Cereal is perhaps one of the best food product ever invented on earth. It’s convenient, it’s portable, it’s sweet, it’s satisfying and it comes in a range of flavors. However, have you ever opened a box of cereal, unfurled the crinkled plastic bag, only to find out that your favorite cereal has gone stale? Now that’s not fun.
But before you toss it into the trash, there’s one thing that you need to know: There’s a lot of flavour in that stale cereal. These are just some of the most interesting things you can do to revive your stale cereal.
Flour Substitute
Photo by Katherine Bernhdart
Finely crushed cereal can be used as a flour substitute for your muffins or cakes.
Breadcrumbs
Photo courtesy of beardandbonnet.com
The next time you’re looking to coat anything before frying, such as these breaded chicken cutlets or these healthy asparagus fries, grind up your stale cereal and use it as a substitute for breadcrumbs. But remember to use unsweetened cereal varieties such as corn flakes and rice krispies.
You can even make gluten free breadcrumbs with these cereals.
Pie Crust
Photo by Alvin Zhou
Pretty much anything crunchy can work in a pie crust. And when it comes to cereals, the choice is entirely up to you. So put your cereal to good use and start making some of your favorite pies.
Fruit Crisp Topping
Photo by Judy Holtz
Forget that basic oatmeal crumb topping and use your cereal instead for this strawberry rhubarb crisp. And if you’re a huge fan of the cinnamon toast crunch, you can even make these mini apple pie bites.
If you’re going for a healthy option, use some high fiber cereal to give your dessert a nutritional boost.
Bars
Photo by Amanda Shulman
There’s nothing not to love about those crunchy, sweet, flavorful bars. But whether they’re “nutritious” granola bars or dessert bars, these store-bought products often contain artificial ingredients, are loaded with tons of sugar, and are way more expensive that they really need to be.
This is where your cereal comes into good use. You can make your very own healthy granola bar, or if you’re in for a treat, try these quick and easy cereal snack bars and no-bake rice krispie treats. Either way, you’ll definitely be getting a much cheaper option and more importantly, you’ll know exactly what goes into your bars. No more falling trap to deceiving food labels.
Puppy Chow
Photo by Tess Wei
What better way to use your Chex cereal than to make puppy chow?
First however, make your stale cereal crisp again by baking them at 350°F for 3-5 minutes. Then add whatever ingredients you love. The possibilities are literally endless. Gluten, nut, and dairy free puppy chow anyone?
Ice Cream Cereal Cones
GIF by Max Bartick
Now I bet you’ve never imagined an ice cream cone made entirely from your favorite cereal. Good news, it’s also “actually super simple” to make, says renegade food blogger Nick of DudeFoods.
After all, what’s there not to love about cereal and marshmallows? Learn how to make your own here.
DIY Momofuku Cereal Milk
Photo courtesy of food-hacks.wonderhowto.com
Momofuku Milk Bar in New York City is most known for its life-changing cereal milk ice cream — a playful, sophisticated dessert inspired by the sugary, gritty, leftover milk at the bottom of your cereal bowl.
But I think we can all agree that it’s always more fun to DIY, because you can literally use any cereal that you love (find out which cereal gives the best leftover milk taste here), and it definitely saves the trip all the way down to NYC just to satisfy that craving.
Pour it straight over your cereal, make a smoothie with it, or turn it into ice cream — it’s insanely addictive.