DIY Grape-Nuts Cereal Recipe (2024)

Granola

We recreated classic Grape-Nuts crunch and nutty flavor at home.

Molly Sheridan

Molly Sheridan began chronicling her cooking adventures on Wonderland Kitchen in 2011. Her writing has appeared in publications such as TimeOut and The Washington Post.

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Updated April 11, 2023

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Why It Works

Buttermilk and malt syrup add a subtle tang and balanced sweetness.
A double-baking process creates cereal nuggets with a satisfying crunch.
Coarsely ground graham flour (or stone-ground whole wheat flour) offers the best flavor.

Born and educated in Ohio as I was, drives made through the beautiful farmlands of nearby Amish communities or miles clocked behind their buggies on nearly empty country roads are scenes I associate with almost all the family car trips of my childhood. I fully acknowledge that it's a lifestyle I've romanticized as a result, but I don't see the harm if it leads to me to watchinginteresting documentaries on PBSor picking up the occasional cookbook.

My recent nosing around is how I came to ownCooking from Quilt Countryby Marcia Adams. It's a volume packed with simple and hearty Amish cooking, but the first thing I really wanted to try out of the book was the recipe for what Adams referred to as Graham Nuts but most of us know as Post Grape-Nuts. Conveniently, the recipe called for two cups of buttermilk, an ingredient I had in excess aftermy last column.

When all was said and done, these cereal bits were tasty and characteristically molar-cracking. They were also very, very sweet and flavorful, thanks to the brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon.My husband dubbed them "Grape-Nuts meet Cinnamon Toast Crunch" to give you a sense of where things fell.The recipe even suggested serving the cereal with more brown sugar on top! This is awesome on the one hand—and if you are a hardworkingfarmhand, possibly totally acceptable—but it hardly makes for the kind of super healthy breakfast cereal I equate with the name. So I took to the internet, but found only recipes along a similar theme, some even adding butter and other oils and sweeteners. Not the direction I was looking to go.

For my version, I decided to reel things in. According to the ingredients listed on the commercial Grape-Nuts box, the cereal contained only whole grain wheat flour, malted barley flour, salt, and dried yeast, plus added vitamins and minerals.The taste was only very slightly sweet, but attractive due to its rich nutty flavor. That's what I wanted to capture.Iresearchedthe differences between true graham flour (used in the original Amish recipe) and the varieties of whole wheat flour available on the market, and finally got a firm grasp on where wheat germ and wheat bran enter the picture. I also considered alternative sweeteners that would deliver a less forward flavor punch and more of the slightly sweet malty flavor of the boxed cereal.

Knowing that if I put all my flavor eggs in the wheat basket I needed to make sure I picked a really flavorful starting flour, I decided to go withHodgson Mill Old Fashioned Whole Wheat Flour, which is on the shelves at my local grocery store and offers a coarser graham flour grind. Depending on what's available in your area, you could also use a more traditional whole wheat flour or supplement AP flour withappropriate proportions of wheat bran and wheat germ. I also had somemalt syrupon hand from a recent bagel-making adventure, and discovered that this sweetened the cereal perfectly.

The Verdict

In terms of cost, I figure the raw ingredients for the homemade cereal cost less than the commercial version. While there is nothing challenging about this recipe, it does require some babysitting. As you can see in the image above, my DIY Grape-Nuts (on the right), though they offer plenty of crunch, are slightly paler, as well as less dense and less uniform than the commercial option.

November 2012

Recipe Details

DIY Grape-Nuts Cereal Recipe

Active30 mins

Total2 hrs

Ingredients

Vegetable oil or non-stick cooking spray
17 1/2 ounces (3 1/2 cups) graham or whole wheat flour (see note)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup barley malt syrup (at room temperature for smoother mixing)

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F (180°C). Prepare a rimmed baking sheet with non-stick spray or oil. Combine flour, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add buttermilk and barley malt syrup to the bowl and mix just until all dry ingredients are evenly combined.
Scrape batter out onto prepared sheet pan and smooth out to the edges as evenly as possible. Bake until edges are just browning and puling away from the pan, about 20 minutes.
Loosen cake with a spatula and flip out on a cooling rack immediately. Reduce oven to 275°F (140°C). Set aside to cool about 40 minutes.
Working in 4 or 5 batches, roughly break up cake into chunks by hand and then pulse in food processor until bits reach desired size.
Spread cereal bits across 2 rimmed baking sheets and bake until completely dry (about 45 minutes), stirring cereal and rotating pans every 15 minutes.
Once dry, turn off oven, crack door, and leave to cool. Store in air-tight container.

