Mu Mu’s Mouthwatering Vegan Acai Bowl Recipe
Acai, also known as açaí palm fruit, has become quite a popular ingredient in the health food community over the past few years. And for good reason! The health benefits of acai are almost unbelievable, so it makes sense that it has become a “Superfood,” just like kale, avocado, and muesli. There are plenty of things you can do with acai berries, but let’s be honest: you clicked on this article because you want healthy smoothie bowl recipes. Below, you’ll find a step-by-step tutorial explaining how to make acai bowls. Each recipe is fast, easy, and full of energizing nutrition!
How to Make Acai Smoothie Bowl 101: Overview
- Bowl Ingredients: Base & Toppings
- Step-by-Step Guide to Making Your Own Acai Bowl
- Video: Sambazon Acai Bowl Tutorial
- Easy Mango Acai Smoothie Bowl Recipe
Ingredients
Vegan Smoothie Bowl Essentials
Basically, a smoothie bowl consists of two parts: the base and the toppings. Both are equally important!
You’ll find two lists below: one for Acai Smoothie Bowl Toppings, and another for Acai Breakfast Bowl Ingredients for the base.
I hope you’ll keep in mind that these are just a list of essentials – we’ll get into more variations soon. And trust me, there are a lot. In fact, it seems like acai tastes delicious with almost any other type of fruit or topping you can imagine!
In the list of breakfast bowl recipes following the detailed DIY Acai Bowl tutorial, you’ll notice a wide variety of ingredients. Feel free to experiment by adding or taking away ingredients. Make them your own!
Base Ingredients
- Unsweetened Frozen Acai Puree or Acai Powder (To mix with frozen fruit; browse Best Acai Bowl Powder and Mixes, or purchase at a health food store near you.)
- Frozen Banana (Since frozen bananas provide a creamy texture, they are a pillar of many successful breakfast bowls!)
- Medjool Dates or Avocados (Creamy alternatives to bananas.)
- Unsweetened Fruit Juice or Plant-Based Milk (Like coconut, soy, cashew, hemp, or almond milk)
- Unsweetened, Organic Yogurt
- Greens (Such as spinach or kale)
Toppings
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- Organic Mu Mu Muesli Mix (This special muesli recipe features 8 popular smoothie bowl ingredients!)
- Sliced or decoratively cut fruit (For example, pomegranate seeds, pears, blackberries, raspberries, kiwis, mango, goji berries, fresh figs, papaya, and mango)
- Nuts (Such as walnuts, pecans, nonpareil almonds, and brazil nuts)
- Organic Dried Fruit (Like raisins or cherries)
- Seeds (Such as chia, flax, or hemp seeds)
- Miscellaneous Superfoods (Like organic raw coconut, 100% dark cacao nibs, or organic raw bee pollen)
- Optional Garnishes (For example, fresh mint or an edible flower)
Your Easy Acai Bowl Recipe Cheat Sheet:
DIY Acai Bowl at Home
1. First, freeze the fruit for your base ingredients. Since this requires planning, make sure to do this several hours early, or even the night before.
2. After allowing time for the fruit to freeze, it’s time to blend the frozen fruit with your choice of liquid. (In other words, add your fruit juice, plant-based milk, or unsweetened yogurt.)
3. Once you’ve thoroughly mixed the frozen acai puree (or powder) with the other ingredients into a creamy base, distribute the beautiful new blend between bowls or serving dishes.
3. And, last but certainly not least, add toppings. You can be as simple or as complex as you want to be!
Breakfast Bowl Video Tutorial:
Sambazon Acai Bowl Tutorial
Now that you’ve seen written instructions, here’s a visual guide explaining how to make your own acai bowl. I may be biased, of course, but I think a little muesli is the missing ingredient in this particular demo!
The Best Vegan Acai Bowl Recipes for Healthier, Happier Mornings
Remember, vegan smoothie bowls are fun! So don’t be afraid to invent your own frozen acai fruit bowl recipes. You don’t have to follow any recipe to a “T.”
- For example, it’s incredibly easy to create your own unique Tropical Homemade Acai Bowl. Simply use tropical fruits like papayas and mangoes!
- Or, if a smoothie bowl recipe calls for a banana and you can’t stand bananas, just use a creamy substitution. Some fantastic banana alternatives include quinoa, avocado, yogurt, frozen vegetables, canned pumpkin, and sweet potatoes. These plant-based alternatives work just as well.
The Best Acai Bowl Recipes with Muesli
Seriously Easy Vegan Breakfast Ideas
Featured: Muesli Mango Acai Smoothie Bowl
First, you’ll need to soften your frozen fruit a little bit. Typically, 10-15 minutes is sufficient for thawing. You can use this time to slice the fresh fruit for toppings, but it’s also a fabulous time to sit back and plan your day or briefly meditate.
After allowing the frozen ingredients to thaw, use a blender to thoroughly mix them together. Once you’ve done this, you can pour your new colorful mixture into a bowl or cup.
And now, for the final step: toppings. Simply arrange the the fresh mango, sliced banana, muesli, chocolate, and dried fruit on top of the frozen mixture. For the perfect finishing touch, add a few pinches of cinnamon.
Muesli Mango Acai Bowl Base Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup coconut milk
- A small banana (frozen)
- 1/4 cup water (or coconut water)
- 1 cup spinach
- A tablespoon of ground flax seeds
- A 100 gram package of acai powder
- 1 cup mango (chopped and frozen)
- 1/4 avocado
- .5 – 2 tablespoons of a healthy sweetener like Date Syrup or Agave Nectar (Optional)
Muesli Mango Acai Bowl Toppings:
- 1/2 cup organic muesli
- A teaspoon of 100% pure dark chocolate nibs
- 1/4 banana (sliced)
- Cinnamon
- 1/8 mango (fresh)
- A tablespoon of chopped walnuts
Enjoy!
