Caramel Popcorn

Featuring a thin, crispy-crunchy, delightfully caramelized coating, this Caramel Popcorn is an incredible grazing snack, quirky dessert, or holiday gift!
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My homemade Caramel Popcorn recipe is the ultimate snack upgrade. The flavors are beyond addictive. With its super crispy texture and sweet, caramelized coating, this treat is made with super simple ingredients you already have in your pantry but tastes better than you can even imagine. This caramel popcorn stays fresh for weeks but trust me when I say, it won’t last that long boos.

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A close up of caramel corn recipe in a gray speckled bowl ready to devour

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Five star review

“Just made and it turned out absolutely delicious! I’ve tried another recipe before and it wasn’t enough caramel to coat the popcorn. This was a perfect recipe. Thank you.”

—ROBBIN C.

Y’all as a former Chicagoan, I love me some Garrett’s caramel popcorn. I adore those golden-brown, sticky pieces that make me weak in the knees. When I moved to Texas, I started making my own caramel corn. And let’s just say, this recipe is the best you will ever find.

Salty, sweet, and crunchy, my homemade caramel corn is what snack dreams are made of! 

The Lowdown of This Caramel Corn Recipe

Closeup of Jocelyn in pink dress smiling

Cuisine Inspiration: Classic American

Primary Cooking Method: Stovetop and Baking

Dietary Info: Can be made Vegan with ingredient swaps

Key Flavor: Rich, Buttery Caramel in a Crispy Crunchy Package

Skill Level: Easy y’all (No Sweat Fam!)

This caramel popcorn brings the perfect balance of sweet and rich making it beyond addictive y’all. Trust me, you won’t be able to stop munching!

Serve up bowls of this caramel corn for your next game days, movie nights, parties or book club meetings. It is a straight-up hit every time you serve it!

This recipe requires simple ingredients you have at the crib already! Plus the prep is beyond easy y’all. You won’t believe how easy it is to make popcorn this dang on good!

Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Caramel Corn

Popped popcorn in a clear bowl, brown sugar, butter sticks and additional ingredients to make caramel popcorn
  • Light Brown Sugar: This gives that bomb caramelized sweetness to our popcorn with that deep flavorful additional of molasses.
  • Unsalted Butter: Butter helps create a smooth caramel sauce.
  • Light Corn Syrup: This adds sweetness, while also preventing the sugar from crystallizing before the caramel forms.
  • Salt: We gotta add a bit to balances out the flavors boos.
  • Vanilla Extract: This provides aromatic notes to our popcorn.
  • Baking Soda: This is the secret to an even, thin coating of caramel on the popcorn. Adding to the caramel creates a reaction and increases the volume of the mixture, making it easier to coat the numerous kernels. 
  • Large Grain Popcorn: This works best for this recipe. Do not try to use pre-buttered or flavored popcorn here. 

How To Make Caramel Popcorn 

Caramel sauce bubbling on a white background with a silver whisk
1
Stir together brown sugar, butter, light corn syrup and salt in a pot over medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes then add vanilla and soda and stir until foamy.
Caramel sauce being poured over just popped popcorn
2
Pour over freshly popped popcorn and continue stirring until it’s all super coated.
Caramel corn on a baking sheet just after being roasted in an oven for an hour
3
Spread the popcorn on the baking sheets and bake for 1 hour until set and crisp.
Caramel corn recipe scattered against a white background
4
Cool then break apart popcorn if any kernels are stuck together. Serve it up and store any extras in an airtight container for munching later on boos.

WARNING: Handle the caramel with extreme caution and care; it is very hot and quite dangerous! Do not attempt to eat/taste the caramel straight out of the saucepan. I’m warning you boos!

How to Serve Caramel Corn

Recipe Substitutions

  • Light Brown Sugar: You can use dark brown sugar or you can even make your own brown sugar with granulated sugar and molasses.
  • Unsalted Butter: Salted butter will also work, just omit the added salt. 
  • Vanilla Extract: Add vanilla bean paste for more of a vanilla explosion or switch out the extract for something different like almond extract.
  • Corn Syrup: Honestly the best caramel popcorn is usually made with corn syrup but maple syrup is a great swap if you don’t like using it.

