10 Kashi Cereals, Ranked Worst To Best

Go to the cereal aisle of your local grocery store, and you'll be met with seemingly endless options, from the most sugar-packed varieties to those that tout various health benefits on their boxes. But if you ask me, one of the better brands on those shelves is Kashi. It's one of many cereal brands owned by Kellogg's, but it offers a line of cereal that seems to be more geared toward those who prefer subtler flavor profiles. Although some of the brand's cereals are sweetened, they tend not to be overwhelmingly sweet.

But still, I had only tasted a handful of the cereals, so I wanted to get a better sense of what Kashi had to offer. I selected 10 different varieties of Kashi cereal from my local grocery store and tasted them all, one by one, before ranking them from worst to best. The criteria for this ranking include flavor and balance (particularly when it comes to sugar level) and texture. Maybe we have the same favorites, or maybe not. Regardless, reading through my impressions of each of these flavors may just point you in the direction of the variety you want to try next. These are Kashi cereals, ranked.

I'm not going to lie, when I first poured some Kashi GO Protein + Fiber Original into my bowl, I thought it looked like the kind of food you might feed a pet hamster or gerbil. In this cereal, you get a mix of different grain-based cereal shapes, all of which looked vaguely unappetizing to me. But still, I wanted to like this stuff. With 12 grams of each fiber and protein per serving, it makes for an arguably healthier breakfast than some of the other, more sugary options on this list.

But, alas, this cereal tasted just as bad as it looked. Although I'll admit that the flavor wasn't as bad as some other high protein cereals I've tried in the past, it still tasted somewhat bitter and unappetizing. The texture was slightly chalky, even though the mixture of different cereal shapes is a nice touch. Even if you're looking for a high-protein and high-fiber option, there are still other Kashi selections that will offer a more palatable breakfast experience.

There are some fruity cereals out there that really aren't bad, but there are still more that really, really don't taste very good. Unfortunately, Kashi's Strawberry and Banana Smoothie Loops fit into the latter category. I love strawberry and banana flavored foods, so I thought this cereal would have potential. However, I found that the strawberry flavor was quite strong and even sort of medicinal, albeit in a muted way. While I expected that the banana flavoring would be super prominent, it actually wasn't at all. In fact, those banana notes barely even broke through all that artificial-tasting strawberry flavor.

The texture of this cereal is solid, though. It has a shape and a crunch that reminds me of Cheerios cereal, but with a texture that seems to be smoother and denser than Cheerios, which I appreciate. Still, though, that texture just can't make up for the fact that the flavor of this product isn't very good.

Who doesn't want to get more protein and fiber into their diet while simultaneously eating chocolate? Kashi's GO Protein + Fiber Chocolate Crunch sounds like a dream come true for all the real chocolate lovers out there who love to get their day off to a sweet start. Unfortunately, though, this cereal isn't the best of the bunch. There's that slight chalkiness I noticed in the original Kashi GO flavor, but it's subtle, and it's something that you could probably get used to if you were determined to opt for a high-protein and high-fiber cereal.

The real problem I had with this cereal was the flavor. The chocolate notes taste more like cocoa powder than actual chocolate, which lends itself to a bitter flavor overall. However, this stuff still has a strange sweetness to it, even despite that bitterness. The flavor profile isn't balanced, and combined with the strange texture, I don't think I'd ever choose to buy this product again.

Kashi doesn't just offer a chocolate-forward flavor in its GO line — you can also get a more standard cereal that prominently features chocolate in its regular cereal lineup. We're talking about the Organic Cocoa Clusters, and compared to other chocolate breakfast cereals, I would say that this stuff is just okay. The main issue I have with this product is the fact that the sweetness doesn't seem to be evenly distributed throughout the cereal. For some reason, the cocoa clusters aren't really that sweet at all. However, the cereal flakes themselves are quite sweet, creating a strange, unexpected divergence of flavor profiles that somehow doesn't fit together well.

However, unless you're tasting these elements one by one, you might not notice this cereal's strange feature. Otherwise, the texture is good, with a crispiness from the cereal flakes and a hearty crunch from the cocoa clusters. If you tend to like chocolate cereal, then this stuff might just be worth a try. But for those truly wanting to experience the best that Kashi has to offer, there are other varieties you should try first.

Out of all of the Kashi GO flavors I tried, the Kashi GO Protein + Fiber Peanut Butter Crunch was my absolute favorite. I'm not really much of a peanut butter person, so this surprised me. However, this was definitely the least unpleasant protein-heavy cereal of the lineup. If I hadn't known that this was a high-protein cereal, I probably wouldn't have even guessed that it packed a whole 10 grams of protein per serving. And because this cereal is basically only cereal clusters, you get a really nice crunch with every spoonful you eat.

The reason I didn't rank this cereal higher, though, is because the peanut butter flavor is so, so strong. There really aren't any other elements to compete with that peanut buttery intensity, so you get a hefty dose of nuttiness in every bite. For major peanut butter fans, that's a good thing. For those who prefer a more muted peanut butter note, though, this cereal may seem a bit overwhelming.

