Even though we try to keep meal-prepped breakfasts on hand, sometimes the week gets away from us, and we need a quick and convenient solution right out of the cupboard. With busy family members running off in all directions and breakfast falling during the most hectic time of the day, we have turned to a good ole bowl of healthy cereal to feed us and our families on many a morning.
We know that most people don’t really love “healthy” cereals, saying things like they taste like cardboard or don’t have much flavor. And we just hate to hear that, because we know there are some great options out there!
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Over the years, we’ve tasted about as many cereal brands as we could get our hands on, read nutrition labels and ingredient lists ad nauseam, and sampled them with our kids.
Here’s how we picked our favorites:
- They taste good (seriously)
- They offer good nutritional value
- They contain 8 grams or fewer of added sugar (including several with zero!)
- We and our kids actually enjoy them!
These are the ones that rise to the top for us and the best cereals to buy:
Seven Sundays Oat Protein Cereal
Why we love it: We have been super fans of Seven Sundays for many years now, and it’s a brand of cereal that both we and our kids love to eat. Their sustainable and innovative line of oat protein cereals are O-shaped, gluten-free, cold cereals.
They come in four flavors: maple cinnamon, simply honey, super fruity, and chocolate sea salt.
Ingredient highlight: The main ingredient is upcycled oats that are leftover from oat milk production. This ingredient has 3 times more protein and 2 times more fiber than regular whole oats and makes a great base for this high quality cereal.
Grams of sugar: Each serving has 6 or 7 grams of total sugar, depending on the flavor, and between 1 and 7 grams of added sugar, plus 5 grams of protein per 1-cup serving. These crunchy cereals are sweetened with dates and coconut sugar.
Cost: $5.40-$9.00 per 8-ounce bag
Easy to purchase: Find Seven Sundays in a variety of natural retail groceries, including Whole Foods Market, Sprouts Farmers Market, and Natural Grocers, and online at Amazon.com and Thrive Market. We love to buy it directly from the Seven Sundays website, however, because they have the lowest price and we can stock up and save 30% with code REALFOOD30.
Nature’s Path: Smart Bran & Crispy Rice Cereal
Why we love it: There are two healthy cereals from Nature’s Path that you’ll often find in our cupboards: Smart Bran and Crispy Rice Cereal. Jess mixes about ¼ cup of Smart Bran with granola to add fiber to her breakfasts and enjoys it over yogurt.
We use the Organic Crispy Rice cereal all the time to make recipes such as our homemade Clif bars, scotcheroo bites, and mini protein bars. We like that it is certified gluten-free and easy to find.
Ingredient highlight: If you need to up your fiber intake, the Nature’s Path Smart Bran is such a simple way to do it. Made from a mix of wheat bran, oat fiber, and psyllium, it contains 17 grams of fiber per ¾-cup serving. The Nature’s Path crispy rice cereal is made from organic brown rice flour.
Grams of sugar: The Smart Bran has 8 grams of total and added sugar from organic cane sugar.
And the Crispy Rice Cereal is sweetened with cane sugar and molasses and has 3 grams of total and added sugar per 1-cup serving size.
Cost: $5.00-$9.00 per 10-ounce box
Easy to purchase: Nature’s Path cereals are available at many natural and big-box retailers, including Whole Foods, Safeway, Kroger, Target, Walmart, Natural Grocers, Hy-Vee, and Sprouts, as well as online at amazon.com.
Cascadian Farm: Purely Os
& No Added Sugar Mixed Berry Cereal
Why we love it: We appreciate that Cascadian Farm sells so many versions of traditional American cereals, but are created with more sustainably grown and better quality ingredients. For example, you’ll find options similar to Kix, Raisin Bran, Honey Bunches of Oats, Honey Nut Cheerios, and even Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
The organic Cascadian Farm Purely Os are like an organic version of Cheerios, and they feature 31 grams of whole grains and 4 grams of fiber per 1 ½ cup serving. This cereal is one of the very first foods that both Stacie and Jessie served to their kids as they were exploring solid foods.
We also love the No Added Sugar Mixed Berry Cereal from Cascadian Farm, which is akin to Special K. It has more fat than Special K (from coconut oil), but less than half the sugar.
Ingredient highlight: The multigrain Purely Os are based on organic whole-grain oats and whole-grain barley. The Mixed Berry Cereal is based on organic whole grain wheat and organic rice.
Grams of sugar: There is 1 gram of naturally occurring total sugar and less than 1 gram of added sugar in the Purely Os.
And the No Sugar Added Mixed Berry Cereal is sweetened only from the addition of date powder, and dried fruit. It has 6 grams of total sugar and 0 added sugars.
