Made with lots of whole grains and subtly sweetened with maple syrup, this Homemade Bran Flakes Cereal Recipe is a delicious way to start you morning!
This post is also featured in my Easy Plant Based Breakfast Ideas For 2020 roundup.
Hi. My name is Faith and I used to be a cereal addict.
No seriously. I could have eaten cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner as a child. Thankfully I had parents that didn’t let me indulge in my love of all things crunchy, sweet and dredged in cold milk three times a day. Even my grandparents called me the cereal child and would stock up on cereal whenever we came to visit. They even had those bowls with the straws attached so that I could slurp up my marshmallow or chocolate flavored milk after I finished eating.
As you can tell by the flavor of my milk, the cereal I ate growing up, and even into college, wasn’t always the healthiest. My parents didn’t ban sugary cereals in the house growing up so lucky charms (or Marshmallow Mateys as we knew it), Captain Crunch, Corn Puffs, Cocoa Puffs and Fruity Pebbles were just some of my favorite.
When I got into high school my cereal choices matured a little and I upgraded to Frosted Mini Wheats, Granola, Raisin Bran and Honey Bunches of Oats. With these more “sophisticated” cereals, I would always mix three kinds together. That way, instead of having to choose just one kind to eat, I would mix three kinds together and end up with a bowl full of different textures and flavors. Then just pour some cold milk on top and I was good to go.
Breakfast is still my favorite meal of the day. I’m a morning person and for me there’s nothing better than sitting down to a warm bowl of oatmeal in the still, quiet of the morning. I still love cereal, but rarely eat it. This is because of a few reasons. The main reason is that I’ve come to care about what ingredients I put in my body. In the past year I learned a great deal about how to read ingredient labels and was shocked to find that I had been putting a lot of junk in my body over the course of my life. It’s hard to find packaged goods at the store that don’t contain High Fructose Corn Syrup, food colorings or artificial flavors. Another reason I don’t eat cereal very often is because it doesn’t fill me up very well. A smaller bowl of oatmeal with some chia seeds, fruit and nut butter keeps me going for hours because it contains a combinations of carbohydrates, fiber and healthy fats. The last reason I don’t eat cereal much anymore is because most types are full of processed sugar, making you (or at least me!) want bowl after bowl after bowl. I love having a sweet breakfast first thing when I wake up, but I know the sugar from fresh fruit or a little maple syrup will satisfy my sweet tooth without making me want to eat sugar the rest of the day.
So in order to get the best of both worlds, I finally decided to dive into the realm of homemade cereal. To be honest, I’ve always loved bran flakes. Anything “bran” for that matter is right up my alley. Bran cereal usually has a high fiber content and less sugar which is also something I love about it. That’s how this Homemade Bran Flakes Cereal came to be. I wanted to make something that wasn’t full of sugar, but would also keep me full for hours. This cereal does the trick!
It’s perfectly crunchy and pairs beautifully with fresh fruit and Homemade Oat Milk or Almond Milk. I’m still a cereal mixer at heart, so I often mix this Homemade Bran Flakes Cereal with some of my Cinnamon Raisin Granola as well. Perfection in a bowl I tell ya!
If you’re a cereal lover too, but want to eat less processed foods, I hope that this Homemade Bran Flakes Cereal works for you! It’s become a staple in my house and it’s perfect for those days when I just want to dig into something crunchy first thing in the morning. Enjoy!
If you make this recipe be sure to leave a comment, rate the recipe and share it with others!
Homemade Bran Flakes Cereal
Made with lots of whole grains and subtly sweetened with maple syrup, this Homemade Bran Flakes Cereal Recipe is a delicious way to start you morning!
Ingredients
DRY INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup wheat bran
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
WET INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/4 cup non-dairy milk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until everything is combined and a dough forms.
- Separate the dough in half and place one half on one prepared baking sheet and the other half of the dough on the second baking sheet. Rip off a large sheet of wax paper and lay it over top of the dough on one of your baking sheet. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out as thin as you can by rolling on top of the wax paper. The dough is really sticky, so the wax paper keeps the dough from sticking to your rolling pin. You want your dough to be so thin that it almost becomes see through it. Once your dough is completely rolled out, slowly pull off the wax paper. I've found that the dough is still really sticky at this point so in order for me to get the wax paper off, I pull it back at a 180 degree angle.
- Repeat this process with the second half of the dough until you have two very thin layers of dough on your baking sheets.
- Place the baking sheets in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the dough is starting to brown in places. Watch carefully after 10 minutes, because you don't want it to burn completely and it depends on how thinly you rolled out your dough. Some brown spots are fine.
- Remove the sheets from the oven once they are done and let them cool completely.
- Reduce the heat in your oven to 275 degrees.
