What Cereals Are Vegan? Plus, How to Pick A Healthy One

What cereals are vegan? How do you find healthy ones?

If you have these questions, keep reading for detailed info about vegan friendly cereal brands and nutrition info from a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (aka- a credentialed food and nutrition expert)!

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Associate affiliate links. This means: if you click on the links and purchase, I earn a commission.

Disclaimer: This article is not providing personal medical or dietary advice. Talk to your doctor before adding a supplement or making major dietary changes. See our Disclaimers for more details.
Please note that ingredients may change.

This post was originally published on 7/20/22. The updated date is listed above.

What Cereals Are Vegan? (Epic List)

I’m so glad you asked!

It can be tricky identifying vegan cereals, especially if you are new to this vegan ‘thing!’

Here’s a quick Youtube short about identifying non vegan cereals. (I’ll get to more details later in this article, so keep reading!)

But for now, here is the huge list of vegan cereals available in alphabetic order by brand (in the United States) that you’ve been waiting for!

Of course, it’s impossible to capture every single vegan brand, but this list is pretty epic if I do say so myself!

By the way, this list is only accounting for for cold cereals. To find a list of vegan oatmeal brands, check out our article here.

Finally, keep in mind that ingredients may change at anytime, so check the ingredients list and get in touch with the company if you have questions.

Annie’s

• Organic Cocoa Bunnies
• Organic Cinnamon Roll

Barbara’s

Barbara’s is under the Post brand, but we put it in this list separately.

• Puffins Original
• Peanut Butter Puffins
• Cinnamon Puffins
• Morning Oat Crunch
• Multigrain Spoonfuls
• Shredded Wheat
• Organic Corn Flakes

Cascadian Farm Organic

• Berry Vanilla Puffs
• No Added Sugar Mixed Berry Cereal
• No Added Sugar Vanilla Crisp Cereal
• No Sugar Added Apple Cinnamon Granola
• No Sugar Added Blueberry Vanilla Granola
• No Added Sugar Cinnamon Apple Granola
• Cinnamon Raisin Granola
• Coconut Cashew Granola
• Dark Chocolate Almond Granola
• French Vanilla Almond Granola
• Cocoa Almond Protein Granola
• Fruit & Nut Granola
• Purely O’s
• Multi Grain Squares
• Graham Crunch
• Fruitful O’s
• Cinnamon Crunch
• Raisin Bran
• Gluten Free Brownie Crunch cereal

Catalina Crunch

• Maple Waffle
• Mint Chocolate
• Fruity
• Blueberry Muffin Cereal
• Dark Chocolate
• Cinnamon Toast
• Chocolate Banana
• Chocolate Peanut Butter

Food For Life (Ezekiel 4:9 Cereals)

• Almond Flake Cereal
• Almond Sprouted Whole Grain Cereal
• Cinnamon Raisin Whole Grain Cereal
• Flax & Chia Sprouted Flake Cereal
• Flax Sprouted Whole Grain Cereal
• Original Flake Cereal
• Sprouted Raisin Flake Cereal
• Sprouted Grain Low Sodium Crunchy Cereal
• Original Sprouted Whole Grain Cereal

General Mills

• Fiber One Original Bran Cereal

Great Value (Walmart brand)

• Cinnamon Crunch
• Frosted Flakes
• Toasted O’s
• Strawberry Awake
• Oat Crunch (plain)
• Cinnamon Oat Crunch
• Bite Sized Shredded Wheat (not the frosted one)
• French Vanilla Almond Granola
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Puffs

Kellogg’s

Because Bear Naked Granola and Kashi (brands under Kellogg’s) have so many vegan cereals we added them in a separate category to keep things organized!

