10 Breakfast Staples Kids Ate Growing Up In The '60s

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Breakfast foods have changed a lot over the years. There was a time when people started their days with dishes like coffee soup and milk toast, for example, and in the 1910s, some people even ate scrambled pork brains in the morning. Yep, we're not making that up. It was probably pretty hard to get canned brains into little Junior's mouth in the morning, but fortunately for Boomer kids, by the 1960s, the sugary breakfast cereal market was blooming.

Many kids who grew up in the 1960s started their day with lots of sugar, poured into the bowl, with plenty of milk, from a bright, colorful box covered in smiling mascots. There were other options too, of course; some were given instant breakfast shakes before school, while others had to eat oatmeal, or were treated to eggs and Spam.

Keep reading to find out some of the breakfast staples that kids ate growing up in the 1960s. Many are still on the shelves today, although plenty of people maintain they're nowhere near as good as they used to be.

Socially, there was a lot going on in the 1960s. More women were working than ever before, which meant they were spending less time at home cooking. For many families, convenience foods became a number one priority. And arguably, it doesn't get more convenient than Carnation Instant Breakfast.

The Instant Breakfast is essentially a breakfast milkshake (aka, every kid's dream). All you had to do was rip open the sachet, pour it into some milk, and stir thoroughly. According to Carnation, the drink, which came in several flavors, including chocolate and strawberry, was a substitute for a cooked breakfast. It apparently offered just as much protein as two eggs, the same minerals as bacon, and more vitamin C than a glass of orange juice. The drink was a favorite with children, but it also catered to 1960s diet culture, with ads claiming that the drink offered "real food to keep a body beautiful." Yes, that's a real line from a real print ad.

Still, many children weren't fussed by the ads, and loved drinking Carnation Instant Breakfast before school. "Imagine, drinking your whole breakfast!," said one Facebook user in a group dedicated to Boomer nostalgia. "It was convenient and chocolate was my favorite flavor." Carnation Instant Breakfast still lives on in spirit; the brand now offers Carnation Breakfast Essentials, which is basically the same thing, but with less sugar and more nutritional value.

Picture this: It's a Saturday morning, your parents are still asleep, and you've got the television to yourself. "The Flintstones" is on, or maybe "Wacky Races," and now all you need is the perfect breakfast. You open the cupboard to find Kellogg's Jumbo Assortment. Does it get any better?

For many kids in the 1960s, an 18-pack of Kellogg's Jumbo Assortment cereals was a pretty exciting breakfast. Similar to the many assortment cereal packets on the shelves now, it was basically a mix of small boxes of cereals, including Rice Krispies, Froot Loops, Sugar Pops, Special K, and Raisin Bran.

"When my mom put this in the cart, it was hard [to] contain my joy!," said one Facebook user in a group dedicated to cereal boxes from the second half of the 20th century. "Me and my brother fought over the good flavors," added another. "Loser ended up with Special K."

Since the 1950s, kids (and adults) have indulged in bowls of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes before school. The popular sugar-covered cereal, together with mascot Tony the Tiger, hit the market in 1952, and quickly became a morning staple for American families everywhere. In fact, plenty remember eating copious bowls of Frosted Flakes as kids throughout the 1960s, and many swear they tasted better then than they do now. "The flakes were a lot sturdier then, and the sugar [was] like crystals," said one Facebook user in a group focused on mid-century culture.

Fun fact: Back then, Frosted Flakes were actually called Sugar Frosted Flakes. This was a time when brands didn't shy away from advertising sugar as much, probably because many people just didn't realize the health risks (likely because of sugar industry-backed research that minimized the risk to the public, but that's a story for another day).

Others, however, say Kellogg's Frosted Flakes are just as good as ever, and have remained dedicated fans since they were kids. It makes sense: This cereal is still loaded with sugar, unless you choose the reduced sugar version, of course. "One of the only cereals that still taste grrrreatttt....bc they didn't change like so many others," said one Facebook user in a group dedicated to New Jersey and New York nostalgia. "Still love them at 65 years old."

In the 1950s, many brands realized that advertising their sugary cereal to kids was a lot easier with an animal mascot. So, Kellogg's Frosted Flakes launched Tony the Tiger, and General Mills debuted the Trix Rabbit. The bunny first appeared in commercials for Trix cereal, which was the first fruit-flavored cereal in the U.S., in 1959, and featured on the box in 1960. Trix Rabbit was a marketing dream; he didn't just sell cereal boxes, but he enabled General Mills to cash in on rabbit-themed merchandise, like cereal bowls and place mats, as well as pillow cases and tin can walkie talkies.

Many people who were kids in the late 1960s also remember the Let The Rabbit Eat Trix mail-in contest, which first ran in 1968. Children voted whether to allow Trix to eat cereal in the contest, which was a spin off from its commercials, by cutting off either a "yes" or "no" button from the top of the box and sending it into General Mills. The result? Trix got his first taste of cereal, of course. "I feel like I remember the hype more [than] the moment," said one Redditor in the r/nostaglia subreddit. "That is quality marketing for you."

And, in case you were wondering, Trix still holds up today. When we ranked 11 fruity cereals in 2025, our taste-tester placed it top of the list.

Unlike Kellogg's and General Mills, in the early 1960s, Quaker Oats decided to launch its new Cap'n Crunch breakfast cereal with a different kind of mascot. It wasn't an anthropomorphised animal character, but a cartoon sea captain, of course. What else?

