10 Reasons to Try Morning Summit Cereal (and 3 Not To)

People are outraged—$13 for a box of cereal! Yep, Morning Summit cereal hit grocery store shelves in February 2020 with a shocking price tag of $13.

Now on the surface this seems insane, but here are 10 good reasons that you should try Morning Summit cereal by General Mills, and 3 reasons you shouldn’t.

Why Should You Try Morning Summit Cereal?

1.) First Ingredient is Almonds

For those unfamiliar, ingredients lists are ordered by predominance. In other words, the first ingredient can be found in the greatest amount.

The Morning Summit makes it very clear that almonds are the first ingredient in the cereal.

2.) One Box Serves 19 People

The good thing about a box of cereal that weighs over 2 pounds is that it can serve a lot of people. In fact Morning Summit cereal has 19 servings per box.

If it’s just you alone, this single box of cereal will last you nearly three weeks!

3.) Not an Outrageous Price Per Oz

While $13/box seems outrageous, when you consider the price per ounce relative to other cereals, it’s actually not far off. You see, Morning Summit comes in a 38oz cereal box. That’s 2 pounds 6 ounces. Consequently, the price is $0.34/oz.

Morning Summit cereal price per ounce

Compare this to a 11.5oz box of Reese’s Puffs cereal for $2.98 which costs $0.26/oz. In this example, Morning Summing costs just $0.08 more per ounce than Reese’s Puffs. Not too far off for a much healthier cereal.

4.) Made Simple Ingredients You Understand

Screenshot of Morning Summit websitePin

Almonds, dried cherries, pumpkin seed, and dried cranberries—these are ingredients you know and can understand. The vast majority of Morning Summit ingredients can be recognized by most.

Compare this to Baby Shark cereal with ingredients like degerminated yellow corn flour and gum arabic.

5.) Not Too Many Weird Ingredients

Out of the entire list, there are only two ingredients that most people won’t recognize—glycerin and mixed tocopherois.

Almonds, Whole Grain Wheat, Organic Maple Syrup, Whole Grain Oats, Sugar, Dried Coconut, Pumpkin Seeds, Organic Coconut Oil, Dried Sweetened Cranberries (cranberries, sugar, glycerin), Dried Sweetened Cherries (cherries, sugar, glycerin), Corn Bran, Brown Sugar Syrup, Vanilla Extract, Salt, Vitamin E (Mixed Tocopherois) added to preserve freshness.

While I have no clue what these weird ingredients are, my quick internet research tells me that both glycerin and mixed tocopherois are safe for humans to eat.

6.) Less Sugar Than Most Breakfast Cereals

Every spoonful of Morning Summit is slightly more than 20% sugar. While a serving of this cereal is 55 grams, each serving contains 12 grams of sugar.

Morning Summit cereal sugar content

While sugar appears three times on the ingredients list, my guess is that most of it comes from the organic maple syrup and brown sugar syrup. Also, the dried sweetened cranberries and cherries contribute a fair share of sugar to the total.

7.) Real Fruit and Nuts You Can See

A whole lot of almondsPin

It’s satisfying, at least for me, to be able to look down at my bowl of cereal and see real fruit and nuts. In Morning Summit, the identifiable fruit and nuts include:

  • Almonds
  • Pumpkin seeds
  • Cranberries
  • Cherries

8.) 15g Whole Grain Per Serving

With 15 grams of whole grain per serving, Morning Star cereal provides you with nearly a third of the recommended daily amount. Thanks primarily to the cereal flakes, whole grain wheat is the second ingredient on the list.

9.) Made With Organic Ingredients

Morning Summit cereal has a couple of organic ingredients including:

  • Organic Maple Syrup
  • Organic Coconut Oil

While all the other ingredients are not organic, its reassuring to know that some are farmed without pesticides and fertilizers.

10.) Relatively Healthy Breakfast Cereal

Compare Morning Summit side-by-side with products like Jolly Rancher cereal and Hershey’s Kisses cereal, and you’ll be able to tell pretty quickly which is the healthiest.

