The 20 Absolute Worst Breakfast Cereals On US Grocery Store Shelves

Despite what claims might be on the front of the box, or what the cartoon mascots try to convince us in the commercials, many popular breakfast cereals are not actually part of a balanced breakfast. In fact, a lot of them are mostly sugar. And most of the cereals that include processed grains along with preservatives, additives, or artificial colors or flavors are considered ultra-processed foods. While there’s nothing wrong with embracing nostalgia and occasionally having a bowl of a sweet cereal you enjoyed as a kid, consistently eating these cereals could lead to long-term health effects, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, or diabetes.

Ever wonder why that Trix rabbit is so frantic or why Cap’n Crunch himself always has such a wild look in his eyes? It’s probably because eating their own cereal has triggered some sort of manic sugar overload. The cereals on this list were chosen based on research into their nutrition labels and ingredient lists. These are 20 of the absolute worst, most unhealthy breakfast cereals currently on U.S. grocery store shelves. Apologies to Tony the Tiger in advance.

The Pebbles family of Flintstone-themed cereals has grown over the years, and now, in addition to the classic Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles, there are also boxes of Berry Pebbles, Strawberries and Cream Pebbles, and Marshmallow Fruity Pebbles. All of these cereals are sugar bombs — 12 grams of added sugar per 1-cup serving — and unfortunately contain artificial dyes.

The worst offender of all the Fruity Pebbles variations, though, is the Marshmallow Fruity Pebbles, which is basically just regular Fruit Pebbles with added marshmallow pieces (and 18 grams of added sugar per serving). You might as well eat a slice of cake for breakfast. Reviewers comment that this cereal is way too sweet and the marshmallows overpower everything. More than one review on the company’s site also alarmingly called out that they found hard bits in their cereal, which may or may not have been food.

Follow your nose … somewhere else, sorry. Let’s face it. Anything that spells fruit as “froot” is probably not going to be healthy for you. And despite being a beloved and nostalgic cereal with a cute toucan mascot, Froot Loops is one of the worst cereals for your health. The different colored Froot Loops all taste the same, despite being made with multiple flavors … and multiple food dyes, plus 12 grams of added sugar, and 210 milligrams of sodium per serving.

Unbelievably, Kellogg’s created an additional cereal — Froot Loops with Marshmallows — that’s even more unhealthy (16 grams of added sugar) and seems to have quality control issues, according to reviews. Sometimes the box doesn’t even come with any marshmallows, and when they are included, they are sometimes chewy and stale. One customer said the cereal tastes and smells like pesticide. Perhaps it’s time to leave the Froot Loops kingdom forever –- your internal organs will thank you.

Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries is a beloved cereal, with those sweet crunch berries and tasty corn squares. Unfortunately, it has a bunch of added sugars (17 grams per serving), food dyes, and almost no fiber at all, making it an unhealthy addition to your daily nutritional needs. The cereal is basically made up of just a bunch of highly processed grains and has more sugar than the typical cold cereal. It would make for a great McDonald’s McFlurry flavor idea, but breakfast? Not so much.

Surprisingly enough, Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries is even unhealthier than its counterpart, Cap’n Crunch’s Oops! All Berries cereal, which still has the added food dyes but contains less sugar (15 grams of added sugar). This doesn’t make it much better. When it comes to making healthy choices, you’re better off keeping these two sugar monsters out of your grocery cart.

You can’t trust a cereal represented by a frog in a backwards hat — that guy is not reliable. And in this case, he’s super unreliable because Honey Smacks is actually one of the most unhealthy breakfast cereals you could eat, with 18 grams of added sugar packed in per serving.

The unhealthiness of this cereal is bad enough, but it gets worse – recent reviews are downright terrible. So many customers report that they’re opening completely stale boxes of Honey Smacks. People report that the cereal looks pale and discolored, tastes bland, and is hard to chew, despite the expiration date being many months out.

You might not expect to see Honey Nut Cheerios on this list, as it often has a banner on the front of the box claiming it “can help lower cholesterol* as part of a heart healthy diet.” Take note of that asterisk, though — it usually means something’s up. In fact, a serving of Honey Nut Cheerios contains 12 grams of added sugar — more than what’s in three Chips Ahoy! Chocolate chip cookies — and 10 grams more than what’s found in a serving of regular Cheerios.

But, hey, you don’t have to totally give up Honey Nut Cheerios. To make it a little healthier, you can use Honey Nut Cheerios in a loaded cereal to make your breakfast more well-rounded by adding other ingredients with nutritional value, like berries, nuts, chia seeds, and flaxseed. That way you’re getting fiber and antioxidants while also enjoying the sweet cereal.

Just because the word “apple” is in the cereal name doesn’t mean it’s healthy -– not in the slightest, actually. Apple Jacks has 13 grams of added sugar, artificial colors, and less than 2% of anything remotely having to do with apples (dried apples and apple juice concentrate). And since cereal brands love to add marshmallows to already sweet cereals, there’s also Apple Jacks with Marshmallows, which is infused with even more added sugar (17 grams).

