Remember when Saturday mornings meant cartoons, pajamas, and a bowl of your favorite sugary cereal? Breakfast back then wasn’t just a meal — it was a full-blown event. From bright colors to wild shapes and TV commercial jingles that stuck in your head, breakfast cereals were the ultimate childhood indulgence. But not all of them stood the test of time.
Some cereals disappeared quietly, while others vanished as suddenly as they arrived. Today, we’re taking a nostalgic journey back to 35 of the most iconic, quirky, and just plain unforgettable discontinued breakfast cereals that we still miss.
1. Smurf-Berry Crunch
Years Available: 1983-1987
This fruity, bright red and purple cereal was inspired by The Smurfs, one of the most beloved Saturday morning cartoons of the 80s. Smurf-Berry Crunch had a brief revival as Smurf Magic Berries, but neither version lasted long.
2. Pac-Man Cereal
Years Available: 1983-1988
This cereal brought the arcade craze to the breakfast table. It featured Pac-Man-shaped puffs and colorful marshmallow “ghosts” you could “chomp” just like in the video game.
3. Mr. T Cereal
Years Available: 1984-1987
“I pity the fool” who missed out on this cereal. Mr. T Cereal was one of the first to be based on a real person. Essentially a rebranded Cap’n Crunch, it came in T-shaped pieces and was immortalized in Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.
4. Cröønchy Stars
Years Available: 1988-1991
This Swedish Chef-themed cereal had cinnamon-flavored star-shaped puffs and a delightfully silly box design. The “repeat repeatedly” instructions and quirky humor made it a fan favorite.
5. Ice Cream Cones Cereal
Years Available: 1987
What’s better than ice cream for breakfast? This cereal featured mini vanilla- and chocolate-flavored ice cream cone pieces. It was so beloved that General Mills briefly brought it back in 2003.
6. Sprinkle Spangles
Years Available: Early 1990s
Imagine sugar cookies in cereal form. Sprinkle Spangles were sweet, star-shaped pieces coated in rainbow sprinkles. They had a genie mascot who granted “spangle wishes,” but even magic couldn’t keep them on shelves.
7. Peanut Butter Toast Crunch
Years Available: 2004-2006 (brief revival in 2013)
A spinoff of the ever-popular Cinnamon Toast Crunch, this peanut-buttery version had a cult following. Fans even launched a petition to bring it back.
8. Nintendo Cereal System
Years Available: 1988-1989
Nintendo ruled the gaming world, so it only made sense to create a cereal. This double-chambered box featured Mario and Zelda-themed flavors, one on each side.
9. Dino Pebbles
Years Available: 1990s
Like Fruity Pebbles but with colorful dinosaur-shaped marshmallows, Dino Pebbles became an instant classic. Kids loved the prehistoric twist, but it didn’t last long.
10. E.T. Cereal
Years Available: 1984-1986
Inspired by E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, this cereal featured peanut butter- and chocolate-flavored puffs shaped like E and T. It was one of many movie tie-in cereals from the era.
11. Hidden Treasures
Years Available: 1993-1995
This was more than cereal — it was a game. Some of the pillow-shaped pieces were filled with fruity fillings, but others were hollow. Each spoonful was a surprise.
12. Urkel-Os
Years Available: 1991-1993
Inspired by Steve Urkel from Family Matters, Urkel-Os had banana and strawberry-flavored pieces. Though it had a short run, it remains a fun relic of 90s pop culture.
13. Rocky Road Cereal
Years Available: 1980s
This cereal was a dessert for breakfast, featuring chocolate and vanilla puffs with coated marshmallows. It even had a rock band-themed trio of mascots: Choco, Van, and Marsha.
14. Sir Grapefellow
Years Available: 1970s
With grape-flavored cereal pieces and a WWI-themed mascot, Sir Grapefellow had a quirky charm. He was locked in cereal combat with his rival, Baron von Redberry.
15. S’mores Crunch
Years Available: 1982-1988
This cereal mixed graham cracker pieces, chocolate, and marshmallows for an authentic s’mores taste. Later rebranded as Smorz, it never quite captured the original magic.
