This low carb cinnamon cereal is the perfect keto breakfast when you’re sick of eggs and missing the texture of cold cereal on a low carb diet! Make a big batch and you’ll have this delicious keto cinnamon cereal on hand whenever the craving hits!
I’ve been kicking this low carb cinnamon cereal recipe idea around for a few weeks now. It all started when I was pouring my son a bowl of his favorite “treat” cereal one morning, and it smelled so good that I suddenly missed eating cereal. DESPERATELY.
The cold, creamy milk mixed with the sweet crunch of the little squares just sounded amazing to me right then. I didn’t cave and eat any, but I added a low carb cinnamon cereal recipe to the top of my “to do” list!
This morning I finally had time to do some experimenting with it so I got to work.
Because I’m doing the Whole 30 in August and the only approved sweetener is the occasional fruit or fruit juice, I wanted to develop a low carb cinnamon cereal recipe that would also be Whole 30 compliant.
As it is, I’m giving up my beloved Cream Cheese Pancakes, because you can’t have dairy on the Whole 30 – which also rules out another of my favorites, Greek yogurt.
On top of that, I can’t have bacon or sausage unless I make my own, or pay through the nose for one cured without any sugar at all. So I’m going to be seriously hating eggs by the end of the month!
Or at least I would be if I didn’t have this awesome keto cinnamon cereal recipe to add to my breakfast menu! Served with unsweetened almond milk, it’s pretty amazing, and stays crunchy for about as long as a typical breakfast cereal.
For those of you not doing the Whole 30, this low carb cinnamon cereal recipe can be sweetened with the sugar substitute of your choice – just remember to add 1/2 cup of water to replace the liquid from the apple juice. Start with the equivalent of 1/4 cup of sugar when figuring out your measurements and go from there to get it as sweet as you prefer.
This keto cinnamon cereal recipe is pretty easy to make too, which is an added bonus.
On another note, good quality cinnamon will really make a difference. You don’t have to buy an expensive brand but if your cinnamon jar is from the 90’s, it’s time to throw it out and buy some fresh stuff.
You should really be replacing your dried herbs and spices at least once a year because they lose their potency over time.
Cinnamon Faux-st Crunch Cereal – Low Carb and Gluten Free
- Yield: (6) 1/2 cup servings
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup milled flax seed
- 1/2 cup hulled hemp seeds
- 2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup apple juice
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
Instructions
- Combine the dry ingredients in a Magic Bullet, blender or food processor. Add the apple juice and coconut oil and process until fully combined and mostly smooth.
- Spread the batter out on a parchment lined cookie sheet until nice and thin – about 1/16 of an inch thick. Bake in a preheated 300 degree (F) oven for 15 minutes. Lower the heat to 250 degrees (F) and bake for another 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and using a pizza cutter or knife, cut into squares about the size of the keys on your computer keyboard.
- Turn off the oven and put the cereal back inside for about an hour, or until it’s crisp and breaks easily. If it’s still soft, keep in the oven until completely dried out and crisp.
- Serve with unsweetened almond or coconut milk! SO good! Can’t wait to hear what you guys think of it!
Notes
Approx nutrition info per serving if using a no calorie sugar substitute in place of the apple juice:
129 calories, 9g fat, 1.25g net carbs, 5g protein
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: Cereal
Nutrition
- Calories: 138
- Fat: 9g
- Carbohydrates: 3.4g net
- Protein: 5g
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Anonymous says
Im just wondering what you considered a serving for this? Can’t wait to try it but dont want to go overboard when pouring myself a bowl ;) Also, is there any substitution for coconut oil? I dont have any, and I’m not sure I want to buy some just for this! Looks awesome, thanks for the recipe!
Sydney
Mellissa Sevigny says
Hi Sydney – the nutrition info is per 1/2 cup of cereal so add up accordingly depending on how much you eat! You could use clarified butter if you’re paleo or any other light tasting oil if you are just watching your carbs. Enjoy!
Anonymous says
Any idea how long this keeps before it either A) goes bad/spoils or B) becomes noticeably less crunchy? I’m intending on making a batch soon and trying to decide how much I should make based on how much I’ll eat/how long it keeps. Any advice is appreciated. :)
Mellissa Sevigny says
I haven’t stored any for any length of time, but I kept mine in an airtight container in the fridge just to be safe and I had it about a week. You can also freeze it if you’re making a LOT. Might even be ok at room temp if it’s stored airtight but it’s probably safest in the fridge. Enjoy!
mandapanda says
I just made this but subbed Almond meal of the hemp since it was all I had on hand. It is sooooo good! Next time I will be a little more generous with the cinnamon but I love it. This will be a staple in our keto house for sure! If you are spreading it on parchment its super easy if you slap another piece of parchment on top and roll it with a rolling pin then peel the top parchment paper off before baking. :) Mine certainly are not as good looking as yours since husband recently broke my pizza cutter but, they taste fabulous!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks for sharing the parchment tip! Glad you guys are enjoying the cereal!
