20 Acai Bowl Recipes — the Superfood Detox Breakfast

Have you had enough kale, or are you over-adding flaxseeds to your breakfast? Do your breakfast smoothies need an upgrade? Then get excited because the acai berry is here — along with amazing acia bowl recipes.

This superfood is a hit in its native Brazil, and the trend has reached American shores. It’s a good thing, too, because for such a small fruit, acai (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) really packs a punch.

The fruit is absolutely loaded with antioxidants, which provide many of its health benefits. Acai also acts as a natural digestive purifier, cleansing the liver and kidneys by processing and eliminating toxins from the body.

It keeps your skin baby smooth without breaking a sweat as well.

Fresh acai is difficult to get your hands on outside Central and South America. Instead, look for it in frozen aisles, as a juice, puree or even acai powder. Because of its natural sweetness, it is especially delicious in smoothie bowls and desserts.

I’ve collected my favorite acai bowl recipes (with a few other sweet treats thrown in) so you can enjoy all the benefits of this exotic fruit no matter where you live. Even if you’re not usually a smoothie bowl fan, these acai bowls might have you changing your tune.

Thick enough to eat with a spoon, these acai bowl recipes are full of good-for-you ingredients that make for some healthy meals that taste as good as they look.

20 Acai Bowl Recipes

1. Acai Bowl Cheesecake

We’re starting this list with a bang. Enjoy the taste of an acai bowl atop a crunchy, nut- and date-based crust. With a creamy coconut, acai and vanilla filling and a berry topping, you can enjoy this vegan “cheesecake” for breakfast, dessert or a mid-day snack.

Photo: Acai Bowl Cheesecake / Rachel Attard

2. Acai Breakfast Bowl

A great recipe for acai newbies, this bowl starts with frozen acai juice, mixed berries and your choice of milk in the blender. Then add sliced banana, almonds, granola and chia seeds for a dose of potassium, healthy fats, crunch and fiber in every bite.

3. Autumn Acai Bowls with Vanilla Bean Cashew Butter

These creamy bowls are bursting with ingredients reminiscent of autumn, like nutrition-rich figs and pomegranates, but what really sets these bowls apart is the smooth, decadent homemade cashew butter. Blended with coconut oil and vanilla bean paste, this alternative to other nut butters will knock your socks off, no matter the season.

Photo: Autumn Acai Bowls with Vanilla Bean Cashew Butter / How Sweet Eats

4. Banana Cacao Avocado Acai Bowl

Adding avocado to your favorite smoothie recipes is a terrifically sneaky way to increase healthy fats and satiety while adding a creamy texture — and no, it won’t make a recipe taste like a salad! It’s the perfect addition to this acai bowl.

Along with the banana and cacao, the benefit-packed avocado is blended right into the bowl “base” along with Medjool dates for natural sweetness. This bowl is good enough to eat as is, but then you’d miss out on the topping possibilities!

5. Berry Beet Breakfast Bowl

Beets are one of those vegetables that everyone knows are good for you, but no one is exactly sure what to make with them. If you find yourself in that boat, try this acai bowl.

Beets’ earthy taste balances the tart berries quite well while the coconut milk gives this breakfast a decadent texture. Top it with coconut flakes and hemp seeds for extra omega-3 fatty acids and a ton of phytonutrients.

Photo: Berry Beet Breakfast Bowl / Gourmande in the Kitchen

6. Tropical Acai Bowl with Mango and Hemp Seeds

Nothing screams summer like tropical fruit, and this acai bowl recipe is loaded with it. This bowl calls for mango or papaya (or both), bananas, frozen berries, acai, hemp and pumpkin seeds, shredded coconut, kiwi, and granola.

7. Berry Mint Ice Cream

Dessert for breakfast is a terrific option when it’s this version! The “ice cream” is made of frozen bananas.

Toss in your favorite berries for sweetness, and then add in fresh mint leaves for a cool, refreshing taste. Yum!

