I Tried 9 Special K Cereal Flavors And Ranked Them

When you need to grab a quick breakfast, cereal is one of your best options. It requires no cooking, and it can be enjoyed with various toppings, including fruit, honey, nuts, yogurt, and more. Some cereals even have some of these flavors already built in, so you can just add milk for the easiest possible start to your day. If you're looking for a crunchy option that comes in tons of different flavors, look no further than Special K. This crispy cereal is made with several different grains to form the brand's recognizable flakes. Many varieties are sweetened with fruit, yogurt, and spices.

I've taste-tested my way through nine different Special K cereal flavors and ranked them, starting with what I consider to be the worst flavor and moving down to the best. The criteria I used include the flavor of the cereal itself, the flavor of any included add-ins, and the texture of the product. Even if your personal rankings differ from mine, these descriptions can hopefully help you decide which Special K flavor you want to try next.

Special K Bananas and Crème with Yogurty Oat Clusters contains banana chips, which may seem like a nice addition to a cereal. After all, putting fresh bananas on cereal tastes good, so why wouldn't the dried version of the same thing be just as delicious? But this banana-flavored cereal tastes way, way too banana-y. The problem is that it seems like that strong banana flavor isn't just coming from the dried bananas themselves but also additional banana flavoring, which gives the cereal an artificial flavor. Even just opening the bag, you'll be met with a surprisingly strong aroma of pure, unadulterated banana-ness — in the worst way.

Admittedly, the yogurty oat clusters are a nice touch. They do offer a hint of creaminess, and the oat clusters add an extra level of crunchiness. Still, though, this cereal was easily my least favorite of the whole Special K lineup.

This cereal, just like the banana crème one I covered above, starts with a solid premise: What if you add dried fruit to a bowl of cereal? I actually love fresh strawberries in my cereal, so I thought this would automatically be a delicious product. Unfortunately, though, I was disappointed after a single bite. The Red Berries Special K also tasted kind of artificial, with a strong berry flavor that radiated beyond the dried sliced strawberries. Rather, that red berry essence seemed to permeate through the whole box of cereal, creating a nauseating fruity flavor that tasted nothing like fresh strawberry-topped cereal.

That being said, I did like that the strawberries had a sort of tanginess to them, which balanced the sweet cereal flakes nicely, and the overall effect is a step up from the worst-ranked cereal on this list. Unfortunately, that's not enough to convince me to ever eat a bowl of this stuff again. There are many better Special K flavors to choose from.

To my dismay, the fruity Special K flavors really didn't fare well in this ranking. I really wanted to like the Blueberry Special K. If I'm being honest, this was the flavor that appealed to me most when I picked all of them out at the grocery store. I felt like it was a promising premise, considering that there are actual dried blueberries in this cereal. Technically, these are better than the fruity flavors I've covered so far. That blueberry flavor isn't quite as overpowering as the other fruity cereal flavors on this list, and the inclusion of actual blueberries definitely makes this cereal feel elevated. After all, dried blueberries look a lot more like the fresh version of the fruit than do, for example, sliced strawberries or banana chips.

But still, the fruitiness seemed to be infused into the cereal itself instead of just coming from the dried fruit. It seems like Kellogg's (which produces many of your favorite breakfast cereals) was just too heavy-handed with the flavoring here, and the result isn't great.

These days, it seems like just about every product can be infused with extra protein. And if you are looking to get more protein into your diet, that can be a good thing — it may be a lot easier to meet your protein needs if you can eat a protein-spiked version of a food you already like. So, if you fall into the protein-maxxing camp, then Special K Protein may be just what you're looking for.

However, if you're not specifically trying to optimize for protein in your diet and you care more about flavor than macros, then this definitely isn't the best product in the lineup. First of all, the texture is way denser than standard Special K. Sure, this offers an increased crunchiness, but it kind of makes it feel like you're chewing cardboard. The flavor is pretty bland, but that's not necessarily a bad thing when it comes to cereal, since you can add various toppings to make it more flavorful. In fact, I'd prefer that blandness over the cloyingly intense flavor of the other Special K flavors covered so far on this list. That being said, Special K Protein definitely isn't the best of the bunch on the flavor front. Not big on high-protein cereal? Try these protein bars for people with a sweet tooth.

