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Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but often gets skipped because let’s admit it, mornings are hectic. Cereal bars offer a convenient and tasty way to enjoy your favorite cereals on the go. However, many don’t have both the flavor and nutritional value, such as high protein, to keep you fueled.
Snacks that satisfy cravings and provide benefits are key when that midday hunger hits you. Whether you’re a busy professional, mom on the go, or just someone who really loves a good snack, you deserve an easy-to-grab sweet treat that hits the spot. We tested the top 5 cereal bars — which one reigns supreme?
The Players
Magic Spoon Treats:
is a brand that blends childhood favorite flavors with delicious cereals. Their treats combine flavor-rich, fulfilling cereals into snacks for on-the-go. They are ideal for anyone, from working professionals to fitness lovers, looking for something that is both fulfilling and delicious. They have a nostalgic, great taste with more protein and less sugar.
Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Treats:
Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Treats are chewy, marshmallow-based snacks to fulfill your sweet treat cravings.
Lucky Charms Treat Bars:
If you’re loyal to a childhood cereal, then General Mills offers brand-specific treat bars, such as Lucky Charms.
KIND Cereal Bars:
KIND has a variety of snack bars, including cereal bars geared towards breakfast time.
Annie’s Organic Crispy Snack Bars:
An organic take on rice crispy snack bars.
Flavors
Magic Spoon Treats:
Birthday Cake, Strawberry Milkshake, Double Chocolate, Blueberry, best-selling Marshmallow, and Chocolatey Peanut Butter. Many snack bars compromise nutritional value for flavor – Magic Spoon Treats manage to find the right balance between the two.
Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Treats:
They have their OG flavor, as well as four others: Chocolatey Peanut Butter, Strawberry, Chocolatey Chip, and Rainbow.
Lucky Charms Treat Bars:
The Lucky Charms treat bars contain the well-known cereal with an added sweet layer.
KIND Cereal Bars:
These bars have a lower flavor profile with only three flavors to choose from: Chocolate with almonds, Cinnamon with almonds, and Honey Nut with almonds. (All bars contain nuts).
Annie’s Organic Crispy Snack Bars:
Their bars only have one flavor with a gooey and crispy texture.
Ingredients
Magic Spoon Treats:
They’re a delicious snack without the guilt. A bonus? Protein that takes your afternoon pick-me-up to the next level.
- High in protein with 11-12g per bar (equivalent to 2 eggs)
- 2g of net carbs
- Only 1g of sugar
Despite being rich in flavor, there are no artificial colors or sweeteners, cane sugar, corn syrup, or sugar alcohols. It’s all natural flavors. Magic Spoon Treats are gluten-free, grain-free, and keto-friendly.
Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Treats:
Rice Krispies Treats’ two main ingredients are toasted rice cereal and marshmallow.. Their flavors are on the sweeter side so these are great for a small dessert for lunch, a sweet treat during an activity, or an easy-to-grab snack for parties.
- Protein: <1g
- Carbs: 17g
- Sugar: 8g
Rice Krispies Treats are great for flavor, you may have to be mindful if you have dietary restrictions. Their cereal uses malt syrup, which is derived from Barley, meaning it’s not gluten-free. Their bars are high in carbs, making them a good source of energy for moderate to intense workouts. However, they are not keto-friendly. Rice Krispies Treats use both natural and artificial flavors, and they use gelatin for texture.
Lucky Charms Treat Bars:
Lucky Charms has a similar nutritional breakdown to Rice Krispies Treats with higher carbs and sugars:
- Protein: <1g
- Carbs: 18g
- Sugar: 9g
Lucky Charms is not gluten-free and does use artificial flavors and colors, such as red 40, yellow 5 and 6, and blue 1. As well as gelatine to give it that gooey texture. With their high carb profile, they are not meant for a keto-friendly diet, but they are good for a filling snack.
KIND Cereal Bars:
Made up of whole-grain oats and a plant-based oat milk drizzle.
KIND cereal bars are gluten-free and use natural flavors, with no artificial colors and corn syrup. However, they are not keto-friendly due to the high-carb intake:
- Protein: 3g
- Carbs: 29g
- Sugar: 9g
Annie’s Organic Crispy Snack Bars:
Made up of organic crisp rice, Annie’s takes on a cleaner taste profile with natural ingredients.
