18 Walmart Great Value Cereals, Ranked Worst To Best

If your childhood was anything like mine, nearly every school-day morning began by scarfing down a heaping bowl of whatever cereal you favored that particular week. I tended to rotate between Reese's Puffs, Kix, Lucky Charms, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Raisin Bran would pop up when my mom figured we should cut back on sugar for a bit, and Frosted Mini Wheats were one of my favorite cereals to eat dry.

Everyone knows all the major name-brand cereals, including those owned by brands like Kellogg's; for many of us, they were a central food figure in our younger years. I don't know of many people who have ventured beyond the name-brand, though. Do store-brand cereals have as much to offer as their flashy, instantly recognizable counterparts? I headed to my local Walmart and picked up many boxes of cereal to find out. Many of them are obvious spins on name-brand cereals, and some seem pretty unique to the Great Value brand. 

I ranked the cereals based on how well they held up texturally in milk, their overall flavor profile, and how they compare to their name-brand alternatives (when applicable). Curious to see how Walmart's Great Value cereals fared? Keep reading for my hot takes. 

It didn't take a lot of self-negotiating to determine that Great Value's Crunchy Hazelnut & Cocoa Filled Cereal Bites deserved last place. I didn't even make it through a single bite. My sink saw more of this cereal than my mouth did, which is always a bad sign. 

The most egregious flaw was the texture of the cereal. It dissolves almost instantly in milk, creating a mushy, gluey mass that's an absolute nightmare when you're hungry for a crunchy bite. Eating it was like chewing a thick porridge. Moreover, the flavor didn't do nearly enough to make up for the cereal's textural flaws (though I should mention that I'm not a huge hazelnut fan in general). Unless the idea of half-dissolved, baby-food-like cereal sounds good to you, I'd recommend passing on it.

Similarly to the previous cereal, Great Value's Crunchy Peanut Butter Filled Cereal Bites committed enough brutal errors to be sent straight to the sink. The two cereals had the exact same textural pitfall — one that I feel should have been sussed out in quality control, to be honest — and the only reason this one ranks higher is because of its flavor.

The peanut butter was readily apparent in the cereal, which I appreciated. But it still didn't do enough to lift this cereal out of exile. Were I a fan of eating cereal sans milk, I may have enjoyed it more, but adding milk makes it a definite no-go. 

While I didn't really foresee the former cereals being such major flops, this is a pretty predictable bottom-tier contender. I don't think I've ever met a soul who eats plain shredded wheat willingly — I don't even understand why shredded wheat became popular in the first place. There have to be other, tastier ways to get some fiber into your day. 

Again, the most serious flaw of this cereal was its texture. The wheat started dissolving almost as soon as it hit the milk, and the resulting mushy mouthfeel wasn't very pleasant, to put it mildly. And, because the plain shredded wheat offered nothing in the way of flavor to combat its textural missteps, I couldn't help but rank it in a very low spot. At least I didn't spit it out, like I did with the former two cereals. 

Marginally better than its bare brother, Great Value's Frosted Bite Size Shredded Wheat at least adds some flavor to the typically boring cereal choice. Sure, the flavor is just sugar, but still — it's a step up from non-frosted shredded wheat, and I'd have this over the former any day. 

I still can't praise this cereal very much. Like the previous cereal, it started dissolving almost instantly when it hit the milk, and the texture that results isn't very palatable. It was saved from taking a lower spot on this list purely because it had some flavor. Would I buy this cereal again? Probably not, unless I wanted to eat it dry; admittedly, I do like snacking on some frosted shredded wheat every now and again. 

The last entry in the shredded wheat cereal category is Great Value's Bite Size Frosted Strawberry Shredded Wheat. It was easy to place this above the two former contenders. Not only is this shredded wheat frosted, but it's also strawberry-flavored — one of my all-time favorite flavors (as long as it doesn't taste artificial). 

Indeed, the strawberry was apparent here, and it didn't taste too fake at all. I still wasn't a fan of the texture these took on after sitting in milk for a matter of seconds, but in this case, the flavor compensated for some of the cereal's textural pitfalls. I'd happily snack on this dry to satisfy a sweet tooth, but I'm not likely to have it with milk again. 

I feel like raisin bran gets so much undeserved hate. Sure, it's not the most colorful, sugary cereal in the world, but it has its merits — those merits primarily being the raisins in the cereal. Maybe it's just that I adore raisins, but I've always had a fondness for raisin bran, and Great Value's Extra Raisin Raisin Bran really wasn't bad. 

