Making your own Keto Cereal is almost as easy as pouring it from a box. It takes only 5 ingredients and 35 minutes of your time. Now that’s healthy convenience food!
What if I told you that you don’t have to give up cereal on a keto diet? And what if I told you that you don’t have to pay the exorbitant prices for pre-made keto cereal?
You might tell me I am crazy and maybe I am. But it’s a good kind of crazy. As in mad scientist and evil mastermind kind of crazy.
I’ve been making this keto cereal for about a decade now and my family loves it. Long before any companies ever thought to mass market and make a profit from it! And this homemade recipe truly is about as easy as pouring it from a box.
I’ve got other tasty cereal options too, like low carb granola and keto oatmeal.
Why you need to try this recipe
So why make your own healthier cereal? I have a whole host of reasons for you.
It’s easy: Really, this keto cereal takes only 5 ingredients and 35 minutes of your time. So it’s about as much work as picking up a box at the grocery store or ordering it online.
It has clean ingredients: Pre-made keto cereals vary a great deal in quality. Some are much better for you than others, and some are pretty dodgy, at best. Making your own at home is the best way you can guarantee the nutritional factor.
It’s crazy good: This cinnamon crunch cereal is absolutely delicious. It has great cinnamon flavor and it’s super crispy too. And did I mention how easy it is to make?
One reader says: “I would never have thought of making this but for the fact that I’m on an egg-free salt-free elimination regime, but I’m glad I did because it’s absolutely delish and so easy to make. Very satisfying for a former cereal-aholic too. Even stays crispy in cream, unlike grain cereal.”
Ingredients
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This easy keto cereal recipe has been a reader favorite for a long time and with good reason. You only need 5 simple ingredients:
- Almond flour: Make sure you are using blanched almond flour, and not the natural almond meal that contains the skins. It makes a big difference to the texture of this recipe and many other keto baked goods.
- Shredded coconut: If you don’t like coconut, you can sub flax seed meal or more almond flour in the same amount.
- Swerve Sweetener: I recommend Swerve or another erythritol-based sweetener, such as Lakanto, for this recipe. These are best for a truly crispy texture. Any amount of Bochasweet or Allulose will keep the keto cereal from crisping up properly. Learn more about keto sweeteners here.
- Butter: I like salted butter here, to add more flavor, but you can also use unsalted.
- Ground cinnamon: It wouldn’t be cinnamon cereal without a healthy dose of cinnamon!
Step by Step Directions
1. Pulse the dry ingredients: Combine the almond flour, coconut, sweetener and cinnamon in a food processor and pulse to combine.
2. Work in the butter: Scatter the butter pieces over the mixture and pulse until it resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Press out thinly: Spread the mixture on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cover with another sheet of parchment or waxed paper. Use a rolling pin and/or your hands to press down firmly so that the cereal sticks together and mixture is about ⅛-inch thick.
4. Bake until golden: Bake until golden brown, then sprinkle with a mixture of cinnamon and sweetener.
Expert Tips and FAQ
If you don’t have a food processor, you can mix everything by hand. Use a pastry cutter, if you own one, to work the butter into the dry ingredients. If not, use two knives to cut it up finely.
Press the mixture out as thinly and evenly as you can so that it bakes evenly. If the edges are getting too brown before the center is baked through, remove them. They will cool and crisp up while the rest is still baking.
Serve this cereal in a bowl with some almond milk or cream. You can also sprinkle bits over yogurt or your favorite keto ice cream. Some of my readers use this recipe to make a delicious crust for keto cheesecake.
Frequently Asked Questions
Many storebought keto and low carb cereals actually contain quite a few carbohydrates. However, this homemade cinnamon cereal has 6.5 grams of carbs and 3.4 grams of fiber.
Most cereals you find in the grocery store are made with wheat flours and full of refined sugar. You should not eat these if you are following a low carb or keto diet. My recipe for keto cinnamon cereal has 3 grams net carbs in a ½-cup serving, making it a great keto breakfast choice.
Store the cereal in an airtight container on the counter for up to a week. There is nothing in this recipe that will spoil. But if you live in a humid environment, it may soften up a bit. You can always return it to a warm oven to re-crisp it.
Swaps and Substitutions
Dairy-Free Option: Use melted coconut oil or any preferred oil in place of the butter. You don’t have to do this in a food processor, you can just mix everything in a bowl. Coconut oil tends to be greasier so try adding 5 tablespoons at first, and then add more if the mixture isn’t sticking together.
Nut-Free Option: Use sunflower seed flour in place of the almond flour. You will need two or three tablespoons more of it, and it may take a little longer to bake. Because this recipe contains no baking powder, you don’t need to worry about any green reaction.
More delicious keto breakfast ideas
Need more healthy breakfast ideas? Grab a copy of Easy Keto Breakfasts!
Easy Keto Cereal Recipe
Ingredients
Cereal:
- 1 cup almond flour
- ½ cup shredded coconut OR flax seed meal
- ⅓ cup Swerve Sweetener
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 6 tablespoon butter chilled and cut into small pieces
Cinnamon Sugar Topping:
- 1 tablespoon Swerve Sweetener
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine the almond flour, coconut, sweetener and cinnamon. Pulse a few times to combine.
- Scatter the butter pieces over the mixture and pulse until it resembles coarse crumbs.
