When I set out to find the best healthy cereal, I had to navigate the fact that “healthy” means different things to different people. In general, healthy cereal should be pretty low in sugar—you’d be surprised how many “healthy” cereals have as much sugar as a damn bowl of Fruity Pebbles. But we didn’t rule out all sugary cereals—a couple made the cut because they have other redeeming qualities, like a lot of fiber or protein. Over the course of two separate taste tests, we tried a lot of so-called “healthy” cereals, and found nine that deserve a place in your pantry because they actually taste really good.
I have a love-hate relationship with shopping for cereal at the grocery store. On the one hand, you’ve got options—a whole-ass aisle stocked from end to end with just one food. But as any chronically indecisive individual knows, that much choice can be crippling, especially if you’re of an age when you’ve started to consider things like how much sugar you should reasonably be consuming on a daily basis.
In a way, this list of the best healthy cereal is a gift to myself: A cereal aisle crib sheet, a shortlist of breakfast options that taste good and aren’t egregiously awful for me. An entire industry has sprung up around designer cereals tailored to specific dietary restrictions, but this list is meant to have a little something for everyone. Which of those healthy breakfast cereals you see stocked on the shelves would you actually want to fill your bowl with on a daily basis? That’s what we’re here to tell you about today.
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- Catalina Crunch Cinnamon Toast Keto Friendly Cereal
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If you’re not famils, the keto (aka ketogenic) diet is a high fat and low carb regimen that’s supposed to help burn fat. Does it work? Couldn’t tell ya, but I can tell you this: A lot of keto-specific food tastes very, very bad. Catalina Crunch Cinnamon Toast cereal—a “healthy cereal” by ketogenic standards—was a pleasant surprise. It’s not quite on par with Cinnamon Toast Crunch in the flavor department, but it’s crunchy and satisfying and if you’re keto, you can definitely talk yourself into believing it has the same cinnamon-sugary appeal, especially given that it packs 11 grams of protein and 9 grams of fiber. It’s very good and it holds up nicely in milk. It’s the best tasting healthy cereal we found for keto folks by a long shot.
Read the full ranking of the best keto cereal
Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon
- Seven Sundays Maple Cinnamon Oat Protein Cereal
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This gluten free cereal is made with oat protein that’s upcycled from the oat milk-making process. That means it’s good for you and the planet, and we love that in a healthy breakfast cereal. Taste-wise, this stuff is surprisingly great. When I first peeped the cereal loops, I thought that it was going to be like Magic Spoon, which I don’t love because the texture is just too weird and the loops dissolve in your mouth in a way that makes eating an entire bowl kind of unpleasant. But enough about Magic Spoon—this is a GF cereal, but it’s not a grain-free cereal (oats are grains). The loops are crispy-crunchy and don’t have an unpleasant after taste, even though they contain cassava starch. There’s also 14 percent of your daily value of iron and 3 grams of protein in a serving (along with 6 grams of sugar, which isn’t terrible). Oh, and the flavor! The cinnamon maple flavor is very delicious. We all really liked it—it’s very warm and breakfasty. This is the best tasting healthy cereal for people who love the idea of being a human garbage disposal (in the most delicious way possible).
Credit: Liv Averett / Seven Sundays
- Kashi Simply Raisin
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Okay, I know raisins are controversial, especially in a healthy cereal because they contain a lot of sugar. Also, people hate the taste of raisins for reasons I’ll never understand. If you do not like raisins, you have our permission to stop reading this entry and move on to the next one. If you don’t like raisins, this is not the best healthy cereal for you. But, if you’re a raisin fan or are at least raisin tolerant, give this healthy breakfast cereal a shot. The Mini-Wheat-like biscuits are stuffed with a raisin filling that’s bursting with natural sweetness and also packs a bunch of yummy spice—I tasted cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice. Plus, the filling gives the dry, crunchy exteriors a pleasant bit of chew. I personally love raisins (I can’t imagine not liking small, sweet, wrinkly grapes), and I’d pick this over Raisin Bran any day. It does contain 8 grams of sugar in a serving, but there’s zero added sugar and a respectable 7 grams of protein.