The biggest flaw with this cereal, and the biggest flaw with raisin bran in general, is the "bran." The main cereal gets soft pretty quickly after coming into contact with the milk, but at least the resulting texture wasn't gross. And, as always, I loved the raisins, though I'm not sure how much "extra" there were in this box; it seemed like a fairly normal raisin-to-bran ratio, in my opinion. A solid middling pick. 

Obviously, Great Value couldn't call its puffy rice cereal "Rice Krispies," so it settled for "Rice Crisps," an obvious dupe of the name-brand cereal that also lends itself to next-level Rice Krispie treats. And I must say, the brand was pretty spot-on with its imitation.

I'd go for the occasional bowl of Rice Krispies as a child, and these were similarly endearing. They have a slight sweetness and a genuinely rice-like flavor that made them more enjoyable than some plainer counterparts. Still, they couldn't earn a higher placement here because they're still "just" a popped rice cereal, and this entry into the genre lacks some of the flair of the following. But if you're in the mood for Rice Krispies and find yourself at Walmart, this wouldn't be a bad budget-friendly buy. 

I know you weren't expecting to see another iteration of raisin bran on this list, but here we are — and I found Great Value's Crunchy Raisin Bran considerably more enjoyable than the Extra Raisin variation. There was enough going on in this bowl texturally to keep me interested and its flavors were pretty good, too. 

I really loved the extra crunch from the oat clusters. It added a whole new dimension to the cereal, and helped temper some of the sogginess that the rest of the cereal gets after sitting in milk for a minute. I also thought the raisins seemed bigger here, too, but I could have been imagining that. Though this cereal was a sure step up from the previous raisin bran, it still wasn't anything to write home about, which is why it only got 11th place here. 

If you, too, are of the opinion that Honey Nut is the best Cheerios flavor out there, then you'll be happy to learn that Great Value has its own version of the iconic cereal — and it's pretty darn good. I'd swap these out for the name-brand version any day. The only difference is that these taste a little more whole-wheat-y, but I hardly minded that. 

Like the Cheerios we all know and love, these little O's hold up very well in milk, and they soften slightly without getting soggy. And I can't forget their honey-crusted exterior, the real icing on the cake. The O's are sweet without being overly saccharine, they easily satisfy a crunch craving, and they're a classic cereal that deserves more hype. The only reason I didn't rank these higher is because the following had a bit more to brag about. 

I really appreciated this next entry in Great Value's lineup because it's not immediately recognizable as an obvious name-brand dupe. The store's Almond Crunchy Honey Oats almost gave off tropical vibes upon opening the box, and as I was eating it, I could have sworn I tasted coconut (though coconut wasn't listed as an ingredient). 

The cereal base does soften fairly quickly in milk, but it doesn't dissolve and was still perfectly palatable after sitting in the bowl for a few minutes. Its flavors are subtle but definitely there, and I liked that the almond didn't overwhelm my palate, nor did it taste like extract at all. It's a unique cereal that stands out among the rest and doesn't taste like a sugar bomb, so it was an easy top 10 contender. 

Finally, we've inevitably arrived at a rainbow-colored entry. Great Value's obvious attempt to copy Froot Loops paid off, in this writer's opinion, and the fun fruit-flavored cereal we all know and love has a worthy contender.

As with the O's mentioned above, this cereal does soften in milk, but not so much so that it turns to mush. And its flavor is a pretty dead ringer for the name-brand version, too. Many of the remaining cereals on this list are mimics of popular name-brand offerings, and many of them are pretty spot-on, so the ranking here largely depended on my own personal preferences. Had I loved Froot Loops as a kid, I could have given Great Value's Fruit Spins a higher score. If you're a fan of Froot Loops, you'll probably like these as well. 

Want Walmart-brand Lucky Charms? Look for Magic Treasures on its store shelves — a creative re-naming of everyone's favorite "magically delicious" cereal. If I had to pick a favorite childhood cereal, the honor would probably go to Lucky Charms, so I was primed to like this cereal. Unless something went horribly wrong, it couldn't not make the top 10 here.

Alas, I couldn't give a higher score to Great Value's Magic Treasures because I felt like the marshmallow-to-cereal ratio was a little off. Had there been even a few more marshmallows in the bowl I poured for myself, this may have made it up to fifth place. Still, it's a pretty good representation of its name-brand counterpart and holds up well in milk. Moreover, it makes me nostalgic for a time when my biggest concern was finishing my homework on time. 

