15 Underrated Ingredients To Elevate Your Breakfast Cereal

When it comes to quick, easy breakfasts, few foods beat cereal. It couldn't be simpler: Just pour some in a bowl, add some milk, and you have a meal that'll hold you over until lunchtime. But if you eat cereal for breakfast day after day, it can get boring pretty quickly. Luckily, you don't have to eat only cereal — even if you don't want to spend 30 minutes whipping up eggs and bacon. By upgrading your cereal with a few extra ingredients, you can take it from a boring morning meal to an exciting, filling breakfast (or even snack).

Don't know what to add to your cereal? No problem. We've put together this list of some of the best underrated ingredients to elevate your breakfast cereal (and if you're wondering what kind to get, here are 20 breakfast cereals that we've ranked). From stuff you probably already have in your spice rack to fresh fruit to dried pantry staples, we've got you covered when it comes to an up-leveled cereal game. After you see how good cereal can be with these quick, easy toppings, you may never go back to the plain stuff ever again.

If you ever feel like a bowl of cereal just isn't filling enough to keep you satisfied for the entire morning, then you may want to add something to your bowl that'll keep you full until lunch. Chia seeds are a great option. They may not look like much, but chia seeds can help keep you full for longer. That means you're much less likely to have to pour yourself a second bowl of cereal as soon as you're done with the first.

Of course, you can always just sprinkle some chia seeds straight on top of your cereal, but if you're looking for a more interesting textural experience, you can always try making a classic chia pudding recipe, then adding that to your bowl of cereal. Chia pudding can come together in just a few minutes, and it has an unusually creamy consistency that can complement a wide variety of cereals. Give it a try if you want your next bowl of cereal to be as filling as possible.

Real peanut butter lovers will add peanut butter to just about anything. But if you ask us, peanut butter is truly at its best when it's served with a bowl of cereal. The combo may not be a classic, but it should be. Cereal is a carb-heavy food, but it doesn't boast a lot of fat, so it needs something with a rich, creamy consistency to balance it out and add some heft to the dish. That's exactly what peanut butter does. This way, your bowl of cereal will be a lot more filling — and a lot more delicious.

Peanut butter can work well in just about any cereal, but it's especially delicious with otherwise plain varieties, like Cheerios or Rice Krispies. It also makes a nice accompaniment for chocolate-flavored cereals, like Cocoa Puffs. You can even use it as a topping for granola and other crunchy varieties of cereal. Use creamy peanut butter if you're mostly trying to capitalize on the flavor, or try crunchy peanut butter if you prefer a more varied textural experience.

Fruit is an ideal addition to any bowl of cereal, and most of the time, you're going to see bowls topped with strawberries or bananas. But these aren't the only fruits that can add some juiciness to your breakfast. If you want to switch things up and go for another type of fruit, try chopping up an apple and adding it to your bowl.

Apples work particularly well in cereal because they'll hold their shape and won't get soggy, even if you let them hang out in the milk for several minutes. Plus, they deliver a crunchy texture in addition to their juiciness. And since apples offer a mild flavor that pairs well with a variety of different cereal types, you can try it on all your favorites.

Just make sure that when you're chopping up your apple, you break the fruit into relatively small bites. You don't want to chew huge hunks of apple and tiny pieces of cereal at the same time, after all.

Why just eat one breakfast food when you could combine two foods into one? That's exactly what you'll be doing if you add some yogurt to your bowl of cereal. Yogurt will give your breakfast some extra protein, but it can also deliver tanginess, creaminess, and/or sweetness, depending on what type you choose. We suggest using some sort of fruity yogurt to add another layer of flavor to the finished dish. This works well with both flavored cereals and more neutral varieties.

Once you decide to pair your cereal with yogurt, you just have to decide how you want to incorporate it into the dish. If you want it to feel more like a bowl of cereal than a yogurt bowl, then just add a dollop of yogurt on top of the milk and cereal mixture. On the other hand, if you really want to focus on the flavor of the yogurt, then you can even omit the milk completely. This works particularly well with crunchy types of cereal, like granola.

