Bionicos (Mexican Fruit Bowls)

Switch up your morning routine with creamy, refreshing, and absolutely delicious Bionicos!

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West of Mexico City and just north of Lago de Chapala sits the bustling city of Guadalajara. Known for smooth tequila and warm mariachi, millions for half-year flock to the state of Jalisco just to soak up the enticing Guadalajara experience. But delicious drinks and beautiful music are not all Guadalajara has to offer.

According to lore, in the early 1990s, a street vendor made history by creating bionicos, or Mexican fruit bowls. Essentially a fruit salad, bionicos typically include yogurt, sweetened condensed milk, sour cream, vanilla extract, granola, shredded coconut, and a wide variety of refreshing fruits. The popularity of this dessert quickly spread, now being served across Mexico and even in some parts of the U.S. While primarily served by street vendors and at juice bars, many enjoy bionicos as a healthier breakfast or dessert in the comfort of their homes.

As someone who really enjoys a rich, chocolatey dessert, you won’t see me choosing bionicos as my Friday night indulgence. However, I’m always on the hunt for a light, filling, and delicious breakfast, which makes bionicos a great option for me. These bowls have amazing flavor and are super customizable, so it’s no wonder they’re such a crowd favorite. I hope bionicos sound as delectable to you as they do to me, so let’s get cooking!

Are Bionicos (Mexican Fruit Bowls) Healthy?

The healthiness of bionicos highly depends on the ingredients used. While this recipe is full of essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber, I wouldn’t say it’s the healthiest meal option. Bionicos has a fair amount of carbs, fat, and sugar—definitely not keto-friendly.

However, you can improve the healthiness of bionicos by tweaking the ingredients. I’d suggest using low-fat sour cream or using Greek yogurt, as it has a similarly tangy taste. You can also reduce the amount of sweetened condensed milk, granola, and shredded coconut.

Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt?

If you want a lighter option, Greek yogurt can be a great substitute for sour cream. You can swap out the sour cream with the same amount of Greek yogurt for a healthier twist without sacrificing much flavor. I know it may sound odd, but every time I put Greek yogurt on my tacos, I swear I’m tasting sour cream. It’s like Greek yogurt can change its flavor depending on the meal.

However, I recommend still keeping the plain yogurt in the recipe for the authentic creamy base. If you prefer, you can also use Greek yogurt for the plain yogurt, but be aware that this will slightly change the flavor and texture.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup strawberries, sliced
1 banana, sliced
1 apple, diced
1 cup cantaloupe, diced
1/2 cup granola
1/4 cup shredded coconut

INSTRUCTIONS

Mix

Prepare the creamy sauce.

Combine

Toss together various fruits.

Assemble

Layer fruit in bowls, add sauce, and top with granola and coconut.

Devour!

FAQs & Tips

How to Make Ahead and Store?

Good news! You can store your bionicos 1-2 days in advance. So, if you’d like to make bionicos ahead of time, all you need to do is cut your fruit, mix the sauce, and store each mixture separately in the fridge. Don’t combine them! If you add bananas, hold off on cutting them until you’re ready to eat your bionicos to prevent brown banana pieces.

Use fresh, in season fruit

For this recipe, I recommend using strawberries, a banana, an apple, and cantaloupe. However, as this dish is all about fresh fruit, I highly recommend figuring out what fruits are in season for you and incorporating those. In many states, bananas, apples, and strawberries tend to be pretty good throughout the year, but I would look into their seasons and the season of cantaloupes just to be safe.

Strong sweet tooth?

If you love all things sweet, doubling the sweetened condensed milk is a fun way to sweeten bionicos. With the extra pooling in your fruit bowl, you can scoop up more in your spoon with each bite. Yum!

Serving Suggestions

Bionicos are incredibly versatile, so you can have a lot of fun dressing up your fruit bowl. Granola, chopped pecans, almonds, walnuts, chia seeds, dried cranberries, dried cherries, chocolate chips—the possibilities are endless! Bionicos do not boast a lot of protein, so you could always serve a smaller portion on the side of an egg dish like a breakfast casserole or egg white omelet. Also, check out this amazing list of over 35 different egg recipes to try!