Can you make cereal at home? Yes! This Homemade Toasted Oat Cereal Recipe will remind you of those O’s you loved as a child. This conversation is sponsored by General Mills
Can you make Cheerios at home?
At the end of this post I alluded to making toasted oat cereal like Cheerios at home. Can it be done? Why, yes it can!
Are Cheerios real food?
This question dates back to my trip to General Mills when we had a discussion about real food. My definition is:
In this post I flush out that definition even farther and say that I consider something to be real food if you could make it yourself if you had the time, energy and/or simple equipment.
Homemade Toasted Oat Cereal Recipe
So that’s exactly what I did. With a little guidance from the General Mills test kitchens, we developed this recipe for a toasted oat cereal like Cheerios.
The final result turned out great, but let me tell you that this is not a quick or easy recipe : )
I started with good old rolled oats, since they are the base of the store version of Cheerios.
And I gave them a quick blend in my food processor
Just enough of a whirl to turn them into a flour – about 5 minutes of spin time.
In the meantime I mixed together the remaining ingredients for the dough: salt, brown sugar, corn starch, all-purpose flour, and baking powder.
That then got tossed in with the oat flour
And I added water until a nice dough came together – about 3 tablespoons.
I then kneaded the dough and formed it into a circle
And cut it into eight sections. At this point I wanted to pop this in the oven and make scones, but I had to persevere!
I draped a wet paper towel over the dough to keep it moist while I rolled out and cut the O’s.
I formed each section into a snake.
The dough to stay together the best if I pinched it out instead of rolled.
Once my snake was about 12 inches long, I started to chop little O’s off the end.
I had to taste the dough here too, and boy it was yummy!!!
Sweet and doughy, of course.
Can you guess how I formed each O? A skewer!
Here they are hanging out before baking.
It took me about 4-5 minutes per section times 7 sections, so this was quite the time-intensive process.
But it was also very soothing.
I took the eighth segment and rolled it into a giant O!!
Then it was time for baking in a 300* oven for about 30 minutes, shaking every 5 to ensure even browning.
I baked them a pretty long time so they were very, very crunchy.
Perfect for adult chompers, but not so great for a finger-food eating baby perhaps.
They turned out wonderful!!! Slightly sweet, very crunchy, oat-y cereal!
As for that jumbo…I kept her in the oven a little bit longer to accommodate for her size.
And once she was done I iced her in a coconut butter + pumpkin spice frosting and ate her on the spot!
Tips + Tricks For Making Homemade Cheerios
- The homemade toasted oats recipe is best served immediately, but you can store them in an airtight container for a few days
- Customize your flavors with spices like cinnamon or pumpkin spice.
- Make chocolate, maple, or caramel flavored by adding a little cocoa, maple syrup, or caramel chips (melted) to the dough.
- Make it a bowl by mixing in dried fruit like raisins or chopped apricots, toasted coconut flakes, fresh fruit, or seeds like sunflower or chia seeds.
More Homemade Oat Recipes
- This Crunchy Buckwheat Granola is reminiscent of a cluster cereal!
- These Super Oatmeal Cookies are great if you’re looking for a superfood and oat-based cookie for breakfast
Homemade Toasted Oat Cereal
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
- 3 tablespoons corn starch
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Heat oven to 300*F.
- In a food processor or blender, add oats and process into fine flour.
- Add corn starch, flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Process until well blended and mixture is very smooth.
- In a medium bowl, add water one teaspoon at a time using just enough water until dough forms (about 3 tablespoons total).
- Knead dough a few times and form into a circle.
- Cut dough into 8 equal sections, and cover with a wet paper towel to keep dough from drying out while you work.
- On a lightly floured surface, working with one section at a time pinch out into a long, thin, round snake, about a foot long.
- Using a sharp knife, cut into thin slices, about 1/4-inch thick.
- Use a skewer, make a hole in the center of the dough piece and reshape into a circle.
- Place in a single layer on ungreased baking pan and bake 25 to 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or until dry and lightly browned.
- Cool completely, about 20 to 30 minutes.
- Store at room temperature in an air-tight container.
Our Recipe
While the recipe for commercial Cheerios is confidential and contains a few extra ingredients, mostly to keep the Cheerios dough at an optimal pH and to preserve the cereal, I consider this to be a very close replica.
This experiment was so much fun!
But let’s be real – I certainly don’t have the time to make all of my cereal from scratch.
It took me about 2 hours to make just a cup of O’s.