Some cereals you can buy at the store are spiked with tons of sugar, making every bite — and even the milk that's left behind — super sweet. Other cereals, though, may not boast that same sweetness. If you're eating a cereal that doesn't have much sugar in it, you may want to add a sweet element to your bowl just to make your breakfast a bit more appetizing. And although you can always go with something basic, like honey, you can also upgrade your basic bowl of cereal by adding in some jam or jelly.

We like using jam or jelly in place of other, more neutral-tasting sweeteners because they offer more than just sweetness. You're also getting a lovely fruit flavor in your breakfast, and many types of jams also deliver a touch of tartness, which can be difficult to achieve with other sweetener types. Whether you use strawberry, grape, apricot, or any other jelly you have on hand, your cereal will be beyond tasty.

Have you ever tried freeze-dried fruit before? Freeze-dried fruit is distinct from dried fruit, notably in that freeze-dried fruit isn't shrunken and raisin-like. Rather, all the moisture is removed from the fruit, resulting in a larger and crunchier snack that tastes almost identical to its original form. You can find a variety of freeze-dried fruits — including cherries, blackberries, strawberries, and more — from Trader Joe's and a variety of other grocery stores.

Freeze-dried fruit makes such an excellent addition to cereal because, like cereal, it has a nice crunch. That means that it won't really impact the texture of your cereal — it'll just add a fruity flavor to the dish. Add in just a few berries if you want to keep that fruity flavor relatively mild, or use a 1:1 ratio to create an ultra-fruity breakfast. Those sad, shriveled raisins you used to add to your cereal could never compete.

There are times when you may just want to add more flavor, not necessarily more food, to your cereal. This is especially relevant when you're working with a cereal that doesn't have a ton of flavor apart from the grain out of which it's made. At times like these, you may want to check out what you have in your spice cabinet. There are so many warming spices that can elevate your basic bowl of cereal, but perhaps our favorite is pumpkin pie spice mix. As implied by the word "mix," there's a variety of different spices that go into this seasoning. Check the ingredients on your container, but you'll likely see cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg, among others.

Just a small sprinkling of pumpkin pie spice in your cereal can completely change its flavor. So, forget about going out and buying a whole new box of pumpkin spice-flavored cereal. Just use what you already have in the pantry, and add a sprinkling of pumpkin pie spice on top — no matter what time of year it is.

Who said that cereal can't be dessert? Whether you're craving a bowl of cereal for your after-dinner snack or you just want your first meal of the day to feel like a sweet treat, chocolate shavings can make your everyday bowl of cereal feel like a gourmet dessert. Of course, you can technically use any kind of chocolate you want in your cereal, but we think that chocolate shavings, in particular, are a great option because they're lighter-weight than, say, a normal hunk of chocolate. That lighter weight can help the chocolate pieces float alongside the cereal instead of immediately sinking to the bottom.

If you want to add chocolate shavings as a way of lending your cereal more sweetness, then choose milk chocolate shavings. On the other hand, if you're really trying to specifically capitalize on that chocolate flavor, you may be better off choosing dark chocolate shavings instead. Either way, this one simple upgrade can ensure that every bowl of cereal you eat tastes like dessert.

Do you like the idea of adding more protein and creaminess to your cereal but don't particularly care for yogurt? You're not alone. If you want to avoid that tang but are still attracted to the other benefits of adding yogurt to your cereal, then you may want to consider using cottage cheese instead. It may not be the most common cereal addition you've ever seen, but once you give it a try, you may just wonder why you ever ate cereal without cottage cheese in the first place.

Use the cottage cheese as a base, and then add the cereal on top, mixing everything together for best results. If you want to make sure the cottage cheese is sweet enough, either choose a sweet-leaning cereal or add a sweetener on top to bring the dish together. You can probably leave out the milk entirely on this one, as cottage cheese's chunky, lumpy texture isn't too appetizing once it's mixed with milk.

There are times when you eat cereal because it's a quick and easy breakfast to make first thing in the morning. Other times, though, you eat cereal because you're craving it, and those instances are when you might consider adding some crushed Oreos to your bowl. Think about it: Cereal and milk go well together, and so do Oreos and milk (especially when you dunk each Oreo for exactly three seconds). So, why shouldn't you pair crushed Oreos with cereal? The combo sounds completely natural.