16. Cinnamon Mini Buns
Years Available: 1991-1995
These mini cinnamon bun-shaped pieces were like bite-sized cinnamon rolls in every spoonful. While Kellogg’s introduced Mini Swirlz later, they never quite lived up to the original.
17. Mr. Wonderfull’s Surprize
Years Available: 1970s
The cereal had little surprise-filled puffs of chocolate or vanilla cream. Unfortunately, most of the fillings leaked out, turning it into a soggy mess.
18. C-3PO’s
Years Available: 1984-1986
This Star Wars-themed cereal featured figure-eight-shaped pieces. It’s now a prized collector’s item among cereal box enthusiasts.
19. Waffelos
Years Available: 1970s-1980s
This maple-flavored cereal looked and tasted like mini waffles. It was a breakfast-for-breakfast dream come true.
20. Nerds Cereal
Years Available: 1986-1988
With two separate flavors in one box, Nerds Cereal captured the candy’s essence perfectly. It even came with a dual-chambered bowl for mixing or separating the flavors.
21. Cornados
Years Available: 1960s
Cornados were a cereal version of Bugles, General Mills’ popular corn-based snack. It had a cult following but ultimately disappeared.
22. Wheaties Dunk-a-Balls
Years Available: 1994
Shaped like mini basketballs, this cereal encouraged kids to “dunk” them into their bowls using a cutout basketball hoop from the back of the box.
23. Strawberry Shortcake Cereal
Years Available: 1980s
This sweet, strawberry-flavored cereal featured the famous doll character on the box. It was similar to Fruit Loops but with an extra burst of strawberry flavor.
24. Kream Krunch
Years Available: 1965
Kream Krunch included freeze-dried “ice cream” bits that turned into a soggy mess once they hit milk. While the idea was ahead of its time, it didn’t stick around.
25. Cracker Jack Cereal
Years Available: 1984-1987
The iconic caramel popcorn snack made the leap to breakfast. While it had a similar taste, it lacked the satisfying crunch of the original.
26. Cinnamon Streusel Cereal
Years Available: 1996
This cereal tried to replicate the flavor of baked goods. Critics loved it, but it only lasted a year.
27. S.W. Graham
Years Available: 1988-1990
Named after the creator of the Graham cracker, this “healthier” cereal tasted nothing like the classic snack.
28. Chocolate Honeycomb
Years Available: 2006
A chocolate twist on the classic Honeycomb cereal, this 2006 release featured cocoa-flavored honeycomb-shaped pieces. Despite its rich, chocolaty flavor, it couldn’t compete with bigger chocolate cereals like Cocoa Puffs and disappeared shortly after its debut.
29. Circus Fun
Years Available: 1986-1988
This carnival-themed cereal featured animal-shaped marshmallows (lions, tigers, and elephants) mixed with colorful crunchy loops. The whimsical clown mascot and circus-themed box art made it a hit with kids, but its sugary overload couldn’t keep it on shelves for long.
30. Baron von Redberry
Years Available: 1972-1975
A berry-flavored rival to Sir Grapefellow, Baron von Redberry featured crunchy red cereal bits with fruit-flavored marshmallows. The WWI-inspired “cereal dogfight” between Baron von Redberry and Sir Grapefellow became a memorable marketing gimmick of the 70s.
31. Strawberry Krispies
Years Available: Late 1980s
Kellogg’s gave Rice Krispies a fruity twist with Strawberry Krispies. The cereal had a bright pink color and sweet strawberry flavor. While beloved by some, it didn’t stick around for long, but its legacy lives on in other Rice Krispies spin-offs.
32. Kaboom
Years Available: 1969-2010
Kaboom mixed clown-themed box art with smiley-face oat pieces and rainbow marshmallows. Its quirky design and odd clown mascot made it unforgettable, but after decades on shelves, it was quietly discontinued in 2010, leaving fans nostalgic for its colorful chaos.
Conclusion
Discontinued cereals like Smurf-Berry Crunch, Sprinkle Spangles, and Mr. T Cereal live on in our memories. Well if you’re still in a nostalgic trip through discontinued flavors, take a look at our Discontinued Pop-Tart flavors, Discontinued Eggo Waffles, Discontinued snacks from the 90s, Discontinued McDonald’s menu items, or maybe our Discontinued Taco Bell items.
