Kellogg’s and Little Debbie have collaborated again to turn a childhood snack into cereal form. In addition to Oatmeal Creme Pies and Cosmic Brownies, the brands have concocted a Nutty Buddy cereal.

When opening the box and cereal bag, you definitely can smell a scent that reminds me of some sort of latte I’ve ordered. But the question we’re left with is whether or not it is executed well, so let’s find out.

Aesthetics

I’m mainly giving it four spoons because I’m a sucker for bright, vibrant colors on the packaging and it excellently replicates the classic Nutty Buddy snack box branding. The one thing I was leery about was the shape of the cereal pieces because they don’t exactly look like the chocolate and peanut butter wafer bars that we’ve grown accustomed to. The more I stared at the cereal the more I couldn’t decide if they looked like mini bread loaves or dry dog kibble.

Snackability

As mentioned above, the large cereal pieces make it difficult for easy snackability, but at least the pieces are light and aren’t dense, so they’re easily chewable, just as long as you aren’t stuffing more than a couple pieces in at a time. But for me, good snackability is being able to grab a handful of cereal and toss it in your mouth without worrying if you are going to choke or hurt your mouth or jaw. I’m not about to try and look like a squirrel who is loading up my mouth in preparation for winter.

Structural Integrity

You’re going to notice a theme here, as one of the cereal’s missteps is the size of the morsels. The large loaf-like blocks start to absorb milk relatively quickly due to how light they are, so after a few bites, you’ll notice less of a crunch, especially the pieces at the bottom.

Cereal Concept

I will always applaud the attempt of trying to turn unhealthy snacks into unhealthy cereal (I’m still waiting for Little Debbie Christmas Tree snack cake cereal). While the intention was good at trying to sucker me into nostalgia and curiosity, I still can’t get past the size of the cereal.

Flavor

I don’t give out half spoons, otherwise, I would give this category 2.5 spoons. While I mentioned earlier about the smell of the cereal when I opened the bag, the smell doesn’t translate to a strong flavor. Eating the cereal dry, it’s not as chocolate-tasting as I was imagining. From my experience, chocolate-flavored cereal usually tastes like cocoa powder, but this is much more subtle. However, I could definitely taste the hint of a peanut butter wafer. Overall, this was one of the times when I wished the chocolate cereal tasted a little stronger because the flavor only lessens in milk.

Final Thoughts

Of the Little Debbie cereals I’ve had so far, this is probably the less offensive to the tastebuds. It’s a pretty neutral ride from the first bite to the last.

If you haven’t guessed by now, assuming you’ve made it this far into the review and didn’t quit reading, the biggest issue I have is how large the cereal pieces are.

If I was choosing the original snack vs. a cereal made to replicate the snack for breakfast, I’d rather just rip open a Nutty Buddy pack and have them for breakfast because I’m an adult and can make my own choices (even if they’re not the most nutritious)

Bonus Section: Food for Thought

Did you know that Nutty Bars first hit grocery shelves in 1964?

And now let’s address the elephant in the room.

Now known as Nutty Buddy, the name changed to that after decades of being Nutty Bars, around 2016.