Cereal is a breakfast staple—but the best cereal will tempt you all day long. (Breakfast-for-dessert, ftw.) Here at Sporked, we’ve sampled everything from fun, playful, sugary options to the heartiest whole grain cereals. Depending on what you like, we’re pretty confident we know which cereals deserve a spot in your morning routine. Or midday routine. Or nightly routine. Whatever time of day you reach for that bowl, we’ve got you covered. Here’s our roundup of the best cereals we’ve tried in our taste tests to date.
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- Kashi Go Crunch
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Whole grain cereal might sound like it’s bound to be boring, but this Kashi cereal won us over with its variety of textures. “There are sandy bits. There are clumps. There are rice puffs and oats,” Sporked managing editor Gwynedd Stuart wrote in her ranking of the best whole grain cereals. “It’s almost granola—but not quite.” The flavor wowed us, too—honeyed with a hint of cinnamon. Plus, it packs 9 grams of protein per serving, so you won’t crash an hour after breakfast.
Read our full ranking of the best whole grain cereal
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Nature’s Path Organic Envirokidz Peanut Butter Panda Puffs
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When we set out to look for the best cereal for kids, we were looking for cereals that taste really good, are fun to eat, and aren’t totally packed with sugar (okay, fine, we included some sugar-packed ones on our list, too). This Nature’s Path cereal won us over with its light crunch, sweet (but not cloying) peanut buttery flavor, and its cute-as-hell box. As Gwynedd wrote in her ranking, “It’s sweet without being absolutely packed with sugar (9 grams per serving, which I learned is reasonable in the world of fun breakfast cereal) and peanut buttery with a nice honey finish. Crispy-crunchy. Delicious. And if any child (or adult, really) can resist the adorable panda on the box, get their vitals checked!” If you see a fluffy little panda in the cereal aisle, pick him up!
Read our full ranking of the best cereal for kids
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Special K
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I know, I know. “Healthy cereal” is pretty vague. But when we were on the hunt for the best “healthy cereal,” we were simply looking for accessible options that taste good and aren’t egregiously awful for us. Special K might not be a nutritionist’s idea of a “health” food, but it’s lower in sugar than other cereals—and, most importantly, it tastes good. As Gwynedd wrote in her ranking, “Of all the cereals we tried that come in flake form, this was the absolute best overall, thanks to a winning combo of rice, wheat, and barley that tastes great and stands up nicely to milk.” If you want a burst of berry flavor, we recommend slicing up your own rather than relying on the sugary freeze-dried berries that come in some boxes of Special K.
Read our full ranking of the best corn flakes cereal
Credit: Liv Averett / Target
- Kroger Corn Flakes
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If we’ve learned anything here at Sporked, it’s that you should never underestimate the power of generic products. These Kroger Corn Flakes? Fantastic. They burst with toasty corn flavor that pairs wonderfully with milk for a tasty bowl of cereal to start your morning. Better yet, coat your chicken bake in these flakes, top them with some hot honey, and get ready for a symphony of crispy, spicy, comforting flavors in every bite. Yes, these are better than Kellogg’s Corn Flakes.
Read our full ranking of the best corn flakes cereal
Credit: Liv Averett / Ralphs
- Cocoa Pebbles
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It’s kind of lame how many chocolate cereals don’t taste all that much like chocolate. Cocoa Pebbles, however, live up to their chocolatey promise. “The box promises that Cocoa Pebbles ‘[turn] milk chocolatey’ and they weren’t kidding,” Sporked senior writer Jordan Myrick wrote. “The milk in our tasting bowl became brown moments after adding the Cocoa Pebbles.” If you want a chocolate cereal that’s downright desserty, this is for you.
Read our full ranking of the best chocolate cereal
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Fruity Pebbles
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We’re big Pebbles fans here at Sporked, so when we taste tested fruity cereals, it wasn’t a huge surprise when Fruity Pebbles was the best cereal we tried. “If you saw our ranking of the best chocolate cereals, you know we lost our absolute minds for Cocoa Pebbles,” Jordan wrote. “These little flakes are so crunchy and light. The flavor is super fruity and the smell is utterly intoxicating to a cereal lover.” That big, fruity flavor and aroma gave this one an edge over Trix, Froot Loops, Apple Jacks, and other childhood breakfast faves.
Read our ranking of the best fruity cereal
Credit: Liv Averett / Target
- Cascadian Farm Organic Hearty Morning Fiber Cereal
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With a name like “Hearty Morning Fiber,” this cereal from Cascadian Farm has to be good for the ol’ constitution. It doesn’t pack as much fiber as some other cereals on the list (10 grams versus 18 grams in Fiber One Original, for instance), but this one manages to be high fiber, taste really good, and inolve a lot of different textures. “Each box contains a mix of lightly sweet whole wheat flakes, nutty bran sticks, and delightfully crunchy granola clusters,” Sporked editor-in-chief Justine Sterling wrote in her ranking of the best fiber cereal. It’s crunchy, filling, and one of the best cereals you can buy if you’re looking to give your digestive system a boost.
Read our full ranking of the best fiber cereal
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Catalina Crunch Cinnamon Toast Keto Friendly Cereal
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Abiding by a keto diet doesn’t have to mean cutting out cereal. But proceed with caution: A lot of the low-carb cereals are not worth your breakfast bucks. During our taste test, we were looking for keto cereals that could trick us into thinking they weren’t keto cereals, and that’s how Cataline Crunch Cinnamon Toast ended up in the top spot. “It’s crunchy like a good cereal should be, so it can withstand the addition of milk and won’t promptly get soggy,” Sporked contributor Danny Palumbo wrote. “There’s less sugar than in regular Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but the toasted, cinnamony notes are just wonderful.” It was the only keto cereal someone brought home after the taste test.
