This How To Make Strawberry Acai recipe will blow your socks off with it’s deliciousness. It’s so simple you’ll be making this “dessert” on a weekly basis!
Strawberry acai does not have to be expensive. Making it is an easy process, you just need the right ingredients. This article will show you exactly how to do that.
STRAWBERRY ACAI REFRESHER
If you like the strawberry acai drink from Starbucks, you’re going to LOVE this recipe! Now you can make your own strawberry acai refresher at home – it only takes a few ingredients!
A few weeks ago my girls discovered the cold refresher drinks at Starbucks. After sampling a few different flavors, and being absolutely delighted with them, it prompted me to start trying to duplicate the various recipes. That way we could enjoy whatever drink we wanted at home – and it would be easier on my wallet (they can be $4-7 each).
Last week I shared my copycat recipe for mango dragonfruit lemonade. This week my girls requested I try making the strawberry acai refresher.
WHAT IS ACAI (PRONOUNCED AA-SAA-EE)
Acai berries are indigenous to the rainforests in South America. They grow on the acai palm, and are like grapes in many ways. Acai is a superfruit; the flesh and skin of the berries are extremely nutrient dense and high in antioxidants.
WHY ADD IT TO A DRINK
Acai is a healthy powerhouse, so adding the freeze dried powder to recipes is an easy way to sneak added nutrients into your diet.
STRAWBERRY ACAI REFRESHER INGREDIENTS
- White Grape Juice– White grape juice is used as a base ingredient to many of the Starbucks refresher drinks.
- Water– Water settles down and balances out all the intense flavors.
- Freeze Dried Strawberry Powder– I make my own freeze dried strawberry powder at home by grinding freeze dried strawberries in the coffee grinder I have reserved for spices (I clean it out between every use). You can also use a food processor or a blender. The flavor of freeze dried strawberries is intense, which is why this recipe calls for it vs. fresh strawberries. This ingredient is also what gives the drink its beautiful blush color.
- Freeze Dried Acai Powder– Acai berries spoil quickly, making the freeze dried powder very convenient. Most health food stores carry it or you can find it online.
- Passion Fruit Puree– Being called for as an ingredient in this recipe might surprise you, but passion fruit puree packs a flavorful and unexpected punch. In short, you really don’t want to leave this out. I purchased mine online from Amazon. Please note, the puree I use in this recipe contains sugar. If you use a sugar-free variation, it will alter the taste of the drink.
STARBUCKS STRAWBERRY ACAI REFRESHER VS. THIS RECIPE
While I’d love to tell you this homemade strawberry acai refresher recipe tastes just like the Starbucks version, I can’t – BUT, it’s very close. My girls and I purchased the Starbucks drink and compared it to our version. We kept tweaking our recipe until we got it just right.
STARBUCKS HAS A FEW ADDED INGREDIENTS IN THEIR RECIPE:
- Sugar– They add even more in addition to what the white grape juice and passion fruit puree already contain.
- Citric Acid– Flavoring and preservative.
- Natural Flavors– I actually think this might be where the passion fruit flavor is “hidden.”
- Natural Green Coffee Flavor– This is basically caffeine. While I don’t call for it in my recipe, you can absolutely add it in if you’d like the added “boost.”
- Rebaudioside A– Stevia in a highly purified form.
WHY MAKE HOMEMADE
I prefer making this recipe vs. purchasing a drink from Starbucks because:
- I have more control over the sugar added. Sometimes their drinks are WAY too sweet for my liking.
- My kids need their sleep, and preferably don’t need any additional caffeine.
- No stops or driving required!
- This recipe is super easy to personalize. Need more strawberry or passion fruit puree? You got it. Want caffeine? Simply add it in.
- Starbucks doesn’t stock booze. Hah. So if you’re 21 years and older, don’t hesitate to spike it!
- While these ingredients do require an investment up front, making my own homemade drinks still works out to be a cheaper option for my family.
COPYCAT STARBUCKS STRAWBERRY ACAI REFRESHERS
STRAWBERRY ACAI REFRESHERS
You will love the refreshing taste of these strawberry acai drinks.
Simple and quick you can make these refreshers for your friends on a warm day or anytime you want to have a tasty strawberry acai drink treat.
This is another one of my favorite drinks at Starbucks and I love to make this homemade version
Yummy strawberry acai refreshing you can make at home
Easy and delicious DIY strawberry acai.
You can’t go wrong with this tasty and delish copycat Starbucks drink.
