I Tried 10 Cereal Bars And Ranked Them Worst To Best

Whether you're looking for a quick breakfast for busy mornings that you can take on the go or simply on the hunt for a sweet snack that will keep your dessert cravings at bay, cereal bars can be a solid option. They offer enough carbs to tide you over until you can eat a more substantial meal, and they offer a sweetness that you may assume you can only get from baked goods. Plus, you can keep them stashed in the back of your pantry for whenever you need a quick pick-me-up but don't have time to prepare anything that requires more effort.

This is why I'm taking a closer look (and taste) at store-bought cereal bars and ranking them from worst to best, giving you a better idea of what products are on the market — and which may appeal to you the most. I've included two different types of cereal bars on this list. Some feature pieces of actual, branded cereal (like Rice Krispies treats, in bar form), while others fall into the baked pastry variety. I've judged the former by their sweetness and flavor balance as well as overall texture, preferring a degree of crunchiness in every bite. For the latter variety, I sought out softness, a good ratio of filling to pastry, and, of course, flavor balance.

Once you have a better sense of what these different products taste like, you more successfully choose the next cereal bar variety you want to try. Let the sweet snacking commence.

I should probably start by disclosing that I've never been a particularly big fan of Golden Grahams cereal, so if you love it, you might want to take this particular review with a grain of salt. In bar form, I didn't really enjoy this cereal variety any more than I do the original. In fact, thanks to a thick, sugary glaze, I like this bar even less than a bowl of the same cereal. The bar is made even sweeter with tiny marshmallows (which don't taste very high-quality) and bits of chocolate, along with a thin, chocolate-dipped base to make it even more decadent.

While the addition of chocolate could've provided some much-needed balancing bitterness to the equation, that's not what it actually did at all. Rather, this ultra-sweet chocolate also tastes cheap, with an oiliness that makes the bar feel and taste heavy overall. Out of all of the bars on this list, this is the one I'm absolutely sure I'll never get again. There's just too much going on and not enough flavor balance to contend with the sweetness of the ingredients.

The saddest — and arguably the smallest — of all of the baked pantry cereal bars on this list is O Organics Apple Cereal Bars. While most of the others on this list are at least relatively soft, that's not what I found with this brand at all. Instead, the exterior of the bar is dry and hard, not intentionally crispy but rather stale. It doesn't have the pillowy softness I'm looking for when I bite into this kind of packaged snack, which is the main reason it's ranked as low as it is. Almost as egregious, though, is the filling-to-pastry ratio. There's barely any apple filling here, making that dry pastry even more disappointing. Yes, I get a faint apple flavor, but it's not very pronounced. What I do taste is sugary and thin and not particularly pleasant.

I was also a bit displeased about how small these cereal bars are. While you might expect to get a bit less from an organic brand, the thinness of this one makes it feel like a bad deal, even if it might have close to the same width and length as some of the other baked cereal bars that appear here.

If you spend time in the cereal bar aisle of your local grocery store, you'll probably start to see some of the same flavors popping up again and again: strawberry, apple, and blueberry are all especially common. That's why I was so excited to see that Stop and Shop carries its own Raspberry Flavored Fruit & Grain Cereal Bars. This is a different flavor I haven't seen from any other brand, and as someone who generally likes raspberries, I thought it might be one of the better options in the lineup. Unfortunately, though, that's not quite what I got.

The flavor of the filling ultimately isn't good. It didn't really taste like raspberries — or anything for that matter. I was expecting a degree of balancing acidity since raspberries tend to be pretty tart. Rather, I was met with a bland sweetness that tasted vaguely and very subtly fruity. I think this bar, like many of the others listed here, is way sweeter than it needs to be.

The reason that this cereal bar ranks higher than some of the others on this list, though, comes down to its texture. The pastry is nice and soft, and there's just enough filling for the thick pastry on the outside. Still, though, I'd probably opt for a different flavor if I wanted to try this brand's cereal bars again.

If you're looking to revisit one of your favorite cereals in bar form, then look no further than Cinnamon Toast Crunch Treats. They feature that signature, cinnamon-forward cereal, a sugary glaze, and a milk-like frosting on the bottom of the bar. These create a bar that actually tastes like a bowl of cereal, albeit a bit stronger. I like Cinnamon Toast Crunch, so this bar is pretty solid in my book. But that doesn't mean it's without issues. 

First of all, Cinnamon Toast Crunch is already a pretty sugary cereal, so adding even more sugar in the form of that sweet glaze takes things too far, in my opinion. You get even more sweetness from the cream-like glaze drizzled over top and on the bottom. This coating is also a bit oily for my taste, further unbalancing the bar and making it feel heavier than it needs to be.

But, ultimately, if you can deal with a degree of sweetness in your cereal bar, then this isn't one of the worst options to choose. You actually get a nice crispness from those cereal pieces, which somewhat counteracts the lack of balance on the flavor front. And it might be a good option for those who love cinnamon-flavored cereal.

This isn't the first time I've tried Reese's Puffs Treats — I also placed them in the No. 3 slot of Tasting Table's ranking of Reese's snacks, largely because I felt like the sweetness in these cereal bars was less pronounced than some of the other Reese's snacks I tried. That being said, these bars are still quite sweet compared to many of the other cereal bars on this list, which is why this product ranks lower on this list. However, if you're a fan of peanut butter, there is some nice balance here with that signature Reese's flavor – a classic blend of chocolate and peanut butter. This allows a degree of saltiness to shine through all that sugar, bringing some balance to the bar. I also like that these bars are so crisp, with a satisfying texture that really satiates your snacky cravings.

