12 Cap'n Crunch Flavors, Ranked Worst To Best
Cap'n Crunch cereal has been a sugary staple on grocery store shelves since it first debuted in 1963. Contrary to popular belief, the cereal's iconic mascot, full name Horatio Q. Crunch, was an icon before the cereal was even invented (via Mr. Breakfast). Using his friendly and familiar image, the goal of Cap'n Crunch was simple — to combat the problem of eating breakfast that was too soggy, and thus unappealing, to children. It was the clear selling point in some of the company's earliest advertisements. And while it's far from the most nutritious option on the shelves, as the LA Times points out, it's wildly popular — becoming the second-biggest seller behind Frosted Flakes at one point in time (via UNH Magazine).
Shortly after debuting the original Cap'n Crunch golden squares, Quaker Oats wasted no time mixing up their flavor offerings — with the ever-popular Cap'n Crunch's Crunch Berries and Cap'n Crunch's Peanut Butter Crunch joining the lineup in the mid-60s. Since then, the company's experimented with flavors — some major hits and others — usually taking inspiration from unusual treats — a miss.
We decided to take a stab at ranking all of the current and limited-time flavors of Cap'n Crunch on the market to see if the traditional varieties are the way to go, or if new really does mean improved.
12. Cap'n Crunch's Cotton Candy Crunch
Let's be clear — Cotton Candy Crunch is a complete blunder in every sense. Cotton candy flavor anything is a rocky road, as it tends to be overly sweet and unappetizing. It might work for grapes, but when paired with already sugar-filled breakfast cereal, the cotton candy flavor just does not work. Cotton candy should really only be eaten at county fairs and baseball games, not as a kickstart to your day.
Out of all the flavors on the list, this is a good one to pass up. At least by eating it in a bowl with some milk. It might be a fun variety to use in marshmallow crispy treats as a dessert, but not a fulfilling breakfast. And it's not a miss just because it strays so far from the original flavor — it's because Quaker Oats didn't hit the nail on the head with this experiment like that have with other unusual Cap'n Crunch flavors. There are plenty of much more tasty options to throw in your cart.
11. Cap'n Crunch's Galactic Crunch
Cap'n Crunch's Galactic Crunch is a limited-time offering, but that's because it's just not that good. The Cap'n Crunch cereal parts are formed into saucer-looking shapes, rather than the original dense squares, and they don't stay nearly as crunchy. The whole point of Cap'n Crunch is that it doesn't get soggy, so this one misses that crucial mark.
Then there's the totally unnecessary addition of marshmallows. Especially considering Lucky Charms has been a reliable option for decades and its marshmallow-cereal combination is just downright delicious. It's no surprise that the space-themed cereal isn't a mainstay due to flavor. While the alien and space-themed concept is enticing, the cereal cannot live up to its cool packaging. It almost feels wrong to consider this variety of Cap'n Crunch, because it feels like a box of breakfast cereal in its own unusual category. Like a less mouth-watering hybrid of Cap'n Crunch and Lucky Charms.
10. Cap'n Crunch's Cinnamon Roll Crunch
Cap'n Crunch's Cinnamon Roll Crunch is another limited-time offering that may or may not make a return someday. But if it's gone for good, it will probably be forgotten by most who have tried it. The cereal itself had an appetizing cinnamon flavor, but again, it just strays away from the original Cap'n Crunch concept. The shape of the cereal resembles Reese's Puffs with a less cinnamon-sugar punch than a mainstay like Cinnamon Toast Crunch. And while the shape works better when infused with peanut butter, this just isn't executed the same way.
While it's not bad, it feels like it could be done way better. Especially considering the flavor is not just supposed to be cinnamon, but resemble the sugar-filled roll topped with icing. To make its flavors taste anything close to homemade cinnamon rolls, you'll need to have a really good imagination. In our opinion, go with a more classic Cap'n Crunch flavor and just eat a cinnamon roll on the side. Then it's a win-win, unlike this peculiar flavor.
