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.
- Sweetener: I recommend an 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.
Need more healthy breakfast ideas? Grab a copy of Easy Keto Breakfasts!
Easy Keto Cereal Recipe
Ingredients
Cereal:
- 1 cup (112 g) almond flour
- 1/2 cup (40 g) shredded coconut, OR flax seed meal
- 1/3 cup (60.67 g) Swerve Sweetener
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 6 tbsp (85.04 g) butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
Cinnamon Sugar Topping:
- 1 tbsp Swerve Sweetener
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) 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.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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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?
What sweetener did you use?
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?
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.
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. 🙂
Coconut sugar is like real sugar, it is also hygroscopic. So it may also stay softer, I am not sure. Certainly worth a try.
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!
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.
I actually found this recipe made a delicious crust for my low carb cheesecakes! Thanks!
Great idea!
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?
Hmm, not sure what’s going on there. Try adding just an egg white. Or maybe a single tbsp of cartoned egg whites.
Mine crumbles too. have you ried it with the eggwhites?
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! 🙂
Love the idea of pudding pie cups!
This looks yummy! I have all the ingredients, but only have a small food processor. Will hand mixing or using a hand mixer work?
Hand mixing will work. If you have a pastry cutter, use that. If not, use two knives to cut that butter really finely.
Yum! I see this serves six but what is the actual serving size? 1/2 cup? Did I miss that somewhere?
I’d say it’s between 1/3 and 1/2 cup.
Yum! I see this serves six but what’s the actual serving size? 1/2 cup? Did I miss that somewhere?
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.
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!.
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.
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.
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!
You’re welcome. Even if you can’t afford her services, her blog is full of great information!
You saved my breakfast, you rock!!!
You’re welcome!
Thanks so much for your website and all of the recipes you share! I’ve been eating low-carb for almost a year both as a way to lose weight and to support my type 1 diabetic husband. I’ve lost 45 pounds so far! I have enjoyed everything I’ve tried from your site and will continue to try new recipes from here- this cereal is going on this week’s meal plan 🙂
So glad to hear it, Elizabeth!
I have made this twice now, I added a Tbl. of coconut oil and 1/8 cup of hemp seeds. I then add it to my yogurt, yum!
Sounds great!
OK I cannot seem to upload my picture here but I did post it on my pinterest board under Low Carb chocolate/peanut butter cereal. I will be trying it again with the 1/2c almond flour and 1/2c peanut meal. I will omit the natural peanut butter and see if I yield a firmer cereal and let you know :o) Still, even soft this taste so good!
Do you have a link to your Pinterest board or the pin? You could just send me the url for the pin! 🙂
This was amazing!!! So I had to try a chocolate/peanut flour (Reese puff) variation for my husband and, Nailed it! I followed yor recipe but subbed the almond flour with peanut flour and also added a couple of tbsp natural peanut butter and 1tbsp unsweetened cocoa. Then baked it for 20 minutes. Once out of the oven I then sprinkled it with a combo of 3tbsp of Swerve and 1tbsp of unsweetened cocoa powder. Oh my!!! Thank you for making breakfast fun again! You’re awesome 🙂
Wow, your version sounds amazing. Did you take any photos? I’d love to share on my Facebook page!
Sure I could take a picture (though it wouldn’t look anywhere as nice as yours!) And yes I’d love for you to share after all you inspired it.
Just took a few nibbles (still yum) but like peanut butter cookies it softened a bit. Maybe 1/2 c peanut flour and 1/2c almond flour might yield a firmer, crunchier cereal….what are your thoughts?
Mine stayed crunchy, so I don’t really know.