Everything about Cap'n Crunch was carefully constructed to appeal to kids: The crunchy texture, for example, was a huge selling point, after a Quaker Oats survey revealed that kids hated soggy cereal. Again, the word "sugar" was right there on the box. On the original packaging, underneath the title of Cap'n Crunch, there are the words "sugar-sweet cereal," followed by "stays crunchy, even in milk." Things have changed a bit since then, and today's Cap'n Crunch packaging goes for the word "sweetened" instead.

In the 1960s, the only downside of the new and exciting Cap'n Crunch cereal for many kids was the way the corn and oat pieces would shred the inside of their mouths. "A friend of mine was just talking about this today," said one Facebook user in a 1960s memories group. "Said it would rip the roof of your mouth like hot pizza." Another added: "Love hate relationship with that guy...love it but it [tears] up the roof of my pie hole." They did warn us it was crunchy, to be fair.

In 1965, Apple Jacks (or Apple O's. as it was known in the U.S. until the early 1970s) joined the fruity, sweet cereal club, but it was a little different than its predecessors like Cap'n Crunch and Frosted Flakes. Made by Kellogg's, the crunchy rings were orange and animal-cinnamon flavored, and the mascot was an apple with a hat and a smiling face (with cereal pieces for eyes, of course).

"My favorite cereal when I was little," said one Facebook user in a group dedicated to food memories. "I used to share it with my German Shepherd." Many kids were particularly fond of the Apple Jacks commercials that ran in the 1960s, most of which featured a singing apple and had an anti-bullying message.

Apple Jacks are still on the market today, but many maintain they don't taste the same anymore. "Man, these were delicious back then," commented one YouTube user under a clip of a 1960s Apple Jacks commercial. On Facebook, another social media user added: "God, I can still taste how good they were."

Carnation wasn't the only company trying to convince people that their morning meal could make them beautiful. In 1967, a print ad claimed that all "the beautiful people" eat hot oatmeal for breakfast. The ad was, unsurprisingly, for Quaker Oats, and featured a teen girl kneeling on a chair, talking on the phone, munching on a bowl of oatmeal. But really, Quaker Oats, which launched way back in the late 19th century, wasn't aimed at teens, it was aimed at moms (it quite literally had a product called Mother's Oats).

Quaker Oats deliberately targeted families through its 1960s print ads, urging moms to cut up fruits like pineapple and serve it with oats for their kids in the morning. Some print ads would heavily imply that serving your kids Quaker Oats made you a better parent, and often included "quotes" from moms. One read: "I just know that fixing good hot Quaker Oats gives my Nancy a better start on schooldays." Another print ad from the 1960s says: "Best start for any day: A hug, a kiss, and a hot oatmeal for breakfast."

In the mid-1960s, Post Consumer Brands brought out Honeycomb cereal, and it was a hit, thanks to the crunchy honeycomb-shaped pieces, flavored and coated with honey, but also the free toys. In 1968, for example, kids could celebrate the release of the instant classic "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," with the tiny Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car toys they found inside the cereal box. (If you missed out back then, don't worry, you can still find one on eBay.)

As well as the toys, kids also loved the games on the back of the boxes. "Remember when the cereal box itself was as much fun as what was inside[?]," wrote one Facebook user in a group dedicated to memories of London, Ontario. Of course, kids also enjoyed the cereal itself, too. It's still available today, but many who grew up eating it years ago say it's never been the same. "All the cereals I enjoyed as a child taste nothing like they did back then," said another Facebook user in a group dedicated to cereal box nostalgia.

Before Honeycomb, Post Consumer Brands brought Alpha-Bits to the cereal aisle. It was launched in the late 1950s, and it was unique, not because of animal mascots or car toys, but because it made breakfast more interesting and educational.

Yes, really, we do mean educational. Each honey-flavored, whole grain piece was shaped like a letter, which meant that kids could have fun spelling out words while they were eating their breakfast. "Loved spelling with my cereal," said one Facebook user in a nostalgia-focused group. Another added: "In the old days with all that sugar it was good." In the 1960s, many kids also loved the Alpha-Bits' postman commercial, which featured the voice of the popular comedian Jack E. Leonard.

However, many fell out of love with Alpha-Bits when the recipe changed, and stopped buying it altogether. Maybe that's why the cereal was discontinued in 2021. In 2025, it did come back for a limited run, but there don't seem to be any plans to bring it back permanently.

In the 1960s, just as they are today, eggs were a breakfast favorite. While cereals were often a mid-week staple, many people who were kids in the 1960s recall that the weekends, or Sundays at least, were reserved for cooked breakfasts with eggs. Some would eat them with bacon, while others would have them with grits or sausages. Plenty also ate them with fried Spam, which was a common kitchen staple in the U.S. back then. "A guilty pleasure," wrote one Facebook user in a 1960s memories group. "Fried egg and spam on toasted wheat bread with mayo. Had it as a kid and still eat it once in a while."

Eggs were popular back then because they were so affordable. In fact, many people in poorer households relied on eggs throughout the week. It might seem hard to believe now, but back in the 1960s, a dozen eggs would set you back under $0.60 cents. "One particularly lean summer, I think it was 1967, it was scrambled eggs for breakfast, egg salad sandwich for lunch and for dinner, what my mother called an Italian omelette, which was whipped egg whites and whipped egg yolks stirred together" said one Redditor in the r/60s subreddit. "Pretty much the only thing in our refrigerator that summer was eggs."