If you've ever thought, "Man, I wish I could eat snickerdoodle cookies as a cereal," Walmart has you covered with its Great Value Snickerdoodle cereal. Sure, it's an obvious sugar bomb, but nutrition wasn't a factor in my ranking process. This cereal didn't quite do enough to make the top five, but it was a worthy sixth-place contender.

Surprisingly, the cereal itself doesn't actually taste very saccharine. Cinnamon is the dominant note here. The cereal also got major brownie points for holding up very well in milk — it was still pretty crunchy even after sitting in the milk for over a minute. Nothing tasted artificial, either. Though you're basically eating cookies for breakfast, I can still call this a solid cereal; if nothing else, it'll definitely satisfy an early-morning sweet tooth. 

Cap'n Crunch fans will find a pretty good alternative in Walmart's Berry Crunch cereal, which had a visual allure that nearly topped its taste. This cereal is definitely supposed to appeal to kids — it's sweet, colorful, and fruity, like its counterpart — but still, I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Berry Crunch doesn't dissolve quickly in milk, though it does soften a bit. But it really sticks to its "Crunch" moniker, which I found particularly satisfying, especially because it's a light, puffed crunch rather than anything too dense. I wasn't really a Cap'n Crunch kid growing up — not because I disliked it, but because I was pretty adamant about sticking to my tried-and-true favorite cereal lineup. But after intentionally trying Walmart's brand for this taste test, I could definitely keep it in my cereal rotation. 

One cereal that completely stole my heart as a child is Reese's Puffs. I couldn't get enough of them, and Great Value's Peanut Butter Chocolate Puffs gave me a major hit of nostalgia that endeared me to them instantly. They're not an exact dupe, though, or else they could have ranked a spot or two higher. There was something slightly off about the flavor that I couldn't identify, but it wasn't nearly a big enough problem to make me dislike them. 

As expected, these little morsels held up very well in milk, retaining a bit of crunch even after they'd been in the milk for a few minutes. If you want a cheaper and pretty good dupe of Reese's Puffs, you wouldn't go wrong with these — my adult palate just made me like the following cereals more. 

Okay, I really enjoyed Great Value's Cinnamon Oat Crunch cereal. I liked that I could tell I was eating whole grains. There's something very satisfying about knowing you're getting some good nutrients in the morning, and this cereal definitely accomplished that goal. Basically, the cereal tasted like Cinnamon Toast Crunch's whole-wheat brother. 

The cereal pieces do get soft pretty quickly in milk, but not at all in a bad way, and they certainly don't dissolve. Moreover, the cinnamon flavor was strong here, and I adore cinnamon. It wasn't hard to enjoy this cereal. If you love Cinnamon Toast Crunch but want to get some whole grains into your morning, this would be a great box to have on hand; unfortunately, it couldn't beat my top two choices. 

One of my favorite cereals from Great Value's lineup was very unexpected. Great Value's Fruit & Yogurt Awake isn't nostalgic in any capacity, nor is it visually appealing. Nevertheless, I thought it was absolutely delicious, and I may just keep this in my pantry for whenever I need a quick kick of cereal in the morning. 

My favorite thing about this cereal was its varied textures. The yogurt clusters remained super crunchy even after sitting in milk, and they contrasted nicely with the softer cereal pieces. Even better, the flavors were on point, and the cereal tastes plenty fruity without being overly sweet. I really liked this cereal, and if my top choice hadn't been my ultimate childhood staple, this could have easily taken first place. 

If I had to pick a single cereal that characterized my childhood, it would be Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Cinnamon has always been one of my favorite flavors, and I liked sugar as much as the next kid — needless to say, I couldn't get enough of the cereal. I couldn't possibly give a lower spot to this dead-ringer dupe of my favorite name-brand. 

Great Value's Cinnamon Crunch cereal was a spot-on imitation of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, so much so that I'm tempted to grab a box of each and see if I can tell them apart in a blind taste test. The pieces are nice and crispy, they get soft in milk without dissolving, and the cinnamon sugar flavor comes forth in droves. If you, too, were an avid fan of the childhood favorite, you'll love this box just as much. 

I took into account flavor and texture when ranking these cereals, and I couldn't help but consider their nostalgic appeal. Texture was unusually important to this ranking, as I was immediately turned off by cereals that dissolved almost as soon as they hit the milk. Flavor played more of a role in differentiating between my mid-tier choices; I can't rank a cereal that's just made of puffed rice over something like raisin bran.

When it came to the higher-ranked cereals, nostalgia inevitably was a huge factor. I was obviously going to be more endeared to cereals that characterized my childhood. I also took into consideration how well a cereal mimicked its name-brand counterpart when ordering my top 10 choices.