My kids aren’t the only ones in my house who love cereal. Whether for easy breakfasts, quick snacks, or late-night treats, who can resist cereal, really?
If you have Celiac disease or gluten sensitivities, you might be wondering: Which cereal options are safe to eat? Which ones are off-limits? Which ones do I need to be cautious with? I know how time-consuming researching all this can actually be. That’s why I’ve created the ULTIMATE LIST of gluten-free cereal to help!
Are Popular Cereals Like Cheerios, Chex, Lucky Charms, and Fruity Pebbles Gluten-Free?
I think one of the hardest parts of going gluten-free was giving up my favorite comfort foods. Cereal is such a classic breakfast option (and it’s easy, which is something this busy mom can appreciate!).
For me, it wasn’t just about learning which cereals are gluten-free, but whether I could still eat my long-time favorites. If you’re like me, this popular cereal list is for you!
- Cheerios
- Original
- Multigrain
- Very Berry
- Pumpkin Spice
- Honey Nut
- Frosted
- Chocolate
- Apple Cinnamon
- Chex (They go great in this gluten-free Chex mix or this Halloween snack mix!)
- Rice
- Corn
- Chocolate
- Peanut Butter
- Cinnamon
- Blueberry
- Honey Nut
- Strawberry Vanilla
- Lucky Charms (original and jumbo rainbow)
- PEBBLES (fruity pebbles, cocoa pebbles, and cinnamon pebbles)
Shopping Tip
Look for a gluten-free label first. Then check the ingredient list for wheat, barley, rye, and malt. If the cereal contains oats, look for a gluten-free label on the package.
Most gluten free cereal is made from corn, rice, or gluten-free oats, but some are made with other gluten-free grains like quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, or millet.
Which Cereals Are Gluten-Free?
Besides the big-name cereals, each year it seems like there are more and more brands that are either fully gluten-free or have come out with one or two gluten-free options. Here’s a list of ones to try:
- Annie’s Homegrown Gluten Free, Organic Cinnabunnies, Cinnamon Cereal
- Nature’s Path Organic:
- Mesa Sunrise
- Sunrise Crunchy (vanilla, maple, honey, and cinnamon options)
- Fruit Juice Sweetened Corn Flakes
- Crispy Rice
- Golden Turmeric
- Honey’d Corn Flakes
- Nature’s Path Organic Envirokidz
- Chocolate Koala Crisp
- Frosted Amazon Flakes
- Leapin’ Lemurs
- Choco Chimps
- Cheetah Chomps
- Rhino Rolls
- Monarch Magic
- Turtle Splash
- Red Panda Puffs
- Gorilla Munch Corn Puffs
- One Degree Organics Sprouted
- Oat O’s (regular, cinnamon, honey and cacao options)
- Brown Rice Crisps (regular and cacao options)
- Cascadian Farm Organic
- Honey Vanilla Crunch
- Cookie Crunch
- Sprinkle Cookie Crunch
- Mini Fruitfuls
- Mini Cookies’n’Creme
- Fruitful O’s
- Brownie Crunch
- Mom’s Best Crispy Cocoa Rice
- Love Grown
- Power O’s (regular, chocolate, and cinnamon options)
- Stars (Chocostars, Cinnastars, and Truly Fruity Stars)
- Magic Spoon Original Protein Cereals
- Three Wishes (all flavor options)
- Seven Sundays (all flavor options)
- Thrive Market Organic Coconut Flakes
- Purely Elizabeth
- Golden Cinnamon Ancient Grain Flakes
- Cinnamon Raisin Almond
- Honey Peanut Butter
- Vanilla Blueberry Almond
What About Cereals Without a Gluten-Free Label?
As always, some cereals made without gluten ingredients could still have cross-contact with gluten-containing grains during the manufacturing process. So if you’re not sure, do your homework—some brands have a dedicated gluten-free facility or use separate machinery for gluten-free products, while others do not.
Here are the name brands that do not clearly contain gluten, but also aren’t labeled gluten-free:
- Reese’s Puffs
- Kix
- Trix
- Lucky Charms (chocolate and fruity options)
Which Cereals Should I Avoid?
I’ve covered a long list of cereals you can enjoy if you eat gluten-free. Now let’s talk about the cereals to avoid! These cereals contain wheat, barley, rye, or non-gluten-free oats in some form.
Several of these cereals contain malt flavor, which can be easy to overlook when checking the ingredient list. Malt flavoring is derived from barley and is not safe to eat if you’re gluten-free.
- Kellogg
- Rice Krispies
- Corn Flakes
- Corn Pops
- Frosted Flakes
- Frosted Mini Wheats
- Special K
- Froot Loops
- Raisin Bran
- Cracklin’ Oat Bran
- Krave
- Apple Jacks
- Honey Smacks
- Crispix
- Kashi
- All-Bran
- Honey Bunches of Oats
- Life
- Shredded Wheat
If I Have Celiac Disease, What Should I Look For On The Label?
As someone with Celiac disease, here’s how I decide if a specific cereal is safe for me to eat:
- Look for a gluten-free label.
- Read the current ingredient list.
- Watch for wheat, barley, rye and malt.
- Be cautious with oats unless they are specifically labeled gluten-free.
- Check the package every time because formulations can change. This one is easy to forget, but it’s so important—there’s nothing worse than being accidentally glutened and realizing it was right there on the label!
Are Oats Gluten-Free?
Oats are naturally gluten-free, but some brands have a high risk of cross-contamination with gluten during the manufacturing, packaging, or transportation process.
This is why people with Celiac or gluten-sensitivities should only buy oats that are clearly labeled gluten-free to be safe.
Natural Grocers has a store brand line of gluten free cereals including a multi grain flake and raisin bran! They not very sweet grown up cereal and have 6 grams of fiber, from corn. They are made in Italy. I strongly suggest checking them out. I want demand to be high so they keep bringing them in. So many gluten free cereals have low nutritional value and or are so sweet.
Hi Alicia, thanks for the recommendation! I know the feeling of wanting your favorite gluten-free goods to stick around the stores near you!
Great List!!!
My son has eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) and can’t have wheat. He’s also anaphylactic to Eggs, Dairy and Tree Nuts. Lists like this give me a great starting point to narrow down some options. He has been rotating Lucky Charms and Fruity Pebbles for so long that I know it’s time to try to find something different.
I always appreciate so much the gluten free community and even the vegan community they offer so much information that it helps us in the allergy community as well. I often hear so much negative when it comes to these 2 communities but as and allergy mom because of these communities I have options in stores for my son so much more readily available.
And thank you, for your ads not taking over the whole page so I can actually read it. They are just the right size and amount.
Thanks for the kind words! It makes my day to hear the posts are helpful. And thanks for understanding about the ads – ha! They help pay the bills but I never want to overdo it. Hugs from one allergy mom to another!