10 Best Breakfast Cereals 2022 | UK Nutritionist Reviewed

For those after a quick look, here is our Top 5:

1. Weetabix - Weetabix Cereal for £3.00
2. Kellogg's - Coco Pops for £3.00
3. Fuel 10K - High Protein Porridge for £0.85
4. Nestle - Multigrain Cheerios for £2.75
5. Lizi's - Low Sugar Granola for £3.70

For a more in-depth look at the comprehensive top 10 selection, make sure to read on to learn more about the different types of breakfast cereals available and understand how our ranking was determined.

This article's chosen EC site price listings are reflective of its publishing date.

Tara is a nutritionist and energy coach who helps clients to lose weight, improve their eating habits, and get their energy back through better nutrition. She specialises in helping busy parents improve their diets without overwhelming them with information, and get them back on track so that the whole family can benefit.

1. Keep an Eye on the Nutrition Chart to Know How Healthy the Product Is
2. Plain or Occasional Treat? Pick a Flavour That's Nutritious and Delicious
   

In the nutrition chart, there's a variety of informative figures that you should know about, but it's important to remember that the ratio of these figures can change depending on portion size. 

For example, if you compare a cereal with a 20g portion size containing 8g of sugar alongside a cereal that has a 45g portion size and 10g of sugar — it is the latter that has less sugar, despite the figures being higher! You'll also have to consider who's eating it, as it's likely you'll be giving your toddler a smaller bowl than yourself. 

To help you understand this easily while browsing for products, we have highlighted the size of the portion labelled on each box. That way, you can see the nutritional value of the cereal and you'll find it easier to compare with others.

Steep sugar content can be detrimental to our health so it's important that we try to steer clear of products that have too much sugar, especially if you or the kids will be eating cereal every day. Plus, they can cause a crash later in the morning, meaning you might end up reaching for more sweet snacks! 

We would recommend that you choose a cereal containing no more than 11g of sugar per serving. But, if you want to step out of those guidelines and have a breakfast-time treat on a Friday, that's okay too.

Secondly, the saturated fats in cereals can increase the amount of cholesterol in your blood, and some boxes that appear nutritious may not be so saintly. So, to avoid any future health problems, you should always try to avoid saturated fats as much as you can, and aim for your portion to contain no more than 3g of unsaturated fat.

Don't forget about the fibre levels in your cereal as they have a hugely beneficial impact on your health by supporting your digestive system and making you feel fuller for longer. This can be especially important if you're trying to eat a little less between meals!

Look for cereals with fibre-rich grains and other additions such as oats, barley, wheat, and nuts to help you out, and look for 1g of fibre per bowl at the very least for optimal health benefits.

Gluten-free cereals also provide a lot of fibre!

Calories give you energy, so don't be scared when you see that your 45g bowl of Cheerios isn't 99 calories. You need energy to power you through to lunchtime, and more often than not, cereal isn't a hugely calorific food.

However, balance is important, so we recommend that your daily portion of cereal weighs in at around 150-200 calories, although you can be a bit more generous if you're active. On the other hand, you may like to stick to around 120 calories if you're actively trying to lose weight.

As with most foods, choosing which flavour or type of cereal to go for will mainly come down to what you like best — whether that's nuts, berries, chocolate, or something fairly plain. 

Aside from the fact they're usually better nutritionally, plainer cereals can also serve as a base to add your favourite fruit, yoghurt or other toppings onto, so don't dismiss the classics because you're afraid they'll be boring!

Plus, while we all have good intentions of hitting the gym and eating whole-grain cereal for breakfast every day, sometimes it's good to treat yourself. So to give you a little bit of balance, we've made sure to add a few of the sweeter kinds of cereal to the list as well as some healthier options.

Looking for something to accompany your breakfast cereal? Check out the best healthy yogurts and vegan milks.

This ranking has been compiled by the writing team at mybest UK via careful evaluation of the points made in the buying guide and thorough research of each product and comparing multiple verified customer reviews across the EC sites used.

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Written and researched by Annie Speight