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Counting carbs

How many carbs are in cereal?

Cheerios: 29g per 1.5 cups. Frosted Flakes: 27g. Lucky Charms: 29g. Carbs for 20 popular breakfast cereals.

June 10, 2026 4 min read

Most breakfast cereals pack 25-45g of carbs per serving before milk. The serving sizes printed on the box are notoriously small — a real bowl is usually 2-3 servings.

Per labeled serving

CerealServingCarbsSugar
Cheerios1.5 cup29g2g
Honey Nut Cheerios1 cup29g12g
Frosted Flakes3/4 cup27g11g
Corn Flakes1 cup24g3g
Rice Krispies1.5 cup36g4g
Lucky Charms1 cup29g12g
Froot Loops1.5 cup41g16g
Cinnamon Toast Crunch1 cup32g12g
Raisin Bran1 cup47g19g
Special K1 cup23g4g
Granola (typical)½ cup35g13g
Cap'n Crunch3/4 cup23g12g
Reese's Puffs1 cup33g11g
Cocoa Pebbles3/4 cup25g11g
Oatmeal (instant, plain)1 packet19g0g
Oatmeal (instant, maple)1 packet33g12g
Grape-Nuts½ cup47g5g
Kashi GO Lean1 cup30g6g
Magic Spoon1 cup14g0g (net 5g)
Catalina Crunch½ cup14g0g (net 5g)

Add the milk

  • 1 cup whole milk: 12g
  • 1 cup 2%: 12g
  • 1 cup almond (unsweetened): 1g
  • 1 cup oat milk: 16g

What a 'real bowl' costs

Most adults pour 2.5x the serving size. A real bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios with milk is closer to 84g of carbs — equivalent to two slices of pie.

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