When you think “homemade cereal” you might think tedious, time consuming, or labor intensive. Um, hi. Would I be sharing this recipe if it were any of those things? Ok then.
You mix up the ingredients, you dump it into a pan, you bake it, and you eat it. I’ve already taken it upon myself to double the recipe from what it originally was, because why make a little when we can make enough for two or three meals or snacks? You can make this with wheat flour or gluten free flour – whichever you need.
Huge thanks to my friends Katie and Kim for sharing this amazing recipe idea with me!!
I have no idea what the actual boxed variety looks like or tastes like. Don’t know, don’t care. You know why? This homemade version of Cracklin’ Oat Bran is amazing. I’m quite sure making it homemade saves me a nice chunk of change and I know the homemade version is healthier.
Cracklin’ Oat Bran Cereal Recipe
- 4½ cups rolled oats (ground in the blender to become flour*)
- 1 cup whole grain flour (I used freshly ground wheat, but you can use rice, sorgham, or another gf option if you like.)
- ½ cup arrowroot powder
- 2 cups unsweetened finely shredded coconut
- 3-5 teaspoons cinnamon (the cinnamon is what makes this really yummy!)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ½ cup sugar of choice (sucanat, coconut palm sugar, or brown sugar)
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ⅓ cup melted coconut oil
- 4 egg whites, whisked to frothy**
- Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Add all wet ingredients to the dry ingredients at the same time, mixing until combined. Mixture will resemble large crumbs.
- Crumble the mixture onto two baking sheets or Pyrex casserole dishes.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-40 minutes, stirring and breaking up large chunks every 10 minutes. (Baking time varies as every oven is different.)
- Once cereal is golden brown, turn off oven but leave the cereal in the oven to crisp up.
Here’s what the mixture looks like in “crumb form” before being baked. I found it easiest to break up the mixture with my fingers before putting it into the oven. Then, as it’s baking, I use a wooden spoon to break it up more so it becomes bite-sized cereal pieces. :)
* It’s very easy to make Oat Flour in your blender. Simply put the 4 1/2 cups of oats in your blender and whirl until the oats become fine. You can read more details about this here. Be sure to use gluten free oats if you need this cereal to be GF!
** I often have egg whites hanging out in my fridge after I make Tapioca Pudding, so this is a perfect way to use them! Otherwise, separate your eggs for this recipe and save the yolks for scrambled eggs. To “whisk to frothy” I simply put the egg whites in a bowl and whip them with a fork for a couple minutes. Easy as that!
Want other Homemade Cereal ideas?
- Instant Oatmeal Packets
- Granola
- Granola ~ 5-Minute Stop-Top Version
- Grape Nuts Cereal
- Dark Chocolate Almond Granola
- Homemade Peanut Butter Captain Crunch
So far this recipe has been a huge hit with our family! I hope to keep at least one variety of homemade cereal on hand during the school year so I can fall back on it as a breakfast option on busy mornings.
Have you tried any other homemade cereal recipes I should look at?