How to make sweet popcorn at home that tastes even better than at the cinema, including four different ways to pop your corn.
We have a tradition in our house – Sunday film night. It’s something I’d attempted to start when the boys were younger but they never seemed to have a long enough attention span. But as they were got a little older, it’s something we look forward to every week. We subscribe to both Netflix and Amazon Prime and so try to choose things on there if we can.
One big part of family film night is the food. I always make a picnic-style tea which we eat together in the lounge and a big bowl of homemade sweet popcorn for pudding. It’s so simple to make and much cheaper than buying it ready-made.
Four ways to pop corn at home
Homemade popcorn is unbelievably simple to make and there’s a few different ways to do it, so hopefully you’ll find a way that works for you. Personally I find that popcorn pops a bit better in the microwave (it can get a bit too dry on the hob) so I’d recommend using 1, 2 or 3 below if you can.
For all of these you’ll need 80g of popping corn for four people (it really doesn’t look like a lot when you first put it in, but it really does grow as it pops). If you’re popping your corn on the hob then you’ll need 1 tsp of oil too (any flavourless oil such as groundnut or vegetable).
BEFORE YOU START – AN IMPORTANT WARNING
Whichever of these methods you choose it’s very important that you don’t leave your corn unattended while it’s popping. Popcorn has a very low water content which makes it quite flammable. As long as you get it off the heat/turn off the microwave as soon as the popping stops you’ll have no problem. But if you leave it cooking for longer than it needs it can catch fire and believe me, trying to get the smoke smell and stains out of a microwave isn’t the easiest (I sadly know from experience after getting side-tracked recently whilst making popcorn by a tricky game of hide and seek!).
1) In the microwave in a special popcorn bowl
There are quite a few different microwave popcorn bowls available in the shops. I have a Lékué microwave popcorn bowl which I use to pop my corn (and it doubles as a serving bowl too). It’s a flexible bowl (which means it can be squashed down for storage) and a loose lid that allows the popcorn to expand without escaping from the bowl.
If you don’t make popcorn very often then this probably isn’t something you need, but if like us you’re a regular homemade popcorn maker then it’s worth getting.
- Put your popcorn into the bowl and put on the lid.
- Put it into the microwave, set the timer for 3 minutes on high and press “Start”.
- You’ll hear the corn starting to pop. Once the popping sounds die down to around one per second stop the microwave and remove the bowl.
2) In the microwave in a brown paper bag
If you don’t have a microwave popcorn maker then a paper bag also works well. You’ll want one which is nice and big so your corn has room to pop without escaping.
- Put your popcorn into a large brown paper bag and crease the top over a few times to stop the popcorn escaping.
- Put it into the microwave, set the timer for 3 minutes on high and press “Start”.
- You’ll hear the corn starting to pop. Once the popping sounds die down to around one per second stop the microwave and remove the bag.
3) In the microwave in clingfilm covered bowl
If you don’t have a microwave popcorn bowl or a brown paper bag then this way works too (although I have found the odd piece of popcorn escaping using this method).
- Put your popcorn into a large microwavable bowl and cover with 3 layers of microwavable cling film (you need more than one layer of cling film as the popping corn can pierce a single layer and escape out of the bowl).
- Pierce a few small holes in the cling film (use a skewer to keep the holes small, allowing air to escape but not popcorn).
- Put it into the microwave, set the timer for 3 minutes on high and press “Start”.
- You’ll hear the corn starting to pop. Once the popping sounds die down to around one per second stop the microwave and remove the bowl.
4) In a large saucepan on the hob
If you prefer you can make your popcorn in a large saucepan (with a lid) on the hob.
In addition to the popping corn you’ll also need 1 tsp oil ( a flavourless oil such as vegetable or groundnut is best).
- Put your oil into a large saucepan and use a piece of kitchen towel to rub it around the inside of the pan.
- Put the popcorn into the saucepan and put the lid on. Place the pan onto a medium/high heat, shaking occasionally to stop the corn sticking.
- Once the pan is hot enough the corn will start to pop, leave it on the heat until the popping sounds have died down to about 1 every second.
- As soon as the corn has popped remove the pan from the heat and pour the popcorn into a large bowl (it’s important not to leave the corn in the pan as the residual heat will cause it to burn).
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Sweet Popcorn
INGREDIENTS
- 80 g popping corn
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp golden syrup
- 2 tbsp brown sugar - any variety works fine for this recipe. I usually use dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp oil - if popping the corn of a hob – not needed if you’re using the microwave
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pop your corn using one of the four methods outlined above.
- Once your corn has popped, make the sauce. I like to make mine in a large saucepan so I can tip the popcorn in to coat it in the sauce once it’s ready.
- Put all of the sauce ingredients into a large saucepan over a low heat (2 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp golden syrup, 2 tbsp brown sugar). Stir the mixture until the butter and sugar have melted and all ingredients are fully combined.
- Turn off the heat and tip in the popped corn. Stir until the popcorn is coated in the sauce (I often put on a lid and give it a shake to get it all well coated).
- Serve.
