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Jun17

How to make an Acai Bowl at home!

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Buying acai bowls at fancy smoothie shops is expensive. Make one at one that is equally delicious and better for your budget with Trader Joe’s Acai Puree Packets. 

While I love smoothies and smoothie bowls, I HATE paying an excessive amount for them since they are so easy to make at home. I mean, most smoothies, smoothie bowls and acai bowls will cost at least $9. And for that price, I could buy all the ingredients to make about 10 smoothies. And that’s a much better option. In addition, not all smoothies you buy are actually healthy. So read this post about healthy smoothies to know how to spot an unhealthy smoothie and how to make them (or order them) so they’re healthier!

I have a bunch of healthy smoothie recipes you can make at home, and today I’m sharing an easy acai bowl recipe. It’s SO easy in fact, that you might scoff at yourself for what you spent prior to this recipe! Granted, I have a Vitamix and that makes things significantly easier and tastier. It’s an investment but worth every single penny. And hey, while the blender is an investment, everything you need for this bowl can be found at Trader Joe’s , so you’re saving money there. (Many of the items in this post are on my list of Trader Joe’s Must-Haves.)

Alright, let’s get onto today’s Acai Bowl recipe!!

Easy Acai bowl recipe
Acai bowl ingredients
how to make Acai bowl

What is Acai, anyway?

Acai is a Brazilian super-fruit, and it’s most popular consumption form comes via Acai bowls. These initially gained popularity, in part, due to the beautiful “instagrammable” look of them. But looks aside, Acai is packed with antioxidants and loaded with healthy fats and fiber.

Easy Acai Bowl Recipe

What is an acai bowl made of? Here’s the thing: Acai bowls are really they’re just a thick smoothie that has some acai puree blended in there and then it’s all dumped in a bowl and eaten with a spoon. So it’s just a smoothie bowl. And that’s less intimidating right? Not all smoothie bowls are acai bowls, but all acai bowls are smoothie bowls. (I’m probably going to offend some acai bowl purist somewhere. Whatever.)

ANYWAY, I digress. The easiest way to make an acai bowl is to buy frozen acai puree. Whole Foods sells Sambazon packets that are plain or have protein or have greens or have other berries, and those things are great — but also expensive. But enter the Trader Joe’s Acai puree packets. They contain nothing but acai puree, but guess what – you can easily add greens, protein powder and extra berries. Which is exactly what I do. And the Trader Joe’s ones cost around $5 for a pack of 4 packets. (Say that 5 times fast.)

So all you’ll need for this recipe is listed below.

Ingredients

Frozen Acai Packet

Frozen Banana

Frozen Mixed Berries

Almond Butter or Peanut Butter (Both of those are on my list of Costco Must-Haves

Protein Powder (my favorite proteins here)

Medjool Date

Spinach or Kale

Almond Milk

This my favorite combos but definitely experiment and figure out what you like. Sometimes I put in the banana, sometimes I leave it out. Then if you like more sweetness, adding a medjool date will help. I usually add spinach or kale for some extra green nutrient goodness, but be warned – it won’t be a lovely purple color if you add too much. That doesn’t bother me, but if you’re a visual eater, keep that in mind. (If you have lots of extra dates around after buying them for this recipe, make these stuffed dates for an afternoon snack!)

And toppings are kind of the best part, so I included a list of my favorite options next!

Acai Bowl Toppings

Fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and/or bananas

Cacao Nibs

Unsweetened Coconut Flakes

Nuts, e.g. walnuts, sliced almonds, pecans

Seeds, e.g. hemp seeds, chia seeds

Granola

Bee Pollen

It’s really up to you and your preference!

I buy most of my toppings from Thrive Market since I find the best prices on pantry staples there. (Use this link for 25% off your first Thrive Market order!) But Trader Joes and Amazon have good selections too.

Instructions

Step 1

Add all of the ingredients for the base in a blender.