Special Equipment

Two rimmed baking sheets, food processor, cooking oil spray

Notes

Much of this recipe's flavor relies on the flour you're using, so select with care. I decided to go with a coarser graham flour. Depending on what's available in your area, you could also use a more traditional whole wheat flour or supplement AP flour with appropriate proportions of wheat bran and wheat germ.

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
182	Calories
2g	Fat
37g	Carbs
6g	Protein

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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 14
Amount per serving
Calories	182
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 2g	2%
Saturated Fat 0g	2%
Cholesterol 1mg	0%
Sodium 296mg	13%
Total Carbohydrate 37g	13%
Dietary Fiber 4g	14%
Total Sugars 10g
Protein 6g
Vitamin C 0mg	1%
Calcium 51mg	4%
Iron 1mg	8%
Potassium 212mg	5%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

FAQs

How are Grape-Nuts made step by step? ›

Combine flour, bran, salt, and baking soda; whisk to combine. Add buttermilk, malt syrup, and vanilla extract and mix until evenly combined. Spread evenly on parchment and bake until just browning, 20 minutes. Cool for 35-40 minutes.

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What are the ingredients in Grape-Nuts cereal? ›

Ingredients. Modern-day original Grape-Nuts contain whole grain wheat flour, malted barley flour, salt, dried yeast, and the following added vitamins and minerals: iron, vitamin B3, zinc oxide, vitamin B6, vitamin B1, and folic acid.

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What is a substitute for Grape-Nuts cereal? ›

Mock Grape Nuts

Breakfast Foods. • 1 cup Steel cut oats.
Baking & Spices. • 2 tbsp Coconut sugar. • 1/4 tsp Kosher or sea salt.
Oils & Vinegars. • 1 tbsp Coconut oil.
Liquids. • 1 cup Water.

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What is going on with Grape-Nuts cereal? ›

At long last, Post's Grape-Nuts are back in stock nationwide. The pandemic had shunted production and caused a shortage. Finally, after a nationwide shortage forced fans to begrudgingly slurp bowls of lesser bran cereals, Grape-Nuts has reclaimed its rightful place on grocery store shelves.

Is there an organic Grape-Nuts cereal? ›

Grape-Nuts Organic cereal is a healthy way to do something good for yourself and the environment! Certified organic by Oregon Tilth. Organic Whole Wheat Flour, Organic Whole Grain Malted Barley Flour, Salt, Yeast, Mixed Tocopherols (to Help Protect Flavor).

Are Grape-Nuts high in gluten? ›

Grape Nuts is definitely NOT gluten-free as it contains wheat or other gluten-containing ingredients. See our 7 point gluten-free analysis below for more details. We use our 7 point gluten-free analysis help determine our gluten-free confidence score.

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Why are Grape-Nuts so expensive? ›

“Grape-Nuts is made using a proprietary technology and a production process that isn't easily replicated, which has made it more difficult to shift production to meet demand during this time,” she said, without elaborating on that technology or process.

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Is Grape-Nuts cereal good for high cholesterol? ›

One serving of Post Grape-Nuts has 200 calories and a total fat content of 1 g, no cholesterol, 290 mg of sodium and 230 mg of potassium. A single serving of Grape-Nuts Flakes has 110 calories with 10 calories from fat, 1 g of total fat, no cholesterol, 125 mg of sodium and 100 mg of potassium.

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What is the nutritional value of Grape-Nuts? ›

Amount/Serving	%DV*	Amount/Serving
Sat. Fat 0.1g	1%	Dietary Fiber 3.1g
Trans Fat 0g		Sugars 4.5g
Cholesterol 0mg	0%	Protein 4.4g
Sodium 177.1mg	12%

2 more rows

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Are Grape-Nuts genetically modified? ›

Grape Nuts are made from wheat, Cheerios from oats, both crops for which there are no genetically modified varieties in the United States.

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Are Grape-Nuts clean eating? ›

Grape Nuts are another healthy cereal option. According to the manufacturer, Original flavor Grape Nuts are made with only four simple ingredients: whole grain wheat flour, malted barley flour, salt, and dried yeast.

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How are nuts made? ›

While the bolts are made from the coil the nuts are actually made from bar stock which is just going to be bundles of long bar product. Those are hot formed and so they are induction heated up to a red-hot temperature and then they're formed very similarly to the bolts.