We Graded Every Cereal A–F. The Household Names Lost.

Few aisles run on health halos like the cereal aisle. We graded 10 popular cereals on the same 6-dimension Labelgrade and the pecking order flipped the marketing on its head: the top of the class is grain-free newcomers, while the names your family has eaten for decades — including one literally branded 'Protein' — finished at the bottom on added sugar and thin fiber. 'Protein' on the box did not save them.

The verdict

Top grades went to grain-free upstarts (Three Wishes, Catalina Crunch at A-); Cheerios + Ancient Grains and Cheerios Protein landed at B- — out-scored on added sugar and fiber by cereals half their size.

Top of the class A- Mccann'S Mccann'S, Quick & Easy Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal 87/100

Bottom of the class C Kellogg's Frosted Flakes Cereal 61/100

The full report card — all 19 cereals, ranked

#	Cereal	Grade	Score	Weakest link
1	Mccann'S — Mccann'S, Quick & Easy Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal	A-	87	protein density (65/100)
2	Catalina Crunch — Chocolate Banana Cereal	A-	85	sodium (64/100)
3	Quaker — Instant Oatmeal, 11.6 oz	A-	85	protein density (69/100)
4	Three Wishes — Cocoa Grain-Free Cereal	A-	85	sodium (68/100)
5	Kashi — GO Honey Almond Flax Cereal	B+	80	added sugar (68/100)
6	Kodiak Cakes — Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal, Maple & Brown Sugar	B+	80	added sugar (60/100)
7	Magic Spoon — Fruity Grain-Free Cereal	B+	80	fiber (48/100)
8	Kashi — GO Honey Almond Flax Crunch	B	78	added sugar (59/100)
9	Kellogg's — Special K Protein Honey Almond Ancient Grains	B	78	sodium (52/100)
10	Kellogg's — Raisin Bran Cereal	B	77	protein density (62/100)
11	General Mills — Cheerios + Ancient Grains Cereal	B-	73	sodium (62/100)
12	Cheerios — Protein Cinnamon Cereal	B-	72	sodium (42/100)
13	General Mills — Honey Nut Cheerios Cereal	B-	70	sodium (42/100)
14	Post — Honey Bunches of Oats Honey Roasted Cereal Cup	B-	70	fiber (55/100)
15	General Mills — Rice Chex Cereal	C+	68	sodium (26/100)
16	Quaker — Life Original Multigrain Cereal	C+	67	sodium (48/100)
17	Kellogg's — Froot Loops Cereal	C+	66	sodium (45/100)
18	General Mills — Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal	C+	66	sodium (43/100)
19	Kellogg's — Frosted Flakes Cereal	C	61	added sugar (16/100)

Worth a closer look

The two ends of the list tell the story. Mccann'S Mccann'S, Quick & Easy Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal tops the class at 87/100 (A-); Kellogg's Frosted Flakes Cereal anchors the bottom at 61/100 (C). Click any product for its full fact sheet — the six dimension sub-scores, the per-serving label, and what would move its grade. Prefer to slice it yourself? Filter every graded product by the dimension you care about.

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How we graded these

Each product is scored on six dimensions — protein density, ingredient quality, added sugar, sodium, fiber, and saturated fat — combined into a 0–100 score and a letter grade. Every number comes from the product’s own label, verified against USDA FoodData Central. The grade is absolute (relative to all packaged foods), which is why a whole category can land in the same band. See the full methodology. Last graded 2026-06-04.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which cereal scored highest?

The grain-free, low-added-sugar newcomers topped the list. See the ranked table above for the exact order and each cereal’s weakest dimension.

Did "Cheerios Protein" really score low?

It landed near the bottom of this set. Adding "Protein" to the name doesn’t change the added-sugar and fiber math, and on our six dimensions those are what separated the pack. The number on the box matters less than the whole label.

Are the household-name cereals bad for you?

A B- isn’t a fail — it means "okay, but beaten on the things that matter here." The point of the report card is the relative order: which cereals give you the most fiber and protein for the least added sugar and processing.

How is the grade calculated?

Six dimensions — protein density, ingredient quality, added sugar, sodium, fiber, and saturated fat — into a 0–100 score and a letter grade, from each product’s own label, verified against USDA data. See our methodology page.