This keto cereal recipe is my low carb version of cinnamon toast crunch cereal. It has the same awesome crunchiness and sweet cinnamon flavor. Only 2.8g net carbs per portion and ready in 22 minutes!
For many people, it is hard to wave goodbye to breakfast cereals. But when you're on a keto diet, regular cereal is one of the things that need to go.
Time for the good news. It is simple to make delicious keto breakfast cereal at home, such as this keto cinnamon crunch cereal!
This recipe is inspired by the "Curiously Cinnamon" cereal that I used to munch during my time at Uni in London. It's also much cheaper than the popular low carb brand Catalina Crunch.
This homemade keto friendly cereal does not contain a single grain, and none of the sugar. Yet, it has the same satisfying crunchiness and flavor as "the real thing".
Oh, and it stays nice and crisp even when you serve it with milk. No soggy business here!
Also check out my low carb granola, keto muesli and low carb porridge.
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Why You Need To Make It
Gluten-free, grain-free and keto-friendly: One serving is only 2.8g net carbs. Knowing that I am not filling up on junk right at the start of my day and keeping my blood sugar levels stable feels great.
Budget-Friendly. Store-bought keto cereal is expensive. Save by making this recipe at home.
Versatile: Use as breakfast treat or snack. My reader Shelbel commented: "This recipe has become my new mid-day snack at work. Easy to place in a baggie and take anywhere."
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need:
- Butter - Should be cold and cubed
- Sweetener - I am using a brown sugar substitute because the caramel notes work well with the cinnamon. It is an erythritol monk fruit sweetener blend. Erythritol-based sweeteners such as Swerve or Lakanto are good for this recipe because they make the cereal crunchy.
- Almond flour - I use ground almonds, which is the same as regular almond flour. Super-fine almond flour also works.
- Whey protein powder - Provides a finer texture
- Psyllium husk powder - Acts as a binder and helps with crunch. If you have whole psyllium husks, you must double the amount. Psyllium husks look like powder at first glance. But when you look closely, they resemble little sticks.
- Cinnamon - obviously!
- Baking powder - Makes the cereal light and puffy.
I also added xanthan gum. This gives the cereal a stronger texture and prevents it from crumbling. It is an optional ingredient. In its place, you could use ground flaxseed or ground chia seeds.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Instructions
Let me show you how to make cinnamon toast crunch keto cereal. Here are the basic steps.
Scroll down to the recipe card for the detailed method, ingredient amounts and nutrition information.
STEP 1
Blend the cold chopped butter and sweetener in a food processor until smooth. You can also use a large mixing bowl and a handheld electric mixer.
STEP 2
Add the remaining dry ingredients.
STEP 3
Blend until a crumbly dough forms.
STEP 4
Form a dough ball and press it down between 2 sheets of parchment paper. The parchment paper prevents the rolling pin from sticking.
STEP 5
Roll out the dough and scatter over more cinnamon "sugar". Press it into the dough with your hands. This way it won't fall off after baking.
STEP 6
Pre-cut the dough into squares with a sharp knife. Last, prick each square with a fork to prevent air bubbles.
STEP 7
Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned and crunchy all over. Then, wait until the cereal has cooled completely before breaking it into squares.
Katrin's Top Tips
#1 Roll the dough thinly. This will make the cereal crunchier.
#2 Watch it closely while it's in the oven. Check after 10 minutes and rotate the baking sheet if the back is getting too brown. The oven time will vary depending on how thin your "cereal" dough is rolled out.
#3 When you cut the dough, make the incisions wide. This way the squares, which will puff up a little, are easy to separate post-baking. You could also use a ruler as it has a wider edge.
#3 Be patient! All low-carb cereals are soft and fragile when hot. They firm up and become crunchy once they are fully cooled.
Let's Talk Sweetener
This recipe contains more erythritol than most of my sweet recipes. Therefore, you do notice the cooling sensation or erythritol. But if you want that cinnamon toast crunch cereal experience, it's got to be sweet and it's got to have that sugary crunch.
