After a holiday season of indulgence, many of us are looking to incorporate more plants into our diets. Smoothie bowls are a great way to do that! Many would say that the acai bowl is the most popular of the smoothie bowls, and I am here to share some of my favorite acai bowl toppings.
The toppings really are the fun part! You can change them up every time and try different combinations to keep it interesting. Keep reading for a list that will give you lots of ideas for your next delicious bowl! (Please note there are clickable affiliate links throughout the post that will take you to the products I’m talking about.)
Wait! How do I make the acai base?
There’s actually a couple of different ways. Probably the healthiest version involves using a frozen acai pack and blending it with a little bit of liquid (e.g., almond milk or juice) and additional frozen fruit (not necessary, but you can change the base flavor by blending with frozen banana, strawberries, etc). You might want to check out my Sambazon Acai Bowl post for an easy acai base recipe.
Another alternative is to use an acai sorbet like the Acai Roots Acai Sorbet or the one made by Sambazon. This is the easiest way to make an acai bowl, because you can just scoop it and dress it up with toppings. However, you lose the ability to customize the taste of your base, and it’s less of a smoothie bowl and more of sorbet with toppings.
Fruit Toppings
Let’s start with the most obvious topping…more fruits! The following are some of my favorite fruits to dress up an acai bowl:
- blackberries
- blueberries
- raspberries
- strawberries
- sliced bananas
- kiwi
- papaya
- dried coconut
- dried goji berries
Seeds, Nuts, and Nut Butter
Seeds are a great addition, especially if you’re looking for added nutrition. I like chia seeds or ground flax seeds blended into my acai. You can also use the chia seeds as a topping. Hemp seeds also work well, too.
The following chopped nuts would add a nice crunch to your bowl and a little bit of healthy fat to keep you feeling full:
- macadamia nuts
- almonds
- cacao nibs
While we’re talking about nuts, it should be noted that nut butters are a delicious acai bowl topping. Try a tablespoon of one of the following:
- almond butter
- peanut butter
I also have to mention coconut butter here. Coconuts are technically fruits and not nuts, but Nutiva makes the most delicious coconut butter. A scoop of it blended into your acai or used as a topping is highly recommended for coconut lovers.
Granola and Honey
Now for my favorite part! I love a good granola on my acai bowl, and a drizzle of sweet honey turns it into a real treat! My favorite granola is Anahola Granola, which comes from the island of Kaua’i, here in Hawai’i. I’m not super picky about my honey, but there are is quite a range in the quality and price points. If you’re a real honey connoisseur, you might be interested in my post about Manoa Honey & Mead, a local honey company here in Hawai’i.
There you have it! Those are some of my favorite acai bowl toppings. If you’re interested in getting my Smoothie Inspiration list, get if for free when you sign up for our newsletter!
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