High Protein Berry Smoothie Bowl

Ok– have you fallen in love with acai bowls? We’re huge fans. OBSESSED with Everbowl… and especially Northside Shack down in Pt Loma. They make the most beautiful bowls I’ve seen! SO much colorful fruit on top– it’s a work of art. My high protein berry smoothie bowl isn’t quite as beautiful as the one I love from Everbowl, but it is delicious.

If you’re not familiar, acai bowls are made of a base of thick, blended frozen acai berries, along with some other fruit or juice— then generally topped with fresh fruit, granola, and more. Peanut butter hopefully. That’s KEY! SO good.

But we can’t always drop 10 dollars on a smoothie bowl, so we LOVE to make them at home. Like my girls make them at least three times a week. Hearing a blender running is like white noise. But the truth is, I don’t typically take part because I don’t love to spend so many carbs on one meal! With so much fruit, an acai bowl will easily cost you a hundred carbs. And I prefer how I feel when my meals are balanced with protein.

SO– I finally made a macro-friendly version. It’s not technically acai, but it could be if you wanna throw in some frozen acai berry packets! I just used some frozen mixed berries. EASY.

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How to Make a High Protein Smoothie Bowl

What you will need for the smoothie:

• Ice
• Cashew milk
• Vanilla protein powder, 1 scoop
• Frozen zucchini
• Frozen mixed berries
• Kosher salt
• Xanthan gum (for thickening)

What I like for my smoothie toppings:

• Strawberries, chopped
• Mango, chopped
• Blueberries
• ¼ of a banana, sliced
• Peanut butter, drizzled
• Toasted almonds, chopped
• Chia seeds
• Pinch of flake salt

Macros for the High Protein Berry Smoothie Bowl

If you’ve been here for a minute, you know that I am all about the salads. Because I LOVE THEM. But also because I LOVE big portions. And some foods just aren’t appropriate to fill a giant family-sized salad bowl. It’s annoying.

I’ll admit, I was super skeptical this could end up decent on macros, and still feel like a big, satisfying portion. But it DID! Which is why it made the cut.

How to Make your High Protein Berry Smoothie Bowl

This macro-friendly berry smoothie bowl is super simple to make. Add your ice, cashew milk, vanilla protein powder (1 scoop), frozen zucchini, frozen mixed berries, Kosher salt, and xanthan gum (optional for thickening) to your blender and blend until smooth. You might need to use the tamper in your blender if you have one, just to make sure to keep it moving. I typically use my Ninja IQ and give it a few shakes mid-blend to make sure everything is coming together.

The zucchini just adds a little more thickness and some volume for hardly any macros. Always a good way to get more food and a few extra veggies in. You’ll forget you added it. I just keep store-bought frozen sliced zucchini on hand. But if you have fresh zucchini, you can use that too. Just chop and freeze. Storing zucchini in the freezer is a great way to use vegetables from your garden or from your latest grocery trip. I also love to throw them in the food processor to use them in our favorite brownie squash oats!

What nut milk to use in the smoothie:

I love cashew milk in most of my recipes. The macros are as low as they get and I feel like it blends up nice and creamy. But use your favorite milk!

Now that your protein smoothie is blended nice and thick, pour it into a bowl and have fun with your toppings! The best part for SURE!

How to serve your protein smoothie bowl

When should you eat a smoothie bowl?…really whenever you want. This protein berry smoothie is the PERFECT breakfast. But I don’t like to spend any time on breakfast. So I love for a refreshing lunch when I’m not feeling veggies. It’s yummy enough for dessert, but the macros will rival any salad or wrap or other healthy, balanced meal! So you can feel great throwing it in your meal plan whenever YOU WANT.

• Add your macro-friendly protein berry smoothie to a bowl (insulated ones are great to keep it cold!). Sometimes I even put mine in a massive insulated tumbler and eat it with a long spoon just like my NIGHTLY SHAKE! Also a better option if it needs to be eaten in the car!

• Top your smoothie with fruit. Who doesn’t love extra berries or mango on top of their smoothie? Drizzle with natural peanut butter for a hint of salt and sprinkle with toasted almonds and a pinch of chia seeds for some crunch. This combination of salty and sweet is perfection.

Be sure to follow me on Instagram for more cooking tips and macro-friendly recipes. I also have some amazing recipes in my cookbooks that you are not going to want to miss. 

Similar Recipes:

Chunky Peanut Butter Protein Shake

Healthy Chocolate Mint Protein “Ice Cream” Sundae

The Best Yogurt and Cottage Cheese Breakfast Bowl

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