9. Cap'n Crunch's Red, White & Blue Crunch
Cap'n Crunch loves to find a way to celebrate any and every holiday. They have made limited-edition cereals for several celebrations, one being the Red, White & Blue Crunch for July 4th. Again, this cereal seems like it cannot classify as Cap'n Crunch. The tricolored stars were no match for milk as much as the original crunchy options.
Additionally, Red, White & Blue Crunch seems like a weak attempt to market an entirely new cereal by using the familiar Cap'n Crunch logo, rather than emulate the essence of the brand. If you ate this blindfolded and without seeing the box, odds are you would never guess that it was an adaptation of Cap'n Crunch. However, the flavor itself wasn't bad. It just wasn't good enough to make you want to switch up your typical Cap'n Crunch flavor for a gimmicky celebration variety. Especially one that isn't available all year round.
8. Cap'n Crunch's Halloween Crunch
Speaking of holidays, Cap'n Crunch's Halloween Crunch recently made its fall comeback to celebrate the spooky season. And unlike the Red, White & Blue flavor, this one totally nails it. The cereal features the traditional yellow, crunchy squares and their caramel and butter-infused flavor. But the fruity ghosts, which are basically more festive versions of crunch berries, are as delicious as they are entertaining.
To really make breakfast a celebratory surprise, the ghosts turn your milk green. And who doesn't love that? It not only clearly works as a successful marketing strategy, it really does succeed in being delicious on its own, gimmicks aside. If you're looking to try limited-time spooky items from the grocery store this Halloween, make sure to add a box of Halloween Crunch to your cart. Especially because it's limited edition, and runs the risk of being discontinued if it's not beloved by Cap'n Crunch die-hards.
7. Cap'n Crunch's Chocolate Caramel Crunch
While Cap'n Crunch's chocolate and caramel variety might sound unusual, it's like the best of both worlds in the cereal realm. It takes the original buttery Cap'n Crunch pieces and mixes them in with a less-sweet variety of Coco Puffs. The caramel smell is more present than the actual flavor. Considering the original Cap'n Crunch has somewhat of a caramel flavor, it doesn't seem like extra caramel was added to really boost the candy-like sweetness. But the chocolate comes through in just the perfect amount.
The two distinct cereals in this box just work so well together, not to mention it saves you the trouble of mixing two cereals together when that kind of mood hits. And out of most of the atypical and more recent flavor varieties, Cap'n Crunch's Chocolate Caramel Crunch proves that sometimes a mashup really will enhance the flavor of an original that has always been delicious on its own.
6. Cap'n Crunch's Oops! All Berries
Every kid has thought about a breakfast cereal that only contains the good parts. Like Lucky Charms but it's just all marshmallows. Or Special K without the cornflakes, just the super-sweet freeze-dried strawberries. And Cap'n Crunch made these fantasies come true with its Oops! All Berries flavor that omits the staple cereal pieces for the rainbow-colored good stuff.
Oops! All Berries isn't exactly an everyday cereal. However, as a treat, it hits the mark. It's sugar-filled fruit goodness that tastes more like a dessert than a cereal by only featuring the most colorful parts. While the mixture of original Cap'n Crunch and Crunch Berries is good, sometimes it's nice to mix it up with a true sugary treat that's bound to turn your milk pink within the first 30 seconds of pouring yourself a bowl. Or, if you're a Cap'n Crunch aficionado, you can buy a box of all berries to mix into the original Cap'n Crunch's Crunch Berries to up the berry to cereal ratio. Now that's a masterpiece in the making.
5. Original Cap'n Crunch
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. That's the sentiment we feel when we opt for a bowl of the old reliable Cap'n Crunch. It's fragrant and perfectly sweetened that entices your senses as soon as you open the box. It has flavor notes of brown sugar, butter, caramel, and vanilla, but with its own signature mix. And once you pour yourself a bowl, the original stays perfectly crunchy through and through.
