Do you miss breakfast cereal on keto? How about crunchy snacks? This easy, 3 ingredient recipe makes the best crunchy keto cereal that tastes like churros and Cinnamon Toast Crunch – and all you need is some cracklings or pork rinds, cinnamon and keto sweetener!
This delicious cereal recipe is super high in protein to keep you satisfied and it’s more than low-carb, it’s nearly zero carb: It has 0.5 net carbs per serving, and they’re all from the cinnamon!
Crunchy keto cereal or snack
I used to eat A LOT of cereal before keto. It’s hard to say which was my favorite, I was seriously addicted to that sugary stuff and always had several colored boxes to choose from according to my mood: Frosted Flakes, Honey Nut Cheerios, Cinnabon, Mini-Wheats…
I’m happy to be eating healthier now, having ditched all that sugar, carbs and glycemic spikes. But I won’t lie: the convenience of reaching for a bowl of cereal, and the sheer happiness and comfort it gave me is something that I sorely missed…
Not anymore! This super easy and simple keto cereal recipe is now a staple in my home and I always have it ready, to have for breakfast with milk or as a sweet, crunchy snack whenever the mood strikes!
Are pork rinds/cracklings keto
Pork rinds and cracklin are the ultimate keto food! They are delicious, have great macros – about half protein and half fat, it varies depending on brand, but the even best part is: plain pork rinds are always zero carbs!
Cracklings are also a great source of hydrolyzed collagen, and I for sure rather eat this porky goodness than having collagen supplements, which can be super expensive!
Ingredient notes
Pork cracklings: It’s deep fried pork skin. In all it’s epic deliciousness. I daresay it’s better than bacon.
For this simple recipe, choose tender cracklings, which are crunchy but not teeth-crackling crunchy.
You could also use pork rinds or chicharron, but I think cracklins are better because they stay crispy longer after adding milk. The puffy, chip like chicharron has a lot of air in it and it gets soggy really fast.
Of course, if you’ll be having it without milk as a crunchy keto snack, or if you like to have your cereal after it has sat in the milk for a while, it doesn’t really matter.
A very important note: make sure you get a bag of plain pork cracklings, with the least amount of added flavors and spices you can find. A little bit of salt is fine.
Powdered sweetener: Use any powdered keto sweetener (it can be erythritol, xylitol or allulose based). Being powdered, instead of granulated, is what matters. Because the powdered sweetener will coat the cracklings or rinds evenly, while a granulated one would mostly accumulate at the bottom of the bag.
If you just have granulated keto sweetener, did you know it’s very easy to make your own powdered version? You just need to use a blender or food processor. See how to make powdered sweetener, and your own erythritol stevia blend to boot.
Cinnamon: use a good quality powdered cinnamon. I’m lucky that I prefer the easier to find (and cheaper!) Cassia cinnamon, because the flavor is stronger. I like cinnamon to punch me in the face and make my tongue burn (I’m like that with garlic and pepper too, go figure)
If you prefer a more delicate cinnamon taste, you’ll love the Ceylon cinnamon! It has a lighter, brighter flavor.
The difference between pork rinds, chicharron and crackling
Pork rinds, also called pork chicharrones or chicharron are made just with the skin from the pig’s belly and back. All the fat is fried out during the cooking process, leaving the chicharrones light and airy.
Cracklings (or cracklins’) are made from the pig’s shoulder skin, plus some fat and sometimes a little meat. Cracklings have denser and richer texture than rinds or chicharron.
But don’t get too hung up on nomenclature. You’ll see many homemade or artisanal brands that don’t name their product following this convention. It’s easier to go by the looks!
See in the picture below: on the left you can see the pork rinds, the puffy, airy fried pork skin without any extra fat/meat. On the right, the cracklings: the pork skin with extra bits of fat.
How to make
I’ll warn you, this is a very detailed step by step of how to make sweet cinnamon pork rinds keto cereal. I made a serious effort to write this recipe as uncomplicatedly as possible:
- Grab a bag of plain crackling or pork rinds.
- Open it.
- Add a couple tablespoons of powdered keto sweetener.
- Add one or two tablespoons of cinnamon powder (as much as you like).
- Twist the top of the bag and hold it closed.
- Shake it.
- Shake it.
- Shake it.
- Done!
Serving suggestions
Keto cereal in a bowl of milk
Regular milk is great with cereal, but it contains about 11 grams of carbs per cup. This makes it too high in carbs to fit in the daily allotment of most following a keto diet. If that’s you, don’t worry: there are several low-carb, keto friendly milk options:
Milk from nuts: almond milk, hazelnut milk, macadamia milk, or cashew milk
Milk from seeds: like hemp or flax milk. For me, they have a strong taste, but I’m sure many enjoy them.
Coconut milk or coconut cream diluted in water: Your keto cereal will taste like coconut!
Whipping cream or heavy cream: these also need to be diluted in water (about 2 tablespoons per cup) but are a great option and it’s the best tasting of the bunch, in my opinion!
Sugar-free honey cereal
For a honey cereal taste without the sugar and carbs, you can add some all natural, keto friendly bee pollen!
Warm up a little bit of low-carb milk, just enough dissolve the bee pollen in, as bee pollen granules dissolve much easier in hot liquid. I say to heat up just a small amount of milk because warm milk turns cereal soggy quicker. (Unless you prefer it that way, then by all means!)
Then, add the rest of the cold milk and the cereal, and there you have it: a sugar-free, honey cinnamon keto cereal!
As a crunchy keto snack
A big challenge when eating keto or low-carb is to find crunchy snacks. Gone are the days we could reach for a bag of chips or cookies. Even the seemingly innocent granola is off limits (always disguising as healthy, but full of sugar)
Pork rinds are the perfect keto snack to scratch that itch! These sweet chicharrones are also great by themselves without milk, and super tasty and crunchy this way! It’s a sweet and satisfying snack, that tastes just like churros!
Storage
Simply keeping the keto cereal mixture closed in the original bag with a clothespin should be enough for it to remain fresh and crunchy for at least a couple of days, depending on the local humidity.
If you need to keep it for longer, you can transfer the chicharrones to a more airtight container, such as a sealable mason jar. This should keep them crunchy for at least a week.
Keto Cinnamon Crunch Cereal
Crunchy and perfect crispy keto cereal that tastes like churros by themselves or cinnamon toast crunch with low-carb milk! An easy, nearly zero-carb breakfast or snack!
Ingredients
- 100 grams (3.5 oz) plain pork cracklings or rinds
- 2 to 3 tablespoons powdered keto sweetener
- 1 to 2 tablespoons cinnamon powder
Instructions
- Add the powdered keto sweetener and cinnamon together with the pork cracklings or rinds
- Close tightly the bag or recipient and then shake it vigorously until all pork rinds are evenly coated with the cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Try for taste, and add more powdered sweetener or cinnamon if desired.
Notes
- Pork cracklings will remain crunchier longer after adding milk. Pork rinds/chicharron are puffy and absorb milk quicker.
- Choose plain/unflavored pork crackling or rinds, or lightly salted ones.
- Serve with cold low-carb milk of choice (i.e. almond, macadamia, coconut, heavy cream diluted in water)
- For a honey cereal flavor, add a teaspoon of bee pollen to a small amount of hot milk and mix to dissolve, then add remaining cold milk and keto cereal.
- Nutrition information is calculated for the dry cereal without milk.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 3 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 197Total Fat: 11.7gNet Carbohydrates: 0.5gProtein: 21.1g
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