You are going to fall in love this homemade strawberry acai refresher.
If you are looking for a simple and quick copycat Starbucks recipe this is the one for you.
Learn how to make a copycat Starbucks strawberry acai refresher now.
COPYCAT STARBUCKS RECIPES
HOW TO MAKE STRAWBERRY ACAI REFRESHERS
In a cocktail shaker,
add all ingredients except for strawberry puree and shake vigorously for 10-15 seconds.
Fill a tall glass with ice and pour refresher mixture over.
Add strawberry puree and carefully mix in.
Gently stir
Garnish with mint sprig and strawberry.
Serve
HOMEMADE STRAWBERRY ACAI LEMONADE (4 INGREDIENTS)
Cool, refreshing and beautiful, you’ll be sipping this strawberry acai lemonade all summer long!
It’s getting hot out there and we know exactly what you need to help you cool down- a big refreshing strawberry acai lemonade. Sounds fancy, right? Our strawberry acai lemonade may look fancy but it is actually incredibly easy to make. In fact, it only takes about 5 minutes to put together.
You can make a big pitcher of this delicious, lemonade and keep it in your fridge. Anytime the weather heats up and you need a cool, tasty drink, pour yourself a big glass and relax. One sip will revitalize you for sure.
big refreshing strawberry acai lemonade
SO WHAT IS ACAI?
Acai are small, dark purple berries that look like small grapes. They are found on the acai palm trees in South American rainforests. However, that small little berry is mostly a giant seed.
The acai berry seed takes up 80% of the berry, which means there is only a small amount of the juicy flesh that we want. This makes harvesting and using acai berries a little trickier than other berries.
Each small acai berry is completely packed with vitamins and minerals. That is why acai is considered a superfood. It is full of antioxidants, fiber, calcium and good for you nutrients. Acai berries may be small but they are extremely healthy.
SO WHAT DOES ACAI TASTE LIKE?
Not only are the little, purple berries good for you, they also taste amazing. Imagine the flavor of blackberries blended with dark chocolate. That is the taste of acai berries. Sounds incredible, right?! We know that chocolatey blackberries sound delicious to us!
We wanted to harness the power and flavor of acai in an easy, refreshing drink. Acai goes well with many flavor combinations but it is often paired with strawberries. Strawberry and acai are a match made in heaven!
Starbucks strawberry acai refresher is one of the most popular summer drinks around. We wanted to create a drink that was similar, maybe even a little better.
We also wanted to craft a fancy lemonade that was easy to make at home. We found that all you really need is 4 simple ingredients to whip up a perfect strawberry acai lemonade.
HOW TO MAKE STRAWBERRY ACAI LEMONADE AT HOME?
Our strawberry acai lemonade recipe starts with lemonade. You can make your own lemonade by squeezing fresh lemons then adding some water and sugar. However, we like to keep it simple and use store bought lemonade. Look for lemonade made with real lemons for the best taste.
We add the lemonade and fresh chopped strawberries into the blender and top off the mix with some acai powder. Acai powder is just dried acai berries that have been ground into a powder.
You can easily find acai powder online and in most health food stores. If you do not have acai powder, you can use acai puree in it’s place. Use ½ cup frozen acai puree in place of the 2 teaspoons of powder to get the same taste.
Once all the ingredients are blended, we strain our strawberry acai lemonade to get a smooth, beautiful drink. Skip the straining step if you don’t mind a slushier lemonade. In fact, if you’d like a lemonade slushy, simply add the ice cubes into the blender as well. A strawberry acai lemonade slushy sounds like an amazing drink for a hot day!
This super simple, Starbucks copy-cat lemonade is one of our all time, favorite summer drinks. It’s easy, refreshing, and healthy. It is an all around winner! Give it a try and let us know what you think.
STRAWBERRY ACAI LEMONADE RECIPE
4servingsPrep time
5minutes
Easy, refreshing, and healthy lemonade recipe with only 4 simple ingredients
INGREDIENTS
- 3 cups lemonade
- 1 cup fresh chopped strawberries
- 2 tsp dried acai powder
- 2 Tbsp honey
- Fresh lemon slices
- Ice
DIRECTIONS
- Place the lemonade, strawberries, acai powder and honey in a blender.
- Puree until smooth.
- Pour the mix through a fine mesh sieve, pressing the strawberry pulp down to get out all the juice possible.
- Fill 4 glasses with ice and pour the strawberry acai lemonade into each glass.
- Garnish with a fresh lemon slice and enjoy.
