F-Tier Cereals: The Worst Cereals Ranked

This cereal has a good physical balance of chocolate puffs, grahams, and round marshmallow pieces. The smell is mostly plain, perhaps a light sugar smell of a mix of a few things. 

The taste when eaten dry is weird. The graham cracker specifically is the odd one out and ruins the cereal. These graham cracker-looking pieces have a flavor that combines mild sugar, old bread, and a hint of graham cracker, with a distinct, mildly sharp, artificial-sweetener-like taste. In a way, they almost taste like a sour, expired plain graham cracker or an old biscuit. The little chocolate balls are what you might expect: lightly sweet and have a plain, semi-sweet chocolate flavor. Lastly, the marshmallows are great—they’re pretty sweet, especially compared to regular cereal marshmallows — definitely the best part.

In milk, these remain as crunchy as they were eaten dry. Even the flavor remains mostly the same, sporting that distinct, odd taste from the graham cracker pieces. That aside, the milk does absorb some of the coloring and a tiny bit of the flavor. 

Overall, this is a crunchy cereal that does not resemble s’mores due to the off taste from the graham crackers. Simply put, there are much better s’mores-based cereals out there, not to mention that nasty, weird taste! Really, how do you mess up a s’mores cereal this badly?!

Millville released Peanut Butter Bats and S’mores cereals around September 2025. Found in early November 2026 at Aldi.

These look very generic. They’re pale yellowish, corn puff-looking cereal stars. They have a faint, odd, sugary-like corn smell. They come across as pretty rough and very crunchy. Lastly, they come with a collectible card.

Then, in terms of taste, it’s an odd mix of vanilla, an off-tasting sugar, and corn. The sweetness is mild to moderately sweet–it’s about the right amount to satisfy most people. But essentially, they don’t really give me an authentic sugar or vanilla flavor; it’s something different I can’t pinpoint. It’s almost like they use some type of weird sweetener or base. It kinda just tastes all fake.

In milk, they remain almost entirely crunchy and rough, and the flavor and sweetness don’t change.

I’m unsure of a release date, although I first spotted them at Target in late October 2026. Found at Target in late October 2026.

First, I do want to mention that the design of this box looks interesting, at least. It almost looks AI-generated, but for some reason, I’m kind of into it. Notably, there is also a Backflip card in every box, as stated on the back.

These brown star-shaped cereal pieces sport a mildly sugary, cinnamony, and corny cereal aroma. Snacking on a few, they are harder than most cereals and fall on the crunchier side. The taste is just like the smell: a fairly mild combination of sugar, cinnamon, and traditional corn-flavored cereal. It doesn’t necessarily taste cheap and hollow, and is quite smooth and pleasant flavor-wise overall, though I’d appreciate it if it weren’t so hard and had more sweetness to bring out those flavors.

And with milk, they retain almost all of their crunch and flavor. Indeed, these really don’t differ much in milk, unfortunately. That also means that the cereal milk itself is plain.

Released around mid July 2026 alongside several other flavors. Found at Target in early August 2026.

Many dull-looking, colored confetti specs are embedded throughout this cereal. Simply put, they definitely don’t look as vibrant as the box makes them look, unfortunately. Interestingly, these smell just like regular Cheerios. Maybe there is a hint of additional vanilla? I’m not sure, and frankly, where is that iconic smell of that sweet birthday cake?

The taste is like its look and smell. The birthday is just not there. It’s a disappointing party, lacking any flavor and color. At best, maybe, just maybe, these have a hint of additional vanilla. But really, otherwise these are regular Cheerios. I likely couldn’t even tell if you blindfolded me. The flavor also remains about the same in milk, just like regular Cheerios.

Lastly, the texture obviously remains crunchy and, in my opinion, still unappetizing in milk. Those confetti bits do absolutely nothing here, too.

As a side note, how do these compare to the recently released Confetti Cheerios? I’d say these have even less flavor, while its Confetti brother has a more pronounced (yet still, not bold enough) vanilla flavor.

Released around April 2026. Found mid-May 2026 at Walmart.

Essentially, it’s Cheerios with a small amount of vanilla-birthday-cake-like flavor layered onto its already corny, mildly sweet cereal taste. I say layered; however, while it’s present, just like regular Cheerios, they’re not a super sweet cereal, so you don’t get a lot of it. The sweetness level is about the same, too; maybe these are a hair sweeter at most.

