Açaí bowls have been blowing up in the trendy food world, and my friends and I are obsessed. So, as an end of the summer get-together with my friends, I threw an açaí bowl party.
What exactly does this mean?
I made one açaí base (the smoothie-like part of the açaí bowl) and put it into bowls. Then, I set up a table full of different toppings and each girl decorated her own bowl with the toppings of her choice. It was so simple, but my friends died over it. Here is how to throw a successful açaí bowl party that will make all of your friends love you for giving them a prime Instagram opportunity.
The Drink
When my friends first arrived, I had a watermelon, cucumber, and mint drink ready for them. Not only did my friends love it because they were drankin’ watermelon like Beyoncé, but it also gave me time to make the base while they were sippin’ and chattin’. Timing the preparation of the base was kind of tricky because you have to serve it right after it is blended, or else it will melt. The drink was the perfect way to distract my friends from the fact that I was blending away in the kitchen. To make a drink similar to the drink I made, try this refreshing Watermelon Mint Agua Fresca.
The Açaí Base
In order to please everyone, I stuck to a simple açaí base. I blended up frozen bananas, strawberries, blueberries, açaí, and a touch of almond milk. Try to keep the base especially thick because it melts quickly. You can make a base similar to mine using this recipe.
The Toppings Bar
Okay, so I may have gone a little crazy with the toppings. However, since this was the “main event” of the party, I wanted to make sure there were enough options for everyone to choose something they liked. The toppings bar offered bananas, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, pomegranate seeds, dragon fruit, pineapple, goji berries, granola, coconut, chia seeds, honey, peanut butter, and last but not least, dark chocolate.
You can definitely use more or fewer toppings, and feel free to mix it up. I leaned more toward berry toppings because the base was berry, but if you’re a tropical girl, I suggest going for mango, pineapple, or papaya.
The Aesthetic
As for the table, I wanted it to be tropical and summery. I had tropical looking flowers in vases (thanks mom) and sea shells scattered around the table. I laid out some of the toppings on wooden cutting boards, and I even used a giant banana leaf to place the banana slices on (a little excessive, but hey, it looked cute). Also, if you really want to look like a pro, I suggest making your pineapple into a bowl and serving fruit out of it. You get the pineapple as a topping and the outside as a decorative piece — SCORE. Click here to learn how to create a pineapple bowl. I also did this with the dragon fruit (because have you seen a dragon fruit? OMG I had to use it somehow).
The Finished Bowls
My friends loved them and they all looked so cute. The peanut butter and dark chocolate were voted favorite toppings (obviously). There were so many Instagrams and so many good mems.
Peep my cute friend Isabel with her bowl…
This may or may not have been Instagrammed.
And peep my friend Talia and I showing off ours…
No soft smiles here (only way to convey this much açaí happiness is with a toothy grin, thank you).
The Homemade Granola Bars
Finally, I made homemade granola bars just in case people wanted something crunchy to go with their smooth açaí bowl. Most of my friends ended up being full after their açaí bowl, so the granola bars were a cute little take-home gift. Use this recipe to make granola bars similar to the ones I made.
Although this is probably the most basic party you could ever throw, it was pretty fun. And hey, it’s healthy to embrace your basic side every once and a while — everyone’s got it in them. My friends couldn’t thank me enough for throwing it, and I had way too much fun planning it (some enjoy throwing ragers, I enjoy planning açaí bowl ragers). I strongly recommend throwing your own açaí bowl party (because who doesn’t love friends and food)?