Keto cereal is all over the place. At its best, low carb cereal is a fatty and protein-rich bowl of crunchy morsels with a flavor that comes close to recreating the familiar breakfast cereal classics. At its worst, well, keto friendly cereal tastes like something you feed livestock. There was a lot of livestock feed in our taste tests and not enough delicious human food.
For cereal to be keto friendly, it should be low carb, high protein, and contain a decent amount of fiber. We’re taste testers, not nutritionists, so we mostly stuck to cereals that advertise themselves as low carb or keto friendly. Grain-based cereal is high in carbohydrates by nature, so keto cereal tends to be made from things like milk protein, vegetable fiber, alternative flours (like tapioca), and a variety of alternative sweeteners. Basically, keto cereal is cereal minus everything that makes cereal cereal.
This was our second keto cereal taste test and while it was another toughie, we found some more low carb cereals that met our basic criteria and really turned things s around. If a cereal was a copycat of a classic cereal, like many on this list, we wanted it to taste at least somewhat like the original. Cereal, including keto cereal, should be a tasty and sweet morning treat. It should not get soggy instantly, and it should have a pronounced flavor. There wasn’t much to like here, but there were a few standouts, and two brands in particular did surprise the hell out of us. Here are the best low carb breakfast cereals we’ve found to date. The crème de la crunch, if you will.
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- Magic Spoon Frosted
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Magic Spoon: It’s more than just cute packaging. We know, because we tried and ranked all the flavors. Yes, we wish it was less expensive, but when it comes to the best keto cereal brands, we have to take what we can get. As the healthier, keto-friendly spin on Lucky Charms, Magic Spoon Frosted may not have any real marshmallows in it, but there’s a marshmallow quality to the cereal morsels that really works for it. It’s got that soft, nostalgic crunch that feels familiar, even without the fluffy bits. So if you’re trying to cut back but still want your cereal to feel like a treat, this flavor delivers the goods with zero sugar drama. —Ariana Losch
Credit: Liv Averett / Target
- Simple Truth Blueberry Flavored Keto Cereal
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A lot of keto cereal has a fatty, almost oily quality that makes it taste protein rich and filling. The hint of blueberry in this Simple Truth low carb cereal is quite nice. It’s not insanely fruity, but then again, neither are blueberries. I got into a heated argument recently with friends about blueberries; they’re my favorite berry, which everybody else thinks is insane. They just have a subtle, mild flavor that I really enjoy, and so does this cereal. I’ve been eating this right out of the box as a protein-dense snack. No milk needed to enjoy this keto cereal. —Danny Palumbo
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Ralphs
- Kellogg’s Special K Zero Cinnamon
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Kellogg’s keto-friendly Special K tastes shockingly like a go-to cinnamon cereal. Maybe that’s not really selling it for you, but believe it or not, this was the best keto friendly cereal of the bunch in my personal opinion. It’s not trying to be sweet, so even though the ingredients include sucralose and monk fruit, those sweeteners don’t get in the way of the cinnamon, which is absolutely the primary flavor here. Some may call this one-note, but I found the simplicity comforting. It doesn’t taste like keto cereal, it just tastes like your slightly boring but highly dependable full-carb cereal. And that’s all I’m asking for in life. —Ariana Losch
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Incredi-Bowl Keto Friendly Frosted Flakes
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This keto cereal from Incredi-Bowl is really sweet, and it has that crunchy, flaky, corn-forward taste you associate with Frosted Flakes. The aftertaste is a little weird—while it does contain some sugar, the primary sweeteners are allulose and erythritol—and although it is crunchy, it gets kind of soggy pretty quickly. Still, it does recreate that Frosted Flakes flavor quite well. —Danny Palumbo
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Instacart
- Magic Spoon Maple Waffle
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If you get a whiff of Magic Spoon Maple Waffle, you might think you’re in for a wild ride. It’s so strong, it almost smells like maple-flavored alcohol. But don’t be fooled: The flavor itself is much more mellow and contained. It has a cozy pancakes-and-maple syrup vibe going for it. Two things that, sadly, aren’t very accessible on the keto diet. If you miss those warm, sweet, comforting flavors, this might be the best keto cereal for you. —Ariana Losch
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Three Wishes Cocoa Grain Free Cereal
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This has a great chocolate flavor, and like many low carb cereals, it’s pretty savory. It’s made with monk fruit, chickpea flour, organic cane sugar, and tapioca. Oddly, the cereal is a little bit salty, but we don’t mind it. This also has a crunch that rivals the Catalina Crunch Cinnamon Toast cereal, which we thought was dynamite (see #1). Three Wishes doesn’t get soggy fast, and we love that about it, too. Go ahead and drown it in milk, baby. —Danny Palumbo
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Instacart
- Magic Spoon Fruity
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Magic Spoon Fruity is the closest thing to a keto friendly Fruit Loops you can buy—and it’s Magic Spoon’s best flavor. In terms of bad aftertastes, there are so many ways a fruity, grain-free cereal mimicking a sugary classic could have gone wrong. But they nailed every element: the light sweetness, bright citrus, and satisfying crunch. It even looks pretty in the bowl. In a moment of inspired insanity, I actually declared, out loud, that I preferr this keto breakfast cereal dupe to the real Fruit Loops. I have since re-tried Fruit Loops and decided that was both out-of-pocket and false, but hey, that’s how yummy it tasted to me when I was tasting it alongside other keto cereals. If you want to feel like a kid again with an iconic brand-name classic, this is the best keto cereal you can buy. —Ariana Losch
Credit: Liv Averett / Target
- Catalina Crunch Cinnamon Toast Keto Friendly Cereal
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First of all, I absolutely adore the brand name “Catalina Crunch,” which sounds like a nickname for an old-timey professional boxer. It’s catchy as hell. And this cereal tastes great! Managing editor Gwynedd Stuart chimed in with “they nailed this” and I totally agree. It’s made from pea protein and potato fiber, but it’s crunchy like a good cereal should be, so it can withstand the addition of milk and doesn’t immediately get soggy. This is totally sugar free, so it doesn’t quite capture the satisfying sweetness of Cinnamon Toast Crunch,, but the toasted, cinnamony notes are just wonderful. This is more rich than your average cereal, but it actually works. It’s absolutely the best keto cereal you can buy. Staff writer Jordan Myrick couldn’t stop glowing about it either. I took this one home with me. —Danny Palumbo
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Amazon
Best Lucky Charms Dupe
Best Blueberry
Best Cinnamon Puffs
Best Frosted Flakes
Best Cozy
Best Chocolate
Runner Up
Best of The Best
Other products we tried: Simple Truth Cinnamon, Wonderworks Peanut Butter, Catalina Crunch Dark Chocolate, Nature’s Path Cinnamon Toast, Incred-Bowl Chocolate Crunch, Wonderworks Chocolate, Ratio Trio Vanilla Almond Crunch Keto Friendly Cereal, Ratio Trio Maple Almond Crunch 10g Protein Keto Friendly Cereal, Catalina Crunch Chocolate Peanut Butter Keto Friendly Cereal, Catalina Crunch Fruity Keto Friendly Cereal, Catalina Crunch Honey Grahm Crunch Cereal