Perhaps a better way of eating any Apple Jacks cereal is succumbing to the absolute fact that it’s a treat, not a part of a healthy and balanced breakfast. In fact, the cereal would make a delicious and unique topping to cover candle apples with.

Lucky Charms, the cereal famously made of half marshmallows, is understandably unhealthy. It’s got tons of added sugar (12 grams per serving) and multiple food dyes. This cereal has always been a treat in a breakfast costume. Actually, you know what? It’s not even wearing a costume. It’s blatantly a treat.

There are newer variations of Lucky Charms, too. There’s Lucky Charms Chocolatey Chocolate, Berry Swirl, and S’mores. Oddly enough, despite the added flavors, all of the Lucky Charms variations are just about the same amount of unhealthy and contain the same amount of sugar.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch is a straight up dessert that used to be represented by a smiling Chef Wendell and two other bakers. Now, the cereal’s mascot consists of Crazy Squares aka Cinnamojis, pieces of cereal that eat each other. Sure, this cereal has 3 grams of fiber, but that doesn’t make up for the 230 milligrams of sodium and 12 grams of added sugars.

There are also eight variations of the cereal, including Cinnamon Toast Crunch Loaded (Cinnamon Toast pillows with vanilla creme inside) or the waffle-shaped Cinnamon Toast Crunch Waffle, all of which are the same amount of unhealthy with similar sugar contents. Rather than eating any of these as a morning meal, this cereal is much better suited to add to a dessert. For example, you could level up your cinnamon rolls by adding Cinnamon Toast Crunch to the mix.

Special K with Red Berries isn’t as healthy as what the marketing campaigns have been telling us all this time. There are 11 total grams of sugar, 3 grams of protein, and 3 grams of fiber, which add up to very little actual nutritional benefit. This cereal is also low in fat, sure, but so is most cereal. This cereal is essentially empty calories, which could contribute to weight gain if eaten regularly (or if you were to follow the so-called “Special K Diet”).

You may be better off eating the newer Special K Zero Strawberry Creme cereal, which actually does have a good amount of fiber (5 grams) and zero added sugars. It also has 18 grams of protein from soy protein isolate and pea protein isolate. Still, it’s a non-sugary breakfast cereal with some actual nutrition.

“Gotta have my pops!” someone might jubilantly exclaim if they are about to eat a very unhealthy breakfast cereal. Corn Pops have a whopping 15 grams of added sugar and zero grams of fiber — not a great start — and it doesn’t get better. The cereal also contains a natural coloring additive known as annatto extract, which, for some people, can cause allergic reactions and hives.

To make matters worse, the cereal also hasn’t been getting great reviews lately, as many customers claim that the quality has gone way down. Multiple people actually found wood chips in their boxes of Corn Pops. Others commented that there were little hard balls of … something … in their cereal boxes. The one thing Corn Pops seems to have going for it is that it hasn’t yet had a variation with marshmallows … yet.

Just as is the case for Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries, regular Cap’n Crunch is another unhealthy breakfast choice. It has 17 grams of added sugar, almost as much as its Crunch Berries counterpart, artificial dyes, and, as expected, a ton of sodium –- 290 grams per serving to be exact. As is typical, there is less than 1 gram of fiber. There is no nutrition here.

But, don’t worry. You don’t have to cut the Cap’n out of your life entirely. Just because it makes for a less-than-nutritious breakfast doesn’t mean Cap’n Crunch is good for nothing. It would be a great ingredient to add to a treat of some sort. You could add the cereal into your cookie dough the next time you make cookies. Or, you could crush up some Cap’n Crunch and use it as a swap-out ingredient for breadcrumbs when making fried chicken.

Oh, Reese’s Puffs, you aren’t even trying to appear healthy, are you? The candy title is right there in your name, friend. Understandably, a cereal based on candy is never going to be considered healthy for you. It simply had no chance, from the beginning. This is no cereal — it’s dessert. At least it’s honest.

Reese’s Puffs is packed with 12 grams of added sugar and 220 grams of sodium per serving. There’s 2 grams of fiber and 3 grams of protein, but it’s not enough to do you any good nutritionally. It would, however, be a good topping for ice cream or frozen yogurt. Treat a treat like a treat, you know? This cereal is a treat.

Just because a tiger wearing a bandana tells you something is great doesn’t mean it’s great for your health. Like so many other cereals on the list, a serving of Frosted Flakes contains 12 grams of added sugar, insufficient fiber amounts, and little nutritional value. The cereal is so unhealthy that it’s actually banned in the European Union and Japan for having added preservatives — one in particular called BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene), which is an ingredient also used in mechanical fluids and embalming fluid. According to the Food and Drug Administration, the additive is generally recognized as safe.

