New Product Review:

Cinnabon Cereal

Reviewed by Mr Breakfast on 5/14/2010

This cereal is great. If you like cinnamon and aren't bothered when a cereal flaunts its own sweetness, definitely give Kellogg's Cinnabon Cereal a try.

I'm stating this review with a strong approval statement, a line I'd usually reserve for the closing paragraph. We breakfast journalists call this "opening with the kicker." I really want people to know this cereal is good because it's being released to grocery stores with an identity crisis.

The last time a cereal came out with the Cinnabon name was only two years ago in the summer of 2008. There were actually two cereals: Cinnabon Cinnamon Crunch and Cinnabon Caramel Pecan Crunch. They were produced by the Organic Milling Corp. and they were terrible. They tasted like unprocessed wheat with burnt cinnamon (click here for a more detailed review) and they offered nothing in the way of a fun, delicious Cinnabon cinnamon bun experience. Because the Cinnabon logo is so distinct and featured so prominently on all three Cinnabon cereal boxes, consumers may very well see this new cereal and dismiss it as a loser from the past. If you see the Kellogg's name, realize that we're dealing with an entirely new cereal... a much better cereal.

In the reviews for the earlier cereals, I mused about the indulgence of Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls... the wonderful smell from the Cinnabon stands and the gooey, creamy sweetness of the actual rolls. While the earlier cereals captured none of that, new Kellogg's Cinnabon Cereal at least brings that experience to mind.

This new cereal is loaded with cinnamon flavor. When you add milk - and when you're thinking about the cinnamon rolls pictured on the box - you actually get a sense of icing or frosting. The cinnamon bun shaped cereal pieces have a light crunch which stay mildly crunchy upwards of 8 minutes in milk.




Obviously, this cereal is sweet. The second ingredient is sugar. The third ingredient is "cinnamon topping" which lists its first ingredient as sugar. That said, it's amazing that this cereal maintains a sugar content of 12 grams per one cup serving. That's two grams less than a 3/4 cup serving of the latest cereal from Wheaties called Wheaties Fuel. It's only two grams more sugar than the Cinnabon predecessor cereals, but that minimal boost makes an extreme difference in flavor.

Kellogg's seems to understand what makes a cinnamon bun work. Throughout time, we've gravitated toward those delicious baked goods because they're sweet, cinnamon-blasted treats. This cereal tastes like a treat.

Nutritional Considerations: Each 1 cup serving of this cereal has 120 calories, 2 grams total fat (0 grams saturated fat and 0 grams trans fat), 0 mg cholesterol, 115 mg sodium, 25 grams carbohydrates, only 1 gram of dietary fiber and 2 grams protein.

The price we paid: $2.49