Frosted Mini-Wheats Vs. Cheerios (Which is Best?)

When you’re choosing a breakfast cereal, it’s only natural that you’re going to want it to taste good while being as healthy as possible.

Breakfast cereal manufacturers often use phrases such as high-fiber and heart-healthy to promote their products but aren’t always as good as they might appear when it comes to sugar content.

In this article, I’ll compare popular cereals, Frosted Mini-Wheats against Original Cheerios to see which is best for nutrition, ingredients, and cost to help you choose which is best for you.

Ingredients Comparision

The best way to tell the difference between two food products is by comparing the main ingredients.

For this comparison, I’m comparing Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats against General Mills brand Original Cheerios (other varieties are available).

The main ingredient of Frosted Mini-Wheats is whole grain wheat, a high-fiber ingredient, compared to Original Cheerios, which are predominately made from whole grain oats, that are also fairly high fiber.

Both kinds of cereal have added sugar and contain added vitamins and minerals, although Cheerios have many more added nutrients than Frosted Mini-Wheats.

Original Frosted Mini-Wheat Ingredients

Original Cheerios Ingredients

Whole grain wheat, sugar, contains 2% or less of brown rice syrup, gelatin, bht for freshness. Vitamins and minerals: reduced iron, folic acid.

Whole Grain Oats, Corn Starch, Sugar, Salt, Tripotassium Phosphate. Vitamin E (mixed tocopherols) Added to Preserve Freshness. Vitamins & Minerals: Calcium Carbonate, Iron and Zinc (mineral nutrients), Vitamin C (sodium ascorbate), A B Vitamin (niacinamide), Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), Vitamin A (palmitate), Vitamin B1 (thiamin mononitrate), A B Vitamin (folic acid), Vitamin B12, Vitamin D3.

Frosted Mini-Wheats Vs. Cheerios Nutritional Comparison

The manufacturer recommended serving size of Frosted Mini-Wheats is 60g whereas a serving of Original Cheerios is 40g, so to keep the comparison accurate I’ll be comparing the cereals per 100g, although I’ll include the serving data for information.

Best for Calorie Content

Weight-for-weight the calorie content of Frosted Mini-Wheats and Original Cheerios are fairly similar, but of the two Original Cheerios are slightly higher in calories with 25kcal more per 100g of cereal.

Cereal Type	Calories Per 100g	Calories Per Serving
Frosted Mini-Wheats	350kcal	210kcal (per 60g serving)
Original Cheerios	375kcal	150kcal (per 40g serving)

Best for Carbohydrate Content

I’ve included carbohydrates for information but not in the overall comparison because neither cereal can be considered a low-carb breakfast option.

So for information, the cereal that is lowest in carbs is Original Cheerios, which contain 11g fewer carbs per 100g compared to Frosted Mini-Wheats.

Cereal Type	Carbohydrates Per 100g	Carbohydrates Per Serving
Frosted Mini-Wheats	85g	51g (per 60g serving)
Original Cheerios	74g	29g (per 40g serving)

Best for Sugar Content

Sugar content is one of the most important factors for consumers when choosing a breakfast cereal and when comparing Frosted Mini-Wheats and Original Cheerios there’s a clear difference between the two.

Per 100g of cereal Frosted Mini-Wheats contain 20g of sugar compared to Original Cheerios which contain 5g. Although a serving of Frosted Mini-Wheats weighs more than a serving of Cheerios, they contain over two teaspoons of sugar per bowl, compares to Cheerios which contain 2g.

Cereal Type	Sugars Per 100g	Sugars Per Serving
Frosted Mini-Wheats	20g	12g (per 60g serving)
Original Cheerios	5g	2g (per 40g serving)

Best for Fiber Content

Fiber is another important consideration when choosing a cereal, and weigt-for-weight there is little difference between Frosted Mini-Wheats and Original Cheerios. Cheerios contain 0.3g more fiber per 100g of cereal, which is a nominal difference.

Cereal Type	Dietary Fibre Per 100g	Dietary Fibre per Serving
Frosted Mini-Wheats	10g	6g (per 60g serving)
Original Cheerios	10.3g	4g (per 40g serving)

Best for Protein Content

Frosted Mini-Wheats and Original Cheerios both contain 5g of protein per serving, however because their serving weights are different, Original Cheerios contain more protein per weight.

