You can make a healthier version of Cracklin’ Oat Bran Cereal in your own kitchen. This recipe is a delicious take on the popular high fiber favorite.
Cracklin’ Oat Bran is one of my favorite cereals. I am not the only one – in searching the internet for recipes, I found the word “crack” used a few times to describe how addicting it is. I am sharing with you my Cracklin’ Oat Bran Cereal Clone recipe so that you can make a healthier version in your own kitchen.
The cereal that is sold on the shelves of grocery stores has more ingredients than the homemade version. It also contains wheat bran, wheat starch, and malt flavoring – therefore prohibiting it from being gluten-free.
The homemade copycat Cracklin’ Oat Bran recipe cuts out palm, palm kernel and/or soybean oil with TBHQ, and soy lecithin.
An advocate of making things easier, I like to use my food processor. It helps to blend the ingredients much better than a mixer or blender would.
There are no eggs or dairy products in this, so if you must sample a little before it goes in the oven it should be okay.
A nice, somewhat thin layer is ideal so that it can “dry” out when it bakes. That’s what makes it “crackle.”
Homemade vs. Commercial Version
How To Make Cracklin’ Oat Bran
To make this tasty breakfast cereal, you need the following ingredients:
- 1½ cups oats
- 1 cup oat bran
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup sweetened coconut
- ½ cup ground flax seeds
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- pinch of nutmeg
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, in a liquid state
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp molasses
- 1 tsp vanilla
Start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees.
Add all of the dry ingredients to the well of a large food processor and pulse it 5-6 times. Next, add the remaining ingredients and process on high until the mixture is moist.
Spread the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the preheated oven and bake for approximately 25 minutes.
Once the cereal is done, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool. Break granola into pieces and store in an airtight container.
Alternatively, after you remove the cereal from the oven and while it is still warm, gently cut (score) it into small rectangles but don’t separate it. If you want to try to replicate the hole in the middle, insert a chopstick point into the middle of each piece and lightly move it around. The cereal will be soft and pliable while it is still hot. Allow it to cool and harden, then break it into pieces.
Cracklin’ Oat Bran Cereal Clone (Gluten-Free Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1½ cups oats
- 1 cup oat bran
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup sweetened coconut
- ½ cup ground flax seeds
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- pinch of nutmeg
- 1/3 cup coconut oil in liquid state
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp molasses
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Add all of the dry ingredients to the well of a large food processor and pulse 5-6 times.
- Add remaining ingredients and process on high until mixture is moist.
- Spread mixture onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for approximately 25 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool. Break granola into pieces and store in an airtight container.
Nutrition
The homemade version won’t have those perfectly shaped in the cute little “O’s” like Kellogg’s. At least we know exactly what is in our cereal and just how fresh it is.
If you find yourself always in a hurry in the mornings, consider cutting the cereal into bars instead. Then you will have a delicious breakfast treat ready to go when you are.
Ashley says
Hi! I made this this morning because I had a craving for my favorite cereal and wanted to make my own healthier version. While the middle mass of the granola turned out awesome (delish, crispy and crunchy, thank you), the outside edges all burned pretty badly. Have you ever experienced this? Guessing I should either bake at 5 degrees lower, or 5 min less…
Lynda says
Sorry to hear about the edges. I use a baking stone (pan) and it cooks evenly. I am guessing that if your sheet pan was made of metal, that could have been the reason.
One other option might be to create a small shield for the edges to protect them from burning. (Think of how people do that when baking pie crusts.)