Increasing your protein intake has been a popular nutrition practice for a few years now and for good reason: protein is vital for every cell in your body, not just your muscles!
But some people still think that having more than 100 grams of protein a day is hard to do or incredibly boring. Thankfully, they're wrong and I've proved it time and time again (like in my high protein meal plan and most of my recipes).
And my high-protein acai bowls (today's recipe) are no exception!
So if you're trying to get more protein in with your breakfast without eating eggs, breakfast burritos, or cottage cheese, you're going to love my protein-rich acai bowls!
READ MORE: How to Eat 120 Grams of Protein a Day (+FREE meal plan!)
Note: for the full recipe with measurements, see the recipe card below.
Making an acai bowl at home is really easy. All you need is a high speed blender and your ingredients!
To make the acai mixture, add ingredients to the blender from most liquid to most solid (frozen). This will ensure even and smooth blending.
First, add in the milk, greek yogurt, and nut butter. Then, add the protein powder and ripe banana. Lastly, add the frozen cauliflower rice and the frozen acai pulp.
Blend until smooth. Add more liquid as necessary, but make sure you're keeping the consistency of your acai bowl really thick because you want to be able to scoop it with a spoon.
Finally, add your acai to a bowl. You can use a regular kitchen bowl or these super cute wooden acai bowls!
Now that you're acai mixture is ready, you can add the toppings!
You have to admit, the best part of an açai bowl is the toppings! The five flavors in this blog post have specific topping combinations, but feel free to use your favorite toppings anytime you make a homemade acai bowl.
Here are some of the most common acai toppings:
Acai is a purple fruit from the acai palm tree native to Brazil and other regions of South America that has a creamy texture when blended and an earthy, tart flavor. Some people describe it as a delicious blend of berries and chocolate. It's most commonly used as the base for acai smoothie bowls.
It depends! Acai bowls have tons of health benefits if they include sources of fiber-rich carbs, protein, and healthy fats. If they're mostly carbs or sugar, they're more like a fun treat.
Açai bowls can definitely be part of a nutritious, balanced diet if they are made right and contain mostly whole foods.
Weight loss is a natural result of optimizing your health, and acai bowls can definitely be a part of that. However, most acai bowls tend to be higher in sugar and lower in protein and healthy fats, so this is counter-intuitive to sustainable weight loss. Thankfully, my high protein acai bowl recipe is great for optimizing your health so you don't have to worry about that!
It's important to specify which type of sugar you're talking about. Fruits are almost entirely sugar, but they contain naturally occurring sugars that have been unprocessed, unrefined, and come in the form of fructose. That being said, some fruits like acai and avocado are lower in carbs and sugar because of their high fiber and high fat content.
When buying acai from a shop or the store, you'll usually have high amounts of refined sugar or added sugar, which means some type of sweetener was mixed with the acai. Per the American Heart Association, the Food and Drug Administration, and the USDA, you should limit your total daily consumption of added sugar to less than 30 grams. In this case, acai from shops or grocery stores is likely to be high in added sugar, sometimes upwards of 60 grams of added sugar.
You can be a smart consumer by making acai bowls at home with unsweetened acai or asking the restaurant for a complete list of ingredients before purchasing their food.
Yes! An açai bowl is basically just a thick smoothie bowl that you eat with a spoon, and if you're including protein and fat in your acai bowl, it's a great option for a healthy breakfast or snack any time of day.
Absolutely! The simple sugars from the fruit will replenish your energy and tired muscles, while the protein will help rebuild muscle and the fat will satiate your hunger. My recipe is also c calorie dense, which is important for healthy hormones and muscle recovery.
Yes! Replace the coconut milk with regular dairy milk and use a seed butter instead of a nut butter.
I always use Just Ingredients protein powder because it's made with real, whole food ingredients, no refined sugar, and no artificial or natural flavors. It also blends really well in smoothies and protein bowls! You can use the code "thewellnourishedmama" for 10% off your order.
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The Ultimate Breakfast Burritos (freezer friendly)
High Protein Breakfast Egg Muffins
I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! Be sure to leave a star rating and review if you make it so other readers know how you like it or tag me on Instagram with a picture of your acai bowl creation!
Everything you love about an acai bowl, but with a boost of protein to keep you full and satisfied. This protein-rich acai bowl has 3 fruits, a scoop of protein powder, and tons of healthy fats to satisfy your taste buds first thing in the morning.
*See blog post for substitutes
**See blog post for all the topping options
Nutrition facts are a calculated estimate of one acai bowl, made with Just Ingredients Mountain Berry protein powder but NOT including any toppings.
Calories: 606 / Fat: 30.7g / Carbohydrates: 52g / Fiber: 13.5g / Protein: 41.5g
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