I feel like whenever I purchase an Acai Bowl, I hear back “The total is $49.99, please.” Okay, not really, but the point here is that they can be pricey! They are also ridiculously delicious and packed with essential nutrients, so I had to come up with my own Acai Bowl Recipe to make at home.
The first time I bought an Acai Bowl, it had frozen mango mixed into the base. The tanginess that the mango adds to the base of the bowl is something that I look forward to with each scoop. I knew this was a step that I had to replicate at home. While the toppings in my recipe are entirely customizable, this base trick is one that I never skip! In my Acai Bowl Recipe, I always mix the acai puree base with another frozen fruit and then add a squeeze of lemon juice. Trust me when I say making your base this way is addictive!
WHAT IS ACAI?
Before we dive into the recipe, let’s chat a little about what Acai is and why it’s so good for you.
Acai is a type of berry found on Acai Palm Trees. Native to South American rainforests, these berries resemble grapes and have a rich, dark purple hue. Acai is widely regarded as a “superfood” or a “superfruit” due to the fact that it contains more antioxidants than other commonly consumed berries. There are a number of potential benefits from acai berries, which include improving heart health, aiding in weight loss, improving skin, and being anticancerous.
WHAT ARE ACAI BOWLS?
An Acai Bowl is a popularly consumed breakfast staple. The bowl generally contains frozen acai puree as the base ingredient of the bowl. The acai puree base can be mixed with frozen fruit or even protein powder for extra nutritional benefits. The bowl is then finished with a variety of customizable toppings that range from fresh fruit to granola, or even nuts. The nutrients and antioxidants packed in these bowls make them a great energy-fueling choice for breakfast. But let’s not limit them to just breakfast – these bowls can also be eaten in the summertime as a cooling snack.
My Acai Bowl Recipe
It’s super quick, easy, and I save a lot of money by making them at home. In fact, I find that I am able to make 3-4 Acai Bowls from my recipe for the price that I pay for one bowl from local Acai Shops. The star of the show here is the Organic Acai Puree Packets that I buy from Trader Joe’s. The package contains four separate acai packets and I use one packet to create one Acai Bowl. While there are a million different ways to customize your Acai Bowl Recipe, I stick to the same variation of mine because I enjoy my bowl so much. I almost always use mango in my base and my usual topping choices are granola, coconut, dark chocolate, and fresh blueberries!
CUSTOMIZATION IS THE KEY TO YOUR ENJOYMENT
My Acai Bowl Recipe is easy to tweak and customize to your own preferences and dietary restrictions. Don’t want to add fruit to the base of your Acai Bowl? Try protein powder instead. An experiment with different toppings! Feel free to use this Acai Bowl Recipe as a general guide and get creative with your customizations.
Quick & Easy Acai Bowl Recipe
Ingredients
Acai Bowl Base
- 1 packet Trader Joe’s Organic Acai Packet (99g)
- 3/4 – 1 cup coconut water
- 1 cup frozen mango (or frozen fruit of your choice)
- juice of 1/2 a lemon
Acai Bowl Toppings
- 1/2 cup fresh blueberries (or fresh fruit of your choice)
- granola of your choice
- coconut flakes to taste
- crumbled dark chocolate
Instructions
- Combine all base ingredients into the smoothie bowl attachment of your blender (a regular blender will work if you do not have this attachment).
- Blend base ingredients until base reaches desired consistency; add more coconut milk if needed.
- Pour base into a smoothie bowl.
- Top bowl with desired toppings.
- Serve immediately and enjoy.