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Kashi Go
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The downfall of most healthy breakfast cereal is monotony. If being forced to consume an entire box of cereal with just one shape and texture feels like punishment, give Kashi Go a shot. There’s a lot going on in this box, including weird little stick bundles, pellets of crispy puffed rice, and even whole oats for chew. It’s a true festival of tastes and textures, and it’s high in protein so it’ll fill you up for a while. My favorite part is the added honey, which gives it a pleasant and palatable sweetness (and 8 grams of sugar isn’t terrible). It’s the best healthy cereal for people who love variety.
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Kashi Go Chocolate Crunch
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With 10 grams a serving, this is one of the highest sugar cereals on our list. It makes the cut because it’s also high in fiber and it tastes really, really good. It tastes like brownie batter, and you’re not going to be able to say that about a lot of healthy breakfast cereals. If you’re a grownup who is finally kicking a Cocoa Pebbles habit, this is the best healthy cereal to seek out at the grocery store. Plus, you can’t have a list of the best cereal without a chocolate cereal in the mix.
Read the full ranking of the best fiber cereal
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Cascadian Farm Organic Hearty Morning Fiber Cereal
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This is another high fiber cereal we really love. If you’re looking for a healthy breakfast cereal with very low sugar, this probably isn’t the best healthy cereal for you since it has 10 grams of sugar a serving, but it won us over with its hearty fiber content (10 grams) and insane variety. You get sweet whole wheat flakes, nutty bran sticks, and delightfully crunchy granola clusters. You won’t get bored eating this cereal. It’s super crunchy and very satisfying. If healthy equals high fiber in your household, give this Cascadian Farms breakfast cereal a shot.
Read the full ranking of the best fiber cereal
- Cascadian Farm Organic Mixed Berry Cereal
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This healthy cereal includes freeze dried strawberries and freeze dried blueberries, which makes it an improvement upon Special K Red Berries. Same idea, though. And this healthy breakfast cereal from Cascadian Farm has less sugar, too—just 6 grams of sugar and 0 grams of added sugar. The flakes are sweetened with date powder instead. That’s nice! The flakes are very crispy-crunchy and have a lot of texture. Plus, they taste really, really good. My one caveat: I would definitely take more strawbs in this box. Also, I don’t see vanilla or spices listed on the ingredients list, but the flakes really do have a lot of lovely flavor. We also really liked the brand’s Vanilla Crisp Cereal, but it has less going on. If you like sweet-tart berries in your cereal, this is the best healthy cereal to buy.
Credit: Liv Averett / Target
- Cheerios
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As we always say, some things are classics for a reason, and Cheerios absolutely fit that bill. There’s something so wonderfully nostalgic about their roasty oat flavor and the way they bob and float in a bowl of milk. Plus, they’re genuinely low in sugar (only 2 grams a serving), if that’s a consideration when you’re shopping for the best healthy cereal. Sweeten them on your own terms with some sliced-up banana, or just enjoy them dry and right out of a Ziplock baggie as generations of toddlers have. Cheerios is a delicious and satisfying cereal that feels and is healthy—and it’s naturally gluten free, too!
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Special K
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Beloved by moms since the 1950s, Special K still has an addictive crunch, a pleasant sweetness, and that satisfying feeling that you’re doing something good for yourself when you eat it. 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. The brand’s zhuzhed-up versions, like Red Berries and Fruit & Yogurt, start to get pretty sugary but this original version only has 4 grams of sugar—not bad. Special K even sells a variety with hunks of chocolate tossed in with the flakes. I say stick with the classic K and just dress it up yourself with fresh fruit or a sprinkle of granola. The flakes are a great base, but they’re good on their own, too. Special K was the best healthy cereal we tried in two separate taste tests—don’t knock it till you try it!
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
Best Keto Friendly
Best for the Planet
Best with Raisins
Best Texture
Best Chocolate Cereal
Best High Fiber
Best Berry
Best Classic
Best of the Best
Other products we tried: Grape Nuts, Bob’s Red Mill Muesli, General Mills Total, Nature’s Path Organic Heritage Flakes, Barbara’s Multigrain Puffins Cereal, Ezekiel 4:9 Almond, Cascadian Farm Vanilla Crisp, Seven Sundays Real Cocoa, Nature’s Path Smart Bran