Cost: $6-$8 per 8.6-ounce box of Purely Os; $4.50-$8.00 per 8.6-ounce box of No Added Sugar Mixed Berry Cereal
Easy to purchase: Cascadian Farm is owned by General Mills, so it benefits from excellent distribution and lower pricing for organic, high-quality cereals. You can find them at many stores, including Whole Foods Market, Walmart, Target, Kroger stores, Sprouts, Ralphs, Wegmans, and more, as well as online at Thrive Market and amazon.com.
Kashi Whole Wheat Biscuits & Smoothie Loops
Why we love it: The Kashi organic wheat biscuits are a cereal that the adults and kids in our households happily eat. Compared to frosted shredded wheat biscuits, they have 30-40% less sugar, depending on the flavor. Stacie loves the Autumn Wheat flavor, and Jess’ girls are fans of the Cinnamon Harvest and Berry Fruitful shredded wheat biscuits.
We’re also fans of the Kashi Smoothie Loops Strawberry Banana, which are comparable to Kellogg’s Fruit Loops but have 3 grams fewer added sugars and 3 more grams of fiber. Plus, they’re dye-free and contain no artificial colors.
Ingredient highlight: The whole wheat biscuits are made from organic whole-grain wheat and pack 7 grams of fiber per serving. Jess likes it for an evening snack on long bike ride days when she’s extra hungry because a small bowl is satisfying, and the extra fiber helps keep her blood sugars stable throughout the night and prevents her from waking up from hunger.
The Smoothie Loops have a strawberry-banana creamy smoothie-like flavor and are made from a base of whole grain oat flour, whole wheat flour, and real fruit puree.
Grams of sugar: Kashi cereals are sweetened with cane sugar. The Autumn Wheat biscuits have 7 grams of total sugars and added sugars. They’re also fairly high protein, packing 7 grams of protein per serving.
The Smoothie Loops have 9 grams of total sugars and 8 grams of added sugar.
Cost: $4.50-$6.00 per 16.3-ounce box of Whole Wheat Biscuits; $4.75-$6.00 per 10-ounce box of Smoothie Loops
Easy to purchase: Kellogg’s purchased Kashi in 2000 and increased the brand’s distribution. You can find Kashi cereals in a lot of stores, including Walmart, Kroger, Safeway, Target, Meijer, Albertsons, and even some CVS Pharmacies. You can also purchase it online at amazon.com.
Lovebird Cereal
Why we love it: Ana has multiple food allergies in her home, so she appreciates Lovebird cold cereals because they’re gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, Paleo-friendly, and AIP diet-friendly. The O-shaped cereals come in five flavors, and Ana and her four boys like the Honey and Cacao flavors best.
We all love that this brand was created by a dad, and 20% of their profits are donated to fund children’s cancer research and hospitals.
Ingredient highlight: This cereal is based on cassava root (or yuca) flour, which is a root vegetable that’s most often used to make tapioca.
Grams of sugar: The cereals are sweetened with honey and coconut sugar and contain between 5 and 7 grams of total sugars and between 3 and 7 grams of added sugars. They also have an unsweetened flavor that has 0 total and added sugars.
Cost: $9-$10 per 7-ounce box (now available at Costco in many regions for less)
Easy to purchase: Lovebird is sold at several natural retail chains, including Sprouts, Dillions, Giant Food Stores, Whole Foods, The Fresh Market, Smith’s Food & Drug, Fry’s Food Store, Costco, and online at amazon.com and lovebird.com.
Struesli Grain-Free Granola
Why we love it: Not only do we love this grain-free granola, but our own Jessie was deeply involved in helping it come to life. As a dietitian consultant, she worked with chef and founder, Adrienne, on the ingredients and nutritional formulation before Struesli (that’s streusel + muesli) was even available in stores.
This light and crispy granola has no added sweeteners or sugars, so you can use it in both sweet and savory ways, such as sprinkled over yogurt with fresh fruit, veggie salads, or even avocado toast. It comes in three flavors: Original, Cacao + Coffee, and a nut-free version: Savory + Seed.
Ingredient highlight: The main ingredient in Struesli is roasted tiger nuts, which are a type of nutrient-rich, high fiber root vegetable. When sliced and roasted, tiger nuts taste a lot like naturally sweet oats or almonds, but they’re very low in carbohydrate and rich in prebiotic fiber and antioxidants. It also contains pecans, walnuts, flax seeds, hemp hearts, and chia seeds.
Grams of sugar: 1-2 grams of total sugar, including zero added sugars
Struesli is one of the only cereals we’ve ever found that has no added sugars or sweeteners of any kind, not even dates, stevia, or coconut sugar. It has a very subtle sweet taste, thanks to the natural sweetness of tiger nuts.
Cost: $12-$13 per 9-ounce bag (may be purchased in bulk for less per ounce)
Easy to purchase: Struesli is sold at a variety of small retailers, including Erewhon stores in California and Westside Market and Citarella in New York City. It’s also available online at amazon.com and directly at struesli.com, where you can save 20% with code RFD20.
