Homemade Peanut Butter Crunch Cereal (2024)

posted on February 20, 2019

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Growing up cereal was a morning staple. I remember having Fruity Pebbles, Rice Krispies, and all the other super famous 80’s and 90’s cereals. My absolute favorites were Captain Crunch and Chocolate Peanut Butter Puffs. I would love how the peanut butter and chocolate made the milk sweet and you had a not on purpose chocolate milk on your hands. And let’s be honest, that’s like legit the best part. The milk isn’t too cold but it’s not warm, it stays at the perfect room temp. Oh also Pop Tarts were a thing too for on the go breakfasts. Not so nutritious I know, but back then no one really knew any better.

When I made this Homemade Peanut Butter Crunch Cereal that is 100% vegan and has a gluten free option, the joy I felt inside brought me back to my kid days when adulting was far far away (at least till the age of 13, when I started working). I like to make this with a batch of my Homemade Vegan Cocoa Puffs and it gives me All. The. Feels.

Full disclosure: I ate a bowl of this late night watching Peaky Blinders on Netflix and it was AMAZING!!! It’s basically like eating little tiny peanut butter cookies doused in almond milk. It really brings me so much joy and I’m not even over exaggerating.

Only 7 super simple ingredients, one bowl and that’s it. No refined sugars no junk, just straight up deliciousness in every bite. You will say buh bye to your boxed cereal and stay together with this one foreves. Also we have options people!!! Add a tablespoon or two of cacao powder and you can make them chocolate!!! I can hear the roars coming from the crowd, it’s amazing aint’ it!

The Right Amount of Crunch

They start off super crunchy and take in just the right amount of milk. I suggest making them a day ahead so they set and get a bit harder that way when you do add the milk you don’t end up with mush. If you put them in cereal straight out of the oven that’s what you’ll get. I mean it will be the most delicious mush ever but you won’t get that crunch like you do with traditional cereal. So let it sit a couple of hours at least.

Another option that’s so super fun….you can make the dough into cookies too! Just instead of making tiny little balls take tablespoon size portions roll em’ out and bake em’ up for 10 minutes. You can gently flatten them with the palm of your hand.

Ok and one last thing with this recipe is you can enjoy it “raw” although it’s not raw like a standard cookie dough as it has no egg. It just taste really good before getting baked so I find my hand in the bowl “taste testing” more than I should be. I’m all about transparency here friends! LOL.

People look forward to breakfast and it can be the most important meal of the day for some, make it special by adding these melt in your mouth, vegan homemade peanut butter gems to the mix. Just 7 easy ingredients and all your cereal dreams will come true.

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4.25 from 4 votes

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Homemade Peanut Butter Crunch Cereal

Servings: 8

Prep Time: 5 minutes mins

Cook Time: 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 15 minutes mins

People look forward to breakfast and it can be the most important meal of the day for some, make it special by adding these homemade peanut butter gems to the mix.

Ingredients

2 cups gluten free flour (see notes), spelt flour, or ap flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp himalayan salt
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup avocado oil, coconut oil, or extra virgin olive oil
1 cup maple syrup

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk together all dry ingredients then add in all the wet ingredients. Mix well then let it sit for a few minutes.
To make the cereal take 1/2 tsp size portions and roll into balls. You can go however big or small as you'd like but I like this size for the cereal as it will expand in the oven.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden on the edges. Remove from oven and let cool completely before adding to milk. I suggest waiting a few hours or overnight before adding them to a bowl of milk. You can enjoy them right away however as cookies.
To make regular size cookies take tbsp size portions and roll into balls then gently flatten with the palm of your hand. Bake for the same amount of time 10-12 minutes or until edges are golden.
Serve up with your favorite plant milk and Enjoy!

Notes

Can sub almond butter for peanut butter.
Store in an air tight container or ziplock bag at room temp for up to 5 days.
Bobs Red Mill or King Arthur make great gluten free flour blends.

Categories: 10 minute meals, 5 Ingredients or less, All Recipes, Breakfast, Snacks, Uncategorized

35 Comments »

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35 comments

Laurie Hartley — March 11, 2024 @ 12:50 pm Reply

My husband’s face when I told him I found this recipe!!😂 He’s an 8 yr old again! Definitely going in my recipe folder! Thank you.

Suzanne — February 29, 2024 @ 11:54 pm Reply

This looks so good! What a great healthy snack on hand!

JenniferRose — March 4, 2024 @ 1:17 pm Reply

thank you!!!

Suzanne — January 31, 2024 @ 11:07 pm Reply

This looks so good! What a great combination of flavors!

RandomBoyProject — October 14, 2023 @ 11:30 am Reply

what is the nutrition facts of this cereal?
just asking i need it asap hhehe for my project.

Suzanne — September 23, 2023 @ 10:07 pm Reply

This looks so good! What a great treat to make kids!

Darianne — September 5, 2023 @ 7:53 pm Reply

How long can this cereal stay good for if I wanted to make a whole gallon size zip lock bag,

JenniferRose — September 11, 2023 @ 12:25 pm Reply

Probably a week I’d say. I’m really not sure because when I make it, it doesn’t last that long. I also don’t know about freezing. However let me know what you end up doing and how it turns out!!

