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This homemade vegan cinnamon cereal is crunchy, sweet, packed with cinnamon, and tastes just like mini caramelized cookies! You will only need 9 pantry ingredients, and they are so easy to make. Enjoy them with your favorite plant-based milk or yogurt, or sprinkle them over ice cream!
Wouldn’t it be fun to make your own cereal? Well, I’ve got you covered with this cinnamon-infused cereal! It contains only 9 ingredients and has less sugar than most store-bought cereals.
The inspiration behind this recipe comes from Speculoos, a crunchy cinnamon cookie that is popular around Christmas in Europe. If that doesn’t ring a bell, you might know it as Biscoff!
It is one of my favorite treats. It’s kind of like gingerbread cookies but crispier. My goal was to turn that cozy, caramelized cookie flavor into a cereal that I could eat for breakfast… and honestly, I think I nailed it!
❤️ Why It’s a Must-Try
Caramelized cookie flavor.
A big bowl of these cinnamon cereals + fresh homemade almond milk = breakfast in heaven. They stay super crunchy, and that subtle caramelized flavor combined with the cinnamon is just 😍. If you love Biscoff cookies, you are going to love these!
Julia, a reader, said: “Wow, they’re amazing. I just took them out of the oven half an hour ago, and I’m afraid they won’t last long lol. They don’t get soggy or fall apart in milk, and taste so good. I was too lazy to squeeze out small drops, so they came out more like small cookies haha, but no complaints here! ★★★★★”
Easy and made in one bowl.
This recipe starts with a super-easy-to-make batter that requires just a handful of pantry staples. Then, all you have to do is transfer the batter to a piping bag and pipe small balls of dough on a baking sheet. Pop in the oven for a few minutes, and you end up with homemade vegan cereals that are extra crispy and seriously delicious.
Double the batch because you will eat a lot more than you plan, trust me.
They keep very well.
Did I mention these cereals have a long shelf life? If you keep them in an airtight container, they will stay crunchy for up to 1 month!
💬 Let’s Talk Ingredients
Flour
I went with all-purpose flour as the base for this cereal because it’s the most common one. Chances are, you’ve already got it sitting in your pantry.
Substitute: You can use light spelt flour or whole wheat flour. Just keep in mind that you might have to slightly adjust the amount of milk, as those flours will not absorb the same amount of liquid.
Brown sugar
To recreate the flavor of Biscoff cookies, I rely on dark brown sugar. It’s essential to getting that typical caramelized flavor. Light brown sugar will work, but your cereal won’t be as golden brown and may lack some depth.
Refined sugar-free substitute: You can use coconut sugar if you want to make the cereal free of refined sugar.
Baking powder and baking soda
I use a combination of baking powder and baking soda to give the cereal a light texture. With that being said, don’t expect puffed cereal – these are still light and crisp, but not airy like the store-bought kind.
The baking soda also contributes to the caramelization, creating more complex flavors.
Cinnamon
Use regular ground cinnamon – do not use Ceylon cinnamon here, it’s too mild and woody for this recipe.
Milk
Any unsweetened plant-based milk works. I generally use soy milk, but almond, cashew, or oat milk are also great options.
Oil
Adding just a bit of oil to the batter helps the cereal crisp up during baking. Don’t worry, they do not taste greasy at all.
Vanilla extract
And finally, an optional teaspoon of vanilla extract brings floral and gourmand notes!
Less Sugar? No Problem!
If you’re not big on sweets or just want a healthier take, good news – I tested a lower-sugar version of this recipe by cutting the sugar in half. And guess what? It still turned out pretty great! You’ll just need to add 2 extra teaspoons of milk to the batter to keep the texture right. Here’s how the low-sugar version compares against the original:
- Not as complex: Since the batter contains less brown sugar, the cereal doesn’t caramelize as much, resulting in a milder taste.
- Lighter in color: Less brown sugar also means a lighter brown color.
- Not as crunchy: It’s still crunchy, don’t worry! But compared to the original, it’s a bit less crisp and tends to get soggy a little bit quicker in milk.
Overall, we really enjoyed both versions, but if we had to choose, we would still pick the full-sugar cereal as it’s crispier and packs a bit more flavor.
