I Tried the TikTok Frozen Cereal Hack, and the Results Were Chilling

I’ve been hearing forever about the popular TikTok trend to stick your bowl of cereal in the freezer the night before breakfast.

This simple hack — just pour your cereal into a bowl, then pop the bowl in the freezer — is supposed to offer some delicious results, according to TikTokers.

Rumor has it, the cereal is supposed to taste better, as the combination of a cold bowl and cold milk make the cereal seem fresher and more crisp. Freezing the cereal also supposedly keeps it from getting soggy as fast. TikTokers also claim the cold brings out the cereal’s flavor, whether you're scooping up Cheerios, Cinnamon Crunch, or Corn Flakes.

But what captured my attention is that it might save you money by resuscitating old, stale cereal. I decided to give the hack a shot after I discovered someone in my house had left a nearly full box of Life cereal with the packaging wide open in the pantry. Rather than label it a lost cause, I figured I would freeze a bowl first to see if I could regain the flavor and crunch.

The next morning, I grabbed my cold bowl from the freezer, poured some almond milk over it, and took a bite. The verdict? Well, TikTokers can sometimes be right. The cereal tasted crisp and fresh, as if someone had never been careless with closing the box. It also made the milk seem to taste better. I then tried a non-frozen bowl to compare, and there was a clear difference in crispness. 

This is a game changer. No longer will I be annoyed by cereal boxes left open in the pantry, or cereals that I didn’t get a chance to finish before they lost their crunch. Simply pop a bowl in the freezer overnight to revive it. Even better: Keep full boxes in the freezer if you have the space. 

Interestingly, the USDA recommends keeping cereal at room temperature for three months when open, but I’ve found cereal goes stale way before that time period. 

As someone who keeps multiple boxes of cereal in the house for variety,  I’ll be moving most of my cereal that I don’t think will be eaten within a week into freezer bags and keeping them chilled. With this hack, I’ll never have to freak out about an open bag of cereal being wasted again. 

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