We ranked the top 50 cereals from worst to best

The first time I brought my Italian cousins into an American grocery store, they nearly sobbed in the cereal aisle. It was the sheer quantity of breakfast-time bites that sent their jaws flying to the floor—not to mention the jumbo size of the boxes themselves, in true American fashion.

We spent about an hour there as they carefully studied each box. Questions like, “Why is there corn in your cereal?” and, “Are these colors bad for you?” (answer: yep) were fielded. In the end, we left with a few boxes, including their all-time favorite American cereal, Fruity Pebbles.

When it comes to the top cereals of all time, the winners' list is subjective. We asked around, polled a few people and came up with our own top 50 cereals, ranked from worst to best.

On that day, history was made in the cereal aisle—it may have been the first time an Italian ever admitted that an American food item was better than their version. Every time I travel to Italy, my cousins demand I smuggle in a box of Fruity Pebbles for them.

Top 50 cereals, from worst to best

50. Fiber One Bran cereal

This rubbish reminds me of the food pellets you get out of the gum ball dispensers at petting zoos to feed the animals with.

49. Grape Nuts

So what if they’re high in fiber and protein and full of nutrients—they’re also full of sadness.

48. Boo Berry

Of the Monster Cereals, Boo Berry’s blueberry flavor is the worst. It misses the mark in flavor, but it is still adorable, and triggers a whole lot of nostalgia.

47. Big Biscuit Shredded Wheat

Someone in our office was really enthusiastic about these depression-era bricks disguised as cereal. It's super hard to find in stores these days, but you can get a box on Amazon for highway robbery prices.

46. Raisin Bran

Ah, yes. The Monday of cereals. Bold move to build an entire brand on raisins, but somehow Raisin Bran continues to exist.

45. Wheaties

Not, indeed, the breakfast of champions.

44. Kashi Go (formerly Kashi Go Lean)

43. Honey Smacks

If these weren’t loaded with sugar then they would’ve scored higher. Then again, this "sweetened puffed wheat cereal” is definitely not part of a balanced breakfast.

42. Corn Flakes

Corn Flakes aren’t terrible, but admit it—they are always the last box in your pantry. But, they are the main ingredient in Momofuku Milk Bar's incredible Cereal Milk ice cream.

41. Chex

Yeah, we know, there are multiple kinds of Chex. But that doesn't matter, considering they all get soggy too quickly! On the other hand, we do love Chex Mix.

40. Apple Jacks

Apple Jacks did have some of the coolest TV mascots (Cinna-mon was always the winner, mon). But the flavor of this cereal is bogus. Cinnamon apples don’t go well with milk, IMHO.

39. Frankenberry

Frankenberry, the strawberry-flavored monster cereal, is definitely better than Boo Berry, but its sickeningly-sweet flavor spooks the life out of my taste buds.

38. Cocoa Puffs

Are we cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs? Eh, not really.

37. Special K Original

Add fruit in and this cereal shoots up in the ranking, but plain Special K is just not satisfying enough on its own.

36. Scooby-Doo Cinnamon Marshmallow cereal

Scooby-Doo Cinnamon Marshmallow is no longer on the market/stopped production in 2008.

35. Cinnamon Chex

Sugary, but gluten-free.

34. S’mores Cereal

33. Oatmeal Squares

32. Count Chocula

The best of the General Mills monster cereals, Count Chocula is a Halloween time must-have. It’s chocolatey, and has marshmallows, making it a well-balanced sugary cereal. But, once the spooky season is over, so too is our craving.

31. Donut Shop Cereal

Donut Shop Cereal is no longer on the market/stopped production in 2015.

30. Frosted Flakes

29. Rice Krispies

28. Frosted Mini Wheats

27. Special K Red Berries

26. Honey Bunches of Oats

25. Honey Nut Cheerios

Sweeter than the OG.

24. Trix

There's old Trix (colorful, fun-shaped, but questionable), and then there's new Trix (natural colors, circular, debatable taste).

23. Cookie Crisp

22. Froot Loops

Toucan Sam is a legend.

21. Corn Pops

Who remembers the dark, aluminum-looking bag these used to come in? Pops was one of those addicting cereals that we aren’t even sure tastes good but we know we loved the sugar film that it left in our mouths.

20. Oreo O’s

Oreo cereal. C’mon. This stuff is brilliant.

Oreo O’s was discontinued in 2024 and replaced by Oreo Puffs.

19. Cocoa Pebbles

18. Cap’n Crunch Berry

17. Krave

16. Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheerios

They taste a little like Reese's Puffs cereal (but better). Plus, you're getting 16 grams of whole grains per serving.

15. Lucky Charms

14. Waffle Crisp

13. Peanut Butter Toast Crunch

Peanut Butter Toast Crunch was discontinued around 2014-2015.

12. Rice Krispies Treats

Kellogg's stopped production of Rice Krispies Treats in 2020.

11. Honeycomb

Definitely a fan favorite, Honeycomb was one of those cereals that you fought over with your siblings. Although it left the milk tasting a bit odd, the cereal itself was craveable. So, why didn’t it make our top 10? Simple, because of the terrifying commercials Honeycomb subjected us to in the '90s.

Drumroll for the Top 10

10. Fruity Pebbles

As I said above, this is like a drug for my Italian cousins. If I don’t bring these with me when I visit them, then I’ve made the 8 hour trip for no reason at all.

9. Cheerios

An obvious favorite among babies, parents, and... lazy millennials?

8. Kix

Every tenth corn puff is unusually sweet.

7. Life

Life is life.

6. Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Here's the trick to find perfection: Let these sit in the milk for about a minute and a half before you start eating.

5. French Toast Crunch

The geniuses that brought us Cinnamon Toast Crunch also graced us with French Toast Crunch. Introduced in 1995, these adorable little toasts (that also taste amazing) were discontinued in 2006, but after demands from the public, they brought it back in 2014. What a time to be alive.

4. Reese's Peanut Butter Puffs

There's literally no better combo than peanut butter and chocolate.

3. Cap’n Crunch

A true classic. The Captain, a hero of sorts, also gets bonus points because this cereal tastes great on top of froyo or ice cream.

2. Golden Grahams

It was a close call between these and Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but everyone agreed Golden Grahams had a slight leg up. There's just nothing like stacking a bunch of these up and eating as many as possible in one bite.

And the winner is …

1. Cap’n Crunch Sprinkled Donut Crunch

Everyone knows Cap’n Crunch is an incredible cereal, so when they came out with a sprinkled donut version!? Yeah, no contest. A+ for taste, A+ for presentation. This cereal tastes like sugar cookies, and looks like little doughnuts. Unfortunately, its production ceased in 2019.