Peanut butter and cereal is probably one of the best combinations ever invented. Mixing crunchy cereal with smooth, creamy peanut butter is a real winner, and it’s no wonder that it’s many people’s favorite cereal.
Deciding which brand is the best for this type of cereal often comes down to personal taste, but we’ve put three of the finest offerings up against each other to see which one you think comes out victorious.
Sections
Peanut Butter Chex
Ingredients & nutrition facts
One serving (41g) of Peanut Butter Chex contains:
- Calories – 170
- Fat – 4.5g/6%
- Saturated fat – 1g/4%
- Sodium (salt) – 270mg/12%
- Carbohydrate – 31g/11%
- Fiber – 2g/7%
- Protein – 3g
- Sugar – 9g/18%
- Vitamin D – 10%
- Iron – 60%
- Calcium – 10%
- Vitamin C – 10%
- Thiamin – 20%
% = recommended daily intake
The ingredients in Peanut Butter Chex include:
- Whole grain corn
- Cornmeal
- Sugar
- Peanut butter
- Corn starch
- Canola and sunflower oil
- Natural flavor
Is it healthy?
As a rule, peanut better cereals tend to be sweet and high in sugar, and Peanut Butter Chex is no exception. Each serving packs a whopping 9 grams of sugar, which is 18% of your daily recommended intake. Clearly, that sweet peanut butter flavor that we love can come at a bit of a cost.
However, like most other Chex cereals, Peanut Butter Chex is fortified with lots of vitamins and this peanut butter cereal gives you 60% of your daily intake of iron in one serving. It’s also pretty low in saturated fat, with just 1 gram per bowl.
Is it gluten free?
Like a lot of other peanut butter cereals, Peanut Butter Chex is in fact gluten-free. It’s made using whole grain corn flour rather than wheat, so doesn’t contain any gluten products.
Is it vegan?
Although it doesn’t contain any milk products Peanut Butter Chex is still not considered to be vegan as it contains Vitamin D3. This vitamin is sourced from sheep’s lanolin and is classed as an animal product by vegans.
Is it keto?
Peanut Butter Chex isn’t suitable for those following a keto diet as it contains 31 grams of carbohydrates in a serving. On the keto diet, you’re not supposed to exceed 30 grams of carbs in a day, so just one bowl of this peanut butter cereal would put you above that.
Protein & fiber content
This cereal is not particularly high in protein which is slightly surprising as it’s made with real peanut butter, which is usually a good source of protein. It’ll give you 3 grams per serving, which is pretty low, and it scores even lower for fiber, at 2 grams per serving.
Reese’s Puffs
Ingredients & nutrition facts
One serving (29g) of Reese’s Puffs contains:
- Calories – 120
- Fat – 3g/5%
- Saturated fat – 0.5g/3%
- Sodium (salt) – 160mg/7%
- Carbohydrate – 22g/7%
- Sugar – 9g/18%
- Fiber – 1g/5%
- Protein – 2g
- Vitamin A – 10%
- Vitamin D – 10%
- Iron – 25%
- Riboflavin – 25%
- Thiamin – 25%
- Folic acid – 25%
- Calcium – 10%
The ingredients in this cereal include:
- Whole grain corn
- Sugar
- Reese’s peanut butter
- Dextrose
- Cornmeal
- Corn syrup
- Canola oil
- Salt
- Hershey’s cocoa
- Caramel color
- Trisodium phosphate
- Natural flavor
Is it healthy?
This cereal is known for having the famous, Reese’s peanut butter flavor that features in all of their products.
As all peanut butter aficionados know, this delicious treat is supposed to be both sweet and salty, but Reese’s Puffs lean more towards the sweet side, with 9 grams of sugar in each serving.
When compared to other peanut butter flavored cereals though, it does have fewer calories than some of its competitors. At 120 calories per serving it contains 50 less than Peanut Butter Chex.
Is it gluten free?
This cereal is gluten-free as it doesn’t contain any wheat products or any other ingredients associated with gluten. This means it’s suitable for people who suffer from celiac disease or have gluten intolerance.
Is it vegan?