In addition to the Mango Acai Muesli Bowl, you might also enjoy the following muesli bowl recipes:
Tropical Smoothie DIY Acai Bowl Recipes
As winter approaches, a tropical breakfast bowl is one way to resist the winter doldrums. If you use a little imagination, then these tropical muesli bowl recipes will momentarily transport you to a sunny, relaxing beach. And you’ll feel full all morning!
In addition to our own muesli tropical acai bowl recipe listed above, I’d like to share two more great vegan breakfast recipes:
- Oahu Acai Breakfast Bowl Recipe (This Hawaiian Acai Bowl features berries, maple syrup, mint, and granola. But I suggest swapping out the granola and using muesli instead. Find out why at Muesli vs Granola*.)
- Maui Vegan Acai Breakfast Bowl
Acai Smoothie Bowl Without Banana
If you don’t like bananas, it can seem like every single smoothie bowl recipe requires a banana! But look no further: these smoothie bowl recipes without banana are here to save the day.
Inside these recipes, you’ll find healthy substitutes for bananas, such as sweet potatoes or canned pumpkin:
- Berry Beet Acai Bowl Recipe with Coconut Milk
- Vegan Chocolate Acai Bowl Without Banana (Again, organic muesli is a better choice than sweetened, artifical granola.)
- Banana and Nut Free Acai Bowl
In order to have a constantly updated list of smoothie bowl recipes without banana, follow this Pinterest board. You won’t regret it!
Vegan Green Smoothie Bowl Recipe with Acai Palm Fruit
Combining colorful acai fruit and green vegetables is a fun way to increase your vegetable intake, since the naturally sweet ingredients** may make it easier to eat more veggies. As the saying goes, “a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down!”
- Super Green Acai Bowl Recipe (Acai Bowl Recipe with Powder)
- Vegan Green Protein Smoothie Acai Bowl
- Healthy and Easy Acai Bowl Recipe
- Banana Cacao Avocado Acai Breakfast Bowl Recipe
Acai Yogurt Bowl Inspiration
Since unsweetened yogurt is full of healthy probiotics, calcium, and protein, this is an incredibly healthy ingredient to use as a breakfast bowl base. I hope you find inspiration in the recipes listed below! (And remember, you can always use a plant-based yogurt substitute, such as almond yogurt.)
- Berry-Licious Smoothie Bowl
- Fruity Acai Yogurt Bowl with Matcha
- Strawberry Acai Smoothie Bowl with Yogurt
DIY Acai Bowl Recipes with Coconut Milk, Cream, or Water
The health benefits of coconut or far-reaching; eating breakfast bowls with this ingredient promotes a healthier body and mind. It also encourages healthier skin and hair! Since acai palm fruit is also a superfood, why not combine these two ingredients for some extremely restorative breakfast bowls?
- Very Berry Chocolate Macadamia Acai Smoothie Bowl with Coconut Water
- Easy Creamy Dragon Fruit Smoothie Bowl with DIY Coconut Milk (As the recipe permits, substitute frozen acai puree for the raspberries.)
- Vegan Goji Berry Smoothie Bowl with Mango and Coconut Cream
How to Make Acai Bowls (Ideas + Inspiration)
Your Turn!
Now that you know how to make acai bowls, it’s your turn to create one! Did one of these stand out as the best acai bowl recipe for your tastes? Then start with that one!
Do you secretly crave chocolate every morning? If so, then use a green smoothie recipe with cacao. That way, you’re satisfying your sweet tooth and eating veggies first thing in the morning. Talk about a win-win!
If you enjoyed “How to Make Acai Bowls at Home,” then you’ll love:
High Fiber Breakfast Foods for the Energy Your Mind + Body Craves
7 Reasons NOT to Eat Muesli (Are the Purported Health Benefits Real, or Just a Hoax)
How to Make Acai Bowls at Home: Notes
*Granola vs Muesli:
Unfortunately, most granola brands on the market are dangerously unhealthy. Even (and especially) the ones marketed as “healthy cereals” or “all natural.” This is because they contain excessive sugar, which can lead to a whole slew of health problems. Many of the “healthy” granola mixes also have synthetic ingredients, like glyphosate.
**Sweet Foods:
There is nothing wrong with a small amount of sugar per day. If you stay under the DRI for sugar, then you are “in the clear.” One thing to be aware of, though, is how some smoothie bowl recipes can be out of control in the sugar department.
You can easily keep the sugar content in your homemade acai bowls under control – all it takes is a little mindfulness. In order to do so, try these tips:
- First, the easiest strategy is to avoid adding sugary syrups or honey. Since changing your diet is hard (I get it!), you can always make it easier by simply cutting the required amount of extra sweetener in half.
- Another helpful tip for making low sugar smoothies is to use toppings that contain no added sugar. For example, opt for a wholesome and pure muesli mix instead of a run-of-the-mill cereal brand.
- You can also opt for low sugar fruits. The best low sugar fruits for smoothie bowls include avocado, raspberries, lemons, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, cucumber, and kiwi.
- On the other hand, try to limit high sugar fruits such as mangoes, grapes, cherries, watermelon, pears and figs.
- It’s equally as important to examine the type of sugar in each fruit. This is because, while low glycemic index foods do contain sugar, they don’t mess with your insulin levels. (Regular sugar spikes can cause Type 2 diabetes.)
