What do you do with the nearly-empty cereal boxes languishing on your pantry shelves? I thought as I pulled a half dozen boxes from the back of my cabinet. Instead of throwing away the cereal bits, could you repurpose them as breadcrumbs?
First, I made sure the crumbs were actually crumbs. A few whacks with a food mallet turned any remaining pieces of cereal into dust. Then I poured my crumbs into three mixing bowls. One bowl contained crumbs from a rainbow of sweet cereals, defined as anything that turns the milk an unnatural hue. Neutral-tasting cereal crumbs from Rice Krispies, Chex and cornflakes went into the second bowl. A third bowl contained Honey Nut Cheerios crumbs, a cereal that defied my loose categorizations.
I thought the sugary crumbs would be the most useful ― when is an infusion of sweetness a bad idea? Well, I can tell you. Super sugary cereal crumbs don’t work when dusting a cake pan, because the sugar scorches. Instead, treat the cereal like graham cracker crumbs and add butter to make the yummiest ever cheesecake or banana pudding crusts. Sugary crumbs also double as delicious sprinkles on top of ice cream and snickerdoodle cookies.
For versatility, neutral-tasting cereal crumbs can’t be beat. They are a perfect substitute for unseasoned breadcrumbs in crabcakes, meatloaf and stuffed mushrooms. You can sprinkle them on macaroni and cheese, or swap them for panko breadcrumbs and coat chicken pieces.
The best tasting chicken dish, however, came from my bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios crumbs. The sweet and savory breading added unexpectedly delicious flavor that made our standard weeknight dinner taste new again. The recipe below calls for a full cup of crumbs. You can either save your cereal crumbs in the freezer, or simply give a handful of Cheerios a whirl in the food processor. Either way, you’ll find cereal for dinner to be an excellent idea.
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