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Cheerios are, arguably, the most iconic of cereals. They date back to 1941, just months before the United States entered World War II. Since then, General Mills has introduced a number of variations on them, including the popular Honey Nut Cheerios, advertising the line with some famous faces over the years.
Like most cereals, Cheerios has spawned its imitators. However, where generic versions of other cereals might be able to impersonate the name brand, knock-off Cheerios never seem to taste quite like the original.
That hasn’t stopped Aldi — a company with name brand knockoffs of just about everything — from trying.
Millville Crispy Oats are an Aldi Regular Buy, which means they can be found in stores every day. Aldi sells both a regular version and a honey nut version. The regular version costs $1.09 for a 12-ounce box. That’s 9 cents an ounce, compared to the 20 cents an ounce I’ve seen Cheerios go for.
Nutritionally, Aldi toasted oats are similar to Cheerios, with similar amounts of fat, sodium, and carbohydrates. Like Cheerios, Millville Crispy Oats do have some nutritional perks, including a fair amount of dietary fiber and more vitamins and minerals than you see in many other breakfast cereals. Better still, there are no sugars in these Crispy Oats.
Nutrition information and ingredients. (Click to enlarge.)
The most important question is, do they taste like Cheerios? No. No, they don’t. They’re not bad, and they’re definitely good for you, but they’re not Cheerios. As I said earlier, no one seems to be able to imitate Cheerios, and Aldi is no different. The Millville Honey Nut Oats perhaps come a little closer, but neither of them will be mistaken for the original.
The Verdict:
Aldi does a lot of name brand cereals well, and they certainly make a gamely attempt here. But these aren’t Cheerios. If getting that authentic Cheerios taste is top priority, just get the name brand. But if you want something cheaper that’s not Cheerios but still okay, these are okay.
I disagree. While they don’t taste exactly like Cheerios, I think they are just as good.
I’ve been eating Cheerios as cereal and as a snack since I was a small child so let’s say over 50 years. I’ve tried numerous off brand “O’s” many times but like you say no one has been able to really even get close to the original. If I had never eaten Cheerios the Aldi brand would probably be fine. Cheerios, like most cereals, have gotten so expensive that the only place we buy them is in a club where you get two boxes glued together. Great review BTW.
Wonder if they are made with oats that are harvested using glyphosate (roundup) as a desiccant, like cheerios are.
Glyphosate is a suspected carcinogen.
https://www.healthline.com/health/cancer/cheerios-cancer
Wish Aldi promoted organic foods.
I wish I would have seen this review before having bought them. They honestly taste so bland, like cardboard to me. Most generic brand cheerios I can handle when they’re drowned in milk, but I actually had to stop eating them and throw out the bowl. They just don’t taste right and it’s not good.
Wow, so surprised I seem to be the only person who prefers the Aldi oats. To be fair, I like the bargain oats at other markets better than Cheerios as well (perhaps because growing up my mom often bought generic Cheerios?).
I mean, I do get that these are bland, as are Cheerios, but because Millville oats omit sugar, the salt is front and center and lets me kid myself I am eating a snack food when I’m munching straight from the box.
Trisodium phosphate and caramel color. No thanks. Try Natures path “cheerios” if you want them without the additives or colors.
Honestly, I switched to Crispy Oats because actual Cheerios started making me sick. At first you go ‘These aren’t Cheerios’ but after a while I found they tasted better to me? No weird after tastes or upset stomachs after the switch and more affordable. Win/Win to me.