Homemade Sourdough Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal
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This Sourdough Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal is one of those recipes that’s just plain fun to make—and even better to eat. It bakes up into crunchy, golden cinnamon sugar squares in under 15 minutes with just 7 simple ingredients, making it perfect for busy mornings or cozy weekend breakfasts.
I’ll admit, this one was inspired by my husband, who treats cereal like its own food group and will eat anything crunchy and sweet with milk. We always have cereal in the pantry, but I love having a homemade option like this—and if you’re in the mood for something slower, my Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls are always a cozy favorite.
Quick Look: Sourdough Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Bake Time: 15–20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Servings: About 6 cups
- Calories: ~458 kcal per ½ cup serving
- Cook Method: Baked
- Flavor Profile: Lightly sweet and warmly spiced with a satisfying crunch and a subtle sourdough tang. These crispy little squares hit that nostalgic cereal sweetness with a homemade, wholesome twist.
- Difficulty: Easy — Just mix, roll, cut, and bake. No fermentation or special sourdough skills needed. Perfect if you have discard on hand and want something quick and fun!
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Why You’ll Love This Sourdough Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal
- Easy – You mix the dough, roll it out, cut it into small squares, and bake it in the oven. You do not need a mixer, chilling time, or any complicated steps. If you like simple sourdough bakes you can put together quickly, Sourdough Granola is another easy recipe you can make for breakfast.
- Delicious – These bake into crisp cinnamon sugar squares that are crunchy and sweet plus a somewhat buttery flavor. The cinnamon sugar melts and coats the surface as they bake, and the sourdough adds a gentle tang that makes things even better. If you enjoy that sweet and tangy flavor, Sourdough Sugar Cookies are another recipe to try.
- Homemade alternative – This recipe uses 7 simple ingredients instead of the long list of added sugars, flavors, and preservatives you find in most store-bought cereal. You still get that crunchy, sweet breakfast experience, just made at home with real ingredients you can actually recognize. If you like making simple homemade versions of store-bought snacks, Sourdough Graham Crackers are another easy one to keep on hand.
Ingredients & Substitutions
* To find precise measurements, scroll to the bottom of this post to find the recipe card*
- Flour – I used all-purpose flour for this recipe.
- Sugar – This adds a little sweetness to the cereal.
- Salt – Any unrefined sea salt works, but I like Redmond’s unrefined salt for a bit of extra minerals.
- Cinnamon – You need ground cinnamon for that classic cinnamon flavor.
- Butter – Use cold or frozen unsalted butter for the dough. I also used melted unsalted butter for brushing, and the cereal baked up super flaky and crunchy.
- Vanilla Extract – I recommend real vanilla extract instead of imitation for better flavor.
- Sourdough Starter – You can use either active sourdough starter or sourdough discard for this recipe.
How to Make Sourdough Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the ground cinnamon and sugar to make your cinnamon sugar topping and set it aside.
- In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour, sugar, ground cinnamon, and salt. Cut your cold butter into small cubes and toss them into the sugar cinnamon mixture. Pulse until the butter breaks down into pea-sized pieces. If you don’t have a food processor, you can do this by hand in a mixing bowl with a pastry cutter.
- Add the sourdough starter and vanilla extract and mix. If the dough hasn’t come together after about 30 seconds, add cold water one tablespoon at a time, mixing for 15-30 seconds between each addition. Every starter is a little different, so just add water until the dough comes together.
- Once the dough comes together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and cut it in half.
- Roll out one piece at a time into a large rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. The thinner you roll it, the crunchier your cereal will be.
- Carefully transfer the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the top of the dough with melted butter and generously sprinkle the cinnamon sugar. Cut the dough into small squares with a pizza cutter or sharp knife and space them about 1/2 inch apart.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
- Let them cool completely before serving. Sourdough cinnamon toast crunch cereal is best served in a bowl with cold whole milk.
Fun idea: If you have leftover cereal, crush it and press it onto homemade bagels before baking for a crunchy cinnamon topping. It also makes a great ice cream topping in place of granola or crushed cookies, adding a satisfying cinnamon crunch.
McKenna’s Helpful Tips
- Roll the dough thin, about 1/8 inch or even a little thinner if you can. The thinner the better.
- Keep the butter cold or frozen. Don’t use room temperature butter or it won’t give you that flaky, crisp texture you’re after.
- Cut the squares as evenly as you can. If the pieces are different sizes, some will bake faster than others and you’ll end up with a mix of soft and overdone bits.