8. Black Tea Infused Irish Porridge with Acai Berry

Upgrade your porridge recipe, and try acai in a different way with this insanely flavorful recipe. Cooking it with black tea adds an extra hint of flavor while the homemade pistachio cream topping is the icing on this breakfast.

Photo: Black Tea Infused Irish Porridge with Acai Berry / Half Baked Harvest

9. Berry Chia Seed Smoothie Bowl

OK, this bowl doesn’t include acai in the original recipe, but it’s easy to simply replace the blueberries with acai berries — or better yet use both!

This recipe also includes bananas, dates, coconut milk yogurt, coconut water and chia seeds, with the option to add toppers like hemp seeds, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries — you name it!

10. Copycat Juice Generation Acai Bowls

Why overpay for an acai bowl when you can make a copycat version for so much less? This recipe is a great starter, and I especially love the creative flavor variations: Ranging from peanut butter to chocoholic, they ensure you won’t get bored any time soon!

11. Go-To Smoothie Bowl

When you’re craving sweets, this acai bowl will hit the spot. Greens aren’t invited to this party. Instead, you’ll get a fruit medley mixed with hemp seeds and protein powder for a ton of staying power.

Topping it with granola gives it a substantive feel, too.

Photo: Go-To Smoothie Bowl / Pumps & Iron

12. Kiwi Strawberry Acai Bowl

Vitamin C-rich kiwi is the star of this acai bowl. Mixed with bananas, berries and coconut milk, the fruit adds a new twist to the usual ingredients list. Use fresh or frozen — it’ll still taste great.

13. Mighty Mango Acai Bowl

This bowl is all about balance. It combines sweet mango and banana for sweetness along with avocado and spinach for green benefits. The result is a delightful breakfast that’s just what the doctor ordered.

14. Oahu Acai Breakfast Bowl

You don’t have to be in the tropics to eat like it. This Hawaii-inspired bowl of goodness is perfectly sweet and, thanks to fresh mint, adds a refreshing zing. The fruit-granola-coconut topping is super satisfying, too.

Photo: Oahu Acai Breakfast Bowl / Veggie Chick

15. Peanut Butter and Berry Acai Bowl

Nut butters aren’t often mixed with berries and that’s a shame, because the combination is so good! The beauty of this acai bowl is how well the add-ins work. Try chia seeds, goji berries and cacao nibs — mmm.

16. Pumpkin Acai Bowls with Cranberry Crunch

There’s nothing that pumpkin can’t make better, and acai bowl recipes are no exception. Pumpkin puree makes up the base, and a nutty cranberry topping, mixed with honey, pumpkin seeds and cinnamon finishes it all off.

You don’t need to wait until Thanksgiving to enjoy this pumpkin feast.

17. Post-Workout Protein Acai Bowl

Refuel after a workout with this fatigue-zapping acai bowl. It’s packed with all the ingredients you need for a speedy recovery: protein powder, healthy fats via avocado, powerful goji berries and walnuts. They all make up the bowl, so you know every bite is full of goodness.

18. Purple Love Bowls Acai Overnight Oats Pudding

An acai bowl that’s out of this world, this recipe will tide you over for hours. It’s full of kale, gluten-free oats for fiber and a yummy cashew butter topping — plus that gorgeous purple color is hard to resist.

19. Raw Chocolate Acai Bowls

Get your chocolate fix with this raw, vegan bowl. You won’t believe how good for you it is.

It has energy-boosting maca, while raw cacao powder gives it that chocolate taste. I love adding in kale and topping with coconut flakes and fresh fruit for a meal that tastes more like dessert.

Photo: Raw Chocolate Acai Bowls / A Little Insanity

20. Sunrise Acai Bowl

What sets this recipe apart from similar ones is the fruit combo it uses. Rather than relying solely on berries like most, this one adds in pineapple and mango and, to top it off, a drizzle of sweet honey.

If you’re lucky enough to glimpse a sunrise with this acai bowl in hand, consider yourself blessed!