• Grape-Nuts (only “The Original“)
• Raisin Bran (“Original” )
• Rasin Bran with Cranberries
• Mueslix
• Special K Zero Cinnamon Cereal (0 added sugar)
• Vector Maple Crunch cereal
• Vector Apple Cinnamon Crunch cereal
• All-Bran (‘Bran Buds’ only)
• Cap’n Crunch’s Peanut Butter Crunch

Bear Naked Granola

• Triple Berry Crunch
• Peanut Butter
• Vanilla Almond Crisp
• Cacao & Cashew Butter
• Hazelnut Almond Dark Chocolate Chunk

Kashi

• Kashi Go Dark Cocoa
• Kashi Go Cinnamon Vanilla
• Kashi Go Toasted Berry Crisp
• Kashi Go Chocolate Crunch
• Kashi Go Peanut Butter Crunch
• Kashi Go Coconut Almond Crunch
• Kashi Go Cinnamon Crisp
• Organic Blueberry Clusters
• Organic Strawberry Fields
• Autumn Wheat Whole Wheat Biscuits
• Berry Fruitful Whole Wheat Biscuits
• Island Vanilla Whole Wheat Biscuits
• Cinnamon Harvest Whole Wheat Biscuits
• Simply Raisin Whole Wheat Biscuits
• Maple Waffle Crisp

Love Grown

All products from this company are vegan as suggested in their website’s FAQ section.

Misfits

Another company with all vegan products per their website’s FAQ section!

Flavors include cinnamon and chocolate.

Nature’s Path Organic

• Flax Plus Cinnamon Flakes
• Sunrise Crunchy Maple
• Sunrise Crunchy Vanilla
• Sunrise Crunchy Cinnamon
• Flax Plus Multibran Flakes
• Flax Plus Pumpkin Raisin Crunch
• Flax Plus Raisin Bran Flakes
• Flax Plus Red Berry Crunch
• Flax Plus Maple Pecan Crunch
• Mesa Sunrise Flakes
• Mesa Sunrise Flakes with Raisins
• Millet Rice Flakes
• Multigrain Oat Bran Flakes
• Rice Puffs
• SmartBran
• Whole O’s
• Kamut Puffs
• Crispy Rice
• Optimum Power Blueberry Cinnamon Flax
• Sunrise Crunchy Cinnamon Cereal
• Fruit Juice Corn Flakes
• EnviroKidz Amazon Flakes
• EnviroKidz Leapin’ Lemurs Cereal
• EnviroKidz Choco Chimps
• EnviroKidz Gorilla Munch
• EnviroKidz Koala Crisp
• EnviroKidz Panda Puffs
• EnviroKidz Cheetah Chomps
• EnviroKidz Rhino Rolls
• EnviroKidz Turtle Splash
• Qi’a Cranberry Vanilla Chia, Buckwheat & Hemp
• Qi’a Origial Chia Buckwheat & Hemp
• Cinnamon Toast Organic Keto Cereal
• Dark Chocolate Organic Keto Cereal
• Golden Turmeric Superfood Granola
• Peanut butter Granola
• Coconut Chia Granola
• Maple Almond Grain Free Granola
• Vanilla Almond + Flax Granola
• Ketola Crunch Blueberry & Cinnamon Nut Granola
• Ketola Crunch Toasted Pumpkin Seed & Vanilla Nut Granola
• Ketola Crunch Dark Chocolate Chip & Nut Granola
• Coconut & Cashew Butter Granola
• Caramel Pecan Grain Free Granola
• Love Crunch Dark Chocolate & Peanut Butter Granola
• Love Crunch Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Granola
• Love Crunch Apple Chia Crumble
• Love Crunch Dark Chocolate & Cinnamon Cashew Granola
• Love Crunch Dark Chocolate & Red Berries

One Degree Organic Foods

• Brown Rice Cacao Crisps
• Brown Rice Crisps
• Vanilla Chia Granola
• Quinoa Cacao Granola
• Cinnamon Flax Granola
• Coconut Hibiscus Tea Infused Granola
• Cacao Mint Tea Infused Granola
• Goldenberry Honeybush Tea Infused Granola

