We're not going to lie; we're a bit surprised by the number one cereal.
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Maria Yagoda is a senior editor at Food & Wine, where she has worked for five years, specializing in restaurant and travel coverage.
Updated on March 28, 2023
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Eating a big bowl of cereal is one of the great American pastimes. While cereal preference is quite personal (there's a world of difference between Peanut Butter Puffins and Lucky Charms, for example), there are some cereal brands that have captivated Americans for generations.
Google pulled data on cereal searches over the past 20 years and shared the results with Food & Wine. The most popular cereal since 2004 is ... Rice Krispies. Coming in at second is Cheerios, and in third place is Chex. After these top three, the list gets a lot sweeter, with more childhood favorites like Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Fruit Loops making the top ten.
Google also provided Food & Wine with data on the most popular cereals by state, and the results are somewhat shocking: Rice Krispies was the most-searched cereal in every single state. Every single state! We have to assume Rice Krispies got its edge from people looking for Rice Krispies treat recipes, because we can't imagine that many people love a plain bowl of Rice Krispies, but maybe we're wrong. Regardless, we'll give credit where credit is due, and Rice Krispies is the clear winner.
We're also feeling quite shocked that Peanut Butter Puffins are nowhere to be found on this list. But alas.
Below, find the full list of the 30 most popular cereals since 2004, according to Google searches.
1.Rice Krispies
2.Cheerios
3.Chex
4.Special K
5.Lucky Charms
6.Cinnamon Toast Crunch
7.Kellogg's Froot Loops
8.Cap'n Crunch
9.Frosted Flakes
10.Honey Nut Cheerios
11.Trix
12.Post Grape-Nut Flakes
13.Cocoa Puffs
14.Honey Smacks
15.Corn Pops
16.Cookie Crisp
17.All-Bran
18.Honeycomb
19.Crispix
20.Cocoa Krispies
21.French Toast Crunch
22.Oreo O's
23.Waffle Crisp
24.Krave
25.Honey Ohs!
26.Kaboom
27.Kellogg's Apple Jacks
28.Post Raisin Bran Cereal
29.Cocoa Pebbles
30.Count Chocula
If you'd like to get cooking with cereal, we have some great ideas, from chocolate-covered corn flakes to spiced candy corn crispies. If you're more of a hot cereal kind of person, we have you covered, too.
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