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Homemade Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Cinnamon Toast Crunch, made at home! Enjoy this classic childhood cereal made with good-for-you ingredients. It’s totally vegan and ready in just 30-minutes. The taste you can see!

hand holding milk jug pouring into a bowl of homemade cereal with flowers in the background

Homemade cereal is making the rounds on social media, especially on Tik Tok. While I am not a TikTok user, I did notice a viral video of “pancake cereal.” What is this, you ask? Essentially, painstakingly small pancakes (think penny-size) poured into a bowl and topped with milk, butter, and syrup. I guess it’s cute but…I don’t really get it?

Cinnamon Toast Crunch, on the other hand…THAT I can get behind.close up of cinnamon sugar cereal in a white bowl with a spoon

While I thankfully did not grow up eating sugary cereals, I can appreciate the merit of recreating a nostalgic food and trying something new in the kitchen. The homemade Cinnamon Toast Crunch recipe is based off of another childhood favorite, Peanut Butter Cheese Crackers! This recipe is remarkably simple to make and ready in just 30 minutes.

How to Make Cinnamon Toast Crunch at Home

First, we start off by adding all of the dry ingredients to a food processor. This helps them incorporate quickly. We’ll then add in some coconut oil, maple syrup, and milk to help bind things together. It will look like a pie dough.

Chilling is optional, so feel free to skip if you’re in a rush. You’ll then separate the dough into two halves and roll each piece until it’s about as thin as a quarter. Top with more cinnamon sugar, bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes, and you’re done! See how easy that was?

birds eye view of cinnamon toast crunch cereal

Is Cinnamon Toast Crunch vegan?

Classic Cinnamon Toast Crunch contains Vitamin D3, which is not vegan. I do not adhere to a purely vegan diet but saw that this question was being asked a lot online! While I would not consider this homemade cereal a “health food” (I hate that term!), this recipe is made with whole wheat flour for some extra fiber.

More Tips For Making Homemade Cereal 

  • Be sure to bake your cereal on parchment paper, not wax paper!
  • If you do not have a food processor, I do not recommend mixing this in a blender. Just whisking by hand will do the trick.
  • Some ovens run hot or cold, so be sure to keep visual cues in mind when testing to see if the recipe is ready. You want the squares to be golden brown and very crisp.

one cinnamon toast crunch square on a spoon

bowl of homemade cinnamon toast crunch with three spoons and blackberries

I hope you love this homemade Cinnamon Toast Crunch recipe! Be sure to let me know in the comments or on Instagram what you think if you try it!

Into cinnamon? Try one of these recipes next!

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hand holding milk jug pouring into a bowl of homemade cereal with flowers in the background

Cinnamon Toast Crunch


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  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 8 cups 1x

Description

Cinnamon Toast Crunch, made at home! Enjoy this classic childhood cereal made with good-for-you ingredients. It's totally vegan and ready in just 30-minutes. The taste you can see!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tsp cinnamon (plus more for topping)
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 and 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or all purpose flour)
  • 1/4 cup all purpose flour (or oat flour )
  • 1/3 cup organic raw sugar (plus more for topping, turbinado is best but feel free to sub white sugar)
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 6 TBS coconut oil, soft but not melted (plus more for topping, you could also use butter)
  • 2 TBS maple syrup
  • 1 TBS vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp lemon juice or vinegar
  • 1/2 cup nondairy milk, divided

Instructions

  1. Add powdered sugar, cinnamon, salt, whole wheat pastry flour, all purpose flour, raw sugar, and baking powder to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine.
  2. Next add in coconut oil, pulsing in between each tablespoon to incorporate. Stream in maple syrup and vanilla extract. Your mixture will start to become crumbly. Finally, add your lemon juice/vinegar and slowly stream in your milk. You may not need all of this milk to have the mixture come together! I normally start by adding 1/4 cup, pulsing, and seeing how wet the dough becomes. You want it to resemble a pie dough, somewhat sticky but able to be rolled out.
  3. To help with rolling, chill the dough in the fridge for 15 minutes (sometimes I skip this step). Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Now, take your dough and divide it in two equal halves. Place one half back in the fridge and place the other in between two sheets of lightly floured wax paper. Using a rolling pin or a flat-sided glass, roll the dough into a rectangle until it is 1/8 of an inch thick. Carefully peel the top layer of wax paper off of the rolled rough and confidently flip the wax paper over onto the prepared parchment-lined sheet. It's ok if some folds! Just be sure to straighten it out as much as possible. Repeat with the second portion of dough. You now have two large baking sheets of rolled dough.
  4. Using a pastry brush, clean towel, or just your hands, spread 1 TBS melted coconut oil on top of each rolled dough. This will help with extra crisping. Next, sprinkle 1 TBS raw sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon over each sheet. This will be the taste you can see!
  5. Almost there! Using a pizza cutter or chef's knife, cut 1 x 1 inch squares in rows and columns across the surface of the dough. These do not need to be perfect. They should be about the size of a postage stamp. You do not need to separate the squares completely, just be sure they are cut all the way through. Place baking sheets in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, checking for doneness at this point. Depending on how hot your oven runs this may take a little bit longer (mine took about 15 minutes in total). You want the squares to be looking nice and crispy brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes.
  6. Use a knife or your hands, break the squares apart. They are now ready to eat in a nice bowl of cereal! This recipe will keep for 5 days in a sealed container on the counter.

Notes

*If you do not have a food processor, this is easily made by hand! Just use a very large bowl and sturdy spoon for mixing.

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Category: Breakfast, Snack
  • Cuisine: American

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Cinnamon Toast Crunch, made at home! Enjoy this classic childhood cereal made with good-for-you ingredients. It's totally vegan and ready in just 30-minutes. The taste you can see! 

Portrait of Emily Meyers, founder of Garlic Head

About the Author

Emily (Frigon) Meyers is the founder of Garlic Head, a plant-based recipe website for all eaters who want to easily, affordably, and sustainably incorporate more vegetables into their diets while saving time and money. She is a lifelong vegetarian and 10+ year vegan. Garlic Head does not focus on labels - it focuses on creating food that everyone can enjoy.

Emily earned a certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from Cornell University along with degrees in Economics, Spanish, and Global Sustainability from the University of Pittsburgh. She has been featured on numerous podcasts and websites including The Food Institute, VegNews, Buzzfeed, and the Boston Globe.

Meet Emily here.

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