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.
D'Etta Lasky says
Could you please give a guide as to how thick to pat these out on the pan? Thanks!
Carolyn says
You roll as thinly as possible. About 1/8 inch thick.
Delia says
I make this recipe ALL the time. It’s so good and I’m always bummed out when run out of it. Luckily it is so quick and easy to make. It’s a great low carb cereal and I always double or triple the recipe. (Note…I use half the butter per batch and just mix it longer in my food processor until it all comes together and it comes out perfect every time.)
Angie says
Thanks for mentioning your butter adjustment. I just finished a serving of my first batch and came to the comments specifically to see if anyone had success using less butter. I made it strictly following the recipe for my first time and found that it leaves a slick feeling in my mouth from all the fat. Glad to hear it works with less.
Dana says
Hi. What could I use in place of flax? Chia?
Carolyn says
Just use more almond flour.
Samantha says
I needed a break from breakfast chia pudding, and I found this lovely recipe. I’ve been craving sugary cereals since I started Keto. I made this the night before and had it the next morning. This was everything I wanted and more, and also super simple to make. Mine weren’t as crunchy as I’d hoped (were still soft and cookie-like next day), but were still amazing! Probably because I stored them in the fridge overnight. Either way, delicious and nutritious and took me back to Cinnamon Toast Crunch, so 10/10!!
Carolyn says
Definitely don’t store in the fridge if you want crunchy. It will be fine on your countertop for a few days.
bev says
Amazing! How did you store yours. Mine was soft at first, but the next morning it had a nice crunch. I want to make more.
Carolyn says
I store it a container on the counter.
Angelina says
Thank you so much for this recipe Carolyn! It’s been a year and a half since I became sugar free and low carb…I can’t tell you the joy I experienced eating a bowl of cold yummy cereal for the first time since then. Question though….how long will the cereal keep in a tupperware container? A week?
Anne o says
Yay! Yummy cinnamon cereal! Made it last night my house still smells like cinnamon- added bonus. The taste is awesome. My texture was about half crumbs & half pieces that tended to crumb. A serving in a bowl with one ripe chopped strawberry & cold almond milk is about as close to Cereal Heaven as you can get. Thank you again Carolyn!
christie says
OMG!!
I just made this and I love it! I could eat the pieces as cookies they are so yummy.
I have been preD for a year and low carb for the same period and I have been wanting some cold cereal (I use your chia/flax/protein powder hot cereal all the time-thank you!). This fits the bill perfectly! I have found that I love my low carb food and your site is a big part of making my transition fun and tasty!
Mary Renee says
I made this, but after baking for 25 minutes, it never crisped up as it cooled off. I baked it for another 20 minutes and it’s STILL not crisping. Super sad.
The only difference was that I used my Ninja, not a typical food processor, to pulse it together.
I’ve made many other recipes from your blog, but this one has me stumped! 🙂
Any suggestions?
Carolyn says
What sweetener did you use?
Mary Renee says
Xylitol.
I’m allergic to erythritol (Swerve worst of all, for some reason). I’ve never had it make that much of a difference in my baked goods though. Think it was the xylitol?
Carolyn says
Yes, I do think it’s the xylitol. It’s more hygroscopic than erythritol, meaning it attracts moisture. So it won’t ever crisp up, sadly.
Mary Renee says
Fascinating. Thanks for that insight.
What’s your take on coconut sugar? Do you think that might be a decent substitution?
Either way, I’ll make more. I loved the flavor; and soft or not, it was still really good with strawberries and almond milk. 🙂
Carolyn says
Coconut sugar is like real sugar, it is also hygroscopic. So it may also stay softer, I am not sure. Certainly worth a try.
Mary Renee says
Ok, thanks. I may just stick with xylitol then.
The cereal was a bit crunchier this morning. Maybe it just needs a lot longer to get crunchy.
Still, my daughter and I enjoyed it for breakfast this morning.
Love your site and recipes. 🙂
Thanks again for the replies!
Cara says
Hi can you please tell me how much xylitol you used in this recipe…is it the same amount as the swerve? I only have xylitol.
Jane says
I actually found this recipe made a delicious crust for my low carb cheesecakes! Thanks!
Carolyn says
Great idea!
Todd Alderman says
I love the taste of this cereal, but it keeps falling apart into crumbs. Is there anyway I can make it crispier? I have cooked it longer, and still the same consistency, it crumbles into crumbs when I cut it up. I followed your directions to the T as well. Would adding an egg to the recipe help?
Carolyn says
Hmm, not sure what’s going on there. Try adding just an egg white. Or maybe a single tbsp of cartoned egg whites.
Sandy says
Mine crumbles too. have you ried it with the eggwhites?
Dawn says
Soooo sooo good! Loved it as a cereal with chopped pecans for more crunch but it was awesome as the “graham cracker” crust for my pudding pie cups! Mmmmmm 🙂
Thank you so much! I think I might try that “Reese’s” version in the comments above…as both cereal and chocolate pudding pie crust 😉 YUM! 🙂
Carolyn says
Love the idea of pudding pie cups!
Jan says
This looks yummy! I have all the ingredients, but only have a small food processor. Will hand mixing or using a hand mixer work?
Carolyn says
Hand mixing will work. If you have a pastry cutter, use that. If not, use two knives to cut that butter really finely.
Anna says
Yum! I see this serves six but what is the actual serving size? 1/2 cup? Did I miss that somewhere?
Carolyn says
I’d say it’s between 1/3 and 1/2 cup.
Anna says
Yum! I see this serves six but what’s the actual serving size? 1/2 cup? Did I miss that somewhere?
Spsmom says
Just found this website today, and my cereal is in the oven baking right now. I sampled some before I put it in, and it was fantastic!! I didn’t have the sweetener used, so I substituted 1/3 cup coconut palm sugar. Looking forward to finally having cereal after going without for 5 months.
Ami says
I don’t seem that i can get enough of this recipe.. i was eating them as cookies instead of cereal =). Well… i modified the recipe adding shredded coconut and chocolate chips and even my skeptical husband ate them. Thanks carolyn!.
Sarah W says
Hi there, I just have whole flax, can I use that? Will it grind when I mix it in the food processor? Also, have you tried cashew meal for this? Was thinking of trying half and half.
Carolyn says
Sure, do cashew meal. And yes you can grind the flax but your food processor might be too big for it. Do you have a coffee grinder? That works well.
Margaret says
I was just on Maria’s site! The searched for a “low carb cereal recipe” and found this story! I wish I could afford her services 😉 I think my daughter would like this recipe. Thanks!
Carolyn says
You’re welcome. Even if you can’t afford her services, her blog is full of great information!
AmyG says
You saved my breakfast, you rock!!!
Carolyn says
You’re welcome!