- Let it cool all the way before you put it away. It keeps crisping as it cools, and if you trap steam in a container too early, it’ll soften.
- Even though this recipe doesn’t involve a first dough rise or second rise, you can long-ferment the dough in the fridge if you want.
How to Store
Store leftover Sourdough Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Sourdough Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal FAQs
Yes, you can long-ferment the dough if you want. Wrap the dough and let it ferment in the fridge for up to 24 hours. This will deepen the sourdough flavor and give the cereal a more pronounced tang. So, go ahead and mix the dough before bed and bake the next morning.
I haven’t personally tested this, but swapping out up to half the flour for whole wheat should work fine. Whole wheat absorbs more water than white flour, so you may need to add a little extra to get the dough to come together in the food processor. You could also make the recipe with bread flour and see how it turns out.
It makes a great ice cream topping in place of granola or crushed cookies, adding a satisfying cinnamon crunch. You can also just eat them by the handful, because they taste like lightly sweet sourdough crackers and are hard to stop snacking on.
If you tried this Sourdough Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
FULL RECIPE TUTORIAL
Sourdough Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal Recipe
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Ingredients
Sourdough Cinnamon Toast Crust Cereal
- 220 grams all-purpose flour 1 1/2 cups + 1 Tablespoon
- 50 grams sugar 1/4 cup
- 6 grams ground cinnamon 1 Tablespoon
- 3 grams salt 1/2 teaspoon
- 113 grams unsalted butter, cold/frozen 1/2 cup
- 120 grams sourdough discard **see notes below 1/2 cup
- 4 grams vanilla extract 1 teaspoon
- additional cold water
Cinnamon Sugar Mixture
- 57 grams unsalted butter, melted 1/4 cup
- 100 grams sugar 1/2 cup
- 6 grams ground cinnamon 1 Tablespoon
Instructions
FULL RECIPE TUTORIAL BELOW!
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- First, in a small bowl, whisk together cinnamon and sugar to create the cinnamon sugar topping. Set to the side.100 grams sugar, 6 grams ground cinnamon
- In a bowl of a food processor, add flour, sugar, ground cinnamon, and salt. Cut cold/frozen butter into small cubes and add to the food processor. Mix until the butter resembles pea-sized pieces. This can also be done by hand in a mixing bowl with a pastry cutter.220 grams all-purpose flour, 50 grams sugar, 6 grams ground cinnamon, 3 grams salt, 113 grams unsalted butter, cold/frozen
- Next, add sourdough discard and vanilla extract and mix. If after 30 seconds the dough doesn't come together, you may need to add cold water to the dough. It just depends on your sourdough discard. Add 1 Tablespoon at a time and mix for 15-30 seconds before adding any additional water. You can use active starter in this recipe, just make sure to use the same weight (120g).120 grams sourdough discard **see notes below, 4 grams vanilla extract, additional cold water
- Once the dough is formed, place it on a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough in half.
- With a rolling pin, roll out one piece of dough at a time into a large rectangle, 1/8th of an inch thick. The thinner the dough, the crunchier the cereal! You will need to reflour your surface and flip the dough every once in a while so that it doesn't stick to your work surface.
- Gently move the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the melted butter, then generously sprinkle with the sugar mixture.57 grams unsalted butter, melted
- Using a pizza cutter or something sharp, cut the dough into tiny squares. Space out the squares about 1/2 inch apart. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the sourdough cinnamon toast crunch cereal is golden brown.
- Cool and enjoy in a bowl with some milk!
Can you make this without the sourdough starter?
This recipe was specifically tested to be made with sourdough starer. There are other versions online without!
Make a double batch. This cereal is fire!! The only thing I did differently and would recommend, is that rather than rolling it out, transferring, cutting, and separating the little squares, I followed the “cracker method.” I rolled the dough out between 2 pieces of parchment paper, buttered, sugar’d, cut the squares, slid it onto a baking sheet and put it in the oven. No way was I separating the squares 🤪
Turned out great!! Easy, delicious recipe.
Oh, I also used vegan butter because my daughter has allergies.
Thrilled to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! And thank you for sharing the time-saving tips…will have to try that myself 🙂
I tried this recipe and my husband and son absolutely loved it. I just had a question if you’ve ever tried taking away some or all of the sugar from the dough? I was just curious for a bit more healthier alternative since it would still be sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Either way our whole family loved it, and all of your other recipes that I’ve made.
