It's Summer! Picture the perfect beach day: sunshine, a good book, and…Acai bowls!
Gaining popularity throughout the last few years, acai bowls have become the quintessential Summer staple. Acai, pronounced “ah-sigh-EE”, is a combination of grape and blueberry with its own earthy, sweet, and refreshing taste. Originally, it comes from acai berry palm trees in South American rainforests.
Acai has always been associated with health and other superfoods due to its high nutritional value. Specifically, some claim that it contains a lot of antioxidants and vitamins. While scientists haven't discovered additional health benefits it provides, that doesn't take anything away from its delicious taste!
Image Credit: Abdel Rahman from Unsplash
But away from acai berries, what are acai bowls? Acai bowls also originated from South America, specifically Brazil, made by blending or pureeing frozen acai palm fruits into a thick, smoothie-like texture.
Many serve it in a bowl, topped with granola, banana, and Brazilian syrup. However, as acai bowls spread to the U.S., we started adding a wide variety of toppings, including coconut flakes, berries, honey, Nutella, chocolate chips, cocoa nibs, pineapple, nuts, flax seeds, even goji berries, and more!
With the opening of many acai bowl places like Playa Bowls, Jamba Juice, Nekter Juice Bar, Vitality Bowls, and more, there have been so many more interesting and delicious acai bowl variations. Yet, the prices at these stores are definitely not cheap, with one bowl costing at least $10. So, since the Summer is already here, why not make this refreshing and healthy treat at home? Learn three recipes for acai and smoothie bowls below!
Image Credit: Eiliv Aceron from Unsplash
1. The Classic Acai Bowl
The classic acai bowl contains the most essential toppings: granola, banana, honey, and berries with a delicious acai base. It's for any acai bowl newbies (and classic) lovers who want to taste more of the acai! This recipe has two servings!
Ingredients (2 Servings):
- 1 Pack (100-150 grams) of Unsweetened Frozen Acai Puree (I would recommend the Sambazon Acai Superfruit packs, or you could try other brands like Acai Root or Pitaya Foods) If you can't find frozen Acai packs in your grocery store, you can also try using Acai powder (and add more frozen fruit).
- 1 ½ Cup of Frozen Berries (any type of berry - including strawberry, blueberry, or blackberry). To get that creamy texture, the trick is adding frozen fruit! Any frozen fruit would give you a similar consistency, but in order to not overpower the acai flavor, I suggest using berries, instead of any other fruit.
- 1 Sliced Frozen Banana (use a big, whole banana!) Frozen bananas are definitely a must to make sure the bowl is as creamy as possible. I highly recommend not substituting this ingredient with anything else because it sweetens the bowl and brings out a fruitier, thicker taste.
- ¼ Cup of Milk or Juice (use juice, water, or plant-based milk if you are lactose intolerant or want a more sorbet-like taste and texture). This ingredient is pretty flexible - you just need some sort of liquid to get things blended in your blender. Remember, remember, remember, to not add too much liquid!
- ½ Cup of Yogurt (This ingredient is optional - add if you love yogurt!) Make sure you're adding Greek or plain yogurt because if you add flavored yogurt, it will likely completely mask the delicious acai flavor.
- Assorted Toppings (Berries, sliced banana, granola & honey). Add literally anything you want! Classic toppings include any sort of berries, sliced banana, granola, honey, or anything else you want (like flax seeds, nuts, chocolate etc.)!
Image Credit: Eiliv Aceron from Unsplash
Steps:
- Prepare the frozen fruit - slice your banana, get some frozen berries, and buy your acai packs. For your bananas, slice them into big chunks and transfer them into a Ziploc bag or a baking tray. If you're using fresh fruit instead of store-bought frozen berries, transfer the fresh berries into the same bag or tray. Then, freeze for 3-4 hours!
- Blend! Once the fruit is frozen, get out a blender and add in the ¼ cup of liquid first. (It's important to add in the liquid first especially if you're using a not-so-high-quality blender.) If you're using yogurt, add in the yogurt too. Then, break apart the acai pack, and add the broken-apart acai, frozen berries, and frozen banana pieces into the blender. With the power on low or medium, blend! If you have a tamper, use it to push the frozen fruit. But if you don't have a high-speed blender or tamper, stop the blender whenever the fruit gets stuck, and use a spoon or spatula to mix the fruit around, and start the blender again. Continue to blend until the mixture becomes smooth, and add additional liquid if needed. Make sure the smoothie is as thick as possible!
- Put it back together. Pour the smoothie into two bowls. Add your favorite toppings onto the acai base aesthetically, and drizzle the honey. Finally, enjoy!
2. The Nutella Bowl
The Nutella Bowl is practically the same as the Classic Acai Bowl - it just has loads of drizzled Nutella on it! It's for all of the chocolate and Nutella loves out there! The recipe below is the exact same as the Classic but with an added step of drizzling Nutella.