I found myself thinking: “There should be a machine invented to do this for me!” (And I’m sure that’s how the first Cheerios came about…: ) )
But it answers my question that if I had all the time in the world I certainly could make O’s like Cheerios at home.
This conversation was sponsored by General Mills
emily says
They came out looking so good! I feel like the base recipe could be nice as little crackers. It’d be less labor intensive but you’d get that oaty flavor. Or with parmesan and pepper like oaty cheezits?
Matt says
Great idea! Though if you wanted savory you’d definitely want to remove the sugar – it was enough sugar that it tasted definitively like a sweet food and not savory.
If you have a pasta roller attachment for a mixer, this is the best way to make awesome crackers.
emily says
Thanks for the tip, Matt! I just might try this.
Katie says
Emily, I think you are a genius.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
This is so awesome! 😀
Kaila @healthyhelperblog! says
THIS IS SO COOL! Cheerios are made in Buffalo so I am always graced with the smell each morning, but now I can make my own!? CANNOT WAIT!
R S says
I think your earlier post had some oat seeds from General Mills. How are those doing? Did your oats come from those plants? Would love to see how you get rolled oats from the seed/plant!
KathEats says
There are oat seeds!
Jess says
Sorry, could you clarify what you mean by that? I would also love to know how to make rolled oats from oat seeds. The more things we can make in our own kitchens the better, right?
KathEats says
Sorry, the seeds of the oat plant have appeared. You can see an example here: http://www.heirloom-organics.com/guide/va/guidetogrowingoats.html. Technically you could take these, dry them out and then steam them and roll them to make old fashioned oats. I’m not planning to do this, but it was fun to see oats growing in my home.
Beth says
Lots of industrious homesteaders have their own oat rollers. Google them. Slow food is art, and that takes time sometimes, but always worth it. Could these also be made with another flour that all-purpose wheat, since lots of people need gluten free, and I have an organic version that is, but id like to have a make my own oat cereal, even in little cut squares, would be great!
Patty says
You could just skip the “putting a hole into it” and the time investment should dwindle.
Katie @ Talk Less, Say More says
You go girl for having the patience for that! I enjoy cooking but there are times when I think it’d just be too much. I bet you could just make little balls by not poking them with a stick and it’d be a bit easier …
Ashley @ Saving Money in your Twenties says
that is so cool- I would have NEVER thought of making my own cereal!
Amanda says
I love the big one! It looks like a healthy doughnut =). I’ll definitely be trying this sometime soon!
Farah says
This is great Kath – awesome post 🙂
Simple Green Moms says
This is a fantastic post!… Do you think they would be just as tasty rolled into little balls almost like Kix cereal to save some time?
KathEats says
Yeah!
Chelsea @ Designs on Dinner says
That’s pretty awesome that it’s even possible to make your own “Cheerio’s.” Cheers to real food!
Ali says
Do they have all of the same ingredients as cheerios? Oat flour is a great base for lots of baking.
KathEats says
Cheerios has a few more – Vitamin E, tripotassium phosphate (a salt) and wheat starch. But these are still pretty basic ingredients.
Cereal Love says
Awesome. I’m going to make these with wheat starch, not corn. 🙂
SD says
Wow you have patience!
I think you did a great job working with GM to replicate a toasted oat cereal, but it would be beneficial for you to address that those are NOT the ingredients that GM uses to create their version. While you’ve successfully made a toasted oat cereal, you did not make Cheerios thus proving your own point that real food is “minimally processed and maintaining it’s natural integrity”. Cheerios have massive processing to the point where there is no longer integrity to the ingredients. Any one can make any processed food a “real food” by stripping away 2/3 of the ingredients but that does NOT make it real food.
KathEats says
I did address this in my post:
Kate says
The homemade oat cereal project sounds fun, but I think it’s kind of disengenous to say that because you made a version at home, then the factory-produced version qualifies as “real food.” The fact is, the process of making the Cheerios you but at the store involves heavily processing those basic ingredients you used at home. I don’t believe that all processed foods are inherently evil, but I think we have to call a spade a spade in this instance.
KathEats says
You’re making it sound like they send the oats through a fun house before they are made into dough. Just because a food is made in large quantities doesn’t mean it’s “heavily processed.” Now I haven’t actually been IN the plants, but I don’t think just because they are make in one means that all nutrition is lost.
