Easy Homemade Caramel Popcorn
This Easy Homemade Caramel Popcorn is the perfect sweet, salty and crunchy snack...and it's much easier to make than you might think!
Servings: 8 (about 1 cup each)
Estimated Calories: 266
Ingredients
- 8 cups freshly popped popcorn, plain (no butter, salt or other seasonings)
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
- 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
- ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste (I use regular table salt for this recipe)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅜ teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250°F.
- Place the popped popcorn in a large bowl (make sure to remove any un-popped kernels); set aside.Use a larger bowl than you think you need; this will make tossing the popcorn and caramel together much easier and quicker.
- In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan (I use a 3-quart saucepan) over medium heat, stir the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and salt until the butter is completely melted and the sugar is dissolved.
- Continuing over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low and gently boil for 5 minutes (do not stir during this time; stirring caramel can make it grainy). Keep an eye on it. It should just be bubbling gently (see step-by-step photo in post). If it starts to bubble too fast or risks bubbling over, turn down the heat. If it's not bubbling enough, turn up the heat.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the vanilla extract and baking soda; stir until well combined.Once you start stirring, the mixture will bubble up a bit, and it will take on a somewhat fluffier texture and it will become lighter in color as well.
- Immediately pour the hot caramel mixture over popcorn in the bowl; working quickly, toss gently with a spatula until the popcorn is evenly coated with the caramel.You should be able to get most of the popcorn coated with the caramel at this point. If there are a few bare spots here and there, that's okay. Take care to not break the popcorn into small pieces while stirring.
- Transfer the popcorn to a large, rimmed baking sheet (I use a half sheet pan, which measures 13 x 18 inches) and spread it out evenly with the spatula.
- Bake in the center of the oven for 45 minutes, gently stirring the popcorn and spreading it back out in the pan every 15 minutes.
- Remove the popcorn from the oven, give it one final stir, place the pan on a cooling rack, and let the popcorn cool completely in the pan, about 30 minutes.Right from the oven while still hot, the caramel may be slightly sticky, but it will dry out and firm up as the popcorn cools.
- Once completely cooled, the popcorn is ready to enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Use your favorite method to make the popcorn (stove, microwave, air popper, etc.). ⅓ cup of popcorn kernels will make the 8 cups of popped popcorn you need for this recipe. Instructions for making stovetop popcorn are in the post.
- Once completely cooled, store your popcorn in an airtight container or a resealable bag, removing as much air as possible (the less air and moisture that gets to the popcorn, the longer it will last). When stored properly, it should last for at least a week or longer.
- It isn't necessary to grease the baking sheet or line it with parchment paper or foil. I have used both a nonstick baking sheet and uncoated aluminum baking sheet, and the popcorn has not stuck to either type of pan.
- For easy clean-up of your saucepan, baking sheet and utensils, simply soak them in hot soapy water for several minutes. Any hardened caramel will melt rather quickly and come off easily.
- Estimated calories shown are based on making popcorn on the stovetop with oil. If you use a different method that doesn't use any oil, the estimated calories per serving will be 221.
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