We Tried Pumpkin Spice Cheerios—and Honestly, We’re Ready for a Second Bowl

The most popular flavor during the fall, of course, is pumpkin spice anything. You can buy pumpkin spice milk, mac n’ cheese, pancakes, sparkling water … once Starbucks hit it big with the PSL, food manufacturers were going out of their gourd trying to pumpkin up products.

I think some pumpkin-spice foods are doomed from the start, but others manage to pull it off. The limited-edition Pumpkin Spice Cheerios are back for fall, and I had to buy a box!

What Are Pumpkin Spice Cheerios?

You know Cheerios. The General Mills breakfast cereal was first manufactured in 1941 under the name CheeriOats. They’re a favorite food of babies, often packed away by parents on car trips for a spur-of-the-moment kid snack. Cheerios introduced its first flavor, Cinnamon Nut Cheerios, in 1976, following with the super popular Honey Nut Cheerios in 1979. So far, other flavors since have included Peach Cheerios, Toasted Coconut Cheerios and, of course, Pumpkin Spice Cheerios.

Pumpkin Spice Cheerios are made with natural pumpkin flavor, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. The cereal is gluten-free and has no artificial flavors. Pumpkin Spice Cheerios are not new—they came out in 2016—but are only available seasonally, so grab ’em when you see ’em.

The Os look like mini cinnamon doughnuts And they smell—well, almost exactly like a pumpkin spice latte.

Our Pumpkin Spice Cheerios Review

As much as I love pumpkin, I wasn’t sure it was meant to be a cereal flavor. But the scent was pleasant and not overwhelming, so I decided to squash my fears and sample them. Nibbling on a few dry Pumpkin Spice Cheerios, I detected that familiar oaty Cheerios taste, lightly sprinkled with a sweet-spicy flavor, more like cinnamon than pumpkin. I was relieved that Cheerios’ pumpkin spice scientists didn’t overload the Os with flavor. When it comes to pumpkin spice, a little goes a long way.

I filled a bowl with the Pumpkin Spice Cheerios and added milk. I love dry cereal, but this is definitely the way to eat Pumpkin Spice Cheerios. The milk blends with the pumpkin-cinnamon flavoring for a mellow but tasty crunch.

This might be straight from the Department of Duh, but the longer the Pumpkin Spice Cheerios sat in the milk, the more I couldn’t tell them from plain Cheerios. Their little milk bath washes off the fall coating they’re wearing quickly, so don’t dawdle over your breakfast.

Should You Buy Pumpkin Spice Cheerios?

In my opinion, Cheerios already invented the perfect flavor when they brought out Honey Nut Cheerios.

But in a world where every food thinks it should splash itself with pumpkin spice, Pumpkin Spice Cheerios are a tasty fall option that manages to both deliver on the trend and stay true to the classic product.You can find Pumpkin Spice Cheerios at your grocery store or at any Target.