If you’re over the age of… I don’t know, 10? You probably have a complicated relationship with cereal. On the one hand, there are few things easier and more convenient to prepare than a nice bowl of cereal, so if you’re living a busy lifestyle (or just like maximizing sleep), a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios probably slots perfectly into your schedule, sugar be damned. On the other hand, while there are a lot of healthy and balanced cereals out there, the good stuff is usually pretty bad for you.
Our very own Zach Johnston illustrated this struggle perfectly in his ranking of the best grocery store cereals, writing:
“For an adult, the internal struggle of the cereal aisle is cosmic. It’s good vs. evil. The righteous path vs. the valley of the shadow of death.”
Heavy stuff, right? Well, that very same existential dread — which hangs over you every time you enter the cereal aisle — is exactly why Magic Spoon exists. The brand touts itself as being a healthy and delicious cereal for adults. Each box is low in carbs, high in protein, keto-friendly, and grain and sugar-free. There are six different flavors, each of which attempts to recall your favorites from childhood.
As a concept, it’s almost an undeniably solid idea and, since launching in 2019, online sales have continued to grow. All good so far, right?
Here’s the rub: It costs $39 for a case of four boxes and that’s the only size you can purchase. Meaning this is, in all likelihood, the most expensive cereal you’ll ever eat. Which begs the question: Does it live up to the hype and price tag? We decided to find out by ordering all six flavors, ranking them, and seeing if they compare to their sugary grocery shelf counterparts.
Let’s get to tasting!
Wait, wait, wait, no sugar OR grains? What is this stuff?
I’m glad you pretended to ask! Magic Spoon is sweetened with something called allulose, which is a sugar that is found naturally in figs, raisins, and maple syrup and is relatively new on the food scene. Pretty cool stuff! It contains 10% of the calories of regular sugar and hardly has any effect on your blood sugar levels.
The cereal itself is composed of milk proteins and tapioca extract, which is probably why every bowl immediately lodges itself into your teeth, forcing you to brush them out once you’re done. Seriously, the way this stuff gets caught in your teeth is ridiculous, be warned!
Now, can we get to tasting?
The Flavors, Ranked From Worst To Best
Worst — Peanut Butter
Sugar per Serving: 0g
Net Carbs per Serving: 4g
Protein per Serving: 14g
Tasting Notes
Once I opened the inner bag of this cereal box, I was greeted with a distinct and natural peanut butter smell. That smell disappeared instantly, as soon as some cold milk hit the bowl. The initial taste was shockingly bland. After a few spoonfuls, you start to taste the peanut butter again, but it’s depressingly one-note. After I finished my serving, the milk was a dirty brown color with a bland peanut butter scent wafting off of it.
Overall, I had a bad experience with this one — easily my least favorite Magic Spoon.
How Does It Compare To The Real Thing?
It’s clear this cereal is desperately trying to emulate Reese’s Puffs, but without the chocolate flavor worked in with the peanut butter it doesn’t quite get there. This one is very bland, if you had a bowl your first question would be, “Is this a healthy cereal?” Which I don’t think was Magic Spoon’s goal.
Also Bad — Cocoa
Sugar per Serving: 0g
Net Carbs per Serving: 4g
Protein per Serving: 13g
Tasting Notes
Every flavor of Magic Spoon smells crazy intense, it’s a trend I’ll probably talk about in each entry because it’s so distinct. Cocoa has a strong chocolate scent and I was pleasantly surprised to smell some notes of roasted coffee in there too. This is easily the best-smelling flavor. On the palate, you get a blunt chocolate flavor that feels hidden under layers of texture. Unfortunately, this one doesn’t get better over time, with a barely-there flavor that is a far cry from the grocery store cereal it’s trying to imitate.
It also tastes kind of… dirty, and it’ll make your milk look like the most unappetizing version of chocolate milk you’ll ever see.
How Does It Compare To The Real Thing?
It tastes like Cocoa Pebbles but has the texture of a Cocoa Puff. But only if those cereals were run under cold water in a strainer for a few minutes until their flavors were heavily diluted and then poured into a bowl of milk.
Good — Fruity
Sugar per Serving: 0g
Net Carbs per Serving: 4g
Protein per Serving: 13
Tasting Notes
Like the Peanut Butter, the first thing you’re going to notice about Magic Spoon’s Fruity flavor is the strong scent. Similar to the first two entries, this one hits the palate with an initial dullness. There is a fruit flavor, it just takes a few spoonfuls to activate and build. Not sure why this has a tendency to happen with Magic Spoon flavors, I thought maybe they needed milk to activate the flavors, but I gave this one a dry taste test as well to check on that theory. Same experience — dullness that picks up in flavor over time. Very weird.