Ultimately, I do think that the creators of this bar could've played up the chocolate a bit more, since the peanut butter note is quite strong. Like most of the other branded cereal bars I tried for this ranking, this one also has an oiliness to it that doesn't taste that appealing. For fans of Reese's Puffs, though, this cereal bar is certainly worth a try.

When I was a kid, I went through a phase of absolute obsession with Lucky Charms. As I got older and tasted a wider array of cereals, I realized that the blandness of Lucky Charms was no longer for me. But I still hold a bit of fondness for the brand, perhaps because I think it's a sweet cereal that's still somewhat balanced on the sugar front, compared to its competitors. It's not a surprise to me, then, that one of my favorite branded cereal bars is Lucky Charms Treats. Yes, I still get that sweet coating over the bar, but because those wheat pieces are so neutral anyway, this variety doesn't taste overpoweringly sweet. The marshmallow pieces provide both a subtle sweetness and a pleasant visual appeal, while a creamy coating gives the bottom of the bar a milky touch.

I noticed the same strange oiliness in this cereal bar, which is obviously not my favorite feature. However, the sweetness in this bar is so much more balanced than the others — and it offers a really nice crisp — making it one of my favorites of the non-baked variety.

When you're looking for a solid baked blueberry cereal bar, look no further than Nature's Promise Blueberry Cereal Bars. Although it's not my absolute favorite baked cereal bar of the bunch, it's good enough that I probably wouldn't notice a major difference between this variety and other brands if I hadn't tried all of these side by side. With this cereal bar, you get a nice filling-to-pastry ratio, with a relatively thick exterior and a juicy filling. That filling doesn't just taste generically fruity — it actually has a blueberry-like flavor with a burst of acidity that makes the treat taste nicely balanced, despite its overall sweetness.

So, where does this cereal bar fall flat compared to the others on this list? Ultimately, it just comes down to texture. This one isn't quite as soft as some of the other baked varieties, and the filling doesn't have the same intensely gooey texture that I'd prefer in this type of snack. Unless you're focused on getting the absolute best cereal bar on the market, it's a solid pick if it happens to be available at the grocery store you frequent most anyway.

Out of all of the branded cereal bars on the market, Trader Joe's Peanut Butter Joe's O's Cereal Bars are by far the best. This is partially the case because it starts with a really simple base: Joe's O's cereal (one of many solid Trader Joe's breakfast cereals) isn't too sweet, so it can hold up to the sugary glaze that keeps the bar together without tasting too intensely sugary. Is this still a sweet bar? Absolutely — I think that just about every cereal bar you find on the market will have a noticeable sweetness. But thanks to the subtlety of the cereal (and also the lightness of the sugary glaze), you get a balanced flavor profile. Add in the peanut butter base and drizzle on the bar, which gives it a layer of slightly salty complexity, and you have a nice sweet snack that doesn't feel like overkill. This bar also delivers that perfect crisp I'm looking for in this style of cereal bar, which brings it all together nicely.

I tend to prefer a baked, pastry-like cereal bar more, so it only makes sense that this product wouldn't land in first place. But if you're looking for a cereal bar with those actual, crunchy pieces of cereal, then this Trader Joe's offering might just be the best option for you on this entire list.

My experience with Signature Select products is that they often taste markedly cheaper than the competition, and this is generally reflected in the products' price points. I've noticed this from several different categories of product at stores that carry this line. Therefore, when I picked up Signature Select's Strawberry Soft Baked Cereal Bars, I expected more of the same. However, I ended up being pleasantly surprised with this selection. It had one of the softer pastries on this list, with a pleasantly gooey filling that was undeniably fun to eat. That filling has a really pronounced strawberry flavor — not just a generic sweetness that ultimately only tastes cloying. It also delivers a nice tartness that helps to create one of the more balanced bars on this list.

The pastry part of this cereal bar is also particularly soft. Once you take a bite, the next piece starts to crumble automatically, creating a decadent texture that makes this bar feel more like a dessert than something you'd eat in the morning on your way to work. Whenever you decide to eat one of these, though, you're in for one of the better store-bought cereal bar experiences.

I consider most of the bars on this list to be so sweet that they're really better suited for dessert than for an actual breakfast that could fill you up and taste good when you're on the go. But Trader Joe's "This Blueberry Walks Into a Bar" Cereal Bars are the exception. The balance of sweetness and tartness here is excellent, and it's the main selling point of this product over the others on the list. I found that the actual pastry part of the bar to be less sweet than the others, with a subtle, slightly nutty neutrality that makes the bar really approachable — no matter what time of day you're enjoying it. 

The sweetness really comes through with the filling, of which there's plenty. Not only are you getting a nice dose of sugar, but the filling also provides a pronounced blueberry flavor and a berry-like tartness that helps balance that sweetness even more. But what takes this cereal bar over the top is its texture. The pastry is deliciously soft, with an almost melt-in-your-mouth kind of texture. The filling is similarly gooey, and the two coming together is a match made in packaged food heaven. If you're going to try any of the cereal bars on this list for yourself, this Trader Joe's one is my top pick.

I sought out as many branded cereal bars as I could find for this piece, then selected one flavor of each available baked cereal bar brand depending on specific flavor availability. I then worked from two sets of criteria for each kind of bar. For the branded cereal bars, I prized a crisp, crunchy texture and balanced sweetness, while I judged the pastry varieties based on flavor balance and prioritized a soft texture, gooey interior, and good element ratio. Combining those two criteria, I also evaluated how good every bar tasted as a whole to create the final ranking.