I tested out 7 different organic or grain free cereals so that you didn’t have to! Read on to find out which organic or gluten/grain free cereal was the best, which you should leave on the shelf.
As I walked down the Costco aisle making my way to the peanut butter, they were handing out samples of Three Wishes. This put the question in my head of:
Does healthy cereal exist?
If so, what does it taste like?
I made my choices all to be either brands or flavors I (we) had never had before. If you don’t see your favorite on the list, it doesn’t mean anything.
The contenders:
Gluten or Grain free:
Catalina Crunch: Cinnamon Toast Cereal
Magic Spoon: Cocoa
Seven Sundays: Oat Protein Cereal, Simply Honey
Three Wishes: Cinnamon
Also Organic:
One Degree: Cacao Brown Rice Crisps
Nature’s Path Envirokidz: Rhino Rolls Cinnamon Roll
Lovebird: Cinnamon
What I didn’t test:
Any cereals marketed as granola. Maybe another future post?
Other quality brands I had already tried previously.
Is organic gluten/grain free cereal healthy?
What I’ve found in my practice is that the term organic leads to people believing that their food choice could not be improved and believe that if it is organic, it must be a healthy choice.
Being organic does not make it nutritionally dense. While many organic brands DO pay extra attention to their ingredient quality- their macronutrient ratio may not be in service of the bigger picture of (your) metabolic health.
Is organic or gluten/grain free cereal good for kids?
Maybe! It depends what it’s made of of course.
If I am choosing a cereal for my children I would be looking for clean ingredients and we pair ours with protein rich dairy also. I still would be aware there are better choices beyond cereal.
If you are choosing a dairy alternative, you may need to consider an additional source of protein- depending on your cereal’s protein content.
More information on building a good balanced diet for children can be found here.
Is organic or gluten/grain free cereal good for breakfast?
Short answer, not really. But some of these contenders do have a lower carb ratio and higher protein ratio that would make it MORE ideal for breakfast. I believe it would be best used as a compliment to other protein sources.
Read more about common breakfasts without enough protein here.
What is grain free cereals made of?
Of the reviewed brands, we have cassava flour, chickpea, tapioca, pea protein, a milk protein blend. potato fiber, corn fiber, and chicory root fiber.
What is the healthiest organic or gluten/grain free cereal?
Unfortunately, there isn’t a straight answer for that.
While one may be healthy for some- it may not be for another. Also financially speaking, some of these cereals have a higher price tag. If the healthy cereal is exceeding your family budget, or difficult to source- it misses the healthy mark in my opinion.
To help you make decisions of what to prioritize in your household grocery items, check out this post.
Are there any organic or gluten/grain free cereal without seed oils?
Yes!
Lovebird has some of the cleanest ingredients. Nature’s Path Organic, Seven Sundays,and Three Wishes, all avoid using seed oils.
The result of the blind taste test:
(no particular order)
1. Catalina Crunch: Cinnamon Toast Cereal
The pros:
High in protein at 11 grams without added milk!
9 full grams of fiber
Sugar free- using only Stevia and monk fruit as sweetener.
Low in carbohydrate
The cons:
Made with sunflower oil, guar gum, and non organic corn fiber
Maybe those aren’t make or break ingredients for you and the pros outweigh the cons.
The taste:
Two of my family members remarked that it tasted like Christmas. While I only see cinnamon listed as an ingredient, I would agree there is something *else* that does give a good Christmas vibe.
Texture is extra crunchy, which I would consider an ideal for a cereal.
Initially, I found it a bit too sweet upfront (I tend to be sensitive to stevia/monk fruit sweetened things) But it wears off at the end.
While 1 of my children didn’t want to finish it, it was my husband’s and my oldest’s favorite out of the lot.
2. Magic Spoon: Cocoa
The pros:
High in protein at 13 grams without added milk
Sugar free- using Stevia/monk fruit blend. (Also listed chicory root and/or agave in the ingredients).
Low in carbohydrate, Keto friendly
The cons:
Low in fiber at only 2 grams
Made with high oleic sunflower oil, and natural flavors*
Maybe those are make or break ingredients for you and the pros outweigh the cons.
The taste:
I personally had the most trouble with this one. It is initially very bitter from the moment it touches your tongue. (Maybe it’s the cocoa flavor?) Then it turns overly sweet.
The texture sticks to your teeth.
4 of us agreed the flavor was too strong, but that it dialed down as it sat in the milk.
