This homemade acai bowl recipe puts a tropical twist on your classic acai bowls. Acai, banana, and watermelon are blended together and then topped with fresh tropical fruits, coconut flakes, and more! An easy, customizable recipe that won’t break the bank! 

What Are Acai Bowls?

Acai smoothie bowls are a great breakfast option made with acai berries blended into a thick smoothie consistency and served in a bowl. Acai berries are a small, dark purple fruit native to Central and South America. They’re known for their health benefits and rich antioxidants.

To make an acai bowl, frozen acai berries are blended with frozen banana and other frozen fruit, and often a liquid like apple juice or plant-based milk, to create a thick smoothie bowl base. The bowls are then topped with various toppings such as granola, fresh strawberries, banana slices, coconut flakes, chia seeds, or nuts. Because they have so much natural sweetness, no added sugar is needed, though a drizzle of maple syrup and choice of toppings is always fun. 

Acai bowls are known for their refreshing taste and nutritious ingredients and are totally customizable with simple ingredients. 

What Makes This Recipe Great

Now that summer is in full force, I’ve been taking advantage of all the fruit (and honestly, have no appetite for warm things right now). In particular, watermelon is one of my absolute summer favorites. It’s refreshing and is always sweetest in the summer months so I’ve been incorporating it into a lot of recipes lately while they are at their prime.

By now, you must know I make an abundance of smoothie bowls so before my last trip, I thought I’d throw my leftover watermelon into an acai bowl I was making, to use it up. The result was a super summery, Watermelon Acai Bowl Recipe. I also threw in some dragonfruit and finished off with watermelon radish garnish, which was purely for garnish (no really, don’t add them to your smoothie bowls).

Since tomorrow is National Watermelon Day, I thought this was the perfect recipe to share with you and of course, I’m always a fan of easy-peasy blender recipes. You can garnish your bowls with more summer fruit, and really play around with the ingredients. Optional fruits I’d recommend adding if you’re feeling creative are pineapple, mango, or cherries! Passionfruit also goes really nicely, I just wish they were easier to find here.

Ingredient Notes

• watermelon
• frozen bananas
• frozen acai packet: You can find frozen acai packets in the freezer section in your grocery store. I recommend checking places like Whole Foods first, as they will definitely carry these. 
• pitaya powder: Optional, for color.
• squeeze of lime juice
• coconut water or milk: If needed. Watermelon adds a lot of liquid so it shouldn’t be necessary. You can add any non-dairy milk of your choice: almond milk and coconut milk are great options. 
• favorite toppings: Fresh fruit I’d recommend adding if you’re feeling creative are pineapple, mango, passion fruit, or cherries! You can always top with granola and chia seeds as well. Customize it to your liking!

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Add all ingredients into a blender (I use the Vitamix Explorian) and blend until smooth and combined.
2. Pour into a bowl and top with all the summer fruits your heart desires! I used white mulberries, dragonfruit, and coconut flakes.

Expert Tips

• I recommend using a high-powered blender to get a smooth, thick texture. I use the Vitamix Explorian. 
• You can find frozen packets of acai in the frozen section in most grocery stores. Specialty stores like Sprouts and Whole Foods will definitely carry them.  
• Feel free to use additional ingredients as desired. I went for more tropical fruits in this recipe, but you can always add frozen berries and other favorite fruits. 

If you make this recipe, be sure to let me know what you think with a comment below! Follow me on Instagram for more delicious recipes!