Homemade Acai Bowl Recipe - My Everyday Table

Jump to Recipe·5 from 3 reviews

Need a new morning breakfast or a post-workout refuel? This acai bowl is it! Packed with nutritious ingredients and bursting with flavor, these bowls are a great start to your day.

Acai bowls are a thick, nutrient-packed smoothie bowl made with frozen acai puree and loaded with fresh fruit, granola, and your favorite toppings.

If you have no idea what an Açaí bowl is (technically it’s açaí 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.

Acai Bowl Pronunciation

Wondering how to pronounce acai?

Repeat after me: ah-sigh-ee.

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

Table of Contents

Toggle

• What You’ll Love About Acai Bowls
• Ingredient Notes
• DIY Acai Bowl Topping Ideas
• What to Serve with Acai Bowls
• About the Author

View moreView less

What You’ll Love About Acai Bowls

🍓 Thick & Creamy – Just like your favorite smoothie shop bowl, it’s a fun way to eat smoothies!⏱ Quick & Easy – Ready in under 10 minutes with just a few ingredients.🥣 Fully Customizable – Endless additions and topping ideas to suit your taste and nutrition goals.🌿 Easily Vegan & Dairy-Free – Naturally plant-based and nutrient-packed, it’s easy to keep it vegan.💰 Budget-Friendly – Skip the $15 cafe bowl and make it at home for less.☀️ Perfect for Summer – Refreshing, cool, and loaded with fresh fruit.

Ingredient Notes

• Açaí 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.

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, and 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!

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 some guaraná 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.

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!

• Toast – Plain toast or add a topping: avocado toast, peanut butter toast, ricotta toast, or hummus toast
• Coffee – Cappuccino, latte, sweet cream cold foam, iced matcha
• Sides – Breakfast sausage, bacon, hash browns

Print clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

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 USM Scale 1x2x3x

Acai Bowl Base:

• 7 oz. frozen açaí 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 açaí 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! 
2. Transfer to a bowl and top with toppings as desired.

Notes

• Nutrition facts do not include toppings.

About the Author

Emily Dingmann is a recipe developer, nutrition expert, and founder of My Everyday Table. She specializes in creating easy, healthy recipes that help busy parents feed their families well without the stress. With a degree in Nutrition and over 20 years of experience, Emily shares family-friendly meals that are practical, nourishing, and full of flavor. Learn more about Emily’s approach to everyday cooking and nutrition here.

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!