- After the bran sheets have cooled they will feel slightly rubbery in places and hard and crispy in others. Rip up each bran sheet into bran flakes and place all of the bran flakes back onto one of the baking sheets.
- Place the bran flakes back into the 275 degree oven and let the flakes bake for 15-20 minutes more, stirring the flakes every 5 minutes. If any of the flakes are really brown and crispy you can remove them early.
- Let the flakes cool completely after baking and store them in an air tight container.
- Serve with Homemade Almond or Oat Milk and fresh fruit!
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Nutrition Information
Yield 6 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 136Total Fat 2gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 1mgSodium 137mgCarbohydrates 29gNet Carbohydrates 0gFiber 7gSugar 7gSugar Alcohols 0gProtein 5g
Nutrition information is a rough estimate provided by Nutrionix and should be used for informational purposes only.
Chuck Sampson says
I made some modifications to the recipe to suit my preferences, but what I wanted to comment on was that I took all the work out of rolling the dough with a rolling pin, in exchange for using my pasta sheet roller attachment for my Kitchenaid. It worked like a charm, and you can get the dough so much more thinner than you could otherwise. One of the modification I did to the dough was to NOT have a sticky dough. I needed something that could go through the pasta roller without it sticking to it. My cereal was absolutely perfect! It had the same crunch and texture like a box cereal i.e. Raisin Bran or Wheaties. So light and crispy. I ended up using my wheat flakes to make that very expensive cereal my wife loves from Costco. The name of that cereal is called: General Mills Morning Summit Maple Berry Blend Breakfast Cereal. I was able to make that cereal from scratch with perfect results! Now I can make her favorite cereal for a few dollars, instead of almost thirteen bucks from Costco. Thank you for this recipe!!
Faith VanderMolen says
That’s a brilliant idea Chuck! Sounds like you and your wife get to enjoy an amazing, homemade breakfast everyday now. Thanks so much for sharing!
Rachel says
What changes did you make?
Gjen says
Would it be possible to substitute honey for the maple syrup and would it use the same amount?
Faith says
Hi! Thanks for your question. I haven’t tried that, but I would say that it should be fine. If you give it a try, I’d love to know if it works out for you so report back!
Sarah-Beth Hatton says
Been really craving bran flakes recently but would NEVER put that amount of sugar and junk into my body now. This recipe was awesome! I subbed oat bran for the wheat bran and wholegrain spelt flour for the wheat flour (as it’s what I had) and instead of maple syrup I used apple juice in place of water and (so that it would have enough liquid) added 3 tbsp of water. Mixed with raisins, dates, roasted cashews and walnuts (to help bulk it out and add sweetness) and BAM! Super crunchy, not too sweet flakes of wholesome and fruit sweetened goodness. 10/10 will make again- these are replacing muesli as my breakfast treat.
Faith says
Wow!! Your substitutions sounds incredible!! I’m inspired to make another batch soon. I’m also glad to know oat bran works instead of wheat bran as that’s what I have in the house currently. So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks so much for sharing Sarah-Beth!
Lisa says
Faith,
I really missed cereal after switching to a nutritarian/ Whole Foods Plant Strong diet.. I leave out sweetener but it is still so amazing. I can’t believe I can make homemade bran flakes! And feel so good about what I eat. Another go to recipe for me and my husband. Thank you so much. Lisa
Faith says
Lisa, this is music to my ears! I’m so glad you made and enjoyed this recipe! Thanks so much for commenting!
Ppk says
Hey I tried it today, and swapped the maple syrup and milk with coconut sugar and soya milk powder, ofcourse upped the water a bit, it turned out great! Can’t wait for tomorrow morning’s breakfast!
Faith says
Hi! I’m so glad those substitutions worked out for you! Thanks so much for sharing!
Dee says
Hi, I’m curious about the addition of the flax seed. Is it necessary to the recipe?
Thanks
Faith says
Flaxseed usually acts as a binding agent, but since the recipe doesn’t use gluten free flour, I’m sure it’d still be fine. I’ve never omitted it, however, so can’t say how it will turn out. Let me know how it works out for you if you give it a shot!
Ashley says
Hi Faith! Can I use white granulated sugar instead of the maple syrup? If so, should I add the sugar with the dry ingredients? Thanks!
Faith says
Hi Ashley! I have never made this recipe using a dry sweetener so I honestly can’t say how it would work out. The maple syrup adds in some liquid and moisture, so if you use white sugar instead, I would suggest increasing the milk in order to make up for the loss of liquid. If you do use white sugar, yes, I think adding in the white sugar with the dry ingredients would be best. I hope it works out for you!