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Step 2

Blend! Add a little more liquid as needed, but don’t add too much at once or you’ll be left with a smoothie instead of a bowl.

healthy recipe ideas
Step 3

Add your toppings. I like to add them in little sections so that it looks like it would if I bought it from a juice bar. But it tastes the same either way, so it doesn’t matter if it’s pretty!

FAQs about Acai Bowls

FAQs about Acai Bowls

How do you thicken an acai bowl?

A common problem when making acai bowls is that they turn out too runny. The fix? Just add less liquid. Seriously. I don’t like adding unnecessary thickeners (like xanthum gum) to things and this combo comes out perfectly as is. So, if you can’t get it to blend, just add a tiny bit more of milk, a little bit at a time (like 1-2 tablespoons) and then blend again.

How should I store an Acai bowl?

If you are not planning to eat your bowl right after you make it, you might want to consider freezing it.  When you freeze your blended smoothie, simply scoop it into a bowl and add your toppings when you are ready to serve it!

What tastes good with Acai?

Truthfully, almost anything that is sweet! Pass on the savory! 😉 I add mixed berries, but I know people who love only strawberries or just peaches. However, I do recommend using frozen fruit when blending so you don’t need to add ice, which can dilute the flavor.

Acai Bowl toppings
make Acai bowl at home

Enjoy!! If you try this, I’d love to hear what you think in the comments. And I’d also love to hear your favorite toppings!

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Acai bowl recipe

Easy Acai Bowl Recipe

  • Author: Teri
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 2 minutes
  • Total Time: 7 minutes
  • Yield: 1 bowl 1x
  • Category: smoothie
  • Method: blender
  • Cuisine: smoothie bowl

Description

Buying acai bowls at fancy smoothie shops is expensive. Make one at one that is equally delicious and better for your budget with Trader Joe’s Acai Puree Packets. 


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 frozen acai packet
  • 1 scoop vanilla or plain protein powder
  • 1/2 frozen banana
  • 1 cup frozen mixed berries
  • 1 tablespoon almond butter
  • 1 date
  • handful of spinach or a few stalks of kale
  • 1/41/3 cup almond milk, only gradually adding to keep the mixture thick!

Instructions

  1. Blend all your ingredients together until very creamy.
  2. Top with fresh fruit, granola, nuts, chia seeds — whatever you desire!

Notes

  • You may need to use your blender stick or scrape down the edges to get it to blend given the small amount of liquid. It should be very thick! Only add more liquid as needed.
  • The nutrition facts are based on the ingredients in the smoothie mixture only. Toppings will add additional calories and macros. These are approximations only and your exact stats may vary based on the specific brands you use in yours!
  • This is a rather large portion so if you have a smaller appetite, cut it in half or freeze half for later!

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 bowl
  • Calories: 524
  • Sugar: 41.6
  • Sodium: 296.1
  • Fat: 20.2
  • Saturated Fat: 2.9
  • Carbohydrates: 61.4
  • Fiber: 14.4
  • Protein: 29.5
  • Cholesterol: 0

Keywords: smoothie, smoothie bowl, acaí, Trader Joe’s

Oh how I miss the days of enjoying breakfast with Maizey by my side. This is an older photo but I had to include it. I miss my sweet girl.

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    5 responses to “How to make an Acai Bowl at home!”

    1. Yes! The Trader Joe’s packets are great. I’ve also never had an acai bowl at a shop but when I top it with shredded coconut and seeds I think it’s just as good, as you said. Sometimes I add honey for sweetness since I don’t usually have dates on hand 🙂

    2. That’s what I use too (trader joe’s acai packets) and also I love topping it off with the coconut chips from TJs too!

    3. I didn’t know they sold acai packets ! I have one place near me and they’re SO good but like you said, $13!!! So expensive! I’ll be trying this 🙂

    4. What blender do you recommend? I have an ice crush option on my blender but it doesn’t do well blending smooties or frozen fruit.

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