The best chocolate cereal should be so chocolatey that it’s arguably as much a dessert as it is a breakfast food. We want to be slapped in the face by chocolate flavor. And, luckily, there are a lot of chocolate cereals that slap.
Over the course of two in-office taste tests, we gathered all the chocolate cereal brands we could find at the grocery store and tasted them with milk (we usually opt for Fairlife 2%, in case you were wondering). We judged them on chocolate flavor up front, but we also wanted to see a beautiful bowl of chocolatey milk left behind. We firmly believe you deserve a little treat in the a.m., so treat yourself to a bowlful of the best chocolate cereal at the grocery store.
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- Annie’s Cocoa Bunnies
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I firmly believe that all foods taste better when they come in fun shapes. And, honestly, I don’t think Annie’s Cocoa Bunnies would taste as good if they were just flakes or Cocoa Puff-esque balls. The fact that they are cute little rabbits somehow adds to the enjoyment of eating this chocolate cereal. Sporked editor-in-chief Justine Sterling compared the chocolatey flavor to that of a “nice quality chocolate ice cream.” It’s deep and rich, more like dark chocolate than a Hershey’s bar. This is the best chocolate cereal if you want the fun of childhood cereal with an upscale, adult chocolate taste. —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Ryan Martin / Target
- Oreo O’s
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Oreo O’s cereal existed, was discontinued, and is now back on grocery store shelves. And I’m glad it is! Something about this cereal is so unbelievably craveable. One taster decided it tasted more like “creme middle” than chocolate cookie, so it loses a few Sporks because of that. But it’s still a crazy good chocolate cereal. —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Ryan Martin / Instacart
- Chocolate Cheerios
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If you like chocolate and you like Cheerios, you will like Chocolate Cheerios. It still claims to be heart healthy like the plain version, but it comes with the added bonus of real chocolate flavor. If you are looking to avoid sugary cereals but need something more delicious than unsweetened oats, this is a great option. I must admit that I’m not sure why Ice-T was on the box when we first tried it, but it does make me more inclined to buy this cereal. It also doesn’t hurt that it’s one of the best chocolate cereals we tasted. —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Ryan Martin / Target
- Chocolate Chex
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Ever since I tasted Chocolate Chex as part of our gluten free cereal taste test, I’ve been obsessed with it. It’s definitely a psychological thing. See, Chocolate Chex don’t have significantly less sugar than other chocolate cereals, but since only half of the little rice squares in the box are coated in chocolatey, sugary powder and the other half are plain, I’m able to convince myself that these are better for me. It’s the best chocolate cereal if you also enjoy lying to yourself, and it just tastes so good, too. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Reese’s Puffs
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If this chocolate cereal’s appearance didn’t tip you off (it looks like tiny Dunkin’ Munchkins), we’re here to tell you that Reese’s Puffs cereal is decadent. Each tiny sphere is glazed with a sugary coating and full of intense chocolate or peanut butter flavor. We agreed that this cereal rules because it’s one of the few chocolate/peanut butter items that doesn’t exclusively taste like peanut butter. When Sporked contributor Danny Palumbo tried these, his only reaction was, “Oh, hell yeah.” Most importantly, all I can think about when I eat these is this TikTok trend. —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Ryan Martin / Target
- Chocolate Frosted Flakes
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Chocolate Frosted Flakes?? Honestly, you could have knocked me over with a feather when I found these puppies on Instacart, even though they’ve been around since 2017. These make a wonderful chocolate milk; not as chocolatey as Cocoa Puffs (we’re getting to those), but very respectable. I do generally think rice is a better grain for flavored cereals—it’s more of a blank slate—but the flavor of the petite corn flakes works nicely with the chocolate. They’re super sweet, very crispy, and they retain their crunch nicely in milk. If you’re a Frosted Flakes fan and these are new info for you, too, you gotta try them asap. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Cocoa Puffs
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Cocoa Puffs does a good job of turning regular milk into chocolate milk. It’s not just chocolatey milk. It’s actual, real, bonafide chocolate milk. One taste tester argued that this is crucial in a chocolate cereal. In fact, I think plenty of people would argue that it is the entire reason to pour milk onto your chocolate cereal. The cereal delivers exactly what its name promises: cocoa flavor and a puffy texture. It’s like eating a bowlful of little chocolate clouds, and I would recommend it! —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Ryan Martin / Target
- Count Chocula
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This chocolate cereal has such cute packaging! I’dd buy this solely because of the spooky, retro box. Luckily, the cereal is just as cute as its packaging. The tiny ghosts and bats are absolutely precious. There is a great marshmallow-to-cereal ratio, and the cereal has a light, airy crunch and a mildly corny flavor. It’s the best chocolate cereal if you’re nostalgic for the ‘70s. —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Ryan Martin / Walmart
- Cocoa Pebbles
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I’m not being dramatic when I say that Cocoa Pebbles cereal is, hands down, the best chocolate cereal on the market. It is so chocolatey. Justine pointed out that these taste like “powdered brownie mix.” The more a chocolate cereal tastes like dessert, the more on board I am. The box promises that Cocoa Pebbles “[turn] milk chocolatey” and they weren’t kidding. The milk in our tasting bowl became brown moments after adding the Cocoa Pebbles. The flakes are not too big and not too small. They have the perfect pleasing crunch that doesn’t cut up the inside of your mouth. I never buy cereal, but this one has earned a place in my cart. —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Ryan Martin / Walmart
Best Mature
Best Comeback
Best “Healthy”
Best Gluten Free
Best Chocolate & PB
Best Flakes
Best Crunch
Best Nostalgic
Best of the Best
Rhett & Link’s Pick
Oreo O’s
In the 2019 March Milkness Taste Test, a tournament to find the best cereal, Rhett & Link determined that the best chocolate cereal on the market was Oreo O’s, the Oreo brand cereal.
Other products we tried: Chocolate Life, Catalina Crunch Dark Chocolate, Magic Spoon Cocoa, Cocoa Krispies, Cookie Crisp, Wendy’s Frosty, Special K Chocolatey Delight, Chocolate Lucky Charms, Chocolate Frosted Mini-Wheats, Krave.
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