Best Salted Caramel Popcorn
No, you can't just eat a handful of this homemade salted caramel popcorn. It's addictive! Crunchy popcorn and nuts with a mouth-watering buttery salted caramel coating.
Servings (change as needed): 9 cups
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup popcorn kernels, Note 1 for shortcut (to make about 8 cups popcorn))
- 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
- 2 cups pecans, macadamia, cashews, peanuts and/or almonds
Caramel Coating
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) or salted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (or less if you use salted butter) (or sub Kosher salt)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250F/121C. Prepare two baking pans lined with parchment paper.
- MAKE STOVETOP POPCORN: Put 3 kernels and 1 tablespoon of oil in a large pot with a lid on medium heat When kernels pop, add rest of the kernels. Shake to cover them in oil. Cover pot and let kernels pop. When popping slows, remove from heat and empty popcorn into a large bowl, removing any unpopped kernels. You should have 8-9 cups. Add nuts. Note 1 for shortcut.
- MAKE CARAMEL SAUCE: Bring sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to blend. Leave mixture to boil for 5 more minutes without stirring. Remove from heat. Add baking soda and vanilla (be careful, it will foam and bubble up). Stir until well blended.
- STIR AND BAKE: Pour caramel sauce over popcorn and mix well until popcorn is evenly coated. Divide popcorn onto two baking pans. Spread it out as evenly as you can on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt. Bake for 1 hour, stirring 2-3 times to break up clumps and coat popcorn well with caramel. Remove from oven and let popcorn cool completely. If desired, form tennis-size balls while the popcorn is slightly warm.
Notes
- Shortcut for popcorn: I do this all the time. You can buy plain non-GMO popcorn (as little as possible added) at your local popcorn kiosk or grocery store. You will need about 8-9 cups. I don't suggest you use microwave popcorn because of the additives, but you can in a pinch. The Kitchn tested 8 ways to pop popcorn if you're interested.
- Variation: Drizzle white or dark chocolate over the popcorn when it has completely cooled in the pan. This makes it messier to eat, though, if the chocolate melts in your hand
- To store popcorn: When popcorn is completely cooled, store it at room temperature in an airtight container or ziploc freezer bags for up to 2 weeks.
Calories: 413kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 644mg | Potassium: 143mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 327IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 1mg