I Put Cheerios in a Skillet With Butter and Finally Understood This ’80s Snack

Cheerios usually go into a bowl with milk, but an old snack idea puts them somewhere I hadn't considered: a skillet filled with melted butter.

Known as Hot Buttered O's, the snack was promoted by General Mills around the late 1970s and early 1980s. Instead of eating the cereal straight from the box, you toast it in butter for a few minutes until the pieces are coated and crisp.

It takes two main ingredients and turns breakfast cereal into a warm snack that works more like popcorn.

Melt the Butter Before Adding the Cheerios

Start with about ¼ cup butter and 4 cups Cheerios.

Melt the butter in a skillet, then pour in the cereal. Toss the Cheerios so the melted butter coats the pieces instead of collecting at the bottom of the pan.

Keep them moving as they toast for a few minutes. The cereal should take on some color and crisp up without burning.

Finish with a pinch of salt and serve while warm.

Toasting Changes More Than the Temperature

Cheerios straight from the box are dry and crisp, but coating them in hot butter gives the cereal a richer flavor before the skillet adds toasted notes.

The holes also make the pieces easy to toss and coat in the pan. Unlike making popcorn, there's no waiting for kernels to pop or dealing with unpopped pieces at the bottom.

You can make the snack in a microwave, but a skillet gives the cereal more contact with heat and a better chance to toast.

The Original Version Is Just the Starting Point

Plain Cheerios and butter create the base, but the same method works with extra seasoning.

For a sweet version, add cinnamon, brown sugar, or use Honey Nut Cheerios. Chili powder or smoked paprika can bring heat without changing the method.

Garlic salt, black pepper, or a small amount of Worcestershire sauce takes the snack in the other direction. Add seasonings near the end so they coat the cereal while the butter is still warm.

Hot Buttered O's may sound like an odd use for breakfast cereal until you think of Cheerios as small toasted grains instead of something that needs milk. A skillet and some butter are enough to turn them into a snack that makes much more sense once you've tried it.

Did you eat Hot Buttered O's in the '80s, or is putting Cheerios in a skillet new to you?