I absolutely love cereal that contains nuts. Not only does it offer the dish increased crunchiness (which is usually a good thing when it comes to flake-style cereals like Special K, which tend to get soft quickly in milk), but it also lends a complex, rich nuttiness to your breakfast, which really seems to elevate your bowl. That's why Cinnamon and Pecan Special K are ranked higher than so many other flavors on this list. The presence of those pecans instantly gets this cereal closer to the top half of the ranking.

However, this flavor of Special K really lost me when it comes to the cinnamon. Again, it seems like the creators of this cereal really like to be heavy-handed with flavors, because the cinnamon here was kind of overwhelming. It's not a bad option if you really, really like cinnamon, but because that over-spiced flavor profile is combined with a ton of sugar to boot, this flavor doesn't quite make the top half of this ranking.

Special K Vanilla and Almond falls into a similar category as the Cinnamon and Pecan flavor, but I think this version is somewhat elevated. You have the sliced almonds, which again lend that slight crunch to the dish, along with a subtle nuttiness for which almond is known. Technically, though, I think that the almonds taste particularly good when they've been soaking in the milk for a while, getting sort of soft alongside the cereal flakes.

Unsurprisingly, though, the vanilla flavor was a bit strong in this cereal. Combined with the sweetness of the product, I thought that this flavor, too, was too heavy-handed, with a lack of subtlety that flies in the face of what most people expect from cereal. Since vanilla is kind of an unassuming flavor, though, its overpowering nature isn't quite as egregious as some of the others on this list. I probably wouldn't buy it again, but I'll still finish the box I have.

I won't lie: I love a chocolate breakfast cereal. It can be so fun to start your day with even a small portion of chocolate, especially if you have a sweet tooth in the morning and you're not particularly craving anything fruity. And compared to other chocolatey cereals on the market, I think this Special K Chocolatey Delight is one of the best, since the chocolate plays such a subtle role in the dish. The flakes themselves aren't chocolate — rather, there are tiny pieces of chocolate mixed in with the flakes, creating these little tastes of chocolate that make for a subtle flavor combo.

The one thing I would like to see changed here is how sweet the actual cereal flakes are. Since you're already getting plenty of sugar from the chocolate, it seems unnecessary for the rest of the cereal to be so sweetened. But that's a pretty insignificant flaw — this Special K variety is still one of the best of the group.

Sometimes, simple is better, and I definitely think that's the case when it comes to Special K cereal. Sure, all of these interesting, creative flavors can be fun, and they're a great option when you don't want to spend the time making your cereal more interesting by adding various toppings. But the best fruity or otherwise flavored cereal starts with a neutral base, just like what you get with Original Special K. Is it kind of bland and boring? Sure. But that's what makes it so appealing: It's tasty on its own, but also functions as a blank canvas for whatever cereal toppings you have in mind.

If you're the kind of person who really likes bold, sugary cereals, then this flavor may not be right for you. But if you're like me and prefer a cereal that's a bit more neutral and toned-down, then this is the first Special K flavor you should try.

Finally, we arrive at the most delicious Special K flavor of the whole lineup. I was wary of trying this variety because of how displeased I was with the other fruity Special K cereals on this list. But the fruitiness in the Fruit and Yogurt Special K was a lot more restrained than that of the others. In fact, it didn't seem to be built into every bite — you just taste it when you get those little morsels of dried fruit.

Perhaps that's because the fruit has to share the stage with those yogurty clusters, which add both flavor and texture to your bowl of cereal. They're slightly chewy, which helps break up the crunchiness of the dish nicely, but they also have a creaminess to them as well. Plus, their subtle tang helps to create a nice balance with the overall sweetness of the cereal. If you can't decide which Special K flavor you want to try first, I think that the Fruit and Yogurt flavor is an excellent place to start.

I chose these flavors based on availability at my local grocery store. I ranked these Special K cereals mostly according to their flavor profiles — I was looking for cereals that were well-balanced (in this case, not too sweet), with subtler, more versatile flavor profiles. The cereal flavors that ranked the highest weren't overpowering or too pronounced, but just noticeable enough to make them more interesting. I also considered texture, where relevant. Cereals with more varied textures tended to rank higher than their more texturally one-note counterparts.