/Elvira 🇸🇪
Hi Elvira! I am so thrilled to hear that everyone enjoyed my recipes! Means so much! Personally, I have not. If I were you, I would test it out by reducing the sugar by 1/3 and seeing how it bakes. Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful!
Made these tonight! So easy and everyone loved them!
Amazing, thank you for sharing!
I don’t see the measurements at all on the page, just the 7 ingredients and the instructions do not include the portion breakdown either. Did I miss it or is it missing?
If you scroll to the bottom, you will find exact measurements with step-by-step directions!
Hello! Can you use honey in place of sugar for this recipe or would it make it too wet?
Hi Hollie, I have personally never tested this recipe using honey, so I am not 100% certain. If you do give it a go, please let me know how it turns out!
Hi, I’m based in the 🇬🇧 what weight is a stick of butter please? Here we don’t have them, our come as a block of 250g. Thank you
I learned something new today! Thank you for sharing this! A stick of butter is 113g.
I saw this and read suggestions for use besides a bowl of milk. I make yogurt and am always looking for add ins. I bet these would be delicious crunched up and stirred in! I’m going to try.
Love this idea, yum!
McKenna helped me get my very first sourdough starter going with her encouraging and informative responses. I’ve decided this year to try and stop purchasing as much overly processed food as possible, starting with breads. I’ve made a lot of yeasted breads but sourdough is still brand new. I have yet to try a loaf, BUT I made these with my discard and OH MY GOODNESS! My entire family is obsessed. My 6.5 year old is asking for cereal for dinner and my 17 month old keeps signing for more! My husband keeps “sneaking” some every time he walks by the pan. So yummy, so fun!
Thank you so much for sharing, Kelly! I so excited to hear about your thriving sourdough starter and how your family is already enjoying your sourdough creations. Priceless! So glad they like the cereal, my little can’t get enough of it!
Unsalted butter?
Either can be used for this recipe! If you use salted butter, reduce the salt from 1/2 tsp to 1/4 tsp.
After you mix all of the ingredients in a food processor, do you take that mixture out of there and put it in a bowl to add the starter? It’s not super clear in the instructions. Thank you!
Hi Joni! After the butter is mixed with the flour mixture into pea-sized bits, you add the discard and vanilla to the food processor and mix. The dough should form and then you can remove it to shape. Hope this helps!
Made this with my toddler and she ate almost half of it while I prepped the other half to bake. Instead of rolling it out I ran portions through the pasta maker for a consistent thickness. Loved it!
I love this so much! And thank you for sharing your tip – brilliant!
OMG! GENIUS! Thank you for the tip. That’s a great tip for sourdough discard crackers as well!!
Brilliant idea!!
Thank you so much, Heather! I hope you love this recipe!
oh my gosh that is an amazing idea!
Thank you! I hope you love it as much as we do!
Could you long ferment this?
I have not personally tested this, but I’m sure you could pop it into the fridge for up to 24 hours for a long fermentation option!
Absolutely loved this recipe! I doubled the batch and used 1/4 whole wheat flour as well as fermenting in the fridge for 24 hours for gluten tolerance and wow it is so crunchy and delicious!
So glad you loved it!
I ran and grabbed my discard as soon as I saw this recipe posted. It came out amazing! Rather than rolling the dough out on flour, I put the parchment paper on the countertop, sprinkled some of the sugar/cinnamon mixture, then rolled the dough and cut. Came out super crunchy and delicious—will be reusing this recipe frequently!!
Have you ever tried this with a long ferment?
I have not personally, but I’m sure you could pop it into the fridge for up to 24 hours for a long fermentation option!
My kids loved this, it turned out great!
I’m going to try to long ferment in the fridge to bake tomorrow!
Love it! Enjoy!
made this today- cereal is my husband’s favorite- and its phenomenal! such a fun recipe to make!!
I would really like to make this cereal, but for the life of me, I can’t find the actual ingredients part of the recipe. I have scrolled back-and-forth and I saw it once and it disappeared. It’s too hard to find it I may have to give up! Please help, can you just make a printable recipe? Thank you. It looks great.
Hi Anne! I apologize that the recipe wasn’t easily found. At the top of the page there is a “Jump to Recipe” button! This will scroll you down to the bottom section of the post, where you will find the ingredients and step-by-step instructions. I hope you give this recipe a try, it’s delicious!