- Spread the mixture on prepared pan and cover with another sheet of parchment or waxed paper. Use a rolling pin or your hands to press down firmly so that the cereal sticks together. Remove the top sheet of paper and bake 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.
- While baking, combine the topping ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the cereal immediately after removing from oven. Let cool completely on pan (it will crisp up as it cools) and then break into small pieces.
Sarah B says
This tastes very much like Cracklin’ oat bran to me. Delicious!!
Nela says
A question. Can I also use Magarine instead of butter or does it need the firm texture?
Carolyn says
I am sorry, I don’t use margarine and can’t recommend it.
MJ says
I just bought some Lupin flour–can I use it instead of the almond flour?
Carolyn says
They really do not work the same way, sorry.
Renee says
So good!! I really miss cereal. This was delicious. Thanks!!
Carolyn says
Glad to hear it!
Kim says
This cereal is excellent. My kids told me it’s the best keto cereal I have made for them yet, and it’s been 5 years of trying!
Carolyn says
Yay!
Jane says
Carolyn, please consider mass producing your delicious recipes . I’m positive you’d make a killing at the natural grocers. I’m a lazy baker who loves to eat healthy.
Carolyn says
Not a chance! The requirements to make things shelf-stable essentially takes away the flavor and the healthfulness of recipes like this. But this is so easy, you can make it any time.
Susan says
I’ve made this cereal twice now and it really is super easy! The first time I made it as written, using butter (and I used 1/4 C flax meal and 1/4 C coconut). It was soooo good. I ate it in almond milk and also over vanilla Two Good yogurt. I am trying to cut back on saturated fat, so the next time I tried it with olive oil instead of butter. I wasn’t sure if the butter was instrumental in holding the cereal together when it cooled, so I used mostly flax (about 1/3 C) and topped it off with a little coconut (thinking the flax would bind it together). It turned out just fine. I like the butter better because it was so rich and, well, buttery, but the olive oil version is also delicious. Thanks for the great recipe!
Oh–I used a rolling pin to get it pretty even between the parchment and I sliced it into squares while it was still hot using a pizza cutter. When it was cool, I just was able to dump the pieces into a container for storage.
Hannah says
This is useful to know as I’m also trying to reduce saturated fat plus butter is so expensive where I live.
Annie says
Has anyone tried this with Allulose? I’m worried it wouldn’t crisp up. All of the sugar alcohols give us gut issues, so we’re stuck baking with Allulose. Thanks!
Carolyn says
Hi Annie… if you read the blog post, I am clear that allulose won’t crisp up at all. Sorry, I wish I had better info for you!
Marie says
Oh no! The old recipe was perfect! I don’t have it saved anywhere. Was the only change coconut for the flax? Can I ask how this will be different, texture, taste, etc? I feel like coconut will completely change the flavor here.
Carolyn says
I didn’t change the recipe at all. Please read it carefully, as it says you can still use flax…
Peggy says
If I wanted to add protein powder, could I just add more butter to maintain the proper consistency?
Carolyn says
I think you risk it not crisping properly but you’re welcome to experiment.
Greg says
Okay, this cereal lasts a lot longer than a week in a sealed air container room temperature. Seeing this recipe spurred my memory that I had a container of this, although the original recipe still in my pantry because I made a triple batch back in February! Yes February so I went and found it tasted it it was just as delicious as when I first made it so for lunch I had a big bowl of cereal with macadamia nut milk. Thanks Carolyn! Using your recipes and getting medical knowledge not advice but knowledge from Dr Ken Berry I have reversed my diabetes in 6 months, lost 45 lb so far and no longer need BP meds. I took my own primary care and endocrinologist on the journey with me.
Carolyn says
WOW! Thank you for letting me know that… that’s fantastic. And glad you’ve gained such great control of your health!
Roberta says
What about using Swerve brown or another golden sugar substitute erythritol based instead of Swerve, to give a more caramel-ish touch to the granola…?
Diane Russell says
Does this stay super hard or does it soften a bit in milk?
Mom almost 92, misses her cereal.
She only has upper dentures.
Carolyn says
If you let it sit long enough, it will soften!
Suzanne says
Hi Carolyn–
I love your website. I found out about two weeks ago I have 9 food allergies (one of them to almonds) and possibly celiac disease as well. Can I use a different kind of flour that does not have nuts in it?
Carolyn says
I am sorry but without trying it myself, I can’t guide you. You could try sunflower seed flour.
Jan says
I made this today and it was soooo good! I did have a hard time because I don’t have have a food processor. I tried my Ninja chopper, but it’s not big enough or strong enough to mix bottom to top. So I tried my blender and kind of got the same result. Would a smaller food processor work? Say 3-4 cups? Asking anyone.
Felicity says
I would never have thought of making this but for the fact that I’m on a egg-free salt-free elimination regime, but I’m glad I did because it’s absolutely delish and so easy to make. Very satisfying for a former cereal-aholic too. Even stays crispy in cream, unlike grain cereal. It will definitely be staying in the breakfast rotation after my diet returns to normal. Thank you for all your mad science!
Cheryl says
I didn’t realise how much I had missed cereal. This was extremely satisfying and filling. Yum
Amy says
Mmm, mine didn’t get hard enough. I bake sit 30 minutes but still felt like I was eating soft cereal and I was craving crunchy. Not sure if I’d make this again.
Carolyn says
What sweetener did you use?