Purely Elizabeth

• Vanilla Chocolate Chip Ancient Grain Granola
• Chocolate Sea Salt + Probiotics Granola
• Coconut Cashew Grain-Free Granola
• Original Ancient Grain Granola
• Pumpkin Cinnamon Ancient Grain Granola
• Blueberry Hemp Ancient Grain Granola
• Maple Almond Butter Ancient Grain Granola
• Cranberry Pecan Ancient Grain Granola
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Ancient Grain Granola
• Banana Nut Butter Grain-Free Granola
• Vanilla Almond Butter Grain-Free Granola
• Cinnamon Peanut Butter Grain-Free Granola
• Berry Crisp Ancient Grain Granola with Vitamin D

Post

FYI: Since there were so many vegan options under Post’s ‘Malt-O-Meal’ or ‘Mom’s Best’ lines, we included it as a separate subsections below.

• Shredded Wheat Original Big Biscuit Cereal
• Shredded Wheat The Original
• Shredded Wheat Spoon Size Wheat’n Bran cereal
• Coco Wheats cereal
• Grape-Nuts (The Original only)
• Oreo O’s
• Premier Protein Chocolate Almond Cereal
• Waffle Crisp
• Cocoa Pebbles Crunch’d Cereal
• Disney 100 Confetti Cake Cereal
• Alpen Muesli Original and No Sugar Added
• Snoop Cereal Cinnamon Toasteez
• Uncle Sam Original Wheat Flakes
• Weetabix

Malt-O-Meal

• Peanut Butter Cups cereal
• Frosted Flakes cereal
• Cookies & Cream cereal
• Coco-Roos cereal
• Cinnamon Toasters cereal
• Chocolatey Chip Cookie Bites cereal
• Waffle Crunch cereal
• Chocolatey Chip Cookie Bites cereal

Mom’s Best

• Toasted Wheatfuls
• Toasted Cinnamon Squares (unsweetened)
• Raisin Bran cereal
• Krispy Cocoa Rice

Three Wishes Cereal

Per the FAQ section, all Three Wishes flavors are vegan! Here’s some of what they have to offer:

• Unsweetened
• Frosted
• Honey
• Cinnamon
• Cocoa
• Fruity
• Strawberry

Trader Joes Brand

• Joe’s O’s (orignial)
• Almond Butter Puffs
• Joe’s Joe-Joe’s Granola Cookies & Creme
• Peanut Butter Protein Granola
• Tiny Fruity Cuties cereal
• Flakes & Strawberries cereal
• Super Nutty Oat Clusters Cereal
• Gluten Free Granola Loaded Fruit & Nut
• Grainless Granola

Quaker

• Life (Original, Cinnamon, Vanilla flavors)
• Oatmeal Squares ( Brown Sugar and Cinnamon flavors)

Seven Sundays

• Real Cocoa
• Maple Sea Salt
• Real Berry Sunflower
• Real Cinnamon
• Day Dream Dark Chocolate Raspberry Mix
• Rise & Shine Nut Granola

365 Everyday Value (From Whole Foods)

• Raisin Bran
• Organic Morning O’s Cereal (plain)
• Organic Frosted Flakes
• Organic Wheat Waffles
• Organic Brown Rice Crisps
• Organic Peanut Butter Balls
• Organic Peanut Butter & Cocoa Balls
• Organic Fruity Super Rings
• Organic Cinna-Apple Super Rings
• Bite Sized Wheat Squares
• Bit Sized Frosted Wheat Squares
• Organic Bran Flakes
• Organic Corn Flakes
• Organic Crunchy Cinnamon Squares
• Fruit & Nut Muesli
• Organic Cocoa Rice Crisps

Isn’t All Cereal Vegan?

Most cereal is not vegan! At least in the United States that is.

While cold cereal is typically made with (mostly) plant based ingredients, such as oats, wheat, corn, etc, they often contain other non vegan ingredients.

Here’s a list of common ingredients in cereal that are not vegan:

• Vitamin D3: This type of vitamin D (also called “cholecalciferol) is typically sourced from lanolin (a wax from sheep’s wool) -making it a non vegan ingredient. It’s probably the most common nutrient added to cereal that makes cereal “non vegan.”
  