Frosted Flakes has an army of other sugary cereals behind it, with variations like Frosted Flakes Cinnamon French Toast, Strawberry Milkshake, Donut Holes, and Chocolate Milkshake — and every single one of them makes for a very unhealthy meal. A better use of Frosted Flakes might be to use the cereal when making chocolate-covered berries for added texture. That way, at least you’re getting some fruit in.

Golden Crisp is one of the unhealthiest cereals you could possibly eat. That smug-looking bear on the front of the box isn’t looking out for your health — his name is “Sugar Bear,” for goodness sake. And he wants you to eat pure sugar for breakfast. Golden Crisp takes the win (or loss, really) for most sugar (a whopping 21 grams of added sugar per serving).

Golden Crips used to go by the honest name of “Sugar Crisp,” before that word was taken out of its name despite having sugar as the top ingredient. Apparently, manufacturers wanted to fix the cereal’s image without actually … making the cereal any better for you. Okay! Interesting choice.

It should go without saying that something called Cookie Crisp consisting of little cookie-shaped cereal pieces probably isn’t great for your health. And although it’s appreciated that this cereal even has a tad of fiber per serving (2 grams), there’s still a large amount of sugar (12 grams of added sugar) and — say it with me — almost no nutritional value.

The cereal makes good for at least one of its promises (“happiness in every bite”) but maybe not-so-much with others (“good for you ingredients”). Then again, the package doesn’t specify in what way the ingredients are good for you. Good for your happiness levels? Sure, but that’s about all this cereal is good for, as it’s yet another dessert in a breakfast disguise (and not a very convincing one).

Hailing from the Rice Krispies family of breakfast cereals, Frosted Krispies has 15 grams of added sugar per serving and no fiber. These are traits it shares with its equally non-nutritious sibling, Cocoa Krispies. This is far unhealthier than regular Rice Krispies, which only has 4 grams of sugar and no frosting to speak of.

Rice Krispies cereals are also banned in Europe and Japan, just like Frosted Flakes, for containing the flavor enhancer BHT, which may or may not be harmful to your health (the scientific jury is currently out on that one). Either way, you’re probably good to not buy this cereal anymore.

I mean … you didn’t think this one was going to go well, right? As a human race, we have got to all be completely aware that a cereal called Oreo O’s, based on the Oreo cookie, is not going to be healthy for you, as a meal. Sugar is literally the second ingredient mentioned on the label. With 17 grams per serving, this one can easily be deemed dessert.

Are Oreo O’s delicious? Of course they are. They don’t necessarily taste like Oreos, but they have a singular taste that one can recall decades after eating it as a kid in 1997. Apparently, the cereal was discontinued (though it’s still on the Post website’s list of products) and is being replaced altogether by something called Oreo Puffs … which has 16 grams of sugar per serving (one less gram than Oreo O’s — good job, guys).

No, it can’t be … Raisin Bran? Unhealthy? Really? Unfortunately, it’s true, but mostly because of how sweet it is. Despite being forever branded as a healthy breakfast cereal, Raisin Bran has more sugar in it than a lot of the cereals on this list (17 total grams, including 9 grams of added sugar). The difference is mostly because of the naturally occurring sugar in the raisins.

That’s not to say this cereal can’t be included as part of a healthy breakfast — it does have 7 grams of fiber and some whole grains, after all. The problem is all of that pesky sugar. There are ways to cut the sweetness down, though. A more nutritious way to use Raisin Bran in your breakfast could be to combine it with a non-sweet bran cereal. You could also add half a serving to a bowl of yogurt and add some fruit and flaxseed in there.

You could pour yourself a bowl of Honey Maid S’mores for breakfast — or you could be honest with yourself and make an actual s’more and put that in your cereal dish. Either way, this cereal is a total treat, with sugar as the cereal’s first ingredient. The cereal is made up of graham cracker and chocolate-flavored grains and marshmallows.

Yes, it’s true — a cereal named after a campfire dessert isn’t healthy for you. Can you even believe it? Of course you can. Honey Maid S’mores has a ton of sugar – 17 grams of added sugar to be exact. This is up there with the sweetest cereals on this list.

When cereal boxes say something about how the sugary cereal also contains whole grains, fiber, and vitamins, it really doesn’t mean that much. It’s not an outright lie, of course, but it’s certainly tricky marketing. This is because despite these bits of nutrition here and there, the huge amount of sugar cancels all the other healthy benefits out.

This is once again the case with Trix, which already gives the illusion of fruit by being shaped like it. Obviously, there’s no actual fruit in Trix — just your usual 12 grams of added sugar, 1 gram of fiber, and several artificial colors.

Extensive research was done on the ingredient lists and nutrition labels on the boxes of these cereals to determine which ones were the most unhealthy for you. I also went to the grocery store personally and took photos of cereal box labels to make sure the most updated nutritional facts were included in each section. All of these cereals are currently on the grocery store shelves (except Oreo O’s, which are disappearing and being replaced with Oreo Puffs, as mentioned).