Salted caramel popcorn is the perfect addition to a party or movie night. It features a simple homemade caramel sauce, freshly popped popcorn and a hearty sprinkle of coarse salt.
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You’ll never go back to the store-bought stuff after you make this salted caramel popcorn. It’s super crunchy, sweet and perfectly salty. And I promise it’s easier and less intimidating than you think.
I divided this and shared it among family and friends and it received rave reviews all around. If you’re a caramel corn kind of person, you definitely need to give this a try.
Yes, You Can Make Salted Caramel Popcorn at Home
I promise this caramel popcorn is relatively easy to make at home. It’s actually one of my new favorite things to make.
The ingredients are simple and probably already in your pantry. The method is easy and does NOT involve a candy thermometer.
So why would we even buy it when we can make the real deal in our own kitchen?!
Necessary Ingredients
How to Make Salted Caramel Popcorn
First start by popping your popcorn. I always opt to use my air popper for this job. It’s super quick and easy. If you don’t own an air popper you can pop it on the stove top too.
You’ll need about 1/4 cup of popcorn kernels to make the needed 6 cups of popped popcorn. Make sure to pick through and remove the unpopped kernels before proceeding with the recipe.
Set the popcorn aside and make the caramel sauce.
Combine the butter, corn syrup and brown sugar in a large saucepan and whisk it well. Bring the mixture to a heavy simmer and do not touch it for 5 minutes.
This will be hard to do but it’s super important to ensure you get the correct texture. After the 5 minutes is up, remove the mixture from heat and quickly stir in the baking soda and vanilla extract.
Pour it over the popcorn and mix well until all the popcorn is well coated in caramel. Pour the popcorn onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment and spread it into a single layer.
Why Does It Need to Be Baked?
It’s important for the caramel popcorn to bake for a few reasons. Baking will take the popcorn from soggy to perfectly crunchy.
Bake the popcorn at 300 degrees F for 15 minutes then stir and bake another 5 minutes.
Fun Add-Ins
Whether you go with add ins or enjoy it as the recipe is written, it’s definitely going to be a new favorite sweet and salty snack.
More Popcorn Recipes to Try:
Salted Caramel Popcorn
Ingredients
- 6 cups popped popcorn (1/4 cup kernels)
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 6 Tbsp. salted butter
- 3 Tbsp. light corn syrup
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. flaky sea salt or kosher salt
Instructions
- Remove all unpopped kernels from popped popcorn. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
- For caramel, in a medium saucepan combine brown sugar, butter and corn syrup. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils. Continue boiling at a moderate, steady rate, without stirring, for 5 minutes more.
- Remove saucepan from heat. Stir in baking soda and vanilla. Pour caramel over popcorn; stir gently to coat. Spread into a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Stir mixture and bake 5 minutes. Allow to cool completely then break into pieces. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
December 12, 2020 at 6:33 am
An excellent recipe, my family loves it and asks me to remake it all of the time!