Dippin’ Dots Cereal Review: Banana Split & Cookies ‘n Cream

Dippin’ Dots Cereal Review: Banana Split & Cookies ‘n Cream

Throughout history, we’ve seen genius minds that were well ahead of their time. Leonardo Da Vinci invented a flying machine around 1488. Zhang Heng created a working earthquake detector in 132AD. In the early 1st century, Hero of Alexandria came up with the first vending machine – that dispensed holy water. And two high school students, Nate Kim and Frankie O’Toole decided that Dippin’ Dots would become a breakfast cereal in 2015.

All of these guys were way ahead of their time. Now, I’m not discounting flying machines and modern technology, but can we take a moment to praise the concept of Dippin’ Dots Cereal? From what I can only assume, the motivation for this genius invention was born from an economic or business class project, three years before it actually came to be. In a bold move, the boys created this presentation. Be sure you check out their commercial towards the end.

Could Nate and Frankie see into the future? Were they blessed with premonitions of breakfasts to come? Or did they simply want an “A” on the project? We may never know, but what we can be sure of – these guys had a BRILLIANT idea! General Mills (not Kellogg’s as the boys suggested) just released two new cereals: Dippin’ Dots Banana Split Cereal and Dippin’ Dots Cookies ‘n Cream Cereal. And I’m about to dive into two bowls of this stuff.

Dippin’ Dots Banana Split Cereal 

If I were blindfolded and took a whiff inside the box, I would immediately know it was banana split. It’s hardcore banana split. I don’t really know how they could make something smell so legit, but I’m more worried about the taste, honestly.

There are four components to this cereal: 3 balls of sweetened corn and oat cereal resembling Dippin’ Dots in strawberry, chocolate and vanilla flavors, and a bumpy little ball called a “Banana Split Flavored Cluster.”  I took out four pieces and tasted each individually.  Each of the balls actually resembles its respective flavor really well.  Strawberry tastes like legit strawberry, chocolate like chocolate and vanilla like vanilla. They aren’t too overpowering, which I’m anticipating will be a good thing, because of the Clusters. Ahhh, the Clusters. I think I’m in love with these Clusters.  They are pastel and pretty, and have a soft coating. When I bit into one, it had the texture of a Rice Krispies treat, which was pretty fun. Now the flavor….the flavor is absolutely, 100%, unmistakably, spot on banana split. Unbelievably yummy. I could eat a box of just the Clusters.

I was pretty surprised that the cereal didn’t get mushy in milk. In fact, it became softer over time, but still kept the crunch. I didn’t think the milk enhanced the flavors, necessarily, but it did make them creamier. They nailed the banana split flavors of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream, banana, chocolate, sauces and whipped cream. This just jumped into my top 3 favorite cereals ever.

Dippin’ Dots Cookies ‘n Cream Cereal

Before I start, I have to admit my bias. I don’t really dig cookies ‘n cream flavored stuff. It’s just not my bag, my gig or my thang. However, after eating a bowl of the Banana Split, I’m totally excited and ready for this cereal to change my mind about cookies ‘n cream.

Like Banana Split, it absolutely smells exactly like cookies ‘n cream. It’s pretty legit. There are balls of “cream” and balls of “chocolate cookie” in here. The highlight should be the Cookies and Cream Flavored Cluster. It’s a dark brown, bumpy ball that has me intrigued right away. So I ate one. Then I ate another one.  I couldn’t put my finger on the flavor…but I didn’t think it was cookies ‘n cream. It has the same texture as the Banana Split Cluster, with a fun little crunch, but with super chocolate flavor. It’s kind of a waxy, artificial chocolate taste, though, almost on the dark chocolate side of the spectrum. I’m hoping once it baths in the milk, it will release more  of a genuine cookies ‘n cream flavor.

The milk definitely helped take away that fake chocolate taste in the Clusters, but I still wasn’t feeling the cookies ‘n cream vibe. Don’t get me wrong – the cereal is really damn good. It may have smelled exactly like cookies ‘n cream, but I, personally didn’t think it tasted like it. This really needed the milk to make it creamier and offer that part of the flavor. I’m not necessarily disappointed, because I absolutely love this cereal and will definitely buy it again. Plus, I don’t really dig cookies ‘n cream anyway. I’m just afraid if you are a huge cookies ‘n cream fan, you might not get exactly what you want.

Kudos to Nate Kim and Frankie O’Toole, the two high school students that saw something beautiful in the future of cereal. Leonardo Da Vinci would be proud, boys. I think we learned a powerful lesson here today. If you can dream it, have a high school bathroom to use for a commercial shoot and really, really, really want an “A” in economics class, anything is possible.