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11 of the best cereals to kickstart your day
From granola to muesli, these are the brands to buy
We’ve long been told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but when it comes to making healthy (and tasty!) decisions, it can be confusing.
To ensure your day gets off to the best possible start, we’ve taste-tested a selection of the most popular cereal categories, to see how the supermarket version compares to the big-branded buys. We’ll let you know which ones are worth making the switch for, as well as the brands worthy of forking out a little extra...
These are the best cereals from our taste tests:
- Best fruit & fibre: Aldi Harvest Morn Fruit & Fibre
- Best original granola: Eat Natural Low Sugar Granola
- Best corn flakes: Kellogg's Corn Flakes
- Best weetabix alternative: Aldi Harvest Morn Wheat Bisks
- Best golden syrup-flavoured porridge: Quaker Oats So Simple Golden Syrup Porridge
- Best special k-style cereal: ASDA Special Flakes Cereal
- Best fruit & nut muesli: Lizi's Super Muesli Glow
- Best shreddies alternative: Aldi Harvest Morn Malted Wheaties
- Best wholegrain hoops: Nestle Multigrain Cheerios
- Best indulgent treat cereal: Lizi’s Passionfruit & Pistachio Granola
- Best gluten-free cereal: Planet Organic Paleo Granola Super Berry
What is the healthiest breakfast cereal?
Health means different things to different people. Whether you’re concerned about gut health, upping your fibre intake, or looking for heart-healthy options, there’s a cereal for you.
Those that are looking to lose weight may prefer to go for low-fat or reduced sugar formulas. Many brands also reinforce recipes with added vitamins and minerals.
We asked dietitian Ro Huntriss what to look out for and avoid in a cereal, depending on your needs. Here are Ro's top recommendations:
Look for whole grain cereals
Compared with refined grains, whole grains help to release glucose into the blood more slowly. Diets rich in whole grain foods can also reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and certain cancers, as well as type 2 diabetes.
Choose a cereal high in fibre
Choosing a cereal high in fibre helps us reach the recommended goal of 30g a day. Products with 3g fibre per 100g are classed as a source of fibre, while foods with 6g fibre per 100g are high in fibre. In addition to supporting gut health, fibre can reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer.
Look for no added sugar or salt
The sugar content of commonly consumed cereals is highly variable, so if this is something you wish to avoid, look for cereals that state "no added sugar". If a product contains dried fruit as an ingredient, this will contribute to the total sugar content of the product, which may be higher than you expect. When looking at the product label, more than 22.5g of total sugars per 100g is considered high. Products low in sugar have 5g or less of total sugars per 100g.
Fortified with essential vitamins and minerals
Many cereals are fortified with the likes of B vitamins, iron and vitamin D, which can help you reach the recommended nutrients to support your health.
How we test
Our team of taste testers slurped their way through a whopping 116 bowls of cereal, looking for the most delicious options. They were tasked with finding the ones that offered the best balance of flavours and ingredients, whether from big brands or supermarkets.
These are the results...
Score: 82/100
Government guidelines recommend we eat 30g of fibre a day, however the average adult only manages 18g. Ensure you’re incorporating this important nutrient into the first meal of the day with this budget-friendly bowl.
We tested nine leading brands and this took the top spot for its combination of toasted whole wheat flakes, sweet juicy raisins, coconut shavings, crunchy banana chips and dried, chewy apple.
Runner-up fruit & fibre
Mornflake Fruit & Fibre, £2.49 per 750g, 81/100
Essential Waitrose & Partners Fruit & Fibre Wheat Flakes, £1.90 per 750g, 78/100
Score: 81/100
Granola may feel like a healthy choice, but they can be loaded with hidden sugars. That’s not the case with our winning bowl, which is sweetened with nutrient-rich coconut nectar blossom. The nutty golden clusters are made up of buckwheat and puffed rice, with almonds, pumpkin and sunflower seeds for maximum crunch.
Runner-up original granola
GAIL's Bakery Granola, £7 per 500g, 80/100
Biona Organic Pure Oaty Granola, £4.09 per 375g, 79/100
Score: 75/100
Here at the GHI, we’re always on the lookout for supermarket own-brands that taste better than the original. However, after trying 11 different corn flakes, it was the Kellogg’s classic golden flakes that was a hit with our panel.
They loved the subtly sweet, nutty flavour and crisp bite. Although naturally low in fat, you could try adding a piece of fruit to increase your fibre intake.
