It seems like just yesterday that Magic Spoon was a little ol’ DTC brand that bombarded you with ads on Instagram about how you can finally eat a breakfast cereal that isn’t loaded with sugar and carbs. Look at them now! Magic Spoon has become a cereal aisle fixture at loads of national retailers (alongside plenty of imitators, I might add). Anyway, I suppose it was only a matter of time until Magic Spoon expanded its low carb, high protein offerings, and sure enough Magic Spoon Treats are hitting stores in two flavors, Marshmallow and Chocolatey Peanut Butter. Like the cereal itself, these treats are sweetened with allulose, a virtually calorie-free sugar alternative that’s found in things like figs and wheat. Are cereal treats without sugar (or grains or soy or wheat) an actual treat? We tasted them to find out.
Right off the bat, I gotta say that these are much better than I’d expected, in part because they aren’t made entirely of Magic Spoon cereal. The bulk of the bar is constructed from a grain-free dupe for puffed rice with some halved bits of Magic Spoon loops in the mix. They’re crispier than I expected, although they’re definitely less gooey than a lot of cereal treats. I am fine with that. You know why? Goo is marshmallow and marshmallow is sugar and these aren’t made with sugar! They’re kind of their own thing, although they do still have a marshmallowy flavor.
Pros: As the box advertises, these are much better for you than the typical cereal treat. They have only 1 gram of sugar, 1 net carb, and 11 grams of protein per bar. And even though they’re made from casein, a milk protein, rather than grain, they’re still pretty crispy and satisfying. As my colleague Justine Sterling said, “I would totally eat one of these in the car and feel better about it than eating a Nature Valley granola bar.”
Cons: They do have a little bit of an odd, off aftertaste. It’s the same aftertaste that prevented me from really getting hooked on Magic Spoon, even when I brought a bunch home after our Magic Spoon taste test. There’s something a little saccharine and artificial about the sweetness that keeps me from wanting to take another bite.
Of the two flavors of Magic Spoon Treats, I think Chocolatey Peanut Butter is the much better option. You get big, bold peanut butter flavor upon first bite and it really works. More cereal treats should be peanut butter flavored, honestly. The chocolatey drizzle adds a little bit of sweetness, but the bar as a whole isn’t sickeningly sweet. It’s light and crispy and seems like a really good snack if you want something easy, tasty, and full of protein.
Pros: Macros-wise, these are great, too. You get 1 gram of sugar, 2 net carbs, and 11 grams of protein. (BTW, if you look at the nutritional info on the box rather than on the packaging of an individual bar, you’ll see that each bar actually has 17 grams of carbs, but they subtract from that based on the grams of fiber, allulose, and glycerine. Is it girl math or math math?? I don’t know, but they seem to stand by it!) These bars’ biggest virtue is their big peanutty flavor. I’m sorry, people with peanut allergies!
Cons: These treats still have a little bit of an aftertaste, but the bold peanut butter flavor just about covers it up. I actually brought this box of treats home!
Howdy! I’m Gwynedd, Sporked’s managing editor. I live in Los Angeles and have access to the best tacos the U.S. has to offer—but I’m a sucker for a crunchy Old El Paso taco night every now and then. I’ve been at Sporked since 2022 and I’m still searching frozen mozzarella sticks that can hold a candle to restaurant sticks.
Why you should trust me: I’ve been a journalist for 20 years (yikes), a consumer of food for 40-plus years, and I’m truly hard pressed to think of foods I don’t like (or that I can’t tolerate at the very least). Oh and one time I cooked my way through Guy Fieri’s cookbook and wrote about the journey through Flavortown.
What I buy every week: Trader Joe’s Original Savory Thins. Fat free plain yogurt (usually Fage or Nancy’s). Honeycrisp apples. Sweet cream coffee creamer for my at-home Americanos. A frozen cauliflower crust pizza and some jarred mushrooms to top it with. Old El Paso Stand ‘N Stuff taco shells and Gardein Ground Be’f, even though I think “be’f” is a nightmarish contraction.
Favorite ranking: Stouffer’s frozen dinners. I don’t own a microwave (I get my cancers the old fashioned way!), so I love taste testing things that I don’t really buy to eat at home.
Least favorite ranking: Soy sauce. Don’t get me wrong, I love soy sauce—but consuming that much sodium in one sitting is probably illegal in some countries. Our frozen enchilada taste test was a close second; the smell of microwaved corn tortillas still haunts me.
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!
Gwynedd Stuart
Vinz Karl
Joe Rumrill
Griffin Parker
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!