Like most other cereals that are fortified with vitamins Reese’s Puffs also contains Vitamin D3 which is classed as an animal product. Therefore, it is not considered to be vegan-friendly and should be avoided by vegans.
Is it keto?
Although it contains fewer carbs per serving than Peanut Butter Chex, at 22 grams, this peanut butter cereal is still best to avoid if you’re on a keto diet.
The lower limit for daily carb intake during the keto diet is 20 grams, and this cereal also has a high sugar content which prevents the body from entering into ketosis. So, unfortunately, it isn’t suitable for people on a keto diet.
Protein & fiber content
This cereal is made with whole-grain corn. Corn is considered to be whole grain when the germ, bran, and endosperm are all left intact, and this is usually a really good source of fiber.
However, some of this nutritional value can be lost when foods are refined and processed, and this could be why this cereal has such a low amount of fiber in each serving, which is just 1 gram.
In terms of protein, there are just 2 grams in each serving which is also very low.
Post Nutter Butter Cereal
Ingredients & nutrition facts
One serving (33g) of Nutter Butter Cereal contains:
- Calories – 150
- Fat – 4.5g/7%
- Saturated fat – 0.5g/3%
- Sodium (salt) – 160mg/7%
- Potassium – 45mg/1%
- Carbohydrates – 25g/8%
- Fiber – 0.5g/2%
- Sugar – 13g
- Protein – 2g
- Calcium – 6%
- Iron – 30%
The ingredients in Nutter Butter Cereal include:
- Corn flour
- Sugar
- Peanut butter
- Dextrose
- Whole grain oat flour
- Canola oil
- Calcium carbonate
- Natural and artificial flavor
Is it healthy?
As with Peanut Butter Chex and Reese’s Puffs, Nutter Butter Cereal tastes as good as it does because it’s jam-packed with sugar. This cereal achieves its sweet peanut butter flavor by cramming 12 grams of sugar into each serving, which is 3 grams more than the other two bowls of cereal.
So, if you’re looking for a low-sugar option for breakfast this is definitely not the best peanut butter cereal for you.
Nutter Butter Cereal is also made using both natural and artificial flavors. Though some studies have concluded that artificial flavors may not actually be as bad for you as of first thought, it’s still always preferable to choose foods that are made using natural flavorings.
Is it gluten free?
Nutter Butter Cereal is gluten-free as it’s made with cornflour and whole grain oat flour. Oat flour has a natural, nutty flavor which, when added to the other ingredients, makes this cereal taste, even more, peanut buttery.
As it doesn’t contain any gluten products Nutter Butter Cereal is gluten-free and can be enjoyed by those who need to avoid gluten in their diets.
Is it vegan?
Unlike the other two bowls of cereal, Nutter Butter Cereal is vegan-friendly as it contains no animal products and is not fortified with Vitamin D3.
Is it keto?
Nutter Butter Cereal is very high in sugar which can cause your blood sugar level to spike and stop your body from entering ketosis. It’s also high in carbs, as with most other cereals, and should be avoided if you’re following a keto diet.
Protein & fiber content
Like the other peanut butter cereals, we’ve compared it to Nutter Butter Cereal is low in both protein and fiber. The recommended daily amount of protein for an average adult is between 46 and 56 grams, and this cereal only contains 2 grams per serving.
So, you’d have to eat lots of other protein-rich foods throughout the day if you chose this cereal for breakfast.
It doesn’t fare any better when it comes to fiber, providing just 0.5 grams in a serving. That works out at a meager 2% of the recommended daily intake.
Where To Buy Peanut Butter Cereals
Shop in-store
All of these peanut butter flavored cereals can be found in most grocery store chains such as Target and Kroger.
Shop online
You can purchase these cereals from online retailers such as Walmart and Amazon.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to choosing the best peanut butter cereal there are so many options available that it can be hard to tell what really separates them. In terms of taste, it mainly comes down to personal preference, but we all want cereal with the salty and sweet flavors of real peanut butter.
All of the three that we’ve compared stack up fairly evenly in terms of nutrition and high sugar content. But, let’s be honest, if you’re looking for healthy food then peanut butter cereal is never going to be the best choice.
So, give our three choices a try and see which one you think comes out on top!