Texture-wise, there really isn’t a difference despite the colorful fetti appearance. They remain mostly crunchy in milk, and the flavor is more or less still the same. Cereal milk is bland.

Released in early January 2026. Found at Walmart in early January 2026.

This is dog food! The cereal is very plain, that is, especially if you hate the traditional corn-like cereal flavor, because that’s really all there is here! At best, a faint cinnamon is present. Essentially, it’s a corny cereal.

Compositionally, it’s crunchy, rough, hollow, and cheap-feeling. Even in milk, it doesn’t let up, keeping extra crunchy while no flavors are transferred or bolded.

Nothing about this cereal is good. It’s plain, boring, and cheap-feeling and tasting. Actually, you know what? The box art is cool, at least!

Released around late October/early November 2025. Found at Target in early November 2025.

It smells like almost nothing, just barely like cinnamon. Without milk, it’s exactly that: a crunchy, mostly plain cereal. You can taste the makeup of the cereal (wheat, etc) more than the cinnamon. The sweetness isn’t really there either. In milk, it does soften a bit and doesn’t get too soggy, although the taste remains mostly the same. Cereal milk is also plain.

The company has been around since 1985. I’m not sure when this was released, although reviews date back to early 2022.

Reminds me of a strong, bitter, over-brewed herbal tea. It doesn’t smell like much but tasting it dry, it’s very bitter, hardly sweet, and has a strong turmeric flavor. It’s crunchy, although the texture isn’t too rough. In milk, the flavor loosens a bit, becoming less bitter and more enjoyable (but still bitter and unsweet), and the cereal itself does soften a bit without getting soggy. Cereal milk is mostly plain.

The company has been around since 1985. This product was released in March 2018.

This is corn. That’s it; there’s absolutely no other flavor. It’s simply unsweetened corn, the same corn-like taste in other cereals that you may taste, but instead, that’s the only flavor represented here. In fact, even Corn Flakes have more sweetness. The texture is airy and light, and in milk, it gets soft fairly quickly.

Released December 2024.

This makes Cheerios taste sweet. These round o’s have a dabble of sugar, and you’ll miss any notion of pumpkin if you aren’t explicitly looking for it. However, you will taste that oaty and wheaty cereal taste, which is basically what this entire cereal consists of. The texture is crunchy, rough, and not great to eat. In milk, it stays mostly crunchy, and the flavor doesn’t change.

While some outlets have reported these were released in 2023, reviews date back to several years before that, and this cereal was likely released in late summer 2015 for the fall season.

Semi-sweet vanilla taste. Loses some flavor in milk and stays crunchy. Fairly generic, cheap-tasting, crunchy vanilla cereal.

Released in December 2022, although Post made an official announcement in January 2023. This was released alongside a fruity-flavored version and a collector’s one.

Tastes like a generic vanilla cereal, but slightly better due to its sweetness. Stays crunchy in milk. Cereal milk is plain.

Released January 2021.

This box is beautifully crafted. It has an applied sheen that makes its designs really pop and adds a smooth, premium-feeling layer that wraps around the box. Unfortunately, I don’t think I can say the same about the cereal.

The flavor? It’s got the cinnamon and sugar like Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but it’s missing a little bit of its sweetness, and even more so, it doesn’t have that grainy, cereal-like, or graham-cracker-ish flavor that helps make CTC so iconic. Instead, it’s replaced by an almost odd taste that I just can’t describe. It’s kind of like that protein bar taste—slightly chalky, slightly… off.

It doesn’t stop there either. The texture is just horrible, and let’s be clear, absolutely nothing like CTC—this is a different cereal entirely! It’s soft to the touch while still providing a light, almost solid-airy crunch. Not bad, not great, but in milk, oh boy.

In milk, it’s just weird. I’m not sure if you’re going to believe me, but it doesn’t get wet. Or, well, it doesn’t feel like it. I can still feel the dry softness of the outside layer, and the inside feels completely untouched by the milk. It’s unpleasant and makes me regret even pouring any milk on it, to say the least.

