Are you up for a low carb breakfast treat? This super crunchy Keto cereal recipe fits the bill! It’s a sugar free take on the popular cinnamon toast crunch breakfast cereal. This version is gluten free, grain free and tastes delicious.
For many people it’s difficult to wave good-bye to breakfast cereals. But when you’re on a low carb diet, cereal is one of the things that need to go. Whether it’s Kellogg’s or Nestle, cereal is generally made from grains, and grains are high in carbs.
I’m not even going to get started on the high added sugar content of breakfast cereals. Don’t believe a moment when it says it’s “healthy” on the box. The truth is, the only healthy thing about breakfast cereal is the bank balance of the companies who make it. And maybe the cardboard box itself.
Time for the good news. It is really simple to make low carb cereals at home! You replace the grains with nuts and seeds, add a bit of erythritol or your favourite sweetener and let it crisp up in the oven. Strictly speaking, the term “cereal” is misleading, but we’re talking about the “cereal experience” here, and that’s just as good. It’s even better, actually, knowing you’re not filling up on junk right at the start of your day and keeping your blood sugar levels stable.
How to make cinnamon toast crunch Keto cereal – step by step:
1.) Put cold chopped butter and granulated erythritol into a food processor and blend. I like using a brown sugar alternative in this recipe – such as by NKD Living in the UK or Lakanto in the US.
2.) Mix your dry ingredients and add them.
3.) This is what Keto cereal dough should look like – crumbly and moist.
4.) Now you scoop it up and form a ball with your hands. Place it between 2 sheets of parchment paper.
5.) Roll out the dough! The parchment paper prevents your rolling pin from sticking. Scatter some more cinnamon and erythritol on top and press it in with your hands so it won’t fall off once baked.
6.) Now you cut the dough into cute little cinnamon toast crunch squares. Last, prick each square with a fork to prevent unnecessarily large air bubbles.
7.) Hello, Keto cinnamon crunch! Wait until the cereal is cooled completely before breaking it into squares.
Tips and tricks to nail this Keto cereal recipe
Roll out the dough nice and thin – this will give a better crunch.
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. Moving the sheet to the lowest shelf can also help. The oven time will vary depending on how thin your “cereal” dough is rolled out.
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 to do this as it has a wider edge.
Be patient! All low carb cereals are soft and fragile when fresh out of the oven. They firm up and become crunchy once they’re cold, and this cinnamon crunch is no different. Don’t even think about touching it while it’s still warm – unless you want to sneak a little taste.
Recipe notes and variations
Some Keto cereal recipes use egg whites. I liked the idea of the protein powder, which gives the same protein kick, without having to beat egg whites first.
The psyllium husk powder and the xanthan gum increase the crunch in this recipe and help hold the squares together. You can use ground flaxseed instead (double the quantity as it’s less fine than the psyllium powder), it would do a similar job.
Golden/brown erythritol works well in this recipe, but any granulated sweetener is fine. If you use a different sweetener than erythritol, check the pack and make sure it’s a 1:1 sugar replacement just like erythritol. Some granulated sweeteners are twice as sweet as sugar.
Disclaimer: This recipe contains more erythritol than most of my sweet recipes. Therefore, you do notice that slightly cooling sensation erythritol delivers. But if you want that cinnamon toast crunch cereal experience, it’s gotta be sweet and it’s gotta have that sugary crunch.
If you can’t be bothered with cutting squares, don’t. You can simply break it into bite-sized pieces post-baking!
This recipe is rich and buttery, that’s why your portions don’t need to be large. Serve it with your favourite nut milk or some yoghurt. A few squares would also make a nice sweet treat with a cup of coffee or tea.
Check out my other low carb cereals:
- Grain Free Peanut Butter Granola (Sugar Free)
- Low Carb Granola (Keto, Sugar Free)
- Apple Cinnamon Granola Bars
- Creamy Keto Low Carb Porridge
I also love this Chocolate Hazelnut Granola by All Day I Dream about Food!
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Keto Cinnamon Crunch Cereal Recipe
This Keto cereal recipe is for everyone who's secretly missing Cinnamon Toast Crunch (aka "Curiously Cinnamon" in the UK). There's not a shred of wheat in this awesomely crunchy low carb breakfast cereal - and none of the sugar. Enjoy your cinnamon crunch without all the carbs!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup / 60g butter cold
- 4 tbsp granulated erythritol
- 3 tbsp whey protein powder
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 tbsp psyllium husk powder or 2 tbsp flax meal
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum optional
For the topping
- 1-2 tbsp 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 together with the erythritol until creamy.
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and add to the butter/sweetener mix. 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 baking/parchment paper and sprinkle the 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 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.
Recipe Notes
The baking time will depend on how thick or thin you have rolled out your dough. Rotate the baking sheet if the back browns too quickly.
You can replace the psyllium husk with double the amount of ground flax seed.
