Protein Acai Bowl

This protein acai bowl makes a filling breakfast packed with 34 grams of protein! It’s naturally sweet, creamy, and loaded with antioxidants. Add your favorite toppings and enjoy.

Why You’ll Love it:

This protein acai bowl tastes even more delicious than it looks! It’s sweet and creamy with peanut-butter-and-jelly vibes.

Protein powder, peanut butter, and Greek yogurt all add protein, while the strawberries and banana add natural sweetness. It’s ALL the things in one delicious bowl.

• Antioxidants – Acai berries are loaded with antioxidants, even more than blueberries!
• High protein – This bowl contains 34 grams of protein! You can add even more with healthy toppings like hemp hearts, nuts, and peanut butter.
• Naturally sweet – This acai bowl tastes delicious as-is! It doesn’t need juice, honey, or maple syrup for sweetness.

Key Ingredients:

• Banana – I like to add half a banana to my smoothie bowls. It’s the key to a creamy consistency! It adds natural sweetness and potassium.
• Peanut butter – Adds protein and a slight nuttiness! Trust me on this one. If you can’t have peanut butter, try almond or cashew butter instead.
• Greek yogurt – Greek yogurt is a great way to add protein! For the healthiest option, choose unsweetened!
• Protein powder – I used plant-based vanilla protein powder, but dairy or plant-based both work fine. For the best results, use a protein blend. 100% whey protein tends to foam up when blended.
• Acai puree – You can find acai puree in the frozen food aisle near the frozen fruit. It comes in a bag with 100 gram packets. Look for unsweetened acai. The sweetened ones pack in a lot of refined sugar. I bought mine from Trader Joe’s.
• Frozen strawberries – Frozen mixed berries work great too!
• Almond milk – My favorite plant-based liquid base. For a sweeter smoothie bowl, swap with apple juice.

How to Make an Acai Bowl:

This acai bowl comes together in a snap!

• Combine ingredients: In a high-speed blender, combine all the ingredients. Start with the soft ingredients, i.e. the banana, yogurt, and peanut butter. Otherwise the blades may get stuck, which means more scraping.
• Blend: Turn the blender on low speed, then increase the speed to high. If the mixture isn’t moving, add a splash more almond milk.

• Scrape: Chunks of fruit will gather on the sides of the blender. Stop it and scrape down the sides with a spatula, pushing the mixture toward the blades. Blend again until thick and smooth.
• Serve: Scoop the mixture into a bowl, add toppings, and enjoy!

Substitutions & Variations:

This acai protein bowl is easy to customize! Try one of these simple variations:

• Sweetness level: For a sweeter bowl, swap the almond milk with apple juice or add a teaspoon of honey.
• Fruit: Swap the frozen strawberries with frozen mixed berries, frozen blueberries, or frozen mango.
• No protein powder: If you don’t like protein powder, omit it and double the peanut butter.

Recipe Tips:

• Invest in a high-speed blender. If you make smoothies a lot, it’s worth the investment. Especially for green smoothies and smoothie bowls! I highly recommend a Vitamix, but a Ninja is a good budget-friendly option.
• Order matters, especially with a smoothie bowl. Since there’s not much liquid, you want to add the softest ingredients first. If you add all the frozen ingredients first. you’ll have to add more liquid for a softer end result.
• If the mixture isn’t moving, add more almond milk. Just do it gradually, a little bit at a time. You can always add more, but you can’t take it out. Too much liquid = a runny smoothie bowl.

Acai Bowl Toppings:

Toppings are my favorite part! They’re a great way to add textural contrast to a creamy smoothie. Here’s a few ideas to get you started:

• Granola – Regular, keto, grain-free, etc.
• Nuts – Sliced almonds are my fave! Pistachios, pecans, walnuts, peanuts, and cashews are all great options.
• Seeds – Hemp, flax, pepitas.
• Fruit – Sliced bananas, blueberries, strawberries, kiwi, or pomegranate arils.
• Nut butter – Melt some peanut butter and drizzle on top!
• Miscellaneous – Shredded coconut, dried fruit, cacao nibs.

Smoothie Bowl Recipes:

• High Protein Smoothie Bowl
• Blueberry Smoothie Bowl
• Pineapple Smoothie Bowl – 3 Ingredients
• Mango Smoothie Bowl – 3 Ingredients!
• Strawberry Smoothie Bowl