This High Protein Acai Bowl is thick, refreshing, packed with fruit and has 24 grams of protein in the blended bowl alone - toppings will boost the protein even more and it's low calories too!

Two acai bowls next to a striped towel and some strawberries.

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Carrying on with our "you can make that at home" series, we are brining you the current trendy breakfast of a high protein acai bowl. Local cafes are adding it to menus, but it comes at a cost. A small bowl is usually close to £10 and whilst you think you are ordering a nutritious choice, they are usually loaded with extra sugar and the calories can easily add up.

So, why not make a high protein acai bowl yourself at home? Not only are you saving yourself money, but you can control exactly what goes into it. Making my cafe/store bought favourites at home was key for my 70lb weight loss.

Frozen acai, mixed berries and banana give the bowl its naturally sweet, fruity flavour, while the Greek yogurt makes it creamy and satisfying and boosts the protein. We added some protein powder to ours, but that is optional.

We have our homemade acai bowl with sliced fruit, homemade granola and nut butter, but you can change the toppings depending on what you have available.

It takes around five minutes to make, making it a great option for a quick breakfast, post-workout meal or refreshing summer snack.

Looking for more high protein breakfast recipes? Why not try our Starbucks inspired Cottage Cheese Egg Bites, delicious Chocolate Protein Baked Oats or our filling Chicken Sausage Breakfast Tacos?

Jump to:

Why You Will Love It
Ingredients and Substitutions
High Protein Acai Bowl Variations
How To Make a High Protein Acai Bowl
High Protein Acai Bowl Toppings
How To Get The Perfect Texture
Storage
Dannii's Top Tips
More High-Protein Breakfast Recipes
Recipe
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Why You Will Love It

24g of protein - That's before any toppings are added.

Ready in five minutes - Add everything to a blender and blend until thick and smooth.

Easy to customise - Use different berries, fruit, milk or toppings.

Ingredients and Substitutions

All the ingredients needed for this recipe with text overlay labels.

A full ingredients list, along with US Customary and Metric measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.

Acai - We use frozen unsweetened acai purée packs. These usually come in individual frozen portions and can be found in larger supermarkets, health food shops or online. Break the frozen pack into smaller pieces before adding it to your blender. Acai powder can be used if frozen packs are unavailable. Add around one to two tablespoons of acai powder and increase the frozen berries slightly to maintain the thick texture.
Berries - Frozen berries help make the acai bowl thick and cold. We use a mixture of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries, but any combination will work. A frozen berry mixture containing plenty of darker berries will give the bowl a deeper purple colour.
Banana - Banana adds natural sweetness and gives the bowl a smooth, creamy consistency. You can use frozen banana to make it thicker.
Yogurt - Greek yogurt is what helps make this a high-protein acai bowl recipe. We use a thick Greek yogurt containing around 10 grams of protein per 100 grams. Full-fat, reduced-fat or fat-free Greek yoghurt can all be used. Full-fat yogurt will make the bowl richer, while fat-free yogurt usually provides a slightly higher proportion of protein.
Protein powder - We used vanilla protein powder, but you could use a banana or chocolate flavoured one. This is optional, but leaving it out will reduce the protein. You could use peanut butter powder.

High Protein Acai Bowl Variations

Chocolate - Add one teaspoon of cocoa powder or cacao powder before blending. You could use a chocolate protein powder too.

Dairy free - Use a thick dairy-free yogurt and plant-based milk. Soya yogurt and soya milk will generally provide more protein than oat milk, coconut or almond alternatives. Make sure to use a plant based protein powder too.

Without banana - Replace the banana with frozen mango, frozen cherries or additional berries. The bowl will be less creamy, so you may want to add a little extra Greek yogurt.

How To Make a High Protein Acai Bowl

A blender jug containing frozen acai, frozen berries, yogurt and protein powder.

Step 1

Put all of the ingredients into a blender.

Step 2

Blend until everything is well combined.

A high protein acai bowl on a wooden surface.

Step 3

Divide between bowls and serve with toppings of your choice.

High Protein Acai Bowl Toppings

We topped our acai bowl with:

Sliced banana
Homemade granola
Kiwi
Passionfruit
Strawberries
Cashew butter

These toppings are not included in the nutritional information or the stated 24 grams of protein - but they help add even more protein.

Arrange the toppings in lines or small sections rather than scattering everything over the bowl. This makes it easier to get a little of each topping in every spoonful.

You can keep the toppings simple or create a more substantial breakfast using a combination of fruit, crunch and healthy fats.

Try:

Blueberries, raspberries or blackberries
Mango or pineapple
Apple or pear
Cherries
Pomegranate seeds
Chia seeds
hemp seeds
Ground flaxseed
Pumpkin or sunflower seeds
Chopped almonds, cashews or walnuts
Toasted coconut
Cacao nibs
Peanut, almond or cashew butter
Crushed dark chocolate
Homemade granola

Remember that additional toppings will change the calories, protein and other nutritional values.

Acai bowl topped with banana slices, granola, berries and passionfruit seeds.

How To Get The Perfect Texture

A high protein acai bowl should be thick enough to eat with a spoon. It should not have the same consistency as a drinkable smoothie.

Using frozen acai, frozen berries and frozen banana creates the thickest result. If you are using a fresh banana, you may need slightly less milk like in our recipe.

A high-powered blender makes the process easier, but a food processor can also work well. Food processors have a wider bowl, which can make it easier to blend thick frozen mixtures without adding extra liquid.

If the mixture will not blend, stop the machine, scrape down the sides and stir the ingredients around the blades. Add another tablespoon of milk only when necessary.

Storage

Acai bowls are best eaten immediately. Once blended, the frozen fruit begins to thaw and the mixture gradually loses its thick texture.

Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 24 hours, but they will become much thinner. Stir the mixture before eating or enjoy it as a smoothie instead.

We do not recommend storing an assembled acai bowl with all the toppings, as the fruit can release liquid and the granola will become soft.

Dannii's Top Tips

Break the frozen acai pack into pieces before opening it. A solid frozen block can be difficult for some blenders to process.
Put the milk and Greek yogurt closest to the blender blades, followed by the frozen fruit.
Start with less milk than you think you need. You can always add more, but you cannot easily thicken an overly runny bowl.
Chill the serving bowl first to help the acai mixture stay frozen for longer.
Have all the toppings prepared before blending so the bowl can be served straight away.
Add granola immediately before serving so it stays crunchy.
If your blender is struggling, leave the frozen ingredients at room temperature for two or three minutes before trying again.

A fruit topped acai bowl with abother in the background.

More High-Protein Breakfast Recipes

If you've tried this acai protein bowl, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.

Recipe