By Gwynedd Stuart |
If you exist on Instagram, you’ve probably been served an ad for Magic Spoon cereal somewhere between one and five million times. And if you happen to enjoy cereal, you’ve probably been intrigued by its cute packaging, fun flavors, and promise of high protein and no sugar. But this isn’t a cereal for the commitment averse. It’s sold in packs of either four or six boxes, which cost $39 and $54, respectively. If you’ve forgotten how to do math, that’s almost ten bucks for each seven-ounce box (most regular-sized boxes run between 9 and 12 ounces and cost…a lot less than $10). Unless you have disposable income coming out of your ear and eye holes, you don’t want to fly blind into the magical world of Magic Spoon.
After tasting every variety of cereal the brand currently offers, I’m happy to report that, for the most part, these taste really good. They also have a great, light crunch. Like, you’ll probably be aware that you’re eating a grain-free cereal made with sugar alternatives, but you won’t mind at all. Our guest for this tasting, Mythical art director Jessie Lamworth, was a little underwhelmed with the lack of variety in shapes and textures since every box is filled with the same little rings. If you like a combo of flakes and clusters and whatever else, this cereal probably isn’t for you. But if textural monotony won’t ruin your mornings, read on.
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- Fruity
Magic Spoon clearly set out to make a grain-free alternative Froot Loops, and lemme tell ya—they nailed it. These little hoops of milk protein, oil, and tapioca starch have that precise citrusy tang that sends you back to elementary school, when you’d eat your cereal right out of one of those miniature boxes even though it was super annoying and kind of messy. I still believe cereal tastes better that way. Staff writer Jordan Myrick detected the taste of another childhood hit. “This smells 100 percent like Fruity Pebbles,” they said. “We love.” It’s the definition of a fun breakfast, presumably minus the sugar crash.
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Magic Spoon
- Oatmeal Cookie
Cinnamon cereal is a timeless breakfast staple. You’ve got your Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Your Cinnamon Cheerios. Naturally, Magic Spoon makes a straight-up cinnamon version of its little loops, but we actually preferred this oatmeal cookie-inspired flavor, which has just enough of the warm, wintery spice to be super pleasant. This was Sporked editor-in-chief Justine Sterling’s favorite, and staff writer Danny Palumbo liked its “Apple Jacks vibes.” Guest taster Jessie tried this one both dry and with milk, and loved the creaminess the milk added. “It brings out a cream-cheese-frosting-on-a-carrot-cake kind of vibe,” she said. (Note: This flavor isn’t currently available on the Magic Spoon site, but we’re including it in case it comes back!)
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Magic Spoon
- Frosted
If people didn’t love a sweet breakfast, basically 85 percent of the cereals currently on the market wouldn’t exist. These crunchy little loops manage to pack big, sugary flavor without, you know, the actual sugar. (If you were curious, Magic Spoon uses a sweetener blend that includes monk fruit and a natural sugar called “allulose.”) This flavor is called “frosted,” but they could’ve gone with “frosting.” Apart from straight-up sweetness, there’s hints of marshmallow, vanilla, and even cotton candy. “This is for people who have a huge sweet tooth,” Jessie said. “It literally tastes like those little granules you put in a cotton candy machine.”
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Magic Spoon
- Peanut Butter
Good cereal is great with milk. Good cereal is also great by the fistful when you’re starving and the milk in your fridge is two weeks past its prime. We decided this variety of Magic Spoon is perfect if you want to go elbow deep into a box of dry cereal. This is a good, well-rounded peanut butter flavor, with just a little bit of salt. Justine gave it the ultimate compliment: “It’s Reese’s peanut buttery.”
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Magic Spoon
- Cookies and Cream
Cookie Crisp (pardon, cah-OOOO-kie crisp) has a phony cookie flavor I kind of love, and this cereal manages to channel that precise taste. But, at the same time, it isn’t as nauseatingly sweet as kids’ cereals can tend to be. Magic Spoon is for grownups. Fun grownups who like good graphic design. And this cereal is a perfect interpretation of kids cereal for adults. Jessie thought the cookie flavor was a little too tame, but she also admitted that when she’s doing cookies and cream, she wants to “go hard.” (Note: This flavor is limited, so get it while you can.)
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Magic Spoon
- Original
If you’re a person who likes to put berries or bananas in your cereal and want something pretty basic to build on, this is the Magic Spoon for you. Don’t get me wrong: These are not blah. This is not a Cheerio. There’s way more going on here. “I’m getting vanilla,” Jessie said. “It has almost like a custard taste to it.” This was the first Magic Spoon variety we tried, and it was a great way to get a grip on what the brand’s doing. If you want to dip your toe into Magic Spoon (sorry; no one wants to think about toes in their cereal), this would be a good place to start. (Note: This flavor isn’t currently available on the Magic Spoon site, but we’re including in case it comes back!)
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Magic Spoon
Best of the Best
Rating:
9.5/10
Sporks
Best Spiced
Rating:
9/10
Sporks
Best Sweet
Rating:
8.5/10
Sporks
Best for Snacking
Rating:
8/10
Sporks
Best for Dessert
Rating:
7.5/10
Sporks
Best Basic
Rating:
7.5/10
Sporks
Read Sporked’s rankings of the best chocolate cereal.
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About the Author
Gwynedd Stuart
Gwynedd Stuart, Sporked’s managing editor, is an L.A.-based writer and editor who spends way, way too much time at the grocery store. She’s never met an Old El Paso taco or mozzarella stick she didn’t like.