While it might be boring at times, you can't go wrong with a classic bowl of Cap'n Crunch. It's a solid option for breakfasts, midnight snacks, and truthfully any meal in between. It's also a great kitchen ingredient to use to bread french toast or to make a sweet variety of cereal bars, opting out the traditional Rice Krispies treats mix-in. Even eating a plain handful straight out of the box is satisfying, which is the true test of a solid cereal.
4. Cap'n Crunch's Christmas Crunch
Cap'n Crunch's best holiday flavor is the Christmas Crunch, hands-down. Similar to Halloween Crunch, it features the original squares mixed in with Christmas-themed Crunch Berries. Each box includes red and green Santa hats, snowmen, and treats for a holiday delight. And the only reason it beats the Halloween variety is because it can be used in other sweet holiday treats like cereal cookies or crispy treat bars perfect for a Christmas celebration.
Quaker Oats obviously only releases the Christmas Crunch around the holidays, so you have to be on the lookout when it returns to shelves. The waiting game is what also makes it fun — the holiday-themed cereals and other treats re-entering the grocery store is a tell-tale sign that the Christmas season is coming. It's a cereal that brings joy, and not just because it'll give you a sugar high after a few bowls.
3. Cap'n Crunch's Peanut Butter Crunch
Another mainstay in the Cap'n Crunch brand has been its always available Peanut Butter Crunch. And while it sounds like a glorified version of Reese's Puffs without the chocolate, this flavor has been around longer and is arguably way more flavorful. It tastes like real peanut butter right out of the jar, forgoing any artificial flavors present in similar flavored competitors. Even when compared to other sugary peanut butter snacks, it comes out on top.
This is also one of the few Cap'n Crunch flavors that doesn't need to be anchored with the yellow brick originals. It stands on its own and is a must-try for peanut butter lovers everywhere looking to mix up their breakfast routine. Also, true to the mission, it stays crunchy down until the last spoonful. Even after you eat a whole bowl, you're left with a delicious bowl of peanut butter-infused milk that is a sin not to slurp up.
2. Cap'n Crunch's Sprinkled Donut Crunch
Hands down the best unusual Cap'n Crunch flavor is the limited edition Sprinkled Donut Crunch. While it hasn't been in regular circulation for a little while, it's one that Quaker Oats needs to make permanent ASAP. And unlike some of the other flavors, the shape switch-up is executed perfectly. As well as making the cereal resemble adorable tiny sprinkle-coated donuts.
Sprinkled Donut Crunch feels like you're eating a bowl of Funfetti cake in cereal form, which is hard not to love. Despite the Cheerio-shaped cereal, it still stays crunchy to pay homage to Cap'n Crunch's original goal. It also makes your bowl of milk look like a rainbow celebration after it's done. If Quaker Oats does decide to put this flavor back on the store shelves, stock up on as many as you can because it really is just that good and unlike any other major market cereal option.
1. Cap'n Crunch's Crunch Berries
And the cream of the crop when it comes to every flavor of Cap'n Crunch is the classic Crunch Berries variety. It cannot be outdone — it's the perfect mix of classic with a sugary-fun twist. It adds a fruit flavor that pairs perfectly with the buttery Cap'n Crunch pieces and is one of the classic breakfast cereals that's been in a mainstay in the U.S. for decades. It can even be argued that the Crunch Berries variety has been so ubiquitous to the brand that it's become as synonymous, if not more, as the original flavor.
While the berry flavors come in four colors — red, green, purple, and blue — they all pretty much have the same artificial strawberry flavor. But if it was any other way, such as each berry having its own distinct flavor, it would mess up the perfect flavor combination going on in your bowl. This is a cereal that's good with milk or straight out of the box as a crunchy snack. And considering it's been around since the 1960s, Crunch Berries doesn't sound like it will leave the grocery store shelves anytime soon.