This caramel popcorn is the perfect salty, sweet snack. Put a bowl out at your holiday party, game day festivities or movie night and watch it disappear.
This snack is super easy to make and uses simple ingredients you probably have on hand already. This caramel corn is made without corn syrup, and without baking soda. It’s made with butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract and popcorn of course, plus a little salt and oil, that’s it.
What's great about this recipe
Popcorn treats are great, they're generally loved and popