Celebrity chef Jeff Mauro loves a good cereal, especially when it’s Cinnamon Toast Crunch!

“It’s always been my favorite cereal,” The Kitchen star told Closer Weekly in an exclusive interview.

The 38-year-old Food Network star is celebrating road trips with Cinnamon Toast Crunch this summer with his yummy recipes. The brand will host a Cinnamon Toast Crunch Drive Thru on Friday, June 23, from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. and Saturday, June 24, from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. right near the Grand Canyon! At the pit stop (which is literally a huge cereal box), families will be asked to do a fun challenge and share it on social media in order to win some yummy cereal!

MORE: Meet the Cast of ‘The Kitchen’!

jeff mauro maria ponce
Maria Ponce

As far as road trip snacks, Jeff says they “need to be fun and out of the box (no pun intended!) and they have to last.” And what better ingredient than cereal for that? Hence his delicious trail mix made with Cinnamon Toast Crunch in the recipe below.

Believe it or not, cereal could go way past a bowl with milk! “Using cereal as a breading is a great way to repurpose it and give your sandwich or chicken fingers or whatever it may be better flavor or texture when using something that’s not just your standard breadcrumbs,” Jeff shared with Closer.

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Check out Jeff’s yummy recipes for Cinnamon Toast Crunch French toast, PB&J, and snack mix below!

cinnamon toast crunch french toast maria ponce
Maria Ponce

Chocolate, Bacon, and Banana Stuffed Cinnamon “French Toast” Crunch

Ingredients:

  • 3 large egg yolks

  • 1 cup whole milk

  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar

  • 2 tablespoons malt powder

  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1 tablespoon almond extract

  • ¼ teaspoon table salt

  • 2 tablespoons melted butter, plus 2 tablespoons for cooking

  • 8 slices good brioche bread

  • 1 cup chocolate hazelnut spread

  • 1 cup Cinnamon Toast Crunch

  • 8 slices crispy, thin-cut bacon

  • 2 bananas, sliced on the sharp bias

Directions:

  1. Spray a waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray and preheat to medium/high heat.

  2. Whisk together egg yolks, milk, brown sugar, malt powder, ground cinnamon, almond extract and salt in a bowl.

  3. Dunk each side of the bread into the batter for 5 seconds a side. Let excess drip off and start building “sandwiches” on a clean sheet tray.

  4. In between bread slices, a light schmear of chocolate hazelnut spread, then a layer of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, a layer bananas, hazelnut 2 slices of bacon then another light layer of chocolate hazelnut spread.

  5. Working with 2 sandwiches at a time, lightly press on waffle iron until golden brown and gooey.

  6. Let cool for a minute then slice, dust in powdered sugar and serve.

cinnamon toast crunch peanut butter jelly maria ponce

Maria Ponce.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Crusted PB&J

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup chunky peanut butter

  • 8 slices thick brioche bread

  • 1 cup good raspberry preserves

  • 1 cups plain potato chips, with ridges

  • 3 large eggs, beaten

  • 2 cups Cinnamon Toast Crunch, processed until fine in a food processor

  • 4 tablespoons butter

Directions:

  1. Spread the peanut butter on 4 slices of bread and the raspberry preserves on the other 4 slices. Add the bananas and a nice pile of chips on top of the peanut butter slices; sandwich with the raspberry preserve slices.

  2. Place the eggs and cereal in separate shallow bowls. Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-low heat and melt 2 tablespoons of the butter.

  3. Dip a sandwich in the eggs, then the cinnamon cereal, pressing down to make sure the cereal adheres to both sides. Repeat with the other sandwiches.

  4. In batches, fry the sandwiches low and slow until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side, adding more butter to the pan as needed.

  5. Cut the sandwiches in half on the diagonal and serve.

cinnamon toast crunch road mix maria ponce

Maria Ponce.

Sweet and Salty Cinnamon Toast Crunch Road Mix

Ingredients:

  • 5 cups Cinnamon Toast Crunch

  • ¼ cup butter

  • 1 cup white chocolate chips

  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar

  • ½ cup smoked almonds

  • ¼ cup dried cranberries

  • ½ cup lightly crushed salted pretzel sticks

Directions:

  1. Place butter and ½ cup chocolate chips in a medium microwave-safe bowl, microwave for 40 seconds, take out and stir until smooth. Add in vanilla extract. Pour over cereal in another bowl and stir until coated.

  2. Place coated cereal into large zipper-topped bag with confectioners’ sugar. Shake until totally coated and then let cool on parchment paper-lined pan for 30 minutes.

  3. Mix coated cereal with remaining ½ cup white chocolate chips, smoke almonds, dried cranberries & pretzels.

  4. In small microwavable bowl, microwave ½ cup of the chocolate chips and the butter uncovered on High 30 to 45 seconds; stir until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into plastic bag of powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated.

  5. Spread on waxed paper to cool, about 30 minutes.

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