  Unless the ingredients label lists that the vitamin D is vegan (ex: “Made with vegan or plant based Vitamin D3” then it’s likely that the vitamin D added to cereal isn’t vegan. Vitamin D2 on an ingredients label (1) also tends to be vegan. Contact the company if you have questions.
  
• Dairy: This could be listed in a variety of ways. Examples include: whey, whey protein isolate, non-fat milk, milk, milk solids, milk fat, casein, lactose, yogurt, cream, etc.
  
• Honey
  
• Eggs: Some higher protein cereals may be more likely to contain eggs-check the ingredients list.
  
• Gelatin: This gelling agent is made from various animal body parts, such as bones. It’s found in certain cereals- like Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats.
  
• Artificial Food Coloring or Red #4 (Carmine-made from bugs): While food coloring might or might not be plant derived, some are continuously tested on animals (2). Because of the ambiguity, some vegans may or may not consume artificial food coloring.
  
• Glycerin: According to this source from PETA.org, this soap byproduct often comes from an animal source. However, it could be derived from vegetables as well. So vegans may or may not avoid this ingredient.
  
• Marshmallows: Some cereals contain non vegan marshmallows that are made with gelatin and possibly food coloring.
  
• Milk Chocolate

Finally, natural flavors may be vegan or non vegan, and it can be really difficult to know. You can contact the company to find out.

Still, many vegans do not think twice about whether natural flavors are or are not vegan! As a personal story, it is not something that I think twice about!

There are already enough challenges being vegan 😉

What Name Brand Cereals Are Vegan?

What makes some popular cereals vegan or… not vegan? This section attempts to answer your questions.

FYI: This is based on our review of the ingredients and vitamins in the US (I checked via their respective websites 12/22/23). Please note, ingredients could change. We did not contact the company, but you can for more up to date information.

Are Cheerios Vegan?

Original Cheerios are not vegan.

All varieties appear to have vitamin D3 sourced from the lambs wool per their FAQ section here).

Are Honey Nut Cheerios Vegan?

Honey Nut Cheerios is not vegan because it contains honey and vitamin D3 from lambs wool.

Are Froot Loops Vegan?

Nope! Both Froot Loops and Froot Loops marshmallows contain vitamin D3 (likely sourced from lanolin), and additionally, gelatin is a non vegan ingredient the marshmallows variety.

Also, for vegans who are are concerned about artificial food coloring, both cereals contain colors- just an FYI.

Vegan Friendly Alternative (Taste Wise)

In my opinion, the “Fruity” flavor from 3 Wishes tastes very similar to Froot Loops (even my non vegan husband liked it)!

It’s also gluten free certified, only contains 3 grams of added sugar, and has 8 grams of protein per serving.

Is Raisin Bran Vegan?

The “original” Raisin Bran and Raisin Bran with Cranberries variety appears to be vegan.

However, the Raisin Bran Crunch is not vegan as they contain honey.

Are Frosted Flakes Vegan?

All the Kellog’s Frosted Flakes varieties have vitamin D3 sourced from sheep’s wool, so they are not vegan(3).

The variety with marshmallows also contain gelatin and food coloring.

Is Life Cereal Vegan?

Quaker Life cereal is vegan!

Interestingly, at Pepiscoproductfacts.com, I learned that they include sugar refined with animal bone char as a non vegan ingredient (source: https://www.pepsicoproductfacts.com/home/veganvegetarian?ppf=true).

I don’t see animal products, honey, or gelatin, so I’m guessing that sugar that utilized bone char might be why Life Cereal did not show up with when I filtered for “Breakfast Cereals” and “Vegan” here: https://www.pepsicoproductfacts.com/home/find?ppf=true#/

There are many who identify as vegan and do not avoid any type of sugar. That’s why Life cereal is widely agreed on as vegan friendly.

As an aside, I still enjoy Life cereal as a vegan sometimes!

Is Cinnamon Toast Crunch Vegan?