Sierra — January 2, 2024 @ 7:55 am Reply

Does this result I’m a crispy cereal? My kiddos wanted to make crunch berries for a while, so we’re going to use your recipe as a starting place! Rhank you! 🙂

JenniferRose — January 2, 2024 @ 1:02 pm Reply

Hi Sierra, it does. Once it sits in milk for a few however it softens as any cereal. You can totally eat it dry too! Keep me posted 🙂

Suzanne — July 19, 2023 @ 12:31 am Reply

This looks so good! That a great combination of summer flavors!

See Also
Gallo Pinto: Typical Costa Rican Food

Bella — February 25, 2022 @ 5:33 pm Reply

Yummy in oat milk. Is there any nutritional information for this recipe?

Kristin — February 8, 2022 @ 9:36 pm Reply

I thought this recipe made tasty cookies but they were too soft for cereal. I let them sit in an open container and it too 3-4 days for them to get firm enough to be similar to a cereal texture. However they are very yummy. I have made a couple different versions and my favorite is chocolate sesame. I used tahini instead of peanut butter and added a 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder. I also topped them with sesame seeds and salt.

Maggie Bakken — October 12, 2021 @ 12:07 pm Reply

Just a heads up, even when making a cookie dough without egg, you should never eat cookie dough raw unless you have already baked the flour beforehand. Flour is very likely to contain harmful bacteria in it until we bake it.

tammy — August 21, 2021 @ 7:43 am Reply

how is maple syrup and spelt keto. Spelt is just another name for wheat and maple syrup is paleo not keto

tammy — August 21, 2021 @ 7:44 am Reply

my bad. I did a search for keto cereal and it took me to this recipe

JenniferRose — August 22, 2021 @ 2:09 pm Reply

It happens. But I do have keto friendly recipes on my site. I hope you find something you like!

JenniferRose — August 22, 2021 @ 2:07 pm Reply

Hi Tammy. You can use maple flavored syrup by Lakanto and also almond flour in place of spelt. It’s about learning substitutes and allowing yourself to be creative. Enjoy! 🙂

Lydia — April 29, 2021 @ 11:33 am Reply

would it work if i swapped the peanut butter for nutella?

JenniferRose — April 29, 2021 @ 7:59 pm Reply

LOL I don’t know but please give it a try and let us know how it comes out!! 🙂

Kelly Dermody — January 5, 2021 @ 5:55 am Reply

Sounds lovely. Thank you for the recipe. 🙂 Do you think it would be okay to use regular and/or whole wheat flour? What about crunchy pea/assorted nut and or seed butter?

JenniferRose — January 6, 2021 @ 1:21 pm Reply

Hi Kelly, you can totally use wheat flour and any nut or seed butter you’d like! Keep me posted 🙂

Jamie — April 9, 2020 @ 2:06 am Reply

Can I use something else besides maple syrup?

JenniferRose — April 28, 2020 @ 5:28 pm Reply

yes, whatever sweetener you prefer however I’m not sure how they will turn out as I ever only used maple.

Patrick — February 19, 2020 @ 9:28 pm Reply

I made them, super delicious, but not all that crunchy. I did use almond flour, not sure if that is why. They weren’t mush, just no crunch like Reese’s Puffs. Thank

Julius Archibald IV — September 23, 2019 @ 12:30 am Reply

You have just given me a recipe to try! Not long after I started working at my current job I developed an allergy to tree nuts and peanuts. You have no idea the hell it is to get cravings for Peanut Butter Crunch, Reese’s products, peanut butter cookies & bars, Butterfingers, or any Nut-M&M candy but can’t have them. But with recipes, I have been finding and experimenting with my WowButter, I can slowly KILL those cravings and reclaim what that godforsaken allergy too away.
I look forward to trying out your Peanut Butter Crunch recipe with my Wowbutter (which tastes, smells, looks, and has the consistency of PB). Thank you!

JenniferRose — September 23, 2019 @ 3:54 pm Reply

Oh that’s so wonderful to hear Julius! Enjoy!

Jess — July 17, 2019 @ 11:23 am Reply

Could I use less sugar? I am so excited to make these

JenniferRose — July 23, 2019 @ 4:12 pm Reply

Hey Jess, you can definitely try to lessen the sweetener but I haven’t tried it with less measurements. If you do let me know how it turns out! 🙂

Velda — May 13, 2019 @ 11:07 am Reply

Is almond flour good for this?

JenniferRose — May 14, 2019 @ 1:07 pm Reply

Hi Velda, I haven’t tried this with almond flour so I can’t give you a clear answer on that. However if you do try it and it works keep us posted! Xo

Amanda — March 29, 2019 @ 6:24 pm Reply

Hi
Planning on making these tonight for a “rushed” breakfast tmrw morning. I dont have any baking soda…if i dont add it will it not turn out????

JenniferRose — April 1, 2019 @ 11:59 am Reply

Hi Amanda, just seeing this sorry! You an do without and it should be fine. Keep me posted! Xo

Brooke — February 27, 2019 @ 12:05 am Reply

Hi! These are super yummy but how do you get them to stay in ball form? All of mine flattened out to little cookies. I tried chilling for awhile too, but same result.

JenniferRose — February 28, 2019 @ 1:11 pm Reply

Hi Brooke, I’m so happy you like them! And mine flatten a bit too but I roll them really tiny, half teaspoon.