Ingredients (2 Servings):
- 1 Pack (100-150 grams) of Unsweetened Frozen Acai Puree (I would recommend the Sambazon Acai Superfruit packs, or you could try other brands like Acai Root or Pitaya Foods)
- 1 ½ Cup of Frozen Berries (any type of berry - including strawberry, blueberry, or blackberry).
- 1 Sliced Frozen Banana (use a big, whole banana!)
- ¼ Cup of Milk or Juice (use juice, water, or plant-based milk if you are lactose intolerant or want a more sorbet-like taste and texture).
- ½ Cup of Yogurt (This ingredient is optional - add if you love yogurt!)
- Assorted Toppings (Berries, sliced banana & granola).
- Nutella (Duh - for a Nutella Bowl!). Prepare as much Nutella as you want! Make sure, though, it's not way too much that it covers the taste of Acai. Also, make sure the Nutella is as melty as possible so you're able to drizzle it!
Steps:
- Prepare the frozen fruit - slice your banana, get some frozen berries, and buy your acai packs. For your bananas, slice them into big chunks and transfer them into a Ziploc bag or a baking tray. If you're using fresh fruit instead of store-bought frozen berries, transfer the fresh berries into the same bag or tray. Then, freeze for 3-4 hours!
- Blend! Once the fruit is frozen, get out a blender and add in the ¼ cup of liquid first. (It's important to add in the liquid first especially if you're using a not-so-high-quality blender.) If you're using yogurt, add in the yogurt too. Then, break apart the acai pack, and add the broken-apart acai, frozen berries, and frozen banana pieces into the blender. With the power on low or medium, blend! If you have a tamper, use it to push the frozen fruit. But if you don't have a high-speed blender or tamper, stop the blender whenever the fruit gets stuck, and use a spoon or spatula to mix the fruit around, and start the blender again. Continue to blend until the mixture becomes smooth, and add additional liquid if needed. Make sure the smoothie is as thick as possible!
- Put it back together. Pour the smoothie into two bowls. Add your favorite toppings onto the acai base aesthetically, and drizzle however much Nutella you'd like on top of the toppings. Finally, enjoy this chocolate-hazelnut and fruity goodness!
3. The Mango Bowl
Image Credit: Harrison Macourt from Pexels
Want to try a fruitier, more tropical base? Then the Mango Bowl is perfect for you! The mango base is the acai base's cousin - sweet, tangy, and super tropical.
If you're a smoothie fan, you can also adjust this bowl into a more liquid-y smoothie! As always, decorate it with your favorite toppings, and this recipe also serves two.
Ingredients (2 Servings):
- 2 Large Mangoes or 2 Cups of Frozen Mango Chunks. This ingredient is obviously the key to a Mango Bowl! You can buy 2 large ripe mangoes, peel them, slice them into chunks, and freeze them, or just get store-bought frozen chunks. Make sure the mango chunks are frozen - it will make the smoothie base as thick as possible! Also, if you're buying fresh mangoes, make sure they are slightly ripe when you use them!
- 1 Sliced Frozen Banana (use a big, whole banana! Or if you want more mango flavor, use half a frozen banana!)
- ¼ Cup of Milk or Juice (use juice, water, or plant-based milk if you are lactose intolerant or want a more sorbet-like taste and texture). Many recipes use plant-based milk like coconut milk or almond milk for a Mango Bowl specifically. Remember to also add more liquid if your blender gets stuck.
- Assorted Toppings (Berries, sliced banana & granola). Add literally anything you want! Classic toppings include any sort of berries (I love strawberries with mango!), sliced banana, granola, honey, more mango, shredded coconut, or anything else (like flax seeds, nuts, chocolate chips etc.)!
- Honey (Optional - use if you want a sweeter base!)
Steps:
- Prepare the frozen fruit - slice the banana and freeze the mangoes. For both the banana and mangoes, slice them into big chunks and transfer them into a Ziploc bag or a baking tray. Then, freeze for 3-4 hours! You obviously don't have to do this if you're using store-bought frozen fruit.
- Blend! Once the fruit is frozen, get out a blender and add in the ¼ cup of liquid first. (It's important to add in the liquid first especially if you're using a not-so-high-quality blender.) Then, add the frozen mango chunks and banana pieces into the blender. With the power on low or medium, blend! If you have a tamper, use it to push the frozen fruit. But if you don't have a high-speed blender or tamper, stop the blender whenever the fruit gets stuck, and use a spoon or spatula to mix the fruit around. Continue to blend until the mixture becomes smooth, and add additional liquid if needed. Make sure the smoothie is as thick as possible!
- Put it back together. Pour the mango base into two bowls. Add your favorite toppings aesthetically (refer to the pictures for inspiration), and enjoy!
Pro-Tip for All Recipes
Adjust the liquid to frozen fruit/acai ratio according to how thick you want the acai base to be! More frozen fruit and less liquid will yield a thicker base, while less frozen fruit and more liquid will give you a more liquid-y texture. It might be easier to blend more fruit and less liquid if you have a higher-quality blender!
That's it! Now, you can enjoy and experiment with these different aesthetic acai bowl recipes! You can even bring it to the beach with you and share it with your friends. Have fun!