Kate says
They kind of are, though, by the time the oats are treated with TSP and sent through their puffing process. I can go over to the hardware store and pick up dome TSP (aka wallpaper stripper), but there is no way I could safely incorporate it into a recipe in my own kitchen.
As I said above, I don’t believe all processed foods are inherently evil, nor do I believe that Cheerios have lost all nutritive value. But if we’re talking “Real Food” here, then Cheerios ain’t it!
Margo says
Another long time reader who doesn’t really get this post…also, I think it’s worth mentioning that General Mills (and cheerios specifically) were involved in a pretty big public backlash recently about the usage and labeling of GMOs in their products. Kath, I can’t help but think that this very large company is taking advantage of your reputation as someone who appreciates “real food” to try and win back some public opinion!
Carolyn says
I love your blog, Kath! I’ve been a reader for a loooong time and have learned so much, including from this post! But I have to agree with Kate here. I’m not really sure what the point is of making a close replica of Cheerios at home, if not to prove that actual Cheerios are real food. I could make a ‘real food’ version of an Egg McMuffin at home, but that doesn’t prove that Egg McMuffins are real food, right?
Maybe you just wanted to have fun making a recipe. If that’s the case, it looks like you enjoyed the challenge and were happy with the results. And that’s great!
Karen says
Hi agree with Carolyn. I make plenty of real cakes and pastries at home but I doubt they’d fall under “real food”. I also think it’s funny the 1 cup of cheerios your recipe made is actually higher in calories than 1 cup of commercial cheerios! Maybe because they puff theirs?
CaitlinHTP says
This is too cool!!! Love the giant O. 🙂
Tonya says
cool experiment 🙂
meredith @ The Cookie ChRUNicles says
I love this! So cute.
Kavi says
What a fun “real food” experiment! Thanks for sharing your results with us… sure makes me feel better about eating things like Cheerios!
Layla says
Kavi, unfortunately actual Cheerios have more ingredients than what Kath used, such as Guar Gum, Color, BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene – chemical preservative), and “natural flavour”. It’s totally fun that Kath made this Cheerios recipe at home, but it doesn’t prove that factory-made Cheerios are “real food” and free from unnatural ingredients.
KathEats says
Actually that’s not true – go look at the most recent Cheerios label. (Also, I’m excluding anything flavored – we’re talking just plain Cheerios here.)
Layla says
Thanks, Kath, I’ll have to check it out. I think it would have been helpful to address the differences between you making it at home and GM making Cheerios in the factory.
Your readers are generally interested in and prioritize whole foods and good nutrition, so it’s pretty natural for us to be skeptical of an endorsement of a factory cereal. In my own life, I allow for some processed foods to sneak in and have flexibility in my diet, but I think it’s important to admit it as such and don’t try to pass everything off as “real foods”. While I do think Cheerios are likely a better option than many other cereals on the market (especially when comparing sugar content!), it seems very off message to be promoting such a product without a post that demonstrates the critical thinking and analysis you did in order to reach your current opinion on Cheerios.
Jeri says
No you have me wondering how to make Apple Cinnamon and also honey nut version. LOL!
Katie @ Peace Love & Oats says
oh my gosh, that is so cool! When I saw the first photo I was a little skeptical, but that looks so easy and fun to make!
CM says
I found this post super interesting! However, I’m having trouble understanding the logic for how this recipe (which is obviously different from the secret Cheerios recipe) qualifies Cheerios as “real food.” I totally get that what you made in your kitchen is real food, but since you didn’t make the actual Cheerios recipe, how does that compute to make processed Cheerios into real food? It actually kind of seems to be doing the opposite, from my perspective – but I can’t imagine that’s what your sponsor would want us to take away! Not trying to be rude, I just really love cereal and am trying to understand!
KathEats says
The purpose was to demonstrate that Cheerios is made with simple ingredients like whole grain oats, corn starch, sugar, salt, etc…. just like the at-home recipe. As I mentioned in the post, the differences between them are a few ingredients that would maintain quality and prolong shelf life (necessary for the demand of Americans but not in a home kitchen) and the puffing process that Cheerios go through to give them their unique texture (something I couldn’t do at home).
Like I said in the post, based on what I know about how Cheerios are made, the two recipes are very similar. Sure, eating oats straight from your garden would be less processed, but ready-to-eat cereals were invented because of their convenience. I don’t think Cheerios are the ultimate real food, but if you’re going to eat cereal, I think they’re one of the best (the best?) option out there. I was originally more skeptical, but working with General Mills and especially doing this experiment only strengthened my opinion of this.
