Keto Breakfast Cereal

This is a recipe for keto cereal, made without the same sugary and high carb ingredients that are in traditional boxed cereal that you buy in the store. It is crunchy and crispy like cereal should be and best of all, it stays firm and keeps its shape in your bowl with milk.

We made 2 flavors, chocolate and vanilla but you can vary the recipe and add other yummy things like peanut butter…etc. 

This keto cereal is a real treat because when you are on a low carb diet, that’s one of the things that does not fit into a daily carb intake. This is gonna change your breakfast options, to include some delicious keto-friendly cereal. 

Sometimes I get tired of eating the same things for breakfast every day, so if you are like me you will be happy to try something different like this cereal. We like it just as much as our Keto Granola recipe, which is saying something!

What is Keto Cereal?

Keto breakfast cereal is a crunchy breakfast treat made from low carb ingredients like almond and coconut flour, and without added sugar. It’s similar to regular cereal but without all the carbs.

You will be surprised how easy it is to make. We chose to make it in 2 different flavors, and in a round shape but you can also change the flavor and the shape if you want to.

What Cereals are Good for a Keto Diet?

There are not a lot of traditional cereals that are good on a keto diet because they are made from sugar and grains that are truly not low in carbs. So to create a recipe for keto cereal was a great accomplishment which should make you very happy if you are a cereal lover.

How Many Carbs are in Keto Cereal?

I picked 2 common store bought cereals and checked out the carbs in them. I knew that they would not be low in carbs because they are filled with high-carb ingredients, like wheat, oats, sugar, etc. 

For ½ cup serving of Lucky Charms there are 24 NET Carbs and for ½ cup serving of Honey Nut Cheerios there are 15 NET Carbs. Moms have been told for generations that cheerios are a good breakfast for their kids, but not if you are on a low carb diet.

Plus, when you are eating breakfast, who limits themselves to only ½ cup of cereal? You can see how the carbs start to build up.

When we take a look at the nutritional information for our keto cereal it comes in at 4.2 NET Carbs per ½ cup serving. That’s a big difference since every carb counts toward your daily allowance.

What Ingredients are in Keto Cereal?

• Almond Flour – Made from 100% almonds, ground up finely and used in low carb recipes.
• Coconut Flour – Another great flour for low carb recipes made from finely ground coconut.
• Coconut Oil – A good oil, especially for our paleo, vegan and vegetarian readers.
• Keto Maple Syrup – This is a sugar-free syrup which is used as a sweetener to replace sugar for the low carb cereal.
• Vanilla – A good ingredient that is used in many cookies, cakes, muffins, whipped cream etc which adds a sweetness along with a taste of vanilla.

Different Variations & Substitutes

In this keto cereal recipe we made 2 flavors out of one batch, vanilla and chocolate. However,  here are a couple of different suggestions for other popular flavors you can make.

• Peanut Butter is a good addition to the cereal. It reminds me of Reese’s Puffs and is perfect when combined with chocolate pieces.
• Cinnamon is also a favorite flavor for cereal. Cut it into squares and it’s just like eating Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Sweetener Options

Being on a low carb diet means there are plenty of options in place of traditional sugar. Here are some sweetener alternatives.

In this recipe we chose to use keto maple syrup, which adds just the right amount of sweetness. Plus the vanilla also adds a little sweet taste.

Both Swerve or Lakanto Monk Fruit are good sweeteners to be used in making cereal. They will replace sugar one for one and are zero net carbs.

Low Carb Milk Options

• Almond milk – A very good low carb choice for your keto-friendly cereal, especially if you have an allergy to dairy, made from 100% almonds. Make sure that you buy the unsweetened almond milk to avoid the carbs and calories. Other nut milks are great too like cashew milk, and macadamia nut milk, also made from those nuts. 
• Coconut milk – Another good choice made from 100% coconut, especially if you do not eat dairy.
• Flax milk – This is made from flax seeds.
• Soy milk – This one is higher in carbs than the other choices mentioned above but still a good choice for some people that do not drink cow’s milk and also have a nut allergy.

How to Make Homemade Low Carb Cereal

We are going to show you now step by step how to make this easy and delicious low carb cereal recipe:

STEP 1: Line a cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

STEP 2: Mix the almond flour and coconut flour together with a spoon.

STEP 3: Next, add the melted coconut oil, syrup and vanilla and blend everything together.

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Form a large ball out of it.

STEP 4: Take a small portion of the dough at a time, roll and form it in a long piece, so that you can make small pieces from that.

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I like to take a small knife and cut small pieces, which make it easier to roll into bite size pieces. The smaller that you cut it will determine how small the individual cereal pieces are.

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STEP 5: Once all of the balls are formed, bake them in the oven at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Use the vanilla ones as your guide, and once they are golden brown then take the keto breakfast cereal out of the oven and let cool.

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STEP 6: If you want to make half of the cereal pieces into chocolate, then divide the dough ball in half and to one half add 1 Tbsp powdered baking cocoa, any brand will do, 1 extra Tbsp of keto syrup and 1 extra Tbsp of vanilla and blend well to even out the cocoa.

Then follow the same instructions for making cereal balls.

STEP 7: Once they are cooled off for at least a couple hours, then you can feel free to eat them as a keto-friendly breakfast or store them in an airtight container or glass jar with a tight lid.

