Crunch Up Your Next Casserole With A Cereal Topping

Casserole recipes can be made with ingredients that give them a delightful squashy texture, such as tender meats, creamy cheeses, and soft vegetables. To give the dish some textural balance, there are all kinds of delicious toppings that you can add to a casserole to give them a layer of crispiness. Some typical crunchy toppings for casseroles include breadcrumbs, nuts, potato chips, crackers, crispy fried onions, and pretzel crumbs. However, there's one crunchy topping that you may not have thought of that can actually make your casserole balanced and delicious. Next time you whip up a casserole, top it off with crunchy cereal. 

Most cereals have been baked to a crisp. By topping off your casserole with cereal, you'll give your dish a nice balance of crunchiness and creaminess. If you'd like your casserole to have a crispy topping with an extra layer of flavor, you can sprinkle sweet cereal on your casseroles. If all you want is the extra crispy flavor, then opt for unsweetened cereal.

There are all kinds of sweet crunchy cereals that can elevate your casserole to a unique dish to enjoy with family, friends, or guests. Make a sweet potato casserole and top it off with Cap'N Crunch cereal (minus the marshmallows) to add a crispy, sugary, caramel flavor to the sweet and creamy casserole. For your next breakfast, whip up a homemade cinnamon French toast casserole and double up on the sweet, woody flavor of cinnamon by topping the casserole with crispy Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

If you love cheese and potatoes, combine the two to make a cheesy mashed potato casserole for dinner, and top it off with Kellog's Corn Flakes. The flakes will add some light sweetness and crunchiness to your creamy dish. Upgrade your sweet potato casserole by balancing out that sweet flavor and creamy texture with tart apples and a topping of sweet, but crunchy Raisin Bran.

If you don't want your crunchy cereal topping to add any sweetness to the base of your casserole, there are several sugar-free cereals that you can top off your dish with for some extra crunch. The next time you're hosting friends for a get-together, make a baked mac and cheese casserole and complement that cheesiness and creaminess by sprinkling the dish with crunchy Shredded Wheat. Just be sure to put the Shredded Wheat in a food processor to crush it up until it achieves the texture of breadcrumbs before you top off your casserole with it.

When you're ready to make a crunchy layered potato casserole, use Grape Nuts cereal for your crunchy topping since they are made with no sugar. If you're in the mood to try a chicken and wild rice casserole recipe, give it a crunchy boost with a topping of Special K. Opt for the Zero Cinnamon Cereal for extra cinnamon flavor in your casserole, or the Oat Crunch Honey cereal for extra honey and vanilla oat flavors in your casserole.