No, Cinnamon Toast Crunch isn’t vegan because the vitamin D3 is sourced from sheep’s wool. I’m just as disappointed as you are! It was one of my favorites as a kid!

Additionally, the CinnaGraham flavor contains honey, and – another non vegan ingredient.

Vegan Friendly Alternative (Taste Wise)

They may not have that cute little mascot, but vegans will appreciate that Cascadian Farm Cinnamon Crunch cereal is vegan!

They taste so similar that I got nostalgic trying these cinnamony squares for the first time! You’re even left with that cinnamon sugar tinged milk.

This cereal is a treat that I enjoy occasionally.

Are Corn Flakes Vegan?

Kellogg’s Corn Flakes are not vegan as they contain vitamin D3 derived from animals (4).

Are Frosted Mini Wheats Vegan?

Kellogg’s Frosted Mini Wheats are not vegan because they contain gelatin, which comes from animal parts, such as bones.

How Do I Pick A Healthy Vegan Cereal?

It can certainly be a learning curb to identify vegan cereals, much less healthy vegan cereal!

So let’s try to break down some super important tips (keeping in mind that what’s healthy for you is personal! If you need personalized guidance, talk to your doctor and Registered Dietitian).

Alright! Here’s a quick summary of my 4 tips for picking a healthier vegan cereal. Look for cereals that:

• Lower in added sugar
• Contain less sodium
• Favor whole grains (and/or legumes)
• Nutrients and ingredients are in line with you health history and goals

Lets go over those points in more detail!

Lower In Added Sugar

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) 2020-2025 suggests adults keep added sugars under 10% of total daily calories.

For a 2000 calorie diet, that’s under 50 grams of sugar (under 200 calories) per day.

To put this in perspective, you can easily find a cereal that contains 10 or more grams of sugar per serving (and who eats just one serving anyways)!

Added sugar provides little in terms of nutrition, and eating too much of them may result in extra calories that are not very satiating. Who else has had a bowl of sugary cereal-only to feel hungry an hour later?

In the US, most labels should now list ‘Added Sugars’ under ‘Total Sugars’ in the nutrition facts panel. The amount will be listed in grams per serving.

Examples of added sugars in the ingredients list include (FYI: not a comprehensive list):

• high fructose corn syrup
• fructose
• sucrose
• cane sugar
• dextrose

Try to aim for no more than 6 grams of added sugar per dry ounce (about 30 grams) of cereal(7) in an effort to keep your added sugars lower in your cereal.

Around 30 grams (give or take a little) is a common serving size of many cereals. However, this is not always the case. So check the label, and try to aim for no more than 6 grams of added sugar per serving-just to keep it simple.

Contains Less Sodium

The CDC suggests that most Americans likely consume more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day for adults (The DGA) 2020-2025 recommends less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day for adults).

The DGA 2020-2025 also suggests that reduced sodium intake may reduce the risk of high blood pressure.

So, it seems prudent to watch the sodium in your breakfast cereal too! Cereals can easily contain 200 milligrams of sodium or more.

When looking at the nutrition facts label, try to go for a lower sodium cereal. Look for one at or under 140 milligrams of sodium per serving(4).

Favor Whole Grains (And/or Legumes)

Check out the ingredients list! Do you see “whole” mentioned in the first ingredients (Ie: whole grain wheat, whole grain oats). Or do you see whole food ingredients, such as lentils or beans?

If you do, you’ll also likely to get more fiber and/or protein.

Here’s why that’s important:

1. Whole grains typically contain more fiber than refined grains: One article published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine suggests that most Americans do not get enough fiber(5). That means many might be missing out on certain associated digestive and health benefits.
2. Legumes on the ingredients label, may add more protein to your cereal:
   If you are eating bran flakes, and some fruit, you probably aren’t getting much satiating protein, although adding a protein powered plant based milk, (like soy milk) could. Cereals that include legumes like peas, chickpeas or lentils might up the protein in your breakfast.
   Additionally, some vegans may struggle with getting enough protein at breakfast, since vegans avoid popular non vegan breakfast foods, such as meat products, eggs and dairy milk .
3. Other whole food ingredients can add some additional vitamins and minerals: For example, those raisins in your cereal could add extra plant based iron and potassium. Almonds could add a bit of calcium, biotin, and fats. Get the gist?