Unfortunately today, the cereal aisle in the grocery store is littered with sugary, unhealthy breakfast choices. While it’s not perfect, Morning Summit is a step in the right direction for General Mills to offer healthier options for breakfast.

Hand holding spoonful of cereal above bowlPin

Why You Should NOT Try Morning Summit Cereal

1.) It Costs $13 Per Box!

I know that I already explained the price per ounce for Morning Summit isn’t unreasonable, but come-on General Mills… $13 is a lot of money for a box cereal. Many consumers will laugh at this price tag and spend less on 4 boxes of Cheerios instead.

2.) It Contains Added Sugar

From a health perspective, it’s disappointing to see that Morning Summit contains added sugar.

Sugary ingredients like maple syrup and brown sugar syrup in combination with the added fruit should be enough to sweeten the cereal. There’s no need to add additional sugar.

In my opinion, it’s debatable whether this cereal is truly “lightly sweetened”.

3.) Partially Produced with Genetic Engineering

Right there on the label down below the ingredients list, the Morning Summit cereal box states “Partially Produced with Genetic Engineering”.

I actually find it quite funny that Morning Summit contains both organic ingredients and GMOs.


There you have it. All the reasons to try and not to try.

Have you tried Morning Summit Cereal? Will you try it? Let me know in the comments below!


Meet the Author

Since he was a child, Tony has eaten thousands of bowls of cereal. Learn how Tony got his start as The Cereal Guru, and why he decided to start this cereal blog. If you want to send Tony a quick message, then visit his contact page here.

39 thoughts on “10 Reasons to Try Morning Summit Cereal (and 3 Not To)”

  1. Hey Tony
    I wanted to add that while a box of Morning Summit is a bit oricey here’s why I would buy it anyways it’s feeling, the sugar content while it can be less I like the fact that it isn’t that fake sugary taste that forvme firsnt work I like to be able to taste the engredients individually not have just sugar it’s also able to carry through till lunch time which is a plus no snacking needed just a good cup of joe or juice Great Job!!????

    Reply
    • Hi Ana, definitely agree with you here. Too many sugary cereals! It’s nice to know that with Morning Summit that a lot of the sugar comes from natural ingredients, not the fake stuff.

      Reply
  2. This cereal is great. I paid under $12 at costco and now it is $35 on Amazon and sold out at Costco. How can we get it back for $12/box – not bad per ounce.

    Reply
    • Hi Martha. From what I can tell, it appears that Morning Summit cereal is still available at select Costco stores, but not all. You could always try to contact them. If you do, please let us know what they say 🙂

      Reply
  3. Bought the cereal on a whim and I love it. Hope to keep it as regular item in my pantry. I can think of other ways to enjoy it such as with yogurt, cottage cheese, maybe even adding a bit to a salad for of delicious, nutritious crunch.

    Reply
  4. Oh my goodness! Awesome article dude! Many thanks,
    However I am having problems with your RSS.

    I don’t know the reason why I cannot join it.
    Is there anyone else having the same RSS issues? Anybody
    who knows the answer can you kindly respond? Thanx!!

    Reply
  5. I tried Morning Summit at a friend’s house and loved it. I always eat granola type cereals and this one is the best yet.

    Reply
  6. I bought this on a whim last week at Costco, and have found this to be a delicious alternative to granola. I can’t digest fructans, which are in a lot of cereals so this was a great find for me (and even better when you add fresh fruit). My kids love it. I thought it was a bit pricey, but when you break it down into price per ounce, it really isn’t that expensive at all, especially since it is a nutritious cereal.

    Reply
  7. I bought this at Costco first time I’ve seen it and it was on the main isle so i said “eh what the heck let me try it”, (cuz i love almonds) also te box was quite heavy,,,well ….i absolutely love that i can bite into the whole almonds and love the crunch all together,, i paid under 8 bucks which i thought was a bit pricey but now that i look online i realize i bought at a great price! my son also tried it and it only lasted about 5 days in my house.lol. i hope to find it still stocked at Costco when i go there today, will def stock up , especially at that price!