🥣 How It’s Done
- Mix the dry ingredients. Add the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a mixing bowl. Mix until combined using a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Add the wet ingredients. Next, pour in the plant-based milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Mix until it forms a thick and sticky batter.
- Transfer to a piping bag. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch (0.6 cm) round tip.
- Pipe the cereal. Holding the bag vertically, close to the baking sheet, pipe 1/4-inch balls, leaving about 1 inch (2.5 cm) between each. I recommend using a wet knife to cut each ball as the batter is quite sticky. Note: Depending on the size of your baking sheet, you might have to bake it in 2 batches.
- Bake. Finally, bake the cereal for 14 minutes or until they are golden brown. The cereal will slightly rise and get a rounded shape. Allow to cool for at least 40 minutes before transferring to a glass jar.
📔 Tip
Make even pieces.
To make sure all your cereal turns out crunchy, try to pipe the dough into balls that are the same size. I usually aim for about 1/3 inch (or 1 cm) wide. Just a heads-up: if you make them smaller or bigger, you might need to adjust the baking time a bit.
🍫 Tweak Them!
The best part is that you can adjust the spices to create different versions. Here are some ideas:
- Chai-spice: Add 1/2 teaspoon of each: cardamom and ginger.
- Frangipane: Add 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract.
- Gingerbread: Add 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger.
🥛 What to Enjoy Them With
You can have them with almond milk, hazelnut milk, or your favorite plant-based milk. They also go well with vegan Greek yogurt, or almond milk yogurt, or you can use them as a topping for vanilla ice cream!
Do they get soggy in milk fast? Good question! I have tested how long these cereals stay crunchy in cold milk, and the results are in! Six minutes is the total amount of time it takes for the cereal to get soggy. The sweet spot for me is 1-2 minutes, as I like my cereal crunchy but just slightly softer on the outside.
❄️ Best Way to Store
- To store: You can store the cereal for up to 1 month at room temperature in an airtight container or glass jar.
💬 FAQ
It is on par with most European cereal brands (at around 24g of sugar per 100g). Compared to American brands, though, they are less sweet. For example, Cinnamon Toast Crunch or Cookie Crisp cereal contains 29-34g of sugar per 100g.
Yes, as I mentioned above in the post, you can reduce the sugar by half.
Although I haven’t tried yet, I think you should be able to remove the oil and replace it with one additional tablespoon of milk. Just be aware that the cereal might be a little bit less crispy, though.
This cinnamon cereal is not only super fun to make but also tastes SO good! I particularly like these on cold mornings with warm milk, or sometimes I’ll just have them as an afternoon snack. Hope you will love them too!
⭐️ Did you like this recipe? Let us know in the comments below, and tag us on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Note: This recipe was first released in June 2016 and updated with new process shots and detailed instructions in June 2025.
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Vegan Cinnamon Cereal
Ingredients
- 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup (62 g) packed brown sugar (or coconut sugar or muscovado sugar)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup and 1 tsp (65 ml) unsweetened plant-based milk
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) oil
- 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to
350 °F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. - Mix the dry ingredients. Add the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a mixing bowl. Mix until combined using a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Add the wet ingredients. Next, pour in the plant-based milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Mix until it forms a thick and sticky batter.
- Transfer to a piping bag. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch (0.6 cm) round tip.
- Pipe the cereal. Holding the bag vertically, close to the baking sheet, pipe 1/4-inch balls, leaving about 1 inch (2.5 cm) between each. I recommend using a wet knife to cut each ball as the batter is quite sticky. Note: Depending on the size of your baking sheet, you might have to bake it in 2 batches.
- Bake. Finally, bake the cereal for 14 minutes or until they are golden brown. The cereal will slightly rise and get a rounded shape. Allow to cool for at least 40 minutes before transferring to a glass jar.
- To store: You can store the cereal for up to 1 month at room temperature in an airtight container or glass jar.
Notes
Make even pieces.
To make sure all your cereal turns out crunchy, try to pipe the dough into balls that are the same size. I usually aim for about 1/3 inch (or 1 cm) wide. Just a heads-up: if you make them smaller or bigger, you might need to adjust the baking time a bit.
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
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