Lower Sugar Cereals For Kids

A list of Lower Sugar Cereals for Kids if you are looking for some new options for breakfasts or snacks. They all have six grams of added sugar or less and at least two grams of both protein and fiber.

Hi friends!

This list of Lower Sugar Cereals For Kids has been on my to-do list for a while now and I’ve finally got it done and am excited to share it with you. I know cereal often gets knocked for not being the most nutritious food to feed your kid, but as someone who very seriously lived off almost nothing but cereal for many years, I will always have a strong love for it.

Plus my kids love it so I guess they take after their mama. While there are definitely some cereal options out there that are, in my opinion, overly sugary and not overly nutritious…there are also some good cereal choices out there. Several brands make cereals that are low in sugar and also contain a decent amount of protein and fiber. When paired with some additional protein and fiber, cereal can definitely be part of a healthy meal or snack.

A few notes about cereal:

Remember that it’s often fortified with beneficial things like B vitamins, Iron, Zinc, Calcium and Vitamin D. Iron is especially important for kiddos so cereal can be a good way to add some extra to their diet.
There are lots of whole grain options available. If the box says whole grain, then at least half the grain ingredients are whole grain. If it says 100% whole grain then all the grain ingredients are whole grain. You can look for the yellow and black whole grain stamp. If it says 100% whole grains, it has at least 16g whole grains which is one serving of whole grains.

My criteria:

Whenever you make a list like this, you have to pick a cut-off. Otherwise, you’ll never be able to eliminate anything from your list. So for the purposes of this list, here’s what I used for my criteria:

6 grams or less added sugar.
At least 2 grams of both protein and fiber.
I made a secondary/alternates list that goes up to 9 grams of added sugar because there are some options out there that have 5-6 grams fiber/protein etc but a little more added sugar as well…so you’ll need to weigh the pros and cons depending on what you’re looking for in a cereal.
I tried to pick cereals that are kid-friendly because let’s be real…not a lot of kids are going to eat plain bran flakes so I didn’t put them on the list even though they are low in sugar.
I didn’t include granola. I felt like it deserved its own list that perhaps I’ll put together in the future.
I tried to pick cereals that are somewhat commonly found, ie not just stuff that can only be found at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s etc.

An important note:

For this list, I really just focused on the sugar, protein and fiber content. There are several other factors to consider when it comes to cereal and it would be hard to address them all, so as a responsible consumer, you should do your own research on the following factors if they’re important to you because I didn’t address them:

Organic/non-organic ingredients
Allergens- some cereals may contain nuts, dairy etc
Artificial colors/sweeteners- some cereals may include these. For example: Life cereal has Yellow 5 in it
Safety – some cereals may be too hard/crunchy for younger toddlers, even when soaked in milk
Serving size – be sure to check it. Comparing a ⅔ cup serving size to 1 cup serving size is not apples to apples
Sodium and calorie content

Other Suggestions:

Look for fiber. If it’s low in sugar but also low in fiber, add some fresh fruit, nuts or seeds to boost fiber content. Fiber intake goals: 19 grams per day for 1-3-year-olds, 25 grams per day for 4-8-year-olds, continues to increase for older kids and adults. Cereals like Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes and Crispix fall into this category, with just a few grams of sugar but no fiber either.
If your kids are used to higher sugar cereals, look for similar lower sugar options and start by mixing half and half.
I usually try to pair cereal with a protein source like milk, yogurt, cheese, nuts, etc.
Get out your measuring cups and measure out a serving size of your cereal so you can see what it looks like
Check the box. Things change. Recipes change. The numbers in this post could at some point become inaccurate.

So, are you ready for the list? Here you go! Remember, this is not an all-inclusive list. That would be a huge task to tackle. This is just to give you a starting place and provide some cereals you maybe haven’t heard of or tried.