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.
Jori says
You have the best recipes!! Hats off to you! Wondering if this freezes well?
Carolyn says
Hmmm, I’ve never tried freezing cereal before. I think you might have to experiment! Cookies stay crisp as long as they are in an airtight container so I think this would as well.
Susana Caballero says
Oh my gosh this recipe is absolutely delicious 😋
By far the best cereal recipe and so low carb my little sister loved it ❤️ 🥰 definitely will be making more , thank you so much you’re an angel 😇
Lucy says
My mind is actually blown! This is really good! I cut the recipe in half because I’m tired of baking keto stuff that’s only mediocre and I never end up eating more than a little bit. I’m not the biggest fan of sugar substitutes. But this is fire !!! 🔥🔥🔥. I had a bite with almond milk and oooh am I excited to eat this tomorrow morning. And I will def make a full batch tomorrow as well, so I’ll have some for the rest of the week. It was so easy and fast too!!
Carolyn says
That’s so great to hear!
Amy says
I LOVE this recipe!! It is my favorite keto recipe by far. I love to eat it as cereal with some cream or as a crumble on top of a dessert. I follow your recipe and suggestions exactly and it turns out perfectly every single time! Thank you, thank you!!
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Joana says
Hello! I’ve done this a few times now, everytime comes different specially because I don’t have some of the ingredients but it still tastes yummy.
I replaced Flax with milled Lineseed (same quantity) it tastes awesome.
I use xylitol as that’s the only thing I have, only reduced to 1/4 cup instead, they don’t crisp up too much but still it’s hard to resist to eat the whole lot in one go.
I’m in the process of trying to mix up powedered cocoa and in other batch a pinch of ginger… Lets see.
But thank you, love your recipes for inspiration!
Paulette says
What a great combo: an easy-to-make recipe that tastes delicious. Now I don’t have to succumb to sugary breakfast cereals. Thank you!
Bobbie says
I don’t usually comment on bloggers pages but I had to come say how incredibly thankful I am for this recipe! I have missed cereal so much this past year on Keto and this literally had my jumping for joy! I left a great review on pinterest😉 Thanks so so much!❤️
Carolyn says
Thank you!
Tamra says
My favorite go to for a crunchy snack!!
Jay says
What is the shelf life for this cearel? Or does it need to be refrigerated after opening? Sorry if I missed this somewhere.
Carolyn says
No need to refrigerate for at least a week. I store mine in a covered container on the counter.
Livia says
Waste of ingredients, it burnt after only 15min. I used almond flour, coconut, measured all other ingredients, oven at 300F, placed the pan in the middle of the oven and after 15min of cooking I smelled it started to burn.
Must be something I am doing wrong.
Carolyn says
You may want to check your oven with an oven thermometer. As you can see from the comments, this is a popular recipe made by many people, and you’re the only person I know who had it burn.
Tracey says
I don’t own a food processor but do have a blender and hand mixer. Can I use one of those instead for this recipe?
Carolyn says
I honestly can’t say… depends on how high powdered they are, if they can break things up enough.
Margaret Freeman says
Oh jeeze, this is fantastic. I haven’t even cooked it yet and I have eaten a good handful….Your recipes are truly amazing!!
Ally says
I just tried making this for breakfast today and made a smaller batch, mostly because I didn’t want to turn the oven on so I made it in the toaster oven. It didn’t turn out super well, burned around the edges, and it’s mostly a crumbly mess. I’m sure part of that is that I made it in the toaster where the temperature is harder to control… hopefully I can try the oven soo. Because it still tastes awesome!!
Kelly J says
Wowza! This was the first recipe of yours I made and it did not disappoint! Two days ago I made a cereal from someone else’s recipe and it was NOT good. I almost didn’t make yours out of fear of wasting yet more ingredients. I haven’t tried it yet in milk, but plain is delicious. I didn’t use a food processor since I hate cleaning it. I just used a hand pastry cutter tool to blend in and chop up the butter. I used granular Swerve (vs confectioners) and the coconut option instead of the flaxseed. Thank you! The recipe is definitely a keeper and I will be trying more recipes!
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Cassie says
Amazing! I am finding it hard not to just munch on it by itself! I cut it into squares while slightly warm and then finished letting it cool so I didn’t need to break it apart. Thank you!
The Printing Daddy says
Thank you so much, Karen. It is honestly comments like this that keep me going. I love the taste of this cereal. Thanks for sharing with us.
Becca Taylor says
I just made this and holy cow!! I have missed cereal so much and this was so easy and soooo good! Thank you thank you thank you!!!
Carolyn says
So glad you liked it!
Lisa says
Can I sub the shredded coconut with something else I’m dying to make this but I don’t have any on hand!
Carolyn says
You can do more almond flour in the same amount.
Lisa says
Thank you!!! I love all your recipes. The cookbook is beautiful!!
Lanée Johnson says
Thank you Carolyn!! My son with type 1 has been asking and asking and asking for some sort of low carb breakfast cereal. Why it took me so long to come across this recipe, I don’t know but I’m glad I finally did. He said it tastes just like his old favorite, Cinnamon Life. So happy to have another breakfast favorite to add into his rotation to keep him happy and motivated! You are the BEST!
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Julie Meadows says
This is INCREDIBLE. I’ve been having a pity party because I can no longer eat cereal. THIS is the answer. Thank you so much. You make low carb more satisfying. I can’t wait to check out the rest of your recipes. God bless you for sharing.