    Reply
  8. I eat cereal every day and with apparent demise of Kashi “Good Friends “ cereal Morning Summit has become my go-to. My only complaints align with yours- too sweet, use of GMOs and cost. For those reasons I’ll switch in a second should I find an alternative.

    Reply
  9. I found a box of Morning Summit at my local store. To my surprise it was the only 1 and the price was just under $8.00. I ate some and found it to be very good. Next trip I could not find any more as I was finishing up this box. When I read the GMO’s on the label I stopped looking. Now I see where the price is through the roof, oh well!

    Reply
  10. Mom and I both LOVE this cereal! We buy it at Costco 3 boxes at a time! I wish it was available thru their site (SMH) as we are both handicapped it would be easier to have it delivered.

    Reply
  11. Tastes SO good that I usually have two bowls each morning. Therefore, this is very expensive cereal! It does not last me anywhere near three weeks. More like 1 week.

    I do add bananas or blueberries when I eat it. So delicious!

    Reply
  12. This cereal contains too much surgar and the fact that is bio engineered is a real turn off! They hide that fact in small print on the back of the box.If bio engineering is so good for me they would put that on the front of the box in big letters.Also as I see it,surgar is surear it does not matter if it is from maple syrup or any fruit,it always enters the liver as surgar.

    Reply
  13. I tried my 1st box from Costco, I liked it so much, I bought 2 boxes at a time each time I ran out. Do you know why Amazon charges more than twice as much as Costco?

    Reply
  14. I love this cereal – so does my husband. I also like to mix some into 2% plain Greek yogurt. It makes it healthier (in my opinion), and it makes it last longer.
    I would prefer it to have less added sugar and no GMO’s, – can’t have everything, I suppose.
    I buy it at COSTCO for $12.98 in the Cincinnati, OH area. It goes on sale once in a while. Will stock up on it next time!

    Reply
  15. LOVE this cereal and it is back on the Costco shelves and I am stocking up on it like a squirrel before winter–fear it will go away again. One serving is 2/3 cup. I cut that in half and it satisfies me for hours. I spread the word and infected my friends. Cost should not be a deterrent because a little goes a long way. Ban together boys and girls. Feel the health and goodness of the Morning Summit.

    Reply
  16. So, a cereal that contains 30% sugar is good for me? I think we are being fooled by the “good” ingredients. Sure, I liked the taste, but too much sugar. If they dropped the “added” sugar that would drop it to about 17% sugar. Me, I am a shredded wheat cereal fan. No sugar. I add fruit if I want more taste. And the cost, I can buy 6 to 7 boxes of shredded wheat (Kroger brand $1.99/box). That equals 7×1 lb 4 oz equal 8lbs 12 oz for $13.93.

    Reply
  17. I LOVE this cereal- totally addicted and turned a friend onto it. But the saturated fat is so high!!! I never noticed saturated fats on nutrition labels until I was told by my Dr that I had high cholesterol & learned that consuming saturated fat is as bad for cholesterol levels as consuming cholesterol. Coconut oil- touted as a miracle oil in the health and wellness field- is incredibly high in saturated fat. I’m guessing that’s the culprit here? Anyhoo had to add that to the discussion.

    Reply
  18. Simply the best cereal ever. I’ve been eating it for at least 2 years now. I’ve introduced so many people to this cereal that I’ve lost count, and they love it. Unfortunately the only place you can purchase it is Costco, which sucks if you don’t have a Costco nearby.

    Reply
  19. We have been consuming this cereal for years now. Are the Morning Summit people reading these comments? They have a top notch cereal that is good for any meal of the day. It sticks to the tummy and keeps you going until the next meal. Tastes great, and i prefer to add some green grapes to the mix. I haven’t read any studies on whether GMO’s are connected to cancer or other illnesses, but in this case we will take my chances. Our only fear, is that like some other great products in Costco, it will be discontinued, and that’s why we load up on it.

    Reply
  20. NO MORE ALMONDS.
    Yes, a year or two ago it was packed with whole almonds – to the extent that my wife pulled them out. The box (the whole box) that I opened this morning had maybe 7 almonds. I know that almonds have gotten quite expensive but saying “almonds are the first ingredient” is a blatant lie!

    Reply

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