Recipe Variations and Additions

  • Chocolate Drizzle: Y’all know caramel and chocolate go together perfectly right? Finish off your caramel corn popcorn batch and drizzle with some delish chocolate ganache.
  • Spice it Up: Add a pinch of cayenne or crushed red pepper flakes to the homemade caramel popcorn sauce to give it a kick!
  • Get Salty: Salted caramel is my love language so sprinkle some delish flaky sea salt over your caramel corn next time.
  • Add Nuts: Mix in some roasted nuts like peanuts, pecans or almonds after the popcorn sets up.
An overhead of caramel popcorn recipe in a white bowl with a blue napkin with popcorn scattered around it

Expert Tips and Tricks

  • Go Fresh: Freshly popped popcorn is better for adhering and creating the best quality results for this recipe.
  • Line your pan: Make sure you line your baking pan with parchment paper so your pan won’t become a complete mess super difficult to clean from sticky caramel.
  • Do You Boos!: The ratio of caramel to popcorn will determine how saturated each kernel is. The fewer kernels used, the more caramel coverage you’ll get. The popcorn you see pictured in the photos has medium caramel coverage, meaning there are visible white splotches studded throughout. Medium to light coverage caramel popcorn is definitely still as sweet and indulgent as ever. Full coverage caramel corn is super sweet! So, depending on your personal preference, adjust the measurement of kernels. 

How to Store Caramel Corn Popcorn

Leftovers are best stored at room temp in airtight containers or sealable freezer bags. Caramel corn popcorn will stay fresh this way for up to two weeks. If you let air get to it, the flavor can turn stale boos so try to avoid that so it stays fresh and crisp.

I don’t recommend adding leftover popcorn to the fridge or freezer since you don’t want to introduce moisture. It will result in it losing it’s super crispy texture. Fresh is best boos.

Frequently Asked Questions

What popcorn is best to use when making homemade caramel corn popcorn?

Go with fresh high-quality air popped or stove top popped plain popcorn for the best results boo.

Help! Why did my caramel burn?

You must continue to stir the caramel consistently until it is ready. Don’t turn around for a second until it is done and ready to pour y’all.

Can I make this caramel corn without corn syrup?

Yep try replacing the corn syrup with maple syrup or honey instead. The flavor and a little of the texture might change slightly but it will still be bomb y’all.

You won’t believe how easy this caramel popcorn recipe is to pull off. It tastes legit better than anything you can grab at the grocery store or even at a speciality shop. It is absolutely perfect y’all. Get at it!

Other Popcorn Recipes

A close up of caramel corn in a gray speckled bowl ready to devour

Caramel Popcorn (Caramel corn)

Featuring a thin, crispy-crunchy, delightfully caramelized coating, this Caramel Popcorn is an incredible grazing snack, quirky dessert, or holiday gift!
5 from 9 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Snack
Servings: 5 quarts of popcorn

Ingredients

  • 2 cups light brown sugar packed
  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup light corn syrup
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 6-8 cups popped plain popcorn

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Add brown sugar, butter, light corn syrup and salt and stir together in a medium sized pot over medium heat. Cook for about 5 minutes.
  • Finally add vanilla and soda and stir until foamy.
  • Pour over popped corn and continue stirring until well coated.
  • Spread the popcorn on the baking sheets and bake for 1 hour until set and crisp.
  • Cool and break any pieces that are stuck together then keep in an airtight container to keep fresh.

Notes

Coverage Note: The ratio of caramel to popcorn will determine how saturated each kernel is. The fewer kernels used, the more caramel coverage you’ll get. The popcorn you see pictured in the photos has medium caramel coverage, meaning there are visible white splotches studded throughout. Medium to light coverage caramel popcorn is definitely still as sweet and indulgent as ever.

How to Store Caramel Corn Popcorn

Leftovers are best stored at room temp in airtight containers or sealable freezer bags. Caramel corn popcorn will stay fresh this way for up to two weeks. If you let air get to it, the flavor can turn stale boos so try to avoid that so it stays fresh and crisp.
I don’t recommend adding leftover popcorn to the fridge or freezer since you don’t want to introduce moisture. It will result in it losing it’s super crispy texture. Fresh is best boos.

Nutrition

Calories: 4422kcal | Carbohydrates: 850g | Protein: 123g | Fat: 80g | Saturated Fat: 29g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 19g | Monounsaturated Fat: 20g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 98mg | Sodium: 578mg | Potassium: 3244mg | Fiber: 137g | Sugar: 120g | Vitamin A: 2989IU | Calcium: 155mg | Iron: 31mg
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Filed Under:  Candy and Confections, Dessert and Baking, Oven, Snacks, Super Bowl and Game Day Party

Comments

  1. Just made and it turned out absolutely delicious! I’ve tried another recipe before and it wasn’t enough caramel to coat the popcorn. This was a perfect recipe. Thank you

5 from 9 votes

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