Read our full ranking of the best keto cereal
Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon
- Just the Clusters Maple Pecan Granola Cereal
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There’s a lot to choose from in the Trader Joe’s cereal aisle, but this hearty, mapel-y granola (with flakes!) won everyone over. We thought maple granola cereal might hew a little sweet for our tastes, but that wasn’t the case at all. This has a great balance of flavors, and the sweetness of the granola clusters is offset by the earthy bitterness of the pecans. Jordan even suggested it would be a “luxurious spa day breakfast” with some yogurt, sliced banana, and honey. And it’s from TJ’s, so it’s the kind of luxury that comes cheap.
Read our full ranking of the best Trader Joe’s cereals
Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon
- Millville Honey Wheat Puffs
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We taste tested every single box of cereal we could find at our local Aldi store, and this Honey Smacks dupe was the best cereal we tried. It has a fresh, perfectly balanced honey flavor. A crispy yet delicately crunchy texture. And it’s roughly half the cost of name-brand cereal. And an adorable green dragon mascot? What’s not to love?
Read our full ranking of the best Aldi cereals
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- Purely Elizabeth Original Ancient Grain Granola
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If you’re looking for the perfect granola—no flakes, just straight-up granola—Purely Elizabeth has you covered. Yes, the brand’s name sounds like a Jodi Picoult novel or something, but they know granola. “Of all the packaged granolas we tasted, this one from Purely Elizabeth came the closest to resembling what you’d get in a fruit-scattered parfait at a nice breakfast spot,” Gwynedd wrote in her ranking of the best granolas. “This bag is full of plump clusters of salty-sweet oats and grains (amaranth, quinoa, chia seeds), and a hint of cinnamon that compliments that natural sweetness of coconut sugar.” This one has French toast vibes and we love.
Read our full ranking of the best granola
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Magic Spoon Fruity
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If you exist on Instagram, you’ve probably been served an ad for Magic Spoon cereal somewhere between one and five million times. And if you happen to enjoy cereal, you’ve probably been intrigued by its cute packaging, fun flavors, and promise of high protein and no sugar. But when we sat down to taste test every flavor of Magic Spoon we could get our hands on, Fruity was our favorite by far. “These little hoops of milk protein, oil, and tapioca starch have that precise citrusy tang that sends you back to elementary school,” Gwynedd wrote. “It’s the definition of a fun breakfast, presumably minus the sugar crash.” If you’ve been looking for a low-sugar cereal that won’t make breakfast a bummer, this is a great option.
Read our full ranking of the best Magic Spoon Cereal
Credit: Liv Averett / Magic Spoon
- Pumpkin Spice Frosted Flakes
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We should’ve known from his little bandana—which is basically an infinity scarf—that Tony the Tiger was really a fall girlie. While Frosted Flakes on their own are already delectable, crispy, corny morsels, they pair perfectly with pumpkin spice. The flavor goes deeper than the surface-level, cinnamon-forward taste of pumpkin spice. It has a maple element to it, making it a fully realized fall treat in a bowl of cereal. Skip the PSL and try these when they (hopefully) return to stores this fall.
Read our full ranking of the best pumpkin spice cereal
Credit: Merc / Target
- Better Oats Organic Bare
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If you’re already browsing the cereal aisle, you might as well grab our favorite oatmeal, too. (It’s literally right there on the shelf.) We don’t like eating straight mush for breakfast—but Better Oats Organic Bare Oatmeal has “personality in every bite,” according to Justine, our resident oatmeal enthusiast. This stuff is extra hearty, packed with a variety of grains like barley, wheat, rye, and quinoa. It’s textural bliss in a sea of boring, monotonous mush.
Read our full ranking of the best plain best plain oatmeal
Credit: Ryan Martin / Amazon
- Signature Select Maple & Brown Sugar Instant Oatmeal
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Who needs therapy when you can have Signature Select’s Maple & Brown Sugar Instant Oatmeal? Wex’re kidding, obviously, even if this is more cost effective. But really, this oatmeal is comfort, reassurance, and a great big hug all in just a couple minutes of cook time. It’s rich in maple flavor that’s balanced with a hint of salt all in a wonderfully creamy mixture of oats. This isn’t a bowl of bland mush or a piping hot sugar rush. This is a deliciously complex bowl of oats here to remind you with every spoonful: life is going to be okay.
Read our full ranking of the best flavored oatmeal
Credit: Ryan Martin / Instacart
Best Whole Grain Cereal
Rating:
9.5/10
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Best Cereal for Kids
Rating:
10/10
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Best Healthy Cereal
Rating:
9.5/10
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Best Corn Flakes
Rating:
10/10
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Best Chocolate Cereal
Rating:
10/10
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Best Fruity Cereal
Rating:
10/10
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Best Fiber Cereal
Rating:
9.5/10
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Best Keto Cereal
Rating:
9/10
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Best TJ’s Cereal
Rating:
10/10
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Best Aldi Cereal
Rating:
10/10
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Best Granola
Rating:
10/10
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Best Magic Spoon
Rating:
9.5/10
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Best Pumpkin Spice Cereal
Rating:
10/10
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Best Oatmeal
Rating:
10/10
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Best Flavored Oatmeal
Rating:
9.5/10
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