My keto cinnamon toast crunch cereal is super crunchy and packed with flavor. Even better, it is only 2.8g net carbs per portion and ready in less than 30 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.
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 sugar content of breakfast cereals. Don't believe a moment when it says it's "healthy" on the box. Check the nutrition label and find out for yourself.
Time for the good news. It is simple to make low-carb cereals at home! I have a bunch of recipes on my website, ranging from low carb granola to keto muesli and low carb porridge.
And of course, 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.
Of course, there isn't a shred of wheat in this awesomely crunchy low carb "cereal" - and none of the sugar.
Jump to:
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!
Versatile: This is a wonderful breakfast treat but also works well as a sweet treat. A reader recently told me that this recipe has become her mid-day snack at work. She said: "It is 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 in the US. 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 - for a little rise
I also added xanthan gum. This gives the cinnamon crunch 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 keto cinnamon toast crunch "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 cinnamon crunch 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.
#3 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.
#4 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.
#5 Be patient! All low-carb cereals are soft and fragile when hot. They firm up and become crunchy once they are cold.
Disclaimer
This recipe contains more erythritol than most of my sweet recipes. Therefore, you do notice the cooling sensation erythritol delivers. 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.
Variations
You can use ground flaxseed instead of the psyllium. In this case, double the quantity as it's less fine than the 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.
And guess what: The recipe also works as a pie crust! I also used it as a starting point for my keto Graham crackers.
Serving Suggestion
Keto cinnamon toast crunch 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
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary.
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.
Karen Moyes
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
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
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
That sounds absolutely delicious!!!
Cris
What are ppl using to have it with? Coconut milk or almond milk?
Katrin
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
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.
S Rice
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
No problem! One portion/serving is a heaped 1/3 cup or ca 40g. I didn't count the individual pieces 😉
Sandra Rice
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
I'm out of erythritol. Would Xylitol work?
Thanks so much
Katrin
Yes, of course!
Vicki
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
That's so good to hear Vicki!
Mary
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’
Tasneen
Looks delicious! Is there an alternative for the butter to make it dairy free?
Katrin
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
Is there any alternative to the protein powder? Haven't used it before and don't know anything about it.
Katrin
You could try using flax meal instead
Maz
Thanks! Just bought some of that. Will give it a go.
Julianna
I want to do the same- did the flax meal work?