You can use allulose or Bocha Sweet in this recipe, but the cereal won't be very crunchy.
Variations
- Use ground flaxseed instead of the psyllium. Double the quantity as it's coarser than psyllium powder.
- No whey protein powder: Simply use more almond flour. It makes the texture more rustic, but works just as well.
- Dairy-free: Use coconut oil in place of butter and egg white protein powder instead of whey protein.
- Chocolate flavor: Add cocoa powder into the dough!
- Change the shape: Roll the dough into small balls for keto cereal puffs!
And guess what: The recipe also works as a pie crust! I used it as a starting point for my keto Graham crackers.
Serving Suggestion
Enjoy this keto cereal recipe just like a regular cereal. It tastes delicious with your favourite nut milk or with Greek yogurt.
A few squares also make a nice afternoon snack alongside a cup of coffee or, my personal fave, almond milk matcha latte.
Storage
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
More Keto Cereal Recipes
- Keto Peanut Butter Granola35 Minutes
- Easy Keto Granola Bars30 Minutes
- Keto Oatmeal (Coconut Flour)4 Minutes
- Pumpkin Porridge2 Minutes
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Recipe
Keto Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Video
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter cold, 60g
- 4 tablespoon granulated erythritol
- 3 tablespoon whey protein powder
- 1 cup almond flour 100g
- 1 tablespoon psyllium husk powder or 2 tablespoon flax meal
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum optional
For the topping
- 1-2 tablespoon granulated erythritol
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170 Celsius / 340 Fahrenheit.
- Cut the butter into small pieces and whizz in a food processor with the sweetener until creamy.
- Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and add them to the butter/sweetener mixture. Blend until your dough resembles moist crumbles.
- Form the dough into a ball and roll out thinly between 2 sheets of baking paper. This prevents the dough from sticking to your rolling pin.
- Peel off the top layer of parchment paper and sprinkle the dough with a topping made from more cinnamon and erythritol. Press the topping onto the dough with your hands.
- Cut into squares with a knife and prick each square with a fork to prevent large air bubbles.
- Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until browned.
- Let the cereal cool COMPLETELY before you break it into squares. It is VERY soft when hot but will be crunchy once it's cold.
Lisa Myers
Will allulose or allulose/monk fruit mix work for the sweetener in this? Erythritol bothers my stomach and digestive system.
Katrin Nürnberger
You will not get the same crunch with allulose, sadly. It will work and the taste will be the same, but the texture will be softer.
Heather
Do you think this would work without any sweetener?
Katrin Nürnberger
The structure of the "cereal" will be fine without the sweetener. The question is whether you'd like the taste of a cinnamon cereal that's not sweet at all.
Joanna Harding
This looks yet another AMAZING recipe Katrin, thank you.
What could I substitute for the whey protein powder? Or am I able to simply leave it out?
Thank you for your help and fabulous recipes!
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Joanna, I would just use more almond flour. The texture will be a little more rustic, but it should work just fine.
Beth H
do you think you could use this for a "crust" not cut into small squares but 2x2 squares. Great recipe. Will be trying.
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, that would work!
Shelbel
Hi Katrin. This recipe has become my new mid-day snack at work. Easy to place in a baggie and take anywhere. Love the flavors and the crunch. Thank you for posting it, with video. I'm going to check out your granola next.
Andrea Davis
Hi Katrin
I have whole psyllium husk, not powder - what measurements do you recommend, would it be double the amount of powder?
Many thanks
Andrea
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, that is correct.
C.
Used the flaxseed meal option over psyllium husk and it worked nicely. Awesome recipe! Really love the crunch and flavour.
C.
Hi Katrin, I was wondering if it would be possible to just leave out the cinnamon powder in this recipe ? Do you reckon that would be ok? Am hoping to do that so that it'd be like a digestive biscuit. Thanks !
Katrin Nürnberger
Of course, you don't need the cinnamon for texture. I'd add a bit of flavour though, maybe vanilla extract.