Typical rice and marshmallow-based crispy bars contain gelatin, which gives them their gooey texture. However, gelatin is not vegan or vegetarian. Annie’s makes their bars vegetarian by being gelatin-free (they do contain milk ingredients so they are not vegan). Annie’s bars are gluten-free and don’t use any artificial ingredients or high-fructose corn syrup.
- Protein: <1g
- Carbs: 17g
- Sugar: 7g
Texture
Magic Spoon Treats:
Tasty, crispy, and have a pleasing airy texture
Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Treats:
Gooey, chewy texture with an airy consistency
Lucky Charms Treat Bars:
Marshmallow throughout, with a hardened layer on the bottom. It has a chewy, dense consistency. There are chunks of the Lucky Charms cereal, making it a crunchier bar.
KIND Cereal Bars:
Crunchier texture than other cereal bars.
Annie’s Organic Crispy Snack Bars:
Their bars only have one flavor with a gooey and crispy texture.
Price
Magic Spoon Treats:
You can buy a pack containing a single flavor or get a variety pack to reconnect with your favorite childhood flavors for $39. A subscription gets you 25% off, down to $29.25 a month, which you can cancel at any time. Magic Spoon offers a 100% happiness guarantee: If you’re not completely in love with your treats, they’ll refund your first case in full.
Each pack comes with 4 boxes, 16 treats in total. Magic Spoon offers a Build Your Own option, where you can choose all the flavors you want. A 4-box pack is as low as $29.25 and a 6-box pack is as low as $44.25. At roughly $1.83 per bar, Magic Spoon is both affordable and high quality.
Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Treats:
Rice Krispies Treats are affordable. A box of 40 of the original flavor goes for around $13.69, making each bar around $0.34. You can’t order the treats online, so scour your local department stores to get your hands on them. Rice Krispies are an inexpensive option when you’re looking to satisfy that sweet tooth.
Lucky Charms Treat Bars:
An 8-ct box goes for around $3.69 and a 16-ct goes for $6.54. A singular Lucky Charms cereal bar is roughly $0.43, making it an affordable option if you’re looking for a snack bar that contains a singular childhood favorite cereal.
KIND Cereal Bars:
KIND cereal bars aren’t directly sold on the website, so you would have to find it in a local grocery store. A box of six goes for around $5.99, meaning a singular bar is roughly $1.00. KIND cereal bars are ideal for people who aren’t looking for a snack for anytime of the day, but rather a breakfast treat.
Annie’s Organic Crispy Snack Bars:
A box of five Annie’s crispy snack bars typically go for $7.29, making each bar roughly $1.50. With a less flavorful taste, Annie’s crispy bars are good for those looking for an organic alternative and don’t necessarily have a sweet tooth.
Bottom Line – Winner: Magic Spoon Treats
Magic Spoon Treats | Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Treats | Lucky Charms Treat Bars | KIND Cereal Bars | Annie’s Organic Crispy Snack Bars | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Price | $1.83/bar | $0.34/bar | $0.43/bar | $1.00/bar | $1.50/bar |
# of flavors | 6 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
Texture | Airy and crisp | Chewy and airy | Crunchy and dense | Crispy and crunchy | Crispy and gooey |
Protein | 12g | <1g | <1g | 3g | <1g |
Carbs | 2g | 17g | 18g | 29g | 17g |
Sugar | 1g | 8g | 9g | 9g | 7g |
Gluten-free | |||||
Keto-friendly | |||||
Corn syrup |
Cravings (and memories) differ. When choosing a snack, you might value flavor or you might be looking for more nutritional payoff. Magic Spoon is a balance of both. They are guilt-free, since their treats are high in protein and low in sugar. Magic Spoon Treats provide energy and are a high-quality, perfect pick-me-up for fitness lovers or busy professionals. They have the crispy, airy texture of cereal bars without overpowering chewiness. They are affordable snacks at a price of $39, which contains 4 boxes of 16 bars.
P.S. You can save 25% by signing up for a subscription. 👇
4 Responses
Rice Krispies are the GOAT, but Magic Spoon bars are also amazing. Love every flavor.
I had to start taking my health seriously after a doctor’s visit. Glad I saw this article. I’m going to give Magic Spoon a try!
I tried the cereal before, is this similar?
❤️❤️❤️ my Magic Spoon bars