Runner-up corn flakes
Whole Earth Organic Corn Flakes, £1.59 per 375g, 72/100
Sainsbury's Cornflakes Cereal, £1 per 500g, 71/100
Score: 82/100
Dusted with sugar or topped with fruit, there are numerous ways to eat weetabix, but our testers reckon you should forgo the original bisks for this cost-saving alternative. Even with plenty of milk, they didn’t go soggy immediately, and had a pleasant savoury taste. They are also 100% wholegrain, low in sugar, fat and salt.
Runner-up weetabix alternative
ASDA Wheat Bisks Cereal, £2.12 for 48 pack, 75/100
Essential Waitrose & Partners Wholewheat Biscuits, £1.80 for 24 pack, 72/100
Score: 84/100
Conveniently portioned into individual packets, this thick, rich porridge offers a warming start to the day. It’s well-balanced, with a subtle sweetness that doesn’t overpower the natural-tasting, nutty oats. Creamy and decadent, according to our testers, this is exactly how porridge should be.
Runner-up golden syrup-flavoured porridge pots and sachets
M&S Golden Syrup Porridge Sachets, £2.75 for 10x36g packets, 78/100
Waitrose LoveLife Golden Syrup Flavour Porridge, 60p per 70g, 77/100
Overall score: 78/100
Beating the branded version, these low-fat, fortified golden flakes had an appetising crisp texture and toasted honey flavour that proved a hit with our panel. And they’ll save you a few quid, too.
Runner-up special k style cereal
Kellogg’s Special K, £3.50 per 750g, 77/100
Sainsbury's Balance Cereal, £1.25 per 500g, 76/100
Overall score: 82/100
Sprinkled with colourful chunks of fig and apple, this nutritionally dense combination of linseed, quinoa, oats and nuts is fortified with vitamin B2 and selenium (helpful in keeping hair and nails looking their best!). Our panel thought it tasted great too, enjoying the tangy sultanas, delicate fig and nutty finish.
Runner-up fruit & nut muesli
Waitrose Essential Fruit & Nut Muesli, £2.50 per 1kg, 80/100
Aldi Harvest Morn Luxury Fruit & Nut Muesli, £1.69 per 750g, 79/100
Overall score: 75/100
Aldi’s own-brand take on Shreddies was a hit with our panel, thanks to its rich, malty flavour. Super crunchy, with a slightly smoky note, this bumper pack will feed the whole family, and is ideal if you’re on a budget.
Runner-up malted wheat cereal
Nestle Shreddies, £1.40 per 415g, 72/100
Lidl Malt Wheaties, 69p per 625g, 70/100
Overall score: 79/100
Nestle can wave cheerio to its impersonators, as our panel put their hoops above the supermarket own-brand versions. This savoury wholegrain cereal was a nice mixture of golden brown colours and had a tasty popcorn-like quality.
Runner-up wholegrain hoops
Asda Multigrain Hoops, 89p per 375g, 78/100
Sainsbury’s by Sainsbury's Multigrain Hooplas, £1 per 375g, 75/100
Lidl Multigrain Rings, 85p per 375g, 75/100
Score: 87/100
Some mornings require a little extra decadence to get you up and at ‘em and this rich, crunchy granola offers just that, with a combination of toasted oat clusters, delicate coconut, and tangy passion fruit puree. This tropical fruitiness lasts throughout the bowl, (even after we added milk) and crunchy coated pistachios add bursts of nuttiness. We’ll be saving this as an indulgent weekend treat.
Runner-up indulgent treat cereal
Jordans Deluxe Dark Chocolate & Strawberry Granola £3.99 per 550g, 86/100
Waitrose & Partners No.1 Salted Caramel & Ginger Granola £4 per 500g, 80/100
Stacey looks after all food and drink reviews — from coffee pods and veg boxes, to natural wine and tequila. Stacey is also founder of Crummbs, where she’s written nearly 2,000 restaurant and hotel reviews since 2013. Prior to this, Stacey wrote hundreds of in-depth buying guides for the Independent, i newspaper and BBC Good Food, as well as reviewing restaurants and interviewing celebrities in her column at Balance Magazine. Stacey has also appeared in BAFTA-nominated BBC documentary Blood, Sweat & Takeaways, where she investigated South East Asia's food production industry, appearing on both Newsnight and BBC World Service to share her findings. Regularly checking out the latest restaurants, bars and product launches, Stacey also loves experimenting with recipes at home, and is a WSET-certified wine and spirits expert, with over 10 years of experience in the business. You can follow Stacey on Instagram @crummbs_uk
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