NOTES
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
Free From/Suitable For…
- Suitable for Vegetarians
- Egg-Free
- Gluten-Free
- Nut-Free
- Soy-Free
Can be made vegan and diary-free by switching the butter for a dairy-free spread or coconut oil.
The ingredients for this recipe are easily available free from all these allergens. However, please ensure you double-check allergen information for all ingredients.
Kim Bothner says
Easy and delicious! Thank you! At first, my family thought it was too sweet. So next time I reduced the sugar to 2 teaspoons and used light brown sugar instead of dark. Then if was perfect. Best to remove unpopped kernels before adding the popcorn to the mixture. Some people here like it sweet *and* salty. I divide the batch into two bowls and sprinkle salt on one.
Chante says
Very easy to follow and delicious. Thanks!
H says
Amazing
H says
Love it so much .my kids chomped the whole thing and ask for more u are a star thanks.for the recipe
Kris says
Thank you ! Your recipe has saved me from cinema popcorn cravings. Very simple, direct and easy to follow.
Melissa says
Hello, this recipe looks great and I would like to try it… But will the popcorn be soft/sticky? Or does it go/stay crisp like the popcorn at the cinema or that you buy?
Thanks in advance x
Charlotte Oates says
It will go soft over time, so I suggest adding the sauce just before eating.
Charlotte says
Wow- this Popcorn is better than any cinema popcorn, flavoursome absolutely wonderful, we had it on its own and mixed with ice cream.
LOVE IT
josh says
cool recipe, but the nutritial information is wrong, atleast until you state how much a serving is. If yo think the amount of popcorn in the recipe sum up for a total of 200kcal then u are dreaming
Charlotte Oates says
Hi Josh,
I’ve doubled-checked my calculations and believe that the estimated calories per portion is correct (you can read more about how the estimate is calculated by clicking the link near the nutritional information). Perhaps you could give me a breakdown of why you believe it is incorrect.
Here’s my breakdown of how it was calculated:
The recipe contains
* 80g popping corn = 320 calories
* 2 tbsp butter = 223 calories
* 2 tbsp golden syrup = 130 calories
* 2 tbsp brown sugar = 97 calories
That gives a total of 770 calories
The recipe serves 4 (as stated in the purple section at the top of the recipe), so the calories per serving is 770/4 = 193.
The calories per ingredient are taken from the packaging from the products I use.
Marie says
Best popcorn ever. I ate the whole 750g Yummy
ANNE MARIE says
THE BEST RECIPE.
-POPPED CORN IN LARGE POT.
-PLACED POPCORN IN BOWL.
-PUT SAUCE IN LARGE POT
-POPCORN BACK IN LARGE POT WITH SAUCE
-SHAKED REALLY HARD AND WAS DELICIOUS.
I DID ADD SLICED ALMONDS TO SAUCE AND ADDED A NICE FLAVOUR AND CRUNCHY.
THANK YOU.
Debby says
If I want to package it for sale, which recipe is best?
Charlotte Oates says
I wouldn’t package this up to sell later as the sauce makes the popcorn go a little soft if it’s left. It’s best eaten right away.
Getty says
Can u make this without golden syrup?
Charlotte Oates says
I’ve not tried it without the syrup so I’m not sure exactly how it would turn out – sorry.
Madeline Kosse says
I made it without the syrup and some extra sugar; turned out good. It’s hard to go wrong with butter and sugar! I used salted butter, as well.
Charlotte says
How long will this popcorn last if it’s not all consumed at once?
Charlotte Oates says
I find that it’s best eaten immediately as the moisture in the sweet topping will make the popcorn go soft if it’s left. You can pop stored the popcorn without the sauce for a few days in an airtight container.
Chantelle says
Great recipe. My family loved it. Will definitely make it again!
Caroline Moore says
Hi can you make a cheese sauce
I tasted cheese popcorn in US but cant buy it here-Aberdeen Scotland. It was delicious
Charlotte Oates says
Hmmm, there are loads of ways of making a cheese sauce. It would be difficult to know how to replicate what you tasted without knowing a bit more about it. Do you have any more info?
Doris says
I’ve only tried 2 sweet popcorn recipes so far, but this is already my favourite!!
Nick Pinkney says
Worked out the reason I was getting burnt popcorn
Too much mixture to, popcorn resulting in a too wet mixture that needed cooking for too long
By adding more popcorn this spread the mixture out thinner and popped at lot quicker
Charlotte Oates says
I’m glad you figure it out. Enjoy your popcorn 🙂
Anusha Kalaiselvan says
I tried this recipe..it tastes amazing☺️ Thank You Charlotte Oates❤️
David Evans says
Thanks for a great recipe for a sweet flavouring on the popcorn. If you are regular popcorn lovers then Aldi currently have a hot air popcorn machine for £12.99. I just got one and I found it better than using a microwave.
Nick Pinkney says
First batch turned out ok and was tasty
Since then it’s burning and bitter
Any solution to this? Lesson the amount I’m trying to cook? Add more or less of an ingredient?
Charlotte Oates says
Did you make one batch straight after the other, or did this happen at a completely different time? What method were you using to make the popcorn (hob or microwave)?
Nick Pinkney says
The batch was made at different times, using a microwave (800watt)