Before you add your Oreos to your bowl of cereal, be sure to crush them up well, ensuring you don't have any large chunks that could interfere with the somewhat uniform texture you're likely trying to achieve. Breaking the Oreos down into little pieces ensures that you'll get a good cereal-to-Oreo ratio in every spoonful. But you don't have to stop with Oreos. Other types of cookies (like chocolate chip, for instance) can be crushed up and added to just about any bowl of cereal. Get creative with your cereal and cookie mash-ups, and you've got a no-fail dessert recipe to enjoy every day of the week.

Figs and cereal may not be a typical breakfast combo, but believe us when we say that they really work well together. A good fig has a slight crunchiness to it, which echoes the crunch you expect to get from a good bowl of cereal. Plus, figs have a relatively mild flavor, so they won't overwhelm even more neutral types of cereal. Additionally, they can hold up to being in milk for a while, so they won't turn into a mushy mess after just a few minutes of soaking in the bowl.

Just keep in mind, however, that you should chop up your fig before you add it to the bowl. Try to make the pieces relatively small so they don't completely engulf the small pieces of cereal. This is a combo that feels so unexpected and so sophisticated that you'll want to serve it the next time you have friends or family members over for brunch. Try it with a variety of cereals to see which of your favorites pair with fig the best.

Have you ever tried a new cereal, only to realize that it doesn't offer much flavor at all? That's always a bummer, but it doesn't necessarily mean you have to throw the whole box out and buy something sweeter. Adding a sweetener can ensure you enjoy every bite. But you don't have to stick to honey or agave if you're looking for a sweeter bowl. Instead of the usual sweetener suspects, you may want to turn to maple syrup. Of course, this ingredient adds plenty of sweetness, but it also provides a depth of flavor you can't get from other sweeteners alone.

The flavor of real maple syrup can be quite intense, so make sure you only stir in a little at a time, tasting after each addition to make sure it's not too sweet. Once you reach your desired sweetness, add in your other ingredients or leave the bowl of cereal the way it is, properly sweetened and all.

You may not always have fresh fruit sitting around that's just waiting to be added to a bowl of cereal, but it's easy to keep some dried coconut flakes on hand. You can store them in your pantry for months on end, taking them out only when you need to dress up a bowl of cereal. They're lightweight, which means they float alongside the cereal, and coconut is tough enough that it can hold its own in a bowl of milk.

We love adding coconut to cereal because, while it does contribute some sweetness to the dish, its flavor profile is relatively innocuous and won't clash too much with milder, plainer styles of cereal. It can also be used with other toppings if you really want to go all out with your breakfast. And since it's so easy to keep on hand whenever you're craving a little something extra in your cereal, it's a no-brainer to keep it stocked in your pantry.

If you visit the cereal aisle of your local grocery store, you'll likely run into a slew of cereals spiked with cinnamon. Some of these options are delicious, but you don't have to choose them just because you want to enjoy a cinnamon-y treat first thing in the morning. Instead, just opt for a plain variety of cereal and add the cinnamon yourself.

There are a couple of different ways to do this. Perhaps the easiest is to simply use some ground cinnamon. You can sprinkle this on top of your cereal, then mix it all up to ensure you don't get any dry clumps. If you really want to avoid the clumping problem altogether, though, you can use a whole cinnamon stick. Just keep in mind that it may take the cinnamon longer to flavor the cereal if you choose this option. For those who prefer only a mild cinnamon flavor, it's always possible to just stir the stick into the milk, remove it, and then add the cereal in the final step. This way, only the milk is really flavored by the cinnamon.

An açaí bowl is essentially just a smoothie bowl that uses tropical açaí as the main ingredient. These bowls are often topped with different types of fruit, and some even put granola on top. But açaí is a great base for far more cereals than just granola. In fact, we think it works with most types of cereal on the market.

Blander, less flavored cereals (like Kix or Chex, for example) work really well here because their mild flavors won't clash with the fruity açaí. But even bolder varieties of cereal, like Cocoa Puffs, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, or Reese's Puffs, can make a delicious açaí bowl topping. You can (and should) try all of your favorite varieties — just make sure crisped cereals (like Rice Krispies) don't sit on the frozen açaí for too long before you dig in. They can get soggy fast, which is probably not what you're going for.