Give Your Stale, Forgotten Cereal A Second Life As Muffins

Stale cereal isn't given enough credit. While some argue that it has already seen its best days, likely, they're yet to come. Sure, it's unappealing and lifeless, but appearances can be deceiving in a versatile kitchen. After all, it is by using leftover juice that you can get Jacques Pépin's flavorful grocery store rotisserie chicken. The only question is if you're open to exploring the endless possibilities of an abandoned box of Corn Flakes.

Most types of cereal can be revived, and one of the best ways to do so is by making muffins. Muffins are by far a foolproof method for resurrecting cereal because they conceal its limp texture and bland taste. The most popular formula is to add any leftover cereal along with your regular baking staples such as sugar, milk, and oil and then bake them together.

You can also replace flour in your muffin recipe by crushing cereal into a fine powder. If you're out of flour, try blending some stale bran flakes and save yourself a trip to the grocery store. Cheerios also make some seriously good muffin toppings. All you have to do is reheat them in the oven to reintroduce their crispy texture before placing them on top of your baked muffins. That's it!

When it comes to why we love this cereal hack, the reasons are endless (so are the flavorful muffins you can make). For one, you can reduce waste because, let's be honest, that leftover box of Wheaties was a few weeks away from landing in the garbage. But one that is front of mind for us is how repurposing stale cereal saves money. By replacing flour in your muffin recipe with crushed cornflakes, for example, you can save a few coins.

Once your muffin-making spree has run its course, turn to other ingenious ways to use up stale cereal. Ran out of breadcrumbs? Use any unsweetened cereal by crushing it into chunky or fine crumbs for crispy chicken or casserole toppings. You can also toss some Fruity Pebbles into pancake batter to add desirable texture to the final product!

Pastries, too, fall under the magic of stale cereal. We bet you haven't tried replacing your pie crust's graham crackers with crushed cereal. It works. No matter which way you flip it, giving forgotten cereal a second life is all about going against the grain and thinking outside the box, you know? Give it a try; you'll sleep better knowing you've made the most of your near-expired box of cereal.