FAQs & Best Tips 

We are going to answer some of the questions that you may have about how to make the best low carb cereal. We will also share with you some of the helpful tips that we have learned to make it easier and so it comes out well every time:

• Make the low carb cereal balls as small as you can get them. The smaller they are the crispier they will be.
• Be sure that your keto cereal cools off completely before storing it in an airtight container otherwise the cereal will be soft. 
• To make the cereal crispy again, just stick it in the oven again for about 5 minutes, take it out and cool.
• Experiment with some other flavors, like peanut butter for instance. Just add it to the dough and blend thoroughly. You can get a lot of flavor for a small amount of peanut butter.

Why is My Cereal Chewy?

If your homemade keto cereal is chewy, don’t worry because it’s fixable. All you will need to do is pop the cereal back into the oven for a couple more minutes which will crisp it up more.

Then take it out of the oven and allow it to cool. It will become crunchy the next day.

Can I Eat Oatmeal on Keto?

Even though oats are packed with alot of health benefits, and have always been thought of as the healthiest breakfast, there are too many carbs in oatmeal for a keto or low carb way of eating.

For instance in a 3.5 oz serving, which is 100 grams, it has 390 calories, 17 grams of protein, 56 grams of net carbs and 7 grams of fat. Those 56 net carbs would push you way over the top with carbs for the day.

Other Diets This Recipe is Good For

• Gluten-free – The almond flour and coconut flour replace traditional flour that causes a problem with people allergic to gluten.
• Sugar-free – Unlike other cereals that we all grew up with, this keto cereal does not have any sugar.
• Vegan – All of the ingredients are vegan approved.
• Vegetarian – A good breakfast choice for vegetarians.
• Paleo – All good ingredients for paleo.
• Dairy-free – There is no dairy in this cereal. And feel free to use one of the dairy free choices for the milk to pour over your keto cereal balls.

Make Ahead and Storing Options

You can make the cereal dough ahead of time, wrap it in a piece of plastic and refrigerate it for a day or two. Then when you get ready to make your cereal, just take it out of the refrigerator and follow the preparation instructions.

Baking your keto cereal ahead of time is also recommended because it takes some time to completely cool off and to be ready to eat. 

To store your keto cereal, just place it in an airtight container or in an airtight glass jar. It will keep for a month. If you need to crisp up the cereal again, just stick it on a cookie sheet and place it in the oven for a few minutes.

Can You Freeze Low Carb Cereal?

Our low carb cereal can be frozen for up to 6 months, if you store it properly.

I find that the best way to wrap it is in separate ziploc baggies, divided into single serving portions. Then put the baggies in a larger plastic container to keep them fresh. That way it will be easy to take out one baggie at a time and leave the rest frozen until you need them.

It reminds me of freezing cookies after they are baked. You can also freeze the dough before making the cereal, if you wrap it well to keep it fresh. It’s like freezing raw cookie dough.

Tools to Use

• Spoon – A large spoon for mixing.
• Bowl – To mix up the cereal.
• Cookie Sheet – To bake the cereal balls on.
• Parchment Paper – To line the cookie sheet with so that the cereal balls do not stick to the pan.

Best Store-bought Keto Cereals

If you are a cereal lover you may be wondering if you can buy some no carb cereals at a store or online. I do not know of any cereals that have no carbs but the good news is that yes there are some premade keto cereals that you can buy. 

There are several available and here are just a few suggestions:

• Catalina Crunch – It comes in 8 different flavors, high in protein, 0 sugar, high in fiber, gluten-free and of course low in carbs.
• Highkey – This is a high protein, crunchy cereal in a chocolate flavor. They also make a hot cereal for the wintertime.
• Cereal School – Lots of flavors like: Peanut butter, Fruity, Cinnamon Bun, Cookies and Cream, Berries, Apple Pie, and Cocoa. They all make for a good low carb breakfast and also a good snack food.
• Wonderworks Cereal by General Mills – They are only currently making 2 flavors, Chocolate and Peanut Butter. They have a nice crunch, low in carbs and high in protein.
• Kay’s Natural Proteins Cereal – High in protein and fiber, and also gluten free.
• Maps Cereal –  This winner is gluten free, vegan and has no added sugar. It has only 2 net carbs per serving. 
• Special K Protein Plus Cereal – 9 grams of carbs per serving with only 2 grams of sugar.
• Hi-Lo Cereal by Nutritious Living – This is full of protein and nuts.
• Magic Spoon Cereal – They have currently 6 main flavors, along with special flavors they feature on a short term basis. Plus they have a variety pack that you can buy that gives you 4 flavors to try to see which are your favorite flavors. Another great winner which comes in at 2 net carbs per half cup.

What is the Lowest Carb Cereal?

Out of all the low carb cereals that I found that you can buy in a store or online, my favorite pic for the lowest carb cereal is the one called Magic Spoon Cereal.

It only has 2 NET carbs per half cup serving and it tastes great and there are so many great flavors to choose from.

Other Low Carb Breakfast Recipes

We have several low carb breakfast options to share with you. Here are some of our favorite recipes:

• Breakfast Egg White Cups
• Keto Almond Flour Waffles
• Coconut Flour Pancakes
• Almond Flour Pancakes
• Keto Blueberry Muffins
• Keto Chaffles
• Keto Pumpkin Pancakes
• Keto Breakfast Casserole

They all are Keto-friendly and low carb, and will be a hit with your family and friends!

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