Nutrients and Ingredients Are In Line With Your Health History and Goals

Simply put you are unique.

Your medical conditions and dietary values may be as different from the next person as a snowflake. Are your food choices (including cereal- if you eat it) in line with your health goals?

For example: some individuals have require have celiac disease and should look for strictly gluten free cereals if they want to consume cereal.

Or, maybe you value organic foods because you want to reduce your pesticide intake.

Meeting with a Dietitian can help you get clarity on a healthy vegan cereal for you, so that you don’t have to compromise on your values!

Healthy Vegan Cereal Options

Since the term “healthy” is so vague, we are going to define “healthy” as hitting all of these points that we talked about in the past section:

• Utilizes whole grains or whole food ingredients at the top
• Includes at or less than 6 grams of added sugar per serving
• Has at or less than 140 milligrams of sodium or less per serving

And, I’ll just add bonus points for cereals with at/over 6 grams of protein per serving! This is because if your breakfast is stand alone cereal, plant based milk, and fruit for example, cereal might be a good opportunity to get in some protein and feel more satisfied with your meal.

As always, we each have our own unique health needs. So what’s healthy for you may not be the same for the next person.

Now, lets get to those healthy vegan options!

As a reminder, this post contains Amazon Associate affiliate links. This means: if you click on the links and purchase, I earn a commission.

Food For Life: Ezekiel 4:9 Cinnamon Raisin Sprouted Crunchy Cereal

The Food For life brand is probably best known for their bread. However, they also have a cereal line with lots of vegan friendly options including one of my favorites (flavor wise): Cinnamon Raisin Sprouted Crunch Cereal!

This cereal contains sprouted whole grain ingredients, and is organic for those who find it important.

It also provides a decent amount of zinc, selenium, and other minerals per the nutrition facts panel.

And at 130 milligrams of sodium and 1 gram of added sugar, and a bonus of 7 grams of protein per serving, many would say this is a pretty healthy cereal!

How does it taste? In my opinion, the flavor is similar to Post’s Grape Nuts cereal, but this one adds a touch of sweetness from the raisins and cinnamon.

3 Wishes Cereal

I think this cereal is just as fun to eat as it looks!

I’ve tried several of their flavors, and can’t pick just one favorite, but decided to feature the one below since I had it on hand at the time.

In addition to the frosted flavor, they also have fruity, cocoa, unsweetened, cinnamon, and even a vegan “honey” flavor!

All of the flavors contain less than 140 milligrams of sodium, and only 3 grams of added sugars per serving (with the exception of the unfrosted one, that one contains 0 grams of added sugars per serving!).

Each flavor contains 8 grams of proteins per serving as well, which may come from the chickpeas and pea protein.

Plus, the 3 Wishes cereals are gluten free certified for those who are looking that.

Even my non vegan husband likes the cereal flavors we have tried (and that is saying a lot 😉 )!

Kashi: Simply Raisin

Don’t be fooled by how healthy this cereal looks! They also have a bit of natural sweetness inside from the raisins. In my opinion, it goes in harmony with the hearty whole wheat biscuits.

One serving (30 biscuits) of Kashi’s Simply Raisin Cereal has a whopping 8 grams of fiber, no sodium or added sugar (but still tastes great!), and even 7 grams of protein.

Those stats sound pretty impressive. I personally love how this cereal tastes with soaked in some plant based milk.

Did you learn something new about vegan cereal brands? What’s your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this article, you might like these as well!
–Is Chocolate Vegan?
–Can Vegans Eat Bread?
–Is Guar Gum Vegan?
–Can Vegans Drink Coffee?
Ready to jump start your vegan journey? Get access to my FREE 7 day vegan challenge by selecting the ‘free trial option on

Don’t miss out on cool vegan food and nutrition news!