On the upside, the cereal milk is decent. It tastes just like Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but as I similarly noted before, a bit less sweet. Overall, the texture really, really brings this cereal down, and it wouldn’t be something I’d buy again.

First released exclusively on Ghost’s website on June 1, 2025, with reports indicating it may eventually become more widely available.

Tastes like an off-brand generic chocolate cereal. Stays extra crunchy in milk. This is nothing like Cosmic Brownies; it’s such a letdown! Although the back of the box has some cute trivia and facts.

Released May 2021.

It’s like eating one of those spicy cinnamon candies. It’s got a pretty strong spicy cinnamon kick, but is balanced by the sweetness, which makes it quite pleasant. Something I’m glad I tried but wouldn’t buy again.

Released August 12th, 2022, exclusively online at Walmart for a limited time.

Pretty sweet, off-tasting cotton candy-tasting cereal. The texture reminds me of Cap’n Crunch Berries due to their crunchiness and thickness. In milk, it softens a little bit but still remains pretty crunchy, and the flavor is mostly the same. Cereal milk is pretty plain.

Released for a limited time to Walmart stores in May 2023 alongside Strawberry Lemonade and Cinnamon Mini Donut cereals.

Ever so slightly sweeter than regular Cheerios with a hint of lemon. The smell alone is quite pleasant, a sweet lemon; however, most of the taste is drowned out completely when in milk.

Released March 2023 alongside Cheerios Oat Crunch Berry. Limited edition Spring edition.

The flavor is funky, odd tasting, slightly maple-like, and overall, it’s semi-sweet. Something about the flavor is just straight-up weird. The texture is quite crunchy and stays crunchy in milk; the flavor remains the same. Cereal milk is bland.

Seven Sundays started in 2011; I’m not sure when this cereal was released.

The faintest taste of apple with a bit of corn-like cereal flavor. I didn’t really taste any caramel from this, either. The texture is somewhat like a puff and pretty thin, although it isn’t too rough. The marshmallows are sweet compared to the cereal, but there aren’t that many, and it needs a lot more. In milk, the flavor is lost even more, and it softens just a little. Cereal milk is plain, as is most of the cereal overall.

This new addition to the Monster Cereals, alongside Carmella Creeper, was released sometime around late August 2023 for a limited time. Here is another source of information.

Like a watered-down Trix cereal with an even less diverse fruity taste. Unlike 2021’s Monster Mash, which had chocolate and a variety of flavors, this just seems to have Boo Berry and Caramella Creeper-looking pieces mixed together. It’s hardly sweet, thin, and pretty crunchy. In milk, it softens just a little and loses the little flavor it has, yet the milk remains plain. The only redeeming thing is the sweet marshmallows, but there’s hardly any in the cereal mix. Big downgrade from the original Monster Mash.

This new addition to the Monster Cereals, alongside Carmella Creeper, was released sometime around late August 2023 for a limited time. Here is another source of information.

If you put a little bit of sugar on popcorn, this is what you’d get. The corn flavor is overpowering, and frankly, the “birthday cake” flavor is just a little bit of plain sugar. And despite the name, this gets soggy quickly in milk. The flavor and texture are nothing like the berries in Cap’n Crunch.

Released January 2023. Likely limited edition.

The already bland Cheerios attempts to spice things up with Pumpkin. Unfortunately, even this wonderful spice cannot bring it to a tolerable level. It’s still hardly sweet, and the pumpkin spice is just barely noticeable.

First released in August 2016 as limited edition, they’ve repeated this tradition since.

These have a faint strawberryish taste, not really any noticeable chocolate. Tastes 90% like regular, bland Cheerios.

Originally limitedly released in December 2020 to celebrate the upcoming Valentine’s Day, these have come back every year around the same time, including in 2023.

Even if I had this cereal, I likely wouldn’t eat it. They’re bland and stay fairly crunchy in milk. I’m simply not a fan of the flavor (or lack thereof) and odd texture.

Released 1941.

For $1.25, I didn’t expect much, and frankly, I didn’t get much out of it either. With the same texture as Froot Loops, this instead has a very light Bubble Gum taste that is slightly enhanced in milk. I just can’t stomach crunchy bubble gum in milk.

Released in February 2022 by Golden Foods, although people seemed to find them a few months later, exclusive to Dollar Tree.