12 Discontinued Cereals We Totally Wish Would Make a Comeback (and Some that Did!)

Remember when breakfast wasn’t just a meal, but a full-blown cartoon-fueled sugar adventure? If you grew up in the 70s, 80s, or 90s, chances are your morning routine included a heaping bowl of neon-colored cereal with a side of Saturday morning TV. These cereals weren’t just food, they were experiences. From marshmallow-packed sugar bombs to cereal boxes with games, toys, and tie-ins galore, breakfast was something to look forward to. And then... they vanished.

Whether it was licensing issues, health concerns, or just falling out of fashion, many beloved cereals got the axe. But that doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten them. In fact, some of these brands still stir up strong nostalgia, enough to spark online petitions and limited re-releases. So grab your mental spoon and take a trip down memory lane as we revisit 12 cereals we seriously miss. Some were delicious, some were weird, and a few were probably more colorful than anything should be... but all of them were unforgettable.

Let’s pour one out (with milk, of course) for the cereals we wish would come back to our grocery shelves and our childhood mornings.

Waffle Crisp was a syrupy-sweet, waffle-shaped cereal that instantly made mornings feel indulgent. Kids loved the crispy crunch and strong maple flavor, while parents secretly stole bites from the box. It had a loyal fanbase, but production costs and declining sales caused Post to pull the plug in 2018. Its disappearance left a waffle-shaped hole in breakfast routines everywhere.

Oreo O's brought dessert to the breakfast table with its chocolatey rings and white marshmallow clusters. It was a sugar bomb in a bowl and loved for tasting just like the iconic cookie. Sadly, a licensing issue between Kraft and Post ended its run in 2007. It returned for a limited time years later, but never stuck around permanently.

French Toast Crunch looked like tiny pieces of toast and tasted like maple syrup dreams. It had a brief disappearance starting in 2006, much to the heartbreak of 90s kids. General Mills brought it back in 2014 after massive fan demand, proving some cereals really are worth the hype. Still, many never knew it vanished in the first place.

Sprinkle Spangles was pure 90s chaos in a box. Star-shaped and coated in rainbow sprinkles, it screamed sugar rush before the first bite. Kids were obsessed, adults were skeptical, and dentists probably had nightmares. General Mills gave it the axe in 1998, likely due to its over-the-top sweetness and short-lived popularity.

This cereal was basically breakfast inception: a breakfast food inspired by another breakfast food. Dunkin' Donuts Cereal came in glazed and chocolate flavors and somehow tasted exactly like its namesake. Launched in the late 80s, it vanished soon after, possibly because people realized real donuts were still better.

Bright red and blue puffs made Smurf Berry Crunch one of the most eye-catching cereals of the 80s. It rode the wave of Smurfmania and tasted like generic berry with a lot of food dye. Popular with kids, but it quietly disappeared as the cartoon faded from fame. The box alone is a vintage collector's dream now.

With neon colors and marshmallow ghosts, this cereal cashed in on the Ghostbusters craze. It was sweet, spooky, and had a surprisingly strong fandom for something that tasted like sugar air. Once the movies lost steam, so did the cereal. It vanished in 1990 but lives on in retro cereal fan forums.

This fruit-flavored cereal with a goofy cartoon mascot tried to compete with Count Chocula and Franken Berry. It featured berry puffs and oat pieces shaped like stars and planes. Despite its fun theme, it never quite caught on and was grounded for good by the mid-70s. Still, old ads make it look like a wild ride.

Yes, this was a real cereal based on Steve Urkel from Family Matters. Urkel-O’s were red and yellow fruit rings with a box featuring the character in full nerd glory. It had a brief shelf life in the early 90s and vanished after the show's popularity waned. Still, it’s a fun reminder of how far cereal branding once went.

Crispy Critters were animal-shaped cereal pieces with a surprisingly light and vanilla-like taste. It was marketed as a more wholesome option but still had enough sugar to keep kids coming back. Memorable mascot? A puppet lion who said 'indubitably!' Sadly, it couldn’t compete with flashier cereals and was pulled in the late 80s.

Kaboom was a circus-themed cereal with bright colors and little clown faces that probably scared some kids more than entertained them. Introduced in the 1960s, it somehow stuck around until 2010 despite never being a top seller. It had a cult following, especially among those who liked their breakfast with a side of weird.

This cereal was split into two bags in one box: one for Super Mario Bros and one for The Legend of Zelda. It was genius branding and tasted like your average fruit and berry cereal. Kids loved it for the novelty and the box was practically a collector’s item. Sadly, it didn’t last long and disappeared in 1989.