Is Special K Cereal High In Sugar? Are Any Sugar-Free?

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Is Special K cereal high in sugar and are any sugar-free? Special K. It’s the breakfast cereal that is synonymous with a woman in a red bathing suit and aimed at those of us looking to “shed a few pounds”. Let’s be honest – when we think of Special K, we all tend to think this is a “healthier cereal”. But is Special K actually low in sugar? That is the question I want to answer in this post. To do this, I have collated the sugar content data of all varieties of Special K cereal and put it together in descending order of sugar content in this post. The results may surprise you. It definitely surprised me.

So, let’s dig in – is special K Cereal high in sugar, and are any sugar-free?

How Much Sugar is in Special K Cereal?

As a general rule, a serving of original Special K contains 4g of sugar, making it a low-sugar cereal. The flavored varieties of Special K can be high in sugar as they can contain as much as 18g of sugar per serving. One sugar-free Special K variety exists.

Before I continue, if you are interested in finding out the sugar content of other types of cereal make sure to check out the following posts I wrote:

• Are Rice Krispies Low in Sugar?
• What Are The Lowest Sugar Cinnamon Toast Crunch Options?
• Do Frosted Flakes Have A Lot of Sugar? 14 Brands Ranked.
• Are Cheerios High in Sugar and Are There Any Sugar-Free Cheerio Alternatives?
• Are Lucky Charms High in Sugar? How About Equivalent Brands?
• 17 of the All-Time Best No Added Sugar Granolas

1. Kellogg’s Special K Strawberry Cheesecake Flavored Flakes Cereal – 18g of Total Sugar

The highest sugar Special K cereal is their strawberry cheesecake variety. I was surprised to find out that a serving of Special K Strawberry Cheesecake cereal (without milk) contains 18g of total sugar. This is high.

To put it in context this is a higher sugar content than a serving of Lucky Charms), Frosted Flakes, Chex, Cheerios, and Rice Krispies.

If you love Special K, fear not – they do have some low-sugar and sugar-free options. Just keep reading to find out all about them.

2. Kellogg’s Special K Chocolatey Dipped Flakes with Almonds Cereal – 16g of Total Sugar

Special K’s chocolatey dipped flakes with almonds is another of their higher sugar cereals – I mean it does have “chocolatey dipped” in the name so that’s not a huge surprise. There are 16g of total sugar per serving of Kellogg’s Special K Chocolatey Dipped Flakes with Almonds.

3. Kellogg’s Special K Oat Crunch Honey Cereal – 15g of Total Sugar

I have examined the sugar content of a fair few kinds of cereal here at Low Sugar Snax and one theme that has definitely emerged as a higher-sugar cereal is always honey-flavored ones. For example, Honey Nut Cheerios contain 6x (yes, 6x!) times the sugar content as original Cheerios (you can read more about it here – Are Cheerios High in Sugar and Are There Any Sugar-Free Cheerio Alternatives?).

But I digress – back to Special K.

Special K Oat Crunch Honey Cereal is one of their higher sugar varieties, as it contains 15g of total sugar per serving.

4. Kellogg’s Special K Pumpkin Spice Crunch Cereal – 11g of Total Sugar

Special K’s Pumpkin Spice Crunch contains a bit less sugar at 11g of sugar per serving.

If you are looking for a lower sugar (and by lower sugar, I mean sugar-free) Special K that is perfect for Fall then check out entry number 9 below.

5. Kellogg’s Special K Protein Cereal – 9g of Total Sugar

Kellogg’s Special K Protein Cereal is obviously high in protein. But how about its sugar content – is it high or low? Well, the answer is in between.

Special K Protein Cereal isn’t their highest sugar flavor, but it also isn’t their lowest. There are 9g of total sugar per serving.

6. Kellogg’s Special K High Protein Chocolate Almond Cereal – 9g of Total Sugar

The chocolate almond variety of Special K High Protein also has the same sugar content at 9g of total sugar per serving.

7. Kellogg’s Special K Cinnamon Pecan Cereal – 9g of Total Sugar

It’s the same sugar situation with Special K Cinnamon Pecan variety – 9g of total sugar per serving.

8. Kellogg’s Special K Original Cereal – 5g of Total Sugar

Finally – I am onto the OG version of Special K. As in Special K Original.

So, what is the sugar content of Original Special K?

The answer is – considerably lower than the flavored varieties. There are 5g of total sugar per serving of Kellogg’s Special K original cereal. That is fairly low, but not crazy low. To put it in context there are 2g of sugar in a serving of original Cheerios (Are Cheerios High in Sugar and Are There Any Sugar-Free Cheerio Alternatives?), 4g in a serving of original Rice Krispies (Are Rice Krispies Low in Sugar?) and 6g in a serving of Wheat Chex (How much sugar is in Chex?).

9. Kellogg’s Special K Zero Cinnamon Cereal – 0g of Total Sugar

Okay, I have a confession – I am saving the best for last.

There is a sugar-free Special K variety. You read that correctly – sugar-free! That flavor is Special K Zero Cinnamon. Instead of sugar, this cereal is sweetened with allulose, sucralose, and monk fruit. There are of course 0g of sugar per serving.

If you are looking for a low-sugar Special K, then this is it. You can check it out for yourself on Amazon here.

Summary Table – Sugar Content Special K Cereals

Below is a summary table of the sugar content for all the different varieties of Special K ranked in order of sugar content from highest to lowest.

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Special K Cereal	Total Sugar Content Per Serving
Kellogg’s Special K Protein Cereal	18g
Kellogg’s Special K Chocolatey Dipped Flakes with Almonds Cereal	16g
Kellogg’s Special K Oat Crunch Honey Cereal	15g
Kellogg’s Special K Pumpkin Spice Crunch Cereal	11g
Kellogg’ Special K Protein Cereal	9g
Kellogg’s Special K High Protein Chocolate Almond Cereal	9g
Kellogg’s Special K Cinnamon Pecan Cereal	9g
Kellogg’s Special K Original Cereal	5g
Kellogg’s Special K Zero Cinnamon Cereal	0g

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Sugar In Special K F&Q

How Much Sugar Is In A Bowl Of Special K?

There are 5g of total sugar in a serving of Original Special K.

Which Special K Cereal Has The Least Amount of Sugar?

The Special K cereal that has the least amount of sugar is Kellogg’s Special K Zero Cinnamon Cereal. This cereal is sweetened with allulose, sucralose, and monk fruit and contains 0g of total sugar per serving.

Is Special K Cereal Sugar-Free?

Most Special K cereals are not sugar-free. Most Special K cereals contain 5g to 18g of total sugar per serving. The exception is Kellogg’s Special K Zero Cinnamon Cereal which contains 0g of total sugar per serving.

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Is Special K Cereal High In Sugar? Are Any Sugar-Free? – The Final Bite

Is Special K cereal high in sugar and are any sugar-free? What have we learned from the above? Well, when it comes to Special K the flavor you pick can make a big difference. For example, there are some varieties of Special K (such as the Strawberry Cheesecake variety) that will contain more sugar than Lucky Charms. However, the good news is that if you are looking for a sugar-free option Special K does make a zero-sugar cereal – it’s Special K Zero Cinnamon Cereal. I just hope you like cinnamon.

Please note that all the sugar content above is before you add your milk of choice. Depending on the milk you choose this may add additional sugar. If you want to know the best milk to go with your cereal, then check out some of my “milk-focused” posts below:

• Which Milk Has The Least Amount of Sugar
• Which Alternative Milk Contain No Sugar (0g)?

And Remember…