A lot of people think the best part of a cereal breakfast (or dinner if you’re on the Kellogg’s CEO’s recommended diet) is the sweet milk that’s leftover at the bottom of the bowl. In 2006, Christina Tosi became one of the first people to capitalize on that affinity when she developed a cereal-flavored milk for recipes at David Chang’s Momofuku; her trendy bakery Milk Bar still serves a cereal milk-flavored soft serve ice cream. Naturally, cereal brands have gotten in on the action: You can buy milk flavored like Frosted Flakes or Fruit Loops or Cinnamon Toast Crunch. But, hey, what about the vegans and the lactose intolerant? Chobani just released a limited-batch oat milk that all cereal lovers can enjoy: Chobani Cereal Oatmilk. Does it successfully cut out the crunchy middleman? We tasted it to find out.
This stuff is a bit puzzling. When I first tasted it, I was like, oh wait, maybe it’s not supposed to taste like post-cereal milk—maybe it’s simply a sweet oat milk designed to eat with cereal to make things like bran flakes and Cheerios taste more delicious. Our designer Liv thought it tasted like animal crackers. Our intern Madison described it as “a little nutty.” I think it tastes like maple syrup in milk. I confirmed via Chobani’s website that it is, in fact, intended to taste like “bottom-of-the-cereal-bowl delicious” cereal milk, but that didn’t come through on first taste.
Pros: Chobani Cereal Oatmilk, like all Chobani oat milk, is very creamy and delicious. It’s sweet, complex, and pleasing to sip. I genuinely like it. And, like I said, I think it would taste really good with a bland cereal, like Cheerios or bran flakes.
Cons: I just can’t put my finger on what cereal it’s supposed to taste like. Does it even taste like cereal? Full disclosure: I’ve never had cereal milk ice cream from Milk Bar (even though I live, like, two miles from the Melrose store). Maybe this is a spot-on vegan version! But, blindfolded, I just don’t think I would identify it as cereal milk.
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.
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Gwynedd Stuart
Vinz Karl
Luke Field
Will Morgan