Purely Elizabeth: Ancient Grain Granola
& Superfood Cereal
Why we love it: One of the original better-for-you granolas, Stacie and Molly have been buying Purely Elizabeth for more than a decade. The Ancient Grain granola continues to be a team favorite. It comes in 10 flavors, including seasonal ones like pumpkin cinnamon and cranberry pecan, but we like the original best.
And Purely Elizabeth’s new Superfood cereals have quickly impressed us, too. These flake-style cold cereals come in four flavors, including honey peanut butter and cinnamon raisin almond, which is reminiscent of Raisin Bran.
Ingredient highlight: The original ancient grain granolas are based on a variety of grains and seeds, including gluten-free oats, puffed amaranth, quinoa flakes, millet, sunflower seeds, and chia seeds. The superfood cereals are a lot like corn flakes or bran flakes with clusters, but based on sorghum, oats, nuts, quinoa, amaranth, and with added plant-based vitamin D.
Grams of sugar: The original ancient grain granola is sweetened with organic coconut sugar and has 6 grams of total and added sugars.
The superfood cereals are sweetened with maple syrup, honey, coconut nectar, and coconut sugar and have between 7 and 9 grams of total sugars and between 6 and 7 grams of added sugars.
Cost: $5-$9 per 12-ounce bag of the Ancient Grain Granola; $5-$8 per 11-ounce box of the Superfood Cereals
Easy to purchase: Purely Elizabeth granola and cereals are found nationwide at many natural and large retailers, including Albertsons, Whole Foods Market, Target, Walmart, Wegmans, Kroger, Publix, and Sprouts. You can also buy it online at amazon.com and directly at purelyelizabeth.com.
Bob’s Red Mill Maple Sea Salt Granola
Why we love it: We love everything about Bob’s Red Mill. In fact, we all had the honor of meeting founder, Bob himself, on a cook-along webinar just a few months before he passed away earlier this year. We call for the brand’s ingredients often in our recipes, from the old-fashioned rolled oats to make our homemade granola bars to the almond flour to make our grain-free berry crisp.
We’re also fans of Bob’s Red Mill cereal options, especially their whole-grain maple sea salt granola, which is lower in sugar than most.
Ingredient highlight: The granolas are made from simple ingredients, including the Bob’s Red Mill whole grain oats, maple syrup, coconut, coconut oil, and brown sugar.
Grams of sugar: 5 grams of added and total sugars. The maple sea salt granola gets its sugars from maple syrup and brown sugar.
Cost: $6-$8 per 11-ounce bag
Easy to purchase: Being a legacy natural brand, Bob’s Red Mill is found in many stores, ranging from Sprouts to Safeway and Kroger to Walmart. You can also buy it online at amazon.com and Thrive Market.
Frequently Asked Questions
To help avoid blood sugar spikes, someone with diabetes should look for a cereal that is low in carbs and contains total low sugar, few or no added sugars, and some fiber. Some good choices include:
– Struesli grain-free granola, which has 2 grams of total sugar, no added sugars or sweeteners, and 5 grams of fiber per serving
– Lovebird unsweetened cereal, which has no total or added sugars and 2 grams of fiber per serving
– Cascadian Farm Purely Os, which has 1 gram of total sugars, <1 gram of added sugars, and 4 grams of fiber per serving
– Cascadian Farm No Added Sugar Mixed Berry Cereal, which has 6 grams of total sugar, 0 added sugars, and 6 grams of fiber per serving
– Nature’s Path Crispy Rice Cereal, which has 3 grams of total sugar, 3 grams of added sugar, and 3 grams of fiber
If you eat cereal often and consider it a staple food in your diet, it’s a good idea to avoid cereals that have high amounts of total sugars and added sugars, hydrogenated oils, artificial dyes, and just 1 gram or less of fiber.
According to a salon.com article, Cheerios is America’s most popular cereal and has been for several decades.
Plain Cheerios is one of the healthiest cereals offered by General Mills. It is low in total sugars (2 grams) and added sugars (1 gram) and contains 4 grams of fiber (including 2 grams of cholesterol-lowering soluble fiber) per 1 ½ cup serving. The 100% whole grain cereal is also verified gluten-free, has no artificial colors or flavors, and contains 11 vitamins and minerals.
Looking For DIY Cereals? Try These Recipes
We hope this list of our favorite dietitian-approved cereals helps you navigate that overcrowded cereal aisle at the grocery store with more clarity. Let us know if you try any of these cereals in the comments below!
For ultimate success, we highly recommend reading the tips in the full blog post above. All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish a recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own unique words. Link back to the source recipe here on The Real Food Dietitians. Thank you!
Fiber One flakes is a tasty high fiber cereal that could be mixes with some if the other choices or we love it plain with berries. 10 grams of fiber per serving, my Dr. loves it
We will check that out Stephanie! Thanks for the feedback!