Cereal Type	Protein Per 100g	Protein Per Serving
Frosted Mini-Wheats	8.3g	5g (per 60g serving)
Original Cheerios	12.8g	5g (per 40g serving)

Best for Fat Content

When a cereal contains whole-grains some naturally occurring good-fats is to be expected and when comparing Frosted Mini-Wheats against Cheerios, neither can be classed as high-fat.

Of the two, Frosted Mini-Wheats are lower in fat per weight and they don’t contain any saturated fat, whereas Cheerios contain a small amount. Neither Frosted Mini-Wheats no Original Cheerios contain any cholesterol.

Per 100g

Cereal Type	Fat Per 100g	Saturated Fat per 100g
Frosted Mini-Wheats	2.5g	0g
Original Cheerios	6.4g	2.5g

Per Recommended Serving

Cereal Type	Fat Per Serving	Saturated Fat per Serving
Frosted Mini-Wheats (per 60g serving)	1.5g	0g
Original Cheerios (per 40g serving)	2.5g	0.5g

Best for Sodium/Salt Content

Most breakfast cereals have added sodium, but Frosted Mini-Wheats don’t have any meaning any sodium content is naturally occurring.

Original Cheerios have added salt which is equal to 8% of the recommended daily intake per serving, making them higher in salt than Frosted Mini-Wheats.

Cereal Type	Sodium/Salt Per 100g	Sodium/Salt per Serving
Frosted Mini-Wheats	17mg	10mg (per 60g serving)
Original Cheerios	487mg	190mg (per 40g serving)

Best for Vitamins/Minerals

Frosted Mini-Wheats have added iron and folic acid which are equal to 100% of the daily value, however, Original Cheerios have many more added nutrients, making them higher in more nutritional categories than Frosted Mini-Wheats.

Vitamin/Mineral Type	Frosted Mini-Wheats Daily Value %	Original Cheerios Daily Value %
Vitamin D	–	10%
Calcium	–	10%
Iron	100%	70%
Phosphorus	10%	10%
Potassium	2%	6%
Magnesium	10%	15%
Thiamin	10%	20%
Riboflavin	–	–
Vitamin B6	–	20%
Vitamin C	–	10%
Vitamin A	–	10%
Vitamin B12	–	20%
Niacin	10%	10%
Folic Acid	100%	20%
Zinc	10%	20%

Best for Flavor/Texture

We need your help to find out which the public favorite when it comes to taste between Frosted Mini-Wheats and Original Cheerios to gather unbiased data over time.

Please tell us which you like best between the two, and once you vote, the winner so far will be revealed (no personal information is required to vote).

Best for Price

Because Frosted Mini-Wheats and Original Cheerios come in different box sizes I’ve worked out the average cost per ounce to make sure the comparison is accurate.

Below are the current average prices per cereal (at the time this article was written):

• Frosted Mini-Wheats 18oz box = $2.88 / 16¢ per ounce
• Frosted Mini-Wheats 24oz box = $3.98 / 16.6¢ per ounce
• Frosted Mini-Wheats 34oz box = $5.23 / 15.4¢ per ounce

• Original Cheerios 18oz box = $3.98 / 22¢ per ounce
• Original Cheerios 21.7oz box = $5.48 / 25¢ per ounce

Based on this information, Frosted Mini-Wheats are the best value cereal per ounce.

Please note that prices are based on averages and may fluctuate over time and will vary depending on the store where you buy them and promotional offers.

Overall Winner & Summary

We’ve now compared all categories and we have joint winners with Frosted Mini-Wheats and Original Cheerios winning four categories each.

Frosted Mini-Wheats are lower in calories, fat and sodium and best for price, in contrast Cheerios are lower in sugar and higher in protein, fiber and vitamins and minerals.

Some categories were very close, but the key things that stand out are that Original Cheerios are much lower in sugar and higher in vitamins and minerals.

So it all comes down to which category is most important to you and your diet, and I hope you can use the data in this article to decide which is best for you.

Comparison Category	Winner (Frosted Mini-Wheats or Original Cheerios)
Best for Calorie Content	Frosted Mini-Wheats
Best for Sugar Content	Original Cheerios
Best for Protein Content	Original Cheerios
Best for Fat Content	Frosted Mini-Wheats
Best for Fiber Content	Original Cheerios
Best for Sodium Content	Frosted Mini-Wheats
Best for Vitamins/Minerals	Original Cheerios
Best for Price	Frosted Mini-Wheats
Overall Winner	Joint Winners