I can admit that shredded wheat isn't for everyone. It can taste sort of dry if it's not well-soaked in milk, and its delightful crispiness can be negated by the fact that it takes so long to chew through a single piece. All that being said, I'm a big fan of shredded wheat cereals, and I think that Kashi's Organic Cinnamon Harvest is a solid choice for those who want to venture outside of Frosted Mini Wheats territory.

This cereal is sweet but not too sweet, with the flavor of the shredded wheat balanced nicely with the inclusion of what tastes like a relatively small amount of sugar. The most noticeable flavor here, though, is the cinnamon itself. That cinnamon flavor is quite strong, and if you're not normally a fan of the spice, then you may find that its flavor is overpowering. Without any other flavoring that's commonly paired with cinnamon (like apple or pecan, for instance), all you really taste is cinnamon, sugar, and the aforementioned wheat. If you're already an established cinnamon fan, though, you're likely to enjoy this cereal.

If you like a flake-based cereal as much as I do — plus a little touch of fruitiness in your breakfast — then Kashi Organic Blueberry Clusters should be right up your alley. The cereal flakes have a neutral flavor, but since they seem to be covered in a sort of sugary layer, they have a nice touch of sweetness to them. That being said, the sweetness isn't overpowering, which is ideal if you prefer a subtler flavor profile. The blueberry clusters offer a hint of fruitiness, but they're not quite as fruity as I expected them to be. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it definitely doesn't taste like you're getting real fruit in your bowl.

I do love the combo of the cereal flakes and clusters, which makes for an enjoyably crunchy edible experience. Although it's not my very top pick on this list of Kashi cereals, I'd still be happy to buy this product again, particularly when I'm in the mood for a less-pronounced fruitiness in my cereal.

If you ask me, the very best cereals are those that are kind of neutral and muted. These types make the best bases for cereal bowls topped with unexpected additions, like nuts, seeds, and fruit. Even a rather neutral bowl of cereal all on its own, though, can really hit the spot when you're looking for a mild sweetness that pairs well with the milk of your choice. That's why I'm such a big fan of Kashi's Organic Honey Toasted cereal. It appears like this cereal is supposed to be somewhat mimicking Honey Nut Cheerios, but I think I might like them even better.

The cereal is formed into the shape of Os and hearts, which makes for a cute twist on a classic. The dense but smooth texture of the cereal provides a nice, solid crunch. Plus, the subtle coating of honey-flavored sweetness offers just the right amount of flavor to an otherwise unremarkable cereal. There's a good chance that this cereal will appeal to basically everyone in your household — it's just that versatile.

I've already mentioned how much I enjoyed Kashi's Organic Cinnamon Harvest cereal. But what if you're looking for that classic shredded wheat texture but don't particularly like the flavor of cinnamon? Don't worry — Kashi has you covered with its Organic Autumn Wheat. This is basically the same type of cereal as the cinnamon variety, just absent the cinnamon. The result is a much more neutral flavor profile with just the right amount of sweetness. There seems to be less of a sugary coating than you'd find in, say, Frosted Mini Wheats, which is perfect for those who prefer subtler cereals.

Textually speaking, I love that this cereal offers both a nice crunchiness when it's relatively dry, along with a softer, juicier texture once it's been soaking in the milk for a few minutes. Top it with fruit or other additions for a more flavorful cereal experience, or keep it plain and simple when you're looking for a slightly-sweetened comfort food that hits at any time of the day.

I know that I've said that I generally prefer a more neutral flavor profile when it comes to cereal, but there are a few exceptions. One of them just happens to be Kashi's Maple Waffle Bites. This is one of the sweeter cereals in the lineup, but the complexity of the maple flavoring makes that sweetness welcome. Compared to other sweet cereals, though, this one isn't overwhelmingly sugary, which makes it a solid option if you're looking for more of a dessert-style cereal that's still not cloying.

This cereal also knocks it out of the park on the texture front. Every little piece is shaped like a tiny waffle, and they offer that somewhat ridged texture that makes eating a waffle so appealing. However, I did find that the extremely crunchy texture mellowed nicely when I allowed the cereal to soak in the milk after a few minutes in the bowl. When you're craving a cereal that feels kind of indulgent without making you feel like you just ate a whole bowl of sugar, this maple syrup-flavored Kashi selection is absolutely worth trying.

I selected these Kashi flavors based on availability at my local grocery store. I tried each one of them with cold, unsweetened, and unflavored oat milk straight out of the fridge. I assessed each variety based on both flavor balance and texture. The more well-balanced and less artificial-tasting cereals with a nice, clean crunch ranked toward the top of the list, while those that were too sweet or otherwise unbalanced on the flavor front ranked toward the bottom. In a few cases, I took a strange chalky texture into consideration when ranking these selections.