Sinjon says
I would love to try this but we only have 1 oven in my house and the rest of the people in the family use it for stuff That I personally don’t like, such as pizza, “and my least favorite fried onions ?” I admit that I too am a cereal addict and used to have it 2 meals a day, but now it’s only for breakfast, and I get the best sugar free cereal I can find. “But all the flakes have sugar ?” So sadly until I get a personal microwave oven I am stuck having 100% shredded wheat, original power o’s and puffed kamut. I can only hope to one day try this recipe.
Faith says
Hi! I’m sorry your can’t give this recipe a try as of right now, but I’m thankful you have access to other cereals for the time being. Good luck!!
Christina says
Thank you for this recipe! It was delicious and my children proclaimed it better than store bought!
You could totally make this raisin bran or a ‘crunch’ with addition of homemade granola and nuts!
I do grind my own wheat berries for bread and homemade cream of wheat, etc…so I just used 2 cups of my ‘homemade’ instead of flour/bran combo.
My rather large brood (including a sweet girl named Faith) can easily devour a box of cereal in one sitting. It is mostly a special treat due to health, cost, not being filling…basically everything you said! But they certainly do love cereal of all kinds!
I will be doubling this and making it several times a week.
I’m going to roll it out using my pasta maker next and see if thats easier or just more clean up 🙂
Thanks again 🙂
Faith says
Oh yay! You’re so welcome Christina! I’m so glad they worked for you and that your kids like it as well. I’m just about to start grinding my own wheat berries (fingers crossed) so that’s good to know the cereal works with homemade flour as well. And how cool you have a daughter named Faith! How many children do you have? I hope the pasta maker works well. What a great idea!
Jason Soukup says
Hi Faith,
I have made your bran flakes twice. The first time I enjoyed them very much. Today, I decided to make a larger batch to use up some pumpkin puree I had left over from making pumpkin scones with my daughters. I first doubled your recipe. I then replaced the water with an equal volume of pumpkin puree and added 1/2 tsp vanilla to the wet ingredients. The addition of ground cloves, nutmeg, allspice (1/2 tsp each) and cinnamon (1 tsp) to the dry ingredients creates all nice fall breakfast cereal. Let’s call them pumpkin spice bran flakes!
Cheers,
Jason
Faith says
Jason that’s brilliant! I’m so glad this recipe worked out for you, and that you shared your new pumpkin variation! I don’t have an oven here in China yet (it’s coming in the mail!), but I’d love to try out your recipe when it arrived! Thanks for sharing!
Leigha @ The Yooper Girl says
It’s so simple!! I’ve got to try this. I used to be a MAJOR cereal addict too, and I thought I was being healthy eating Special K! And definitely yes to mixing cereals. Yes. The pictures are so crisp! And that drizzle shot… #perfect 🙂
Faith says
Right?! Who knew? Ah…Special K. I loved that stuff…but was always hungry a couple hours later. Yay for a fellow mixer!!
Tina Muir says
Faith this is so awesome! I literally felt like I was reading my own words….I still am a cereal addict, and I love mixing them! I was just saying the other day that I really need to learn how to make my own! And here you are! Thanks for the recipe, and of course, thanks for joining us for meatless monday 🙂
Faith says
Glad I could help! And glad I’m not the only cereal addict out there:) I still love it even though I don’t eat it as much. Thanks for hosting!!
Ginny Brown says
Another cereal addict here! So glad I found your site! Wrote down your recipe for muffins using turmeric; I’d also like to get a suggestion on making a himalayan salt and turmeric mix.
Thanks!
Ginny
Faith says
Hey Ginny!! So glad you commented! Good suggestion on the spice mixes too. Hope to hear from you again soon!
Chaitali says
Wow, I had no idea you could make homemade cereal. I had the same problem with cereal and don’t eat it any more because I couldn’t stop with one bowl. This seems like a great alternative. Thanks!
Faith says
I didn’t either until recently! It still amazes me the things we can make at home… if we have the time:) I have a hard time stopping at one bowl too!
Sarah says
I love bran flakes! I am going to have to try this!!
Faith says
I hope you like it Sarah!
Liz @ I Heart Vegetables says
Wow, this looks awesome! I used to be a huge cereal eater too. (Omg in college I would eat like 3 bowls of Special K red berry in the morning.) But like you, I started caring more about the ingredients I was putting into my body and a lot of those cereals have some weird stuff in there. I never thought about making my own but I might have to try it!
Faith says
Thanks Liz! I just said the other day that I think it’s impossible for me to have just one bowl of cereal, so I would have been right there with ya in college!
Deborah @ Confessions of a Mother Runner says
Wow how creative! Never would have thought to make my own cereal. I used to love all of that sugary cereal back in HS but haven’t had it in years. This looks great. Thanks for linking up with us today!
Faith says
Thanks Deborah! I know, I haven’t had the sugary cereal for a while now too. This recipe is the perfect way for me to get my cereal fix:)