We see your TikTok pancake cereal, we even see your pancake spaghetti, but we’re here to share a new breakfast crossover we can really get behind: cereal pancakes.
Yep, ICYMI, your favorite childhood cereals now come in pancake mixes.
That means you can enjoy the nostalgic flavors of your childhood (even Dunkaroos!) in a more adult fashion: in the form of a steamy stack of fluffy pancakes topped with rich icing and crispy bites of cereal. YUM.
This cereal-pancake story started when I saw a Lucky Charms pancake mix on the shelves at Target and thought, “where has this been all my life?” In fact, it was about time cereal and pancakes made a crossover as they both fall into the top tier of sweet and starchy breakfast foods.
With a little more research I came to find that Lucky Charms is only one of the many cereals partnering with brands like Betty Crocker to bring you easy-to-make pancake mixes full of cereal-flavor. They all go from bowl to skillet in minutes, taking only a bit longer to prep than it takes to pour a bowl of cereal.
These kid-friendly mixes are just-add-water or milk, although we opted for milk to achieve the cereal-and-milk dynamic whenever possible.
So which cereals make the best pancake flavors? We tried them all to find out.
The Best Cereal Pancake Mixes, Ranked
5. Cap’n Crunch’s Berrytastic Pancake Mix
Surprisingly, the sweetened corn cereal with berry bits didn’t make for the most memorable pancake mix. Even with colorful berry speckles throughout, we found the buttermilk pancakes to be a little lackluster, with not too much berry flavor or sweetness. Plus, the structure was somewhat flat and flimsy.
The just-add-water pancake mix didn’t come with a frosting or cereal topping, however, adding the Cap’n Crunch Ocean Blue Syrup (yep, blue syrup—sold separately) will add some serious eye appeal and flavor to the stack. Finish them off with Berrytastic cereal for extra color and crunch.
4. Dunkaroos Complete Pancake Kit
Sure, Dunkaroos started as a delicious cookie-and-frosting snack, but they have since evolved into a cereal and now cereal pancakes! And we’re so glad they did. While the plain pancakes tasted like a very basic box mix, the decadent sprinkle frosting brought in the full Dunkaroos flavor (which isn’t a huge surprise as the frosting is the most iconic part of the snack).
Between the sweet batter and the sweet frosting, these things were, well, sweet. The frosting is just as thick as cake frosting, so it’s not easily squeezed out of the package, but can be easily spread over top. Garnished with nonpareils, these colorful confetti pancakes felt just as fun as eating vanilla cupcakes for breakfast.
3. Lucky Charms Pancake Kit
Somehow, Betty Crocker captured that deeply nostalgic flavor of the marshmallow charms in pancake form, and we’re all about it. The stack was super fluffy and the crunch of colorful charms on top took us right back to childhood.
The pancakes themselves were light, airy, and not too sweet, and they’d stack up nicely to your favorite pancake mix. The kit includes a cereal topping but no frosting, so we topped them with syrup as well to keep the stack moist. These “magically delicious” pancakes made it feel like eating Lucky Charms in adulthood wasn’t so wrong anymore.
2. Cinnamon Toast Crunch Pancake Kit
As it turns out, the fan-favorite cereal is delicious in pancake form too, delivering seriously impressive flavor and height. These cakes were extra warm and comforting with a cinnamon-sugar “Cinnadust” flavor swirled throughout. Of course, the highlight was the crunchy cereal on top, adding the irresistibly crisp texture you love from a bowl of CTC.
The kit didn’t come with any frosting, but adding maple syrup or whipped cream on top would make these pancakes extra decadent. We also would’ve loved some cinnamon chips inside for an extra pop of flavor and texture, but ultimately, this breakfast didn’t disappoint.
1. Fruity Pebbles Epic Pancake Kit
We’ve gotta say, we never expected the Fruity Pebbles option to secure the top spot, but, these fun-filled pancakes were far and away the champions. This mix from Mrs. Buttersworth lived up to its “Epic” name with unbeatable flavor and fluff.
The flecks of cereal created a confetti-cake look and added pops of fruit flavor without feeling overly fruit-forward. Drizzled with a sweet buttercream frosting and sprinkled with crispy cereal (both included), these colorful cakes would beat out a regular ol’ pancake mix any day. In fact, we can’t imagine a better birthday breakfast.
All-in-all, the most exciting addition to all of these pancakes was the cereal on top, so if you don’t want to try out a whole new mix, I’d suggest whipping up your favorite mix and topping the stack with syrup and a generous sprinkle of cereal.
