31 Discontinued Breakfast Cereals We Really Miss

The popularity of sugared cereals began after World War II when the large breakfast cereal companies began to target children. The first sugared cereal in the United States was called Ranger Joe, introduced in 1939, and the rest kept coming. Many of us recall our breakfast fare fondly. For some, it may have started with a hat-wearing frog inviting you to eat sugar smacks (1953) or a leprechaun hawking different colored marshmallows in magical shapes (1964). For those with a sweet tooth, it was the perfect way to start the day.

Throughout much of the 20th century, it wasn’t out of the ordinary to eat pure sugar in ice-cold milk for breakfast. For those who grew up on breakfast cereal, the nostalgia runs deep for our old favorites, especially those we’ll likely never taste again.

24/7 Tempo compiled a list of discontinued breakfast cereals. While it is not a complete archive of discontinued flavors, it includes many cereals that were released in conjunction with a popular movie or cartoon and subsequently disappeared when the hype died down. Also listed are cereals that have since been reformulated to appeal to changing tastes or, interestingly, to address parental concerns over the color of their children’s stool. It is not always clear when some of the cereals were discontinued. We contacted customer relations representatives to confirm each cereal was removed from the market. For cereals without an exact end year, we listed the decade.

Major food companies employ virtual armies of chefs, food scientists, and marketing gurus dedicated to rolling out new products. They please us with their vivid flavors and attractive textures — and when they eventually disappear from the shelves, as many of them do, we end up missing them — here are 40 popular discontinued snack foods we really miss.

Vanilly Crunch

• Years available: 1971 – early 1980s
• Manufacturer: Quaker
• Description: Birthday cake-flavored Cap’n Crunch balls

Pink Panther Flakes

• Years available: 1972 – 1974
• Manufacturer: Post
• Description: Neon pink frosted corn cereal

Fruit Brute

• Years available: 1975 – 1983
• Manufacturer: General Mills
• Description: Fruit flavored cereal pieces with lime flavored marshmallows

Moonstones

• Years available: 1976 – 1977
• Manufacturer: Ralston
• Description: Fruit flavored, space-shaped cereal of stars, half-moons and planets

Donkey Kong Crunch

• Years available: 1982 – 1984
• Manufacturer: Ralston
• Description: Barrel-shaped crunchy corn cereal

Strawberry Honeycomb

• Years available: 1983 – 2002
• Manufacturer: Post
• Description: Strawberry flavored, honeycomb-shaped cereal *Temporarily made a come-back in 2015

Pac-Man

• Years available: 1983 – 1988
• Manufacturer: General Mills
• Description: Corn cereal with Pac Man-shaped marshmallows

Smurf Berry Crunch

• Years available: 1983 – 1988
• Manufacturer: Post
• Description: Red and blue corn puffs in berry flavor

C3POs

• Years available: 1984 – 1986
• Manufacturer: Kellogg’s
• Description: Infinity-shaped, honey sweetened oat, wheat and corn cereal, that basically tasted like Lucky Charms but without the marshmallows

Ghostbusters Cereal

• Years available: 1985 – 1990
• Manufacturer: Ralston
• Description: Oat cereal shaped like the Ghostbusters logo with ghost-shaped marshmallows in a glow-in-the-dark box

Nerds

• Years available: 1985 – late 1980s
• Manufacturer: Ralston
• Description: Featured two separate tangy flavors divided in one box, like the candies

Rainbow Brite Cereal

• Years available: 1985 – 1990
• Manufacturer: Ralston
• Description: Fruit flavored, rainbow-shaped cereal pieces in multiple colors

Spiderman Cereal

• Years available: 1985 – 1990s
• Manufacturer: Ralston
• Description: Spiderweb-shaped cereal with marshmallows

Yummy Mummy

• Years available: 1987 – 1993
• Manufacturer: General Mills
• Description: Fruit flavored cereal with vanilla flavored marshmallows

Smurf Magic Berries

• Years available: 1987 – early 1990s
• Manufacturer: Post
• Description: Fruit flavored multigrain cereal with marshmallow stars

Morning Funnies

• Years available: 1988 – 1989
• Manufacturer: Ralston
• Description: Fruit flavored cereal shaped like goofy faces, in a box covered in comics

Dunkin’ Donuts Cereal

• Years available: 1988 – late 1980s
• Manufacturer: Ralston
• Description: Shaped like donuts, came in glazed donut and chocolate flavors

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cereal

• Years available: 1989 – 1995
• Manufacturer: Ralston
• Description: Net-shaped cereal with crunchy marshmallows that left your milk green

Batman Cereal

• Years available: 1989 – 1990
• Manufacturer: Ralston
• Description: Bat-shaped corn cereal

Breakfast with Barbie

• Years available: 1989 – early 1990s
• Manufacturer: Ralston
• Description: Multigrain fruit flavored cereal in the shape of hearts, bows, cars, stars, and the letter B

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Cereal

• Years available: 1990 – 1991
• Manufacturer: Ralston
• Description: Toasted oat squares with music note-shaped marshmallows

Cinnamon Mini-Buns

• Years available: 1991 – 1993
• Manufacturer: Kellogg’s
• Description: Corn and oat cereal shaped and flavored like swirled cinnamon bun

The Addams Family Cereal

• Years available: 1991 – early 1990s
• Manufacturer: Ralston
• Description: Spooky-shaped cereal with a memorable lack of flavor

WWF Superstars

• Years available: 1991 – early 1990s
• Manufacturer: Ralston
• Description: Vanilla flavored, star-shaped cereal

Reptar Crunch

• Years available: 1999 – 1999
• Manufacturer: Post
• Description: Purple rice crisps with green Reptar-shaped pieces

Homer’s Cinnamon Donut Cereal

• Years available: 2001 – 2002
• Manufacturer: Kellogg’s
• Description: Donut-shaped cinnamon flavored cereal

Bart’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Crunch

• Years available: 2001 – 2002
• Manufacturer: Kellogg’s
• Description: Peanut butter chocolate flavored orbs

Monopoly Cereal

• Years available: 2003 – mid-2000s
• Manufacturer: General Mills
• Description: Cinnamon flavored cereal with marshmallow houses, hotels, and deeds

FiberPlus Berry Yogurt Crunch

• Years available: 2010 – 2013
• Manufacturer: Kellogg’s
• Description: Wheat and rice flakes with berry yogurt flavored clusters

Cupcake Pebbles

• Years available: 2010 – 2011
• Manufacturer: Post
• Description: Cake batter flavored rice cereal

Sesame Street C is for Cereal

• Years available: 2011 – 2014
• Manufacturer: Post
• Description: Apple flavored oat and corn cereal pieces shaped like Xs and Os, made for toddlers