CM says
Thanks for the thorough reply! That definitely helps with my understanding.
Elise says
So are you saying your perspective on “real food” in terms of cereal has changed? I remember back to some old posts (when I first started reading a few years ago I read through a lot of your archives!) when you (mostly) featured cereals from Whole Foods like Uncle Sam or Kashi brand. I’m curious why your perspective has changed through the years, other than the fact that you are receiving compensation from General Mills.
I know our food preferences and even brand preferences can be cyclical. I know I definitely experience this and do not buy the exact same foods as I did three years ago. So I’m wondering why you’ve chosen to embrace Cheerios as “real food,” which seems to be a shift in your perspective from the beginning of your blog. It was certainly a long time ago, so change is to be expected!
KathEats says
If you can point me to a post I’ll go re-read what I wrote, but I don’t think anything has really changed. I’ve always been focused on cereals with simple ingredient lists, and Kashi and Uncle Sam fall in the same boat at Cheerios do. Before having kids I preferred cereals in the crunchy/granola style, but now that I keep Cheerios on hand for M, I have some too. I’ve been very clear with General Mills that I wouldn’t use/buy all the cereals they make, and some are better than others (plain Cheerios + + Chex + Wheaties > Lucky Charms and Cookie Crisp). Their response? They have something for everyone, and I can respect that.
KathEats says
I did some searching and found some old posts where I mention Cheerios:
Recommendations for eating well while traveling
Great as a healthy trail mix base during my internship
Cereal for breakfast at my sister’s house
Cereal medley
A post called Cheerio! “a good option being low sugar and with some fiber to ‘em.”
So I’m just sayin’ I’ve been eating them for the past 7 years : )
And it was fun to look at all those old posts!
Elise says
Thanks for the responses. Have you thought about doing a post that would give your readers an update on your definition of “real food?” I’d love to hear what you consider when choosing foods to buy and eat, and when you make exceptions (like eating a dessert on a special occasion!). It seems this definition is always evolving, so an update would be really nice.
KathEats says
I did a 3 post series not too long ago 🙂
https://www.katheats.com/what-is-real-food
Kelly says
Yum-O! This is something my 5 year old would like to make with me!
Vanessa says
Well that’s pretty amazing! I love snacking on dry cheerios so I’m excited to try this! Thanks!
Serena says
Think I’m just crazy enough to try this with my kids too! Fun project!
Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl says
I would never in my wildest dreams thing to make homemade cereal, but I am loving this!
Kat says
This is really cool! Thanks! I’m definitely a proponent of real food as well and it’s so important to actually think about how foods are made versus labeling it all as “processed” aka “BAD”. Is it nutritious to only eat cheerios every morning? NO because we would be missing out on important nutrients. Is it unhealthy to eat cheerios? Also, NO.
Now pogo’s and twinkies…that’s another story 🙂
Thank you so much for your perspective on this, Kath.
KathEats says
Totally agree : )
Alex @ True Femme says
How cool! I wouldn’t have ever thought you could make homemade “cheerios”! I’m not likely to try this on my own but it’s still fun to know it could be done if you wanted to!
Rachel says
Really interesting post. I agree that regular Cheerios are definitely a great option if you are going to eat cereal as far as being less processed and having less sugar than most. I’m curious as to how you feel about foods that use GMOs. Are they something you typically to stay away from?
KathEats says
I would prefer that no foods use them because they are tampering with nature, but they are also not something that I freak out over. I think there are scarier things in our food systems to avoid.
Rachel says
Thanks for your insight! After watching the preview for Fed Up (that food documentary) this morning, it makes you want to take a second look at what is in the foods you buy. Glad to have some guidance on what “processed” foods aren’t bad for you.
Emma says
Oh! I thought from your earlier post that the point of planting your oat plants was to make “cheerios” from *those* oats to show that you could do the process at home. COnfusing!
Shana says
I can’t believe how controversial this post became! I think I’ll stay away from “real food” debate but I did want to say I thought it was cool that you tried to recreate a packaged item from scratch. Convenience usually wins in the cereal arena, but it is fun to see what can be recreated at home. The homemade version seems to require much more sugar though, which kind of bummed me out. But then I perked up when I saw that giant cheerio! I think I want to make a batch of those-how did it taste?!?
KathEats says
Good!! Kind of crunchy, kind of chewy
Babs says
The texture sounds so interesting! What was the taste like?