The xanthan gum is optional, but it does give the dough extra crunch.
If you are using an electric mixer and not a food processor, it may be easier to mix the dough when the butter is at room temperature. In this case, wrap the dough in cling film and chill it for 30 minutes before you roll it out.
One portion is a heaped 1/3 cup or ca 40g.
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cuceesprouts says
have you tried modifying it to be dairy-free?
Katrin says
No, but thinking about it you could replace the butter with coconut oil and use a dairy free protein powder. Or experiment with coconut butter, which may be tastier.
Matt says
Thanks for this great recipe! If i wanted to use egg whites as you mention instead of protein powder how many should i use?
Thanks, Matt
Katrin says
I have never tried it – but I should think that 1 egg white would be enough. That’s what I use when making crispy biscuits.
Cayla says
Would coconut flour be okay instead of almond flour?
Katrin says
I have never tried in this recipe, but normally I would use half the amount of coconut flour in place of almond flour as coconut flour is much more absorbent. Let me know how you get on with it!
Karen Moyes says
Hi Katrin,
Somehow the reply button under your reply of 2 August is not responsive so this may look like a new post but it’s just continuing the thread. Your suggestion of adding ground chia to the mix was spot on. I added 1 tbsp but also made sure I used a 1:1 sweetener this time (Pure Via Stevia Leaf, actually a mix of stevia and erythritol). The result is a lovely crunchy cereal. Brilliant! Thank you again for sharing all these wonderful recipes. Tonight it’s going to be your Keto turkey chili recipe. Looking forward to it!
Katrin says
Great news!!! And let me know how the turkey chili went down 😉
Karen Moyes says
Hi Katrin, absolutely love your recipes and this one is no exception. The taste is so mooreish! The only thing is that my cereals have the consistency of shortbread. I ran through the recipe again but I haven’t forgotten anything. The only thing I can think of is that I used Truvia which is not a 1:1 sweetener. Could that be the reason? I even gave it an extra 5 minutes in the oven, to no avail. Anyway, I’ll make another batch with a 1:1 sweetener and see if that works.
Katrin says
Hi Karen, I wonder if it has something to do with the thickness? Maybe if you make the squares thinner you’d get more of a crunch. Another way to increase crunch would be to add either ground chia or flax to the recipe. Chia has less of an individual taste and I’m experimenting right now with a new granola recipe using ground cheer. Maybe if you added a bit of ground chia you would get the extra crunch you are looking for.
BJ says
Made these to take camping . Cut them graham cracker size and used to make s’mores, with dark chocolate and a marshmallow. Ok ok, so marshmallows are not so healthy. but only 6 carbs — and I didn’t get cheated out of a camping tradition!
Katrin says
That sounds absolutely delicious!!!
Cris says
What are ppl using to have it with? Coconut milk or almond milk?
Katrin says
Personally, I’m an almond milk fan. There is a brand called Plenish in the UK which I think tastes great. It’s not watery and incidentally, it also frothes like a dream if you want a cappucchino!
Cal says
Simple and very tasty. I cut small bars to eat like biscuits, but I cut the cooking temperature to 150c for an extra 5 minutes, because I roll them a little thicker.
Katrin says
Glad you like it!! And thank you for sharing your tweaks 🙂
S Rice says
I am new to Keto eating so I hate to sound stupid. In your pictures it looks like one recipe makes around 80 pieces. The servings says 5. Does that mean that one serving is 5 pieces? Thanks for your help!
Katrin says
No problem! One portion/serving is a heaped 1/3 cup or ca 40g. I didn’t count the individual pieces 😉
Sandra Rice says
Thank you for responding. Mine is in the oven as we speak. Will let you know, but the raw batter tasted nice. Ha Ha!
Shamus says
I’m out of erythritol. Would Xylitol work?
Thanks so much
Katrin says
Yes, of course!
Vicki says
This recipe is spot on. I miss cereal and a Cinnamon Toast Crunch was a fav!! This is perfect substitute and super easy to throw together.
Katrin says
That’s so good to hear Vicki!
Mary says
Before going low carb, my favorite cereal was Cascadian Farms Cinnamon Crunch so when I saw this recipe I had to make it! Needless to say, this is even better than the high carb version! It’s crunchy going in then melts in your mouth…. the flavor is spot on and I love it. It’s on regular rotation in our house! If you miss cereal, you must make this’
Katrin says
Yay! I’m so glad you like the recipe!! I love figuring out how to make better versions of my old naughty faves
Tasneen says
Looks delicious! Is there an alternative for the butter to make it dairy free?
Katrin says
That is a good question. Normally, you can use coconut oil in place of butter as the 2 have a similar consistency. But it would be an experiment – I haven’t tried that myself.
Maz says
Is there any alternative to the protein powder? Haven’t used it before and don’t know anything about it.
Katrin says
You could try using flax meal instead
Maz says
Thanks! Just bought some of that. Will give it a go.