Breakfast cereals might seem like a quick and easy way to start the day, but some of them are basically candy in disguise. Packed with sugar, artificial flavors, and barely any nutritional value, these cereals are more of a dessert than a balanced breakfast.
While they may taste amazing, they won’t be doing you any favors in the health department. Here are the 15 most unhealthy breakfast cereals, ranked from bad to worst.
15. Apple Jacks
Apple Jacks might have “apple” in the name, but don’t let that fool you—there’s almost nothing fruit-related in this cereal. With loads of sugar and artificial flavors, it’s basically a crunchy sugar bomb with a hint of cinnamon.
14. Lucky Charms
Magically delicious? Sure. But Lucky Charms is loaded with sugar, and those colorful marshmallows are basically little cubes of pure corn syrup.
13. Froot Loops
Bright, fruity, and totally artificial, Froot Loops pack more sugar than some desserts. Despite the name, there’s no real fruit involved—just a whole lot of artificial colors and flavors.
12. Reese’s Puffs
If you want an excuse to eat candy for breakfast, Reese’s Puffs are the way to go. With peanut butter and chocolate flavors, they taste amazing but are absolutely packed with sugar and processed ingredients.
11. Cocoa Pebbles
Cocoa Pebbles turn your milk into chocolate, which is fun, but they’re also loaded with sugar and artificial flavors. They disappear quickly in milk, leaving behind a sugary mess that’s hard to justify as a real breakfast.
10. Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Cinnamon Toast Crunch is one of the most beloved cereals, but it’s also one of the sugariest. Each piece is coated in a thick layer of cinnamon sugar, making it more like a dessert than a morning meal.
9. Trix
Silly rabbit, Trix are basically just colorful sugar spheres. There’s no fiber, hardly any protein, and enough artificial dyes to make you wonder if you’re eating a box of crayons.
8. Honey Smacks
Believe it or not, Honey Smacks has one of the highest sugar contents of any cereal. A bowl of this stuff is basically just eating spoonfuls of honey-coated puffed wheat.
7. Cap’n Crunch
The Cap’n may be a legend, but his cereal is a sugar-packed menace that also destroys the roof of your mouth. There’s barely any fiber or protein to balance out the sugar rush, making it a nutritional disaster.
6. Cap’n Crunch’s Oops! All Berries
Regular Cap’n Crunch is bad enough, but Oops! All Berries takes it to another level. It’s nothing but artificially flavored, sugar-loaded berry pieces that don’t even pretend to be good for you.
5. Frosted Flakes
They’re great… for giving you a sugar spike first thing in the morning. There’s almost no fiber, and with the amount of sugar coating each flake, you might as well be eating a bowl of frosted cookies.
4. Cookie Crisp
Cookies for breakfast? Sounds like a dream, but it’s also a terrible idea nutritionally. This cereal is basically tiny chocolate chip cookies in a bowl, loaded with sugar and processed ingredients.
3. Froot Loops with Marshmallows
If regular Froot Loops weren’t unhealthy enough, the marshmallow version takes things to another level. It’s a double dose of artificial colors, flavors, and sugar that’s basically dessert in a bowl.
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2. Cocoa Krispies
Like Cocoa Pebbles, Cocoa Krispies soak your milk in chocolate, but they also come with an insane amount of sugar. It’s basically a bowl of crunchy chocolate syrup disguised as a breakfast food.
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1. Golden Crisp
Golden Crisp has an absurd amount of sugar—so much that it makes candy bars look reasonable by comparison. With almost no fiber or protein to balance it out, it’s hands down one of the least nutritious cereals you can start your day with.
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