KathEats says
Like sweet toasted oats. Super crunchy!
Sagan says
Oh this is so cool! I love experimenting in the kitchen enough that I’ve made my own butter before, but hadn’t thought about a toasted O-style cereal. Thanks for sharing the recipe! Could be a fun kitchen activity on a very cold winter day 🙂
Kori says
I’d like to say that you are amazing, you handle a debate very well, you tackled this project and did a wonderful job, and it looks very fun and delicious! My boyfriend and I can both remember eating Cheerios out of our orange tupperware containers when we were little, and it was a great snack. 🙂
Holley @ lungesandlashes.com says
This post was so cool! I never thought to make my own home made cereal… but that is so fun! I feel like kids would love doing this as a fun activity and then you get to eat it at the end, double win! Beautiful blog!
Sheilagh says
I have no issues with Cheerios, but did find both this post & tge oat growing one kind of pointless. I have no desire to spend an hour cooking only to end up with a handful of Cheerios. Personally, I would have preferred to have read a recipe I can recreate for my family (this one is not practical) or a guest rd post where I can learn something. Obviously many readers enjoyed this, but personally I would much rather read one of your delicious recipes kath.
Ronee Jordan says
I personally quadrupled the recipe. I also just rolled out the entire batch and cut them in thin rows then used my pastry knife to cut tiny bites. No holes. It’s about adapting and overcoming the hurdles. Everyone’s hurdles are different.
Stacey says
I really enjoyed this post! I read it quickly early yesterday morning after you posted it and came back last night to reread it more carefully and was surprised that it generated so much conversation in the comments. I find the oat growing and making the homemade cereal all super interesting!
Sarah says
This reminds me of my (one time only!) attempt at making my own goldfish crackers. I really love your “definition” of real food, love the whole Eat Real Food series. Thanks for being such a down to Earth part of the real food community!
Stef says
I love this post! I had wondered if this could be done at home! Now I see that it can. Neat! It’s always worth trying something like this one time even though I totally agree that this is not something I would do all of the time.
Vale Berrones says
Can i use Honey instead of sugar ??
Honey says
I removed the wheat and used my own substitute flour blend (white/brown/sweet rice flouts, millet flour, sorghum flour) because I’m making this for a gluten free diet, and also added 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon.
It turned out perfect and delicious, however, because my gluten free husband has temporary dental issues, I needed to run the finished product through the blender, and then again through the spice grinder. The result is a WONDERFUL fine textured meal and I intend to use it as a gluten free graham cracker crumb, for a pie crust. Also, a note about Cherios, someone pointed out that they now contain sodium triphosphate, a powerful cleaning agent that is linked to MANY serious health problems. We never buy commercial cereals, but I grew up with them as a kid and can see the unhealthy condition of Americans every time we go to the store and see the other shoppers. It is criminal what they’ve done to our foods.
CJ says
WOW WOW I CAME ACROSS YOUR WEBSITE SEARCHING FOR HOMEMADE CEREALS YOU ARE A GENIOUS- MY GOODNESS THE PATIENCE TO MAKE THOSE CHERRIOS BRAVO! I AM GOING TO TRY THEM BY CUTTING IN SQUARES OR MAKING THEM MINI DOUGHNUTS – THANKYOU!
Christy says
Great idea! Cheerios heated in butter are a family tradition for me, my kids and my grand children . I have heard so many bad things about what’s in Cheerios lately and I can’t seem to find a substitute. There’s other cereals, but they have more sugar etc. Between the gmo corn, glyphosate (from roundup) and now today I read that while USA doesn’t allow chlormequat to be used, we allow the import of grains from other countries that do. Chlormequat was found in 80% of people tested in 3 different regions of USA and it is linked to reproductive and developmental issues. I will make my own using this as a base from now on! Thank you for giving me my comfort food back 🙂 I had some home ground oat flour that I used instead of rolled oats and I used tapioca starch instead of cornstarch. I also wanted them a little closer to the sweetness of Cheerios so I only put 2 teaspoons of sugar in and I think I may only put a teaspoon next time I make them. Thanks again!
Ronee Jordan says
This recipe is absolutely wonderful. Here we are in 2024. Being 57, I have seen America’s food go from convenient to deadly. If we personally don’t know the source of our food or our ingredients, they can simply no longer be trusted. Cooking these the full time until crispy yielded a product that could hold up to being served in a bowl with milk. My 4 year old loves them dry as a snack! Thank you for sharing this recipe.