Having said that, this one really started to grow on me as I worked through the bowl.
How Does It Compare To The Real Thing?
This stuff really tastes like Froot Loops! It doesn’t have that same intense burst of initial flavor, but if you’re a hardcore Froot Loops head and you’re trying to kick the habit of eating a bowl of sugar every morning, give this a try — you won’t be disappointed.
I’ve never been a big Froot Loop fan but, for me, this is easily better than the real thing.
Good — Frosted
Sugar per Serving:
Net Carbs per Serving:
Protein per Serving:
Tasting Notes
Before I had my first taste of Magic Spoon, I assumed the Fruity and Frosted flavors would be my least favorite, and once I opened the box of Frosted, I was sure I was going to hate it. The smell coming off of this thing is sickly sweet to the point that it actually made my stomach turn — though that might’ve been a result of eating a bunch of bowls of cereal in one sitting.
But once I was actually able to bring myself to taste Frosted, I was instantly sold. This is just a great sugary-tasting cereal with a flavor reminiscent of marshmallows. The texture is a bit different than the other Magic Spoon flavors, giving you a bit of crunch that never goes soggy.
Real talk: This could stand up alongside the sugary stuff at the grocery store and hold its weight. The box looks dope, too.
How Does It Compare To The Real Thing?
“Frosted” is a very misleading name, considering how many frosted cereals there are out there. But the box art makes it clear, this is supposed to be Lucky Charms. The thing about Lucky Charms is, it has a distinct oatey flavor to it, that’s obviously not here. But if you ever wanted a bowl of Lucky Charms that contained only the marshmallows, this is kind of that! Only without the fun shapes.
Great — Blueberry
Sugar per Serving:
Net Carbs per Serving:
Protein per Serving:
Tasting Notes
This one has easily the strongest smell of all the flavors. Before I opened the inner bag, I could smell the blueberries. Touching the box made my hand smell like blueberries, I’m not kidding! I don’t know what the hell the dudes who created Magic Spoon are doing to their cereal, but they’ve unlocked the secrets of smell for Consumer Product Goods.
Anyway, let’s talk about this flavor. It’s bursting with blueberry flavor and tastes about as far from a health cereal as you can imagine. While the flavor is very one-note — it’s like eating the top of a blueberry muffin — it’s the only flavor that reminded me that cereals are better with mix-ins. After a few spoonfuls, I cut up half a banana and threw it in the bowl for a delicious experience. It’s not fair to rank it with the banana, but it’s definitely something you should keep in mind when pouring yourself a bowl.
Unless you’re doing keto, in which case, forget it.
The only thing I didn’t like was how this cereal made the milk look after. It looked like purple poison.
How Does It Compare To The Real Thing?
Not sure this has an actual grocery aisle counterpart. Blueberry Cheerios maybe? I’d take these over that any day. Seriously, mix that banana in, it’s an amazing experience.
Fully Reccomended — Cinnamon
Sugar per Serving: 0g
Net Carbs per Serving: 4g
Protein per Serving: 12g
Tasting Notes
If you’ve already decided that Magic Spoon is for you, start with the Cinnamon flavor — it’s easily the best. Smell is such a strong component of the Magic Spoon experience and the Cinnamon flavor had the best smell, with comforting notes of cinnamon and sugar. It’s hard to believe this bowl has 0 grams of sugar.
On the palate, the cinnamon sugar flavor reveals subtle hints of maple, that help to flavor the milk and make this a bowl that’s actually worth drinking. From smell to taste to how it flavors the milk, this is Magic Spoon’s best.
How Does It Compare To The Real Thing?
This is almost as good as Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that this 0 grams of sugar box of cereal is as good as something so sweetened it has crystals of sugar caked onto it, but this comes so damn close. One thing it does better than Cinnamon Toast Crunch is the mouthfeel — this doesn’t have the jagged edges and roof-of-your-mouth-scarring texture that Cinnamon Toast Crunch has, making it easier to eat.
My suggestion is you pick up a variety pack (four flavors of your choosing) over a single flavor case, but make sure two of those flavors are Cinnamon. You’ll want a second box of this before a first box of the bottom three options.