Acai Smoothie Bowl

Acai Smoothie Bowl is basically blended frozen acai puree along with frozen fruits piled with more fruits, crunchy granola, or toppings of your choice. It’s like having sorbet for breakfast, but not really. But kinda yes really.

Do you love a good Acai Smoothie Bowl? Because oh my gosh, I sure do…okay perhaps I need to be more straightforward, I am OBSESSED!

Homemade Acai Smoothie Bowl Recipe

My goal today is to show you how easy you can make acai bowls at home – they are easier to make than you think!

I love indulging in my homemade Acai Smoothie Bowl without having to spend money getting them at smoothie shops, because they sure aren’t the cheapest.

Acai Bowls are bowls of goodness that also happen to be pretty healthy. I love that they are typically piled with loads of fresh fruits.

I love them for breakfast, but they are also perfect for whenever I want something frozen, cold and sweet, and just can’t afford to indulge in ice cream.

Lately, because we have been stuck at home a lot, I’ve made more and more homemade Acai Smoothie Bowls. I can’t get myself to juice bars as often and the craving is real, people!

The best part is I am getting so good at this acai smoothie bowl thing (a little self-bragging, I know…) I may be making homemade acai bowl for a while instead of spending so much money buying them!

What is Acai?

The main ingredient in acai smoothie bowls are obviously acai…but you may be asking, what is acai?

Full disclosure: I had to go to Wikipedia for this. 🙂

Acai a fruit originated from South America and it resembles a grape. It is small, round, and purple/black in color.

I have not seen the actual fruit sold in the grocery stores here in the U.S., but I typically buy them in frozen unsweetened puree packet form. And that’s what I use to make my Acai Smoothie Bowl.

Acai has become increasingly popular in recent years in this country, and is mostly blended into smoothie drinks and bowls.

Personally, I don’t think acai tastes all that great if you eat the frozen puree by itself. It is very tart and not sweet at all. And I can’t speak for the actual fruit because I have not had them fresh!

However, with a bit of other sweeteners and fruits added in, just like what we did in this acai smoothie bowl recipe, they taste amazing and I can see why they are so popular.

How to make Acai Smoothie Bowl

Equipment Needed

A blender is necessary to make an Acai Smoothie Bowl. The more powerful the blender the easier this will be. This is the blender I use to make smoothies.

When you get a Acai Smoothie Bowl from juice bars or smoothie places, you will find that the blended fruit/smoothie portion of the bowl is fairly solid and firm, and not overly watery.

That is due to the fact that they use a commercial blender to blend the frozen acai and the other frozen fruits, and commercial blenders are super powerful.

The truth is, in our homes, some blender can do this better than others.

If your blender is not super powerful, frozen acai puree will most likely get stuck in the middle of blending and you’ll need to add more liquid (in this case apple juice) to enable the blender to finish blending the rest of the ingredients.

So in short, getting a frozen, more solid smoothie texture is totally doable if you have a blender that can handle blending the frozen ingredients, but if you don’t, you’ll just need to add more almond milk. The product will still be delicious, just less of “frozen” texture.

Ingredients

Here are some of the ingredients I add to the blender to make this simple Acai Smoothie Bowl:

• Frozen unsweetened acai puree packets – break into small pieces to make it easier to blend
• Frozen strawberries – I prefer to use frozen because it gives your Acai Smoothie Bowl an icy texture.
• Frozen blueberries – Using frozen for the same reason
• Banana
• Almond milk – add more if blender gets stuck! But the trick is the more almond milk you add the less thick your smoothie will be. You can also use dairy milk but I like the lightness that comes with using almond milk.
• Dates – a great way to sweeten your acai smoothie bowls.
• Honey – another optional ingredient to make it a bit sweeter if needed. You can omit this if you don’t want your acai bowls sweet.

Making the acai smoothie bowls

To make acai smoothie bowl, you are simply adding everything into a blender and blending the ingredients together. At any point, if blender is stuck, add more almond milk.

I always try to have the liquid and non frozen items at the bottom and the frozen ones up top so that it’s easier to get the blender going.

When acai is blended it should be smooth and without chunks of frozen fruits.

Pour and divided blended frozen acai smoothie into bowls and top your acai smoothie bowl with these toppings:

• Sliced bananas
• Sliced strawberries
• Dates
• Granola (or cereal, or anything with crunch)
• Chia seeds

Consume immediately for the best texture and taste.

In a way, Acai Smoothie Bowl is kinda like ice cream in the sense that it will melt if you don’t eat it fresh off the blender.

Variation and Substitution

And yes, you can definitely mix and match other ingredients and toppings to your acai smoothie bowl.

Here are other ingredients you can add to blender for the smoothie portion:

• Spinach or kale (add just a little bit and you won’t even taste it, while getting great nutritional benefits!)
• Frozen mangoes
• Frozen peaches
• Frozen raspberries/blackberries, or other berries!
• Peanut or almond butter

Keep in mind that when you add more frozen ingredients, you will need more almond milk (or another form of liquid) to blend the ingredients.

Feel it out as you go! Use this as a guide, especially if this is your first time, and then improvise and go a little crazier if you want! 😉 This is a good base to start with.

As for toppings, here are other great options:

• Cocoa nibs
• Shredded coconut
• Nuts such as almond, walnuts and pecans
• Drizzle with peanut butter or honey

If acai cravings is a thing in your life (as it is mine, obviously…), I hope this makes making these Acai Smoothie Bowls at home much more doable and enjoyable! 🙂

Tips and Tricks

• Frozen fruits: Use some frozen fruits (in our case here, frozen strawberries, blueberries and acai) to achieve the perfect, icy consistency without having to add ice.
• The blend: When blending your ingredients ensure that your mixture is smooth and consistent, but thick enough to support your toppings. Avoid adding too much liquid which can make your smoothie bowl runny.
• Items in blender: Always have your liquids and non-frozen items at the bottom of the blender and frozen items up top to make it easier to blend up your smoothie.
• Serve immediately: Acai bowls are best eaten immediately. They can melt quickly, especially in warmer weather, so consume it right after preparation

ENJOYED THIS RECIPE? Let us know how it was by leaving a rating and review below! 🤍

Other Smoothie Recipes

Yes I love my smoothies! Check out some of my other favorites!

• Blueberry Mango Smoothie with Peanut Butter
• Berry Banana Chia Smoothie
• Mango Strawberry Smoothie
• Refreshing Green Smoothie (by Life, Love and Good Food)