Overall, skip this one
3. Seven Sundays: Oat Protein Cereal, Simply Honey
The pros:
100% real food. Minimal, readable ingredients. While I had never heard of up cycled oat protein before, they list it as this:
“Meet Upcycled Oaty,
Hi! You know the wrung out oat pulp from making oat milk? That’s me! Full of protein and fiber, I was once overlooked but have been given a new life in a real delicious cereal. I guess you could said I am back and stronger than ever.”
Added sugar only at 7 and using only wildflower honey!
The cons:
Not gluten free certified.*
For being made from oat fiber, I would have expected the fiber content to be higher than only 3 grams
This is also listed as “Oat protein” cereal, which can be misleading as it only has 5 grams of protein per serving. Paired with cows milk, you would have a higher protein bowl of cereal of course.
The taste:
The texture is absolutely perfect!
The family agreed it simply was very plain in taste. Which that may not necessarily be a bad thing. We later found out it makes a great partner to some of these other boxes as a blend. Think of it as the middle child that gets along with everyone.
I also believe a different flavor may be more preferred. I have their maple one sitting in my Thrive cart right now.
Note* I had actually tried this brand before, but it was their sunflower cereal. I clearly remember not liking it, but this good experience makes me willing to try their others again.
4. Three Wishes: Cinnamon
The pros:
Higher in protein at 8 grams without added milk
Only 3 grams of added sugar with a blend of organic cane sugar and stevia
Lower in carbohydrate
Minimal ingredients you can read
The cons:
I actually find it hard to be critical of the makings of this cereal.
While it may not be very high in protein, it is pretty decent as far as cereal goes. It has very moderate levels all around, of fiber to carb ratio and added sugar.
Imperfect it may be, but I could nod along in support of it.
The taste:
My personal favorite.
Although I later realized, this paired best with the Seven Sundays: Oat Protein Cereal, Simply Honey. You’ll have to try it and let me know what you think.
I did find it got a bit soft easy, again why it was great with a partner.^^
I highly believed it tastes just like the 90s favorite Waffle Crisp. But no one in my family had had it before to agree with me.. Again, will have to let me know your opinion.
Overall, as a family of 5, this was the one we most agreed on. Could this be considered the winner?
5. One Degree: Cacao Brown Rice Crisps
The pros:
Organic ingredients
Sweetened only with coconut sugar
The cons:
10 grams of added sugar seems too high to me.
Only 2 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber
The nutritional benefit of eating this would be quite low
The taste:
This, I don’t believe is marketed for adults? I’m not sure.
My children preferred this much more than us adults.
Good texture.
My husband believed it would be best with a spoonful of peanut butter mixed in- but he says that about everything.
With 10 grams of sugar, I would expect it to be sweeter. I actually find myself thinking that it wasn’t sweet enough, although my kids did not complain.
6. Nature’s Path Envirokidz: Rhino Rolls Cinnamon Roll
The pros:
Organic readable minimal ingredients
The cons:
Only 3 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber
The nutritional benefit of eating this would be quite low
The taste:
My youngest two’s favorite.
This is a children’s cereal, so I shouldn’t expect to be an adult that really likes this.
We have bought this brand before here and there and my children really like it. This was the first time we had tried the Rhino Rolls.
Just the right amount of sweetness, the texture was light and airy- think Captain Crunch.
Overall, as an adult, I wouldn’t choose to eat it. However my children were perfectly content.
7. Lovebird: Cinnamon
The pros:
Paleo + AIP friendly (This is rare!)
Only 6 minimal real food ingredients.
Low in sugar at just 6 grams
The cons:
No protein at just 1 g per serving
The carb to fiber ratio isn’t great
The taste:
Overall the flavor was anticlimactic but perfectly acceptable and something I would eat again
Who this would appeal most to, is someone on some kind of restricted or elimination diet.
The nutritional benefit of this would make it mostly a novelty more than a great meal choice. I cannot argue with anything that it is made of and finding this brand may be dream come true for you.
Major takeaway,
The average for most liked by our family of 5 was Three Wishes, and I’m eager to try their other flavors. Nutritionally speaking, I can support eating this as a mainstream cereal alternative.
The average disliked by our family of 5 was Magic Spoon. Again, this opinion isn’t based out of the nutritional benefit, but out of the enjoyment of actually eating it.
Now tell me,
What should I review next?
*This post may contain affiliate links. This means I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I do not recommend products I have not personally vetted.*
