite store-bought granola. You could also use muesli or even a crunchy cereal.
  • Nut butters – Peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, or even chopped nuts…anything goes! This is a helpful topping to add some extra protein, fiber, and fat to the bowl which will help make it more filling and satisfying.
  • Fun extras – Cacao nibs, cocoa powder for dark chocolate flavor, chocolate chips, coconut flakes, goji berries, bee pollen, spirulina, etc.
  • Seeds – Chia seeds, hemp hearts, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, will all add a nutrition boost and some major crunch. You could also blend them into the base.
  • Sweetener – A drizzle of honey, maple syrup, or agave all work well to add sweetness.
  • Creamy topping – Add a scoop of Greek yogurt or coconut whipped cream for some creamy flavor that will really make this taste like dessert!

Emily’s Tip

You want your acai bowl to be really thick so you can eat it with a spoon, so be careful to not add too much liquid. You can always add more if needed, but can’t take it away once it’s in there!

How to Make Acai Bowls at Home

This is an overview, the detailed instructions can be found below in the recipe card.

  1. Blend. In a high-powered blender, add the frozen acai packets, frozen berries, frozen banana, liquid of choice, and sweetener if using. Blend until smooth and thick.
Making acai bowl
Acai bowl with strawberries and blueberries
  1. Assemble bowl. Transfer acai mixture to a shallow bowl.
  2. Add your favorite toppings. Drizzle with honey and peanut butter and top with sliced banana, fresh berries, and granola. (See list above for more topping ideas!)
Acai bowl with toppings

FAQs

What is Acai?

Acai berries is a “superfood” from the Amazon rainforest and acai bowls are thick smoothie bowls that are served with toppings like fresh fruit, granola, and coconut. Traditionally, the bowls are simple with sliced banana, granola and someย guaranรก syrup for some sweetness.
Now that they’ve gotten so popular, there are many different variations. The Bowl in Naples, Florida is one of our favorite spots to grab an acai bowl on the way to the beach on vacation, check out their acai bowl menus for some ideas and inspiration!

Are acai bowls healthy?

I don’t usually like to get into healthy vs NOT healthy foods, because I think all foods can fit within our diets and the term healthy doesn’t mean much. If you are a vegan, then yes, this would be healthy; and if you are keto, then no, this wouldn’t be healthy. It’s all relative and individual.

But I know you are wondering, fine, but are acai bowls healthy?!

Yes, acai bowls can be healthy! They also have a reputation for being really high in sugar, but it really depends on what you put into them. If you’re concerned, make it at home so you know just what is going into them.

When I get them at smoothie shops, I like to make sure I’ve got some that are blended with a nut butter and then I’ll also add a scoop of peanut butter on the top so that it is filling enough for a meal.

The nutrition in acai bowls will vary depending on what you put into your bowl and how you top it! You can easily create your own perfect bowl based on what your needs are.

Acai bowl at home with fresh toppings.

What to Serve with Acai Bowls

Do you need to serve a side with acai bowls? It’s up to you! For some people, a smoothie may have the calories to be a meal, but isn’t as satisfying as eating (chewing!) a meal, so it will really depend. If you need to add some sides, here are a few ideas!

Acai bowl with fresh fruit

More Healthy Breakfast Recipes

If you love this homemade acai bowl recipe, you might also like some of these other healthy breakfast recipes:

Want More?

Follow Emily on Instagram or TikTok for family dinner recipe videos and tips for feeding kids.

Bowl of acai smoothie and toppings with a spoon.
Print
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Acai bowl with granola, blueberries, and strawberries.

Acai Bowl Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 3 reviews

Description

You’re going to love this acai bowl recipe! Packed with nutrition and bursting with flavor, these bowls are a great start to your day.


Ingredients

Units Scale

Acai Bowl Base:

  • 7 oz. frozen aรงaรญ puree
  • 1 frozen banana
  • 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
  • 1/2 cup frozen strawberries
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • protein powder if desired (I like collagen as it doesn’t add much flavor or texture!)

Acai Bowl Toppings: (See more ideas above in post)

  • sliced fruit
  • fresh berries
  • drizzle of honey
  • granola
  • peanut butter


Instructions

  1. In a blender, add aรงaรญ packet, frozen banana, blueberries, strawberries, and almond milk together until smooth. Add in more milk tablespoon by tablespoon if you need to loosen the smoothie up a bit, but you do want to keep it thick!ย 
    Acai bowl ingredients
  2. Transfer to a bowl and top with toppings as desired.

    Acai bowl with granola, blueberries, and strawberries.



Notes

  • Nutrition facts do not include toppings.

Food styling and photography by Loren Runion

This post may contain affiliate links. They do not add any charge to you, but I will make a very small commission from them. I only link to products I use and recommend. Thank you for your support!

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24 Comments

  1. I love acai bowls! and I think they are definitely better to make at home than pay $$ for one out.

  2. I just discovered Sambazon’s acai bowls last week so am happy to see your recipe! After trying the Sambazon acai sorbet, I wanted to recommend it to everyone I knew (it probably helped that it was 90 degrees that day)! Now I definitely want to buy the acai smoothie packs to make a few bowls…and who knew it had so little sugar? Thanks for sharing the inspiration!

  3. I’ve been waiting for this post! Well, you know my first experience with aรงaรญ bowls was when we lived in Brazil. I am loving that I can get the bowls now that we are in California. The aรงaรญ we ate in Brazil came in really elaborate parfaits. The one I loved had star fruit and coconut pieces. The puree was also so concentrated that it almost turned your mouth black even with the mix ins. I’ve noticed they are a little lighter around here. Oh, and I tried buying the berries once at a market that imported them from the north of Brazil to the south where we lived. They are small, but have a massive seed inside. It was like a stone. I still have no idea how they process the berry to get the puree! Your combination is gorgeous. Love the photos!

    1. Glad to have your Brazilian expertise! I was hoping you would weigh-in. I think I’ll try some more elaborate bowls next time.

  4. Does anyone how many calories an Acai ‘classic Bowl’ have? we have a new JUJU Bar close to where I work?

    1. Hi Anita,

      I have the nutrition facts for this particular bowl listed above, but there isn’t a standard recipe as the ingredients and toppings can vary, so it might be hard to find an exact answer.

  5. Iโ€™m just discovering these and canโ€™t wait to try and make them at home! This might be a silly question but where do you find the frozen purรฉe? Most of what Iโ€™m finding is powder.
    Thanks!

  6. I bought some aรงai powder โ€ฆโ€ฆcan I still make an aรงai bowl.??
    What can I mix the powder with โ€ฆ..yogurt ?.?
    Hope to hear from you
    Thankyou

    1. Hi Robyn, I haven’t used the powder, so I’m not exactly sure, but I would use it in a smoothie with lots of berries. It will be different but should still give it some acai flavor!

  7. Thanks so much! I followed your recipe and it came out great. I thawed the packets first. So it wasn’t thick. Will leave frozen next time.

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