Are Apple Jacks Gluten Free?

Last Updated on July 3, 2024

You may be familiar with Apple Jacks, a popular crunchy sweet cereal that has hints of cinnamon and apple—but can you consume it on a gluten-free diet? Let’s take a look.

Who Makes Apple Jacks?

Apple Jacks is a cereal brand in America. Its primary target is children, and it’s made by the cereal giant that is Kellogg’s. Kellogg’s is famous for many cereals and snacks, including the incredibly tasty Froot Loops.

Why Are They Called Apple Jacks?

Apple Jacks get their name from their inventor. William Thilly worked for Kellogg’s and eventually had the chance to make his own product. Thilly grew up on an apple farm and that was originally the inspiration around using apple as the main ingredient for his cereal. Now they have their incredible Apple and Cinnamon original flavor, among many other great flavors too!

They were first called “Apple O’s” before Thilly later renamed them the iconic Apple Jacks.

Ingredients In Apple Jacks

There are many ingredients in Apple Jacks, so let’s take a closer look at them. The ingredients include:

• Corn flour blend
• Sugar
• Wheat flour
• Whole grain oat flour
• Modified food starch
• Vegetable oil
• Oat fiber
• Salt
• Soluble corn fiber
• Degerminated yellow cornflour
• Dried apples
• Apple juice concentrate
• Cornstarch
• Cinnamon
• Natural Flavor
• Modified corn starch
• Wheat starch
• Baking soda
• B6 Vitamin
• Vitamin B2
• Vitamin B1
• Folic acid
• Vitamin D3
• Vitamin B12

Are Apple Jacks Gluten-Free?

As you can probably see from the list of ingredients, Apple Jacks are most definitely not gluten-free. They are made with wheat flour and also produced in a factory where many other gluten-containing products are made. Wheat and oat flour are two of the main ingredients in Apple Jacks – both of which are not gluten-free.

Wheat and oats (unless gluten-free oats) are cereal grains that contain gluten, along with rye and barley. If you follow a gluten-free diet, these cereal grains should be avoided at all times.

According to The Gluten Free Bar, Apple Jacks have a rating of 1/10 – which means that they are unsuitable for gluten-free life.

Gluten-Free Apple Jacks

There are gluten-free options available or you can make your own Apple Jacks using the recipe link below.

KIND

KIND is an increasingly popular gluten-free brand, and they just so happen to have an Apple and Cinnamon cereal. The Apple Cinnamon KIND Cereal is quite easily accessible and retails at just over $5 per box. Unfortunately, they’re not quite the same shape as Apple Jacks, as KIND cereal are grain flakes rather than mini donut-like cereal. However, they still taste just as good!

The ingredients in the Apple Cinnamon KIND Cereal are:

• Oats (gluten-free)
• Sorghum
• Brown rice
• Apple
• Cane sugar
• Pumpkin seeds
• Honey
• Red rice
• Quinoa
• Amaranth
• Cinnamon
• Sea Salt
• Natural Flavor
• Vitamin E

KIND cereal is not just gluten-free but also grain-free, low sodium, a great source of fiber, and kosher-friendly too. This means it’s suitable for a range of dietary lifestyles.

It’s important to note that this cereal carries a “may contain” label for tree nuts and sesame seeds.

CHEX

Chex is a super popular breakfast cereal, with almost all flavors being gluten-free. Their Cinnamon Chex is a close match for Apple Jacks. Much like KIND, the shape is different from traditional Apple Jacks – Chex is square-shaped. But they’re sweet, crunchy with a dash of spice, and absolutely delicious.

Alongside vitamins and minerals, the ingredients for Cinnamon Chex include:

• Whole grain rice
• Rice
• Sugar
• Canola/Sunflower Oil
• Salt
• Rice fiber
• Cinnamon
• Molasses
• Natural flavor
• Vitamin E

Make Your Own Apple Jacks, Recipe

If you’re looking for a cereal that resembles and tastes just like Apple Jacks, it may be best to try making your own. But be prepared, you’ll need quite a few ingredients! These Gluten-Free Style Apple Jacks from Gluten-Free on a Shoestring look utterly delicious.

The ingredients you’ll need are:

• All-purpose gluten-free flour
• Xanthan gum
• Cornstarch
• Buttermilk blend
• Freeze-dried apples
• Freeze-dried strawberries
• Salt
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Granulated sugar
• Confectioner’s sugar
• Ground cinnamon
• Vegetable shortening
• Milk or cream
• Cinnamon and sugar mixture (to sprinkle)

Although the ingredients seem vast, most of them you’ll likely already have in your pantry. Plus, once you stock up once, a lot of the ingredients can be used multiple times.

The prep time for this recipe is just 10 minutes, and the cooking time is 18 minutes – meaning you’ll have a delicious gluten-free cereal in just under half an hour!

This recipe also contains no artificial colors or flavors, meaning it’s far more healthy and nutritious than cereals you may come across in your local grocery store. You can find the recipe here.

Conclusion

I hope this post has helped to answer the question: are Apple Jacks gluten-free? And helped you to become more familiar with the gluten-free options we have available if you’re craving Apple Jacks.

Pancakces are another gluten free breakfast idea: Pamela’s Pancake Mix Recipes