Anonymous says
I made this today! It’s currently in the oven drying out.
It was so difficult to spread on the baking sheet. I ended up ditching the spoon and used my fingers to spread it out and it was like glue/paste. I don’t know if I was the only one with this problem, but I ended up coating my fingers in coconut oil to keep the mixture from sticking to my fingers. It helped a bit, but it was still hard.
I can’t wait to try it though with some almond and coconut milk! I’m having it for dinner tonight after a long run, so I’m very excited!!
Mellissa Sevigny says
The longer the mixture sits, the more gelatinous it gets from the flax meal. Next time try spreading it out immediately after mixing and you can use a silicone spatula coated with coconut oil to help smooth it out. Hope it turned out ok!
Jordan Tanaka says
Hi!
I too was having an issue pressing it out (I did have to let the dough sit a bit before I was able to get to it so that explains why is was harder) but I just put it between two sheets of parchment paper and rolled it with a rolling pin…worked like a charm! The cereal is so good and even my 2 1/2 year old loves it! Thanks for sharing your great recipes :)
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Jordan, glad it was a hit with the family!
kimberly says
I made this recipe yesterday and it has a great flavor! I used sugar substitute and water instead of apple juice. My cereal never dried out or got crispy. I feel like I made it as thin as possible. Maybe I need a little less water? Thanks for the recipe. I probably miss cereal most since going low carb.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Hi Kimberly! I don’t think it was too much water – that would evaporate eventually and should have left you with a crisp cereal. It’s possible that the sugar sub you used altered the texture and somehow prevented it from becoming crisp – or that it just needed more time in the oven. If you try again, you might want to bake it in the evening and then turn it off and leave it in there overnight. Let me know if you try again and what the results are! Thanks!
kimberly says
Yeah, the more I thought I about it, the more I decided I should have baked it longer. I’m planning to do another batch this weekend so I’ll let you know how it turns out! Thanks again for your input AND recipes. :)
Mellissa Sevigny says
Hope the second batch worked better for you Kimberly! :)
Donna Young says
Any substitution ideas for the apple juice to make it more low carb?
Mellissa Sevigny says
There are instructions above the recipe on how much sugar substitute and water to sub for the apple juice to make it low carb. There is also nutrition info for each method. Enjoy!
Jeanette says
Hi! I’m a new reader of your blog, and I love it. You have so many inspiring recipes!
This cereal was really delicious!! I used hazelnuts instead of hempseeds, and it was lovely. Will make again, when I get my hempseeds :-)
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Jeanette and good to know that it worked with with an alternative to the hemp! I appreciate you reporting back and I’m glad you liked it!
AnDee says
Thanks for posting the nut substitution. But, if you were to use stevia, or some other sugar-free sub, how much would you use? Thanks!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Mix 1/2 cup of water with a sugar free sub that is equal to 1/4 cup of sugar – it’s different depending on your brand so you can check their website for a chart of equivalents to figure it out. Enjoy!
Nada Quraishi says
Hi
Quick question. If I am substituting the hemp seeds for almond meal and regular flax seeds for the milled kind – can I just use 1/2 cup of almonds, with 1/2 cup flax seeds and then grind them all at once with the oil and juice? Or should I use 1/2 cup of pre-ground almond (almond meal) with 1/2 cup of pre ground flax seeds, and then put that combo through the magic bullet again with the oil and juice? Hope that even made sense
Javelin Warrior says
What a cool recipe and I love that you found a way to make healthy “cinnamon toast crunch” cereal! I’m featuring this post in today’s Food Fetish Friday (with a link-back and attribution). I hope you have no objections and I love the inspiration I get from your food…
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks JW, I appreciate being featured in another Food Fetish Friday! Hope you try the cereal!
MemoryKeeper says
This recipe looks scrumptious. BTW, I know that lower sodium bacon is sugar free, hope that helps!
Mellissa Sevigny says
I did find that out and was very excited about it! I have only eaten bacon once since I started my Whole 30 though and I didn’t miss it as much as I thought I would!
Liz says
Would it work to sub chia seeds for the hemp?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Not sure Liz, it would definitely alter the flavor – I think going all flax would be better than chia seeds, but I’m not a fan of them so that might be why! Let us know if it works!