What can I use instead of acai? Whether you want to replace fresh acai berries, powder, or juice, your best alternatives include blackberries, blueberries, cranberries, goji berries, and pomegranates. These fruits offer similar health benefits while adding a burst of color and flavor to breakfast bowls, smoothies, and desserts.
The acai berry craze is nearly impossible to beat! This superfood is in high demand due to its rich health benefits and delicious tropical flavor.
However, if your health shop is sold out or the prices have surged a little too high to fall within budget, try these tasty alternatives – they are packed with mouthwatering flavors and similar health benefits.
The Best Acai Substitutes
Blackberries
Acai is often described as a bitter, tart, slightly sweet, and earthy flavor crossed between blackberries and dark, unsweetened chocolate. Therefore, blackberries make an excellent acai substitute.
Blackberries are fruity, tart, and slightly sweet, resembling acai berries in color and flavor. However, blackberries lack the earthy and bitter taste of acai berries.
Like acai berries, blackberries are an excellent source of fiber, antioxidants, and vitamins A, C, and K.
You can add a pinch of cocoa powder to blackberries to mimic acai berry’s earthy, bitter flavor.
Blueberries
Blueberries were the top berry superfood until the exceeding benefits of acai came to light.
However, beloved blueberries are still packed with flavor and health benefits, making them an excellent acai berry or powder substitute.
Despite blueberries containing lower antioxidant polyphenol levels than acai berries, they are an excellent source of fiber and vitamins A, C, and K.
Blueberries lend a sweet, fruity flavor with a hint of acidity or tartness. You can replace acai with blueberries in smoothies, breakfast bowls, muffins, and granola.
Blueberry powder is less acidic and slightly sweeter than acai powder, but it still works well in a pinch.
Cranberries
Cranberries, especially the juice, are an ideal acai berry substitute.
However, if you enjoy an acidic punch in your food recipes, then go ahead and toss fresh cranberries into your dish instead of acai.
Despite containing different proanthocyanins, the cranberries and acai berries are equally healthy. Both berries are high in fiber, manganese, and vitamins A, C, and K.
Raw cranberries have a sharp, sour, and tart taste. So, they are mostly consumed dried, as a powder or extract, or as a juice sweetened with other fruit juice.
You can enjoy cranberry juice as a cheaper alternative to acai juice. In addition, consider adding a scoop of cranberry powder to smoothies, breakfast bowls, and desserts instead of acai powder.
Goji Berries
Goji berries, or wolfberries, are tiny red fruits jam-packed with antioxidants and powerful health properties.
They are fantastic for adding a vibrant pop of color and a sweet, slightly sour flavor to your recipes.
Like acai berries, goji berries offer high levels of fiber, antioxidants, and vitamins A and C.
Goji berries are often sold dried, powdered, or added to juice blends. You can easily swap acai berries, powder, and juice with a suitable goji berry alternative when making shakes, smoothies, yogurt, cereal, breakfast bowls, and baked goods.
You can stir goji berry powder directly into a glass of water, juice, or a cup of herbal tea.
Note: consider rehydrating the goji berries before adding them to a smoothie or shake to soften them before blending them.
Pomegranate Arils
You can also use pomegranate seeds, powder, and juice to replace acai berries, powder, and juice. A typical acai bowl is generally filled with sweet goodies, making pomegranate a refreshing addition.
Pomegranates arils or seeds are delicious as a crunchy, sweet-tart snack or garnish. Alternatively, the seeds can be frozen, dried, or pressed to make fresh pomegranate juice.
You can add a pinch of cocoa powder to tart, mildly sweet pomegranate powder to mimic the flavor of acai powder.