TIPS AND TRICKS
- • If you do not have dried acai powder, use ½ cup frozen acai pulp and blend well.
• Skip the honey for a more tangy lemonade or add up to ¼ cup to make a sweeter drink.
STRAWBERRY ACAI LEMONADE REFRESHER
Make your own Starbuck’s strawberry acai lemonade refresher right at home with this simple recipe! This version uses easy to find ingredients and makes for a much healthier and cheaper refreshing drink than the store-bought one.
From all of the summer drinks on my site, this might be my new favorite! My pineapple slush is definitively a close second, but who can resist a homemade lemonade that’s bright red with a nice tang and filled with fresh summer fruit flavors?
This recipe is also another pursuit to copycat some of the Starbuck’s popular refreshing drinks. Just like this dragon fruit lemonade, I got inspired by one of their summer beverages, but also decided to give it a healthy twist with ingredients that are easier to find.
And what’s so great about preparing this lemonade yourself is that you can make it as fruity, sweet and lemony as you wish! Once you have the freeze dried acai powder, then you are just a blend away from making your own Starbuck’s strawberry acai lemonade drink right at home!
WHAT’S TO LOVE ABOUT THIS DRINK
- Healthy and free of refined sugar, simple syrup or juice
- Caffeine-free
- Easy and quick
- Only 4 ingredients!
- Can be made ahead
- Super refreshing and flavorful
- Easy to customize to your taste
- Tastes just like the Starbuck’s strawberry acai lemonade, but at a fraction of the cost!
STARBUCK’S STRAWBERRY ACAI LEMONADE REFRESHER COPYCAT RECIPE
The Starbuck’s strawberry acai lemonade drink is made with sugar, white grape juice (which means more sugar), freeze dried strawberries, green coffee flavor and natural flavor. It does make for a fun refreshing drink, but definitively could be made much healthier. So, I changed up slightly the ingredients when I made it at home and realized how much the flavors were still very similar to the drink from the store.
So instead of sugar and concentrated juice, I added just enough maple syrup (or use agave nectar if you don’t want any maple flavor) to sweeten it slightly. Also, I think that using fresh strawberries in place of freeze dried fruits boosts the flavor, adds volume and enhances the color of your drink.
It is not clear online what ingredient brings the acai flavor, but I found that freeze dried acai powder was amazing in that drink!
WHAT IS ACAI
Acai berry is a small dark-blue fruit the size of a small grape that comes from the acai palm tree growing in countries like Brasil, Ecuador and Venezuela (native to the rainforests of South America). This small fruit recently got more popular for its much praised health benefits, including powerful antioxidant effects (although the studies are not yet conclusive).
WHAT KIND OF ACAI TO USE FOR THIS RECIPE
To help keep the nutritional values from the fruit as intact as possible during exportation, the acai berries are usually either sent freeze dried (powder form) or frozen into a purée (the fresh fruit tend to go bad with long distance traveling).
I find the acai powder to be more convenient and easy to store then the frozen one. I add spoonfuls of it into in my smoothies, oatmeal bowls and desserts and don’t need to add much of it to turn anything into a beautiful purple with a nice fruity flavor. The frozen acai purée works great too for smoothies and is better to make the popular frozen acai bowl.
I tested this lemonade with the freeze dried acai powder from FGO organic and loved how well it blended into the drink. If a frozen purée is all you have, then I believe it would work well too, just make sure nothing else was added to it, especially sugar.
INGREDIENTS TO MAKE THIS STRAWBERRY ACAI LEMONADE REFRESHER
- Fresh strawberries
- Freeze dried acai powder
- Fresh lemon
- Sweetener, like maple syrup or agave
- Water
HOW TO MAKE THIS STRAWBERRY ACAI LEMONADE REFRESHER
STEP 1: BLEND
Clean and hull the strawberries, then transfer to a blender along with the acai powder and ½ cup of water. Blend until very smooth, it should give you a thin purée.
STEP 2: STRAIN
Place a fine mesh colander over a bowl and pour the strawberry over. Use the back of a spoon to help the fruit purée drain into the bowl and discard the remaining tiny seeds and thick pulp stuck in the colander.
STEP 3: COMBINE
In a pitcher, combine the filtered strawberry purée with the remaining 2 ½ cups of water, lemon juice and sweetener. Stir well and taste so you can adjust the sweetener to your liking. Feel free to add more lemon juice too if you enjoy tart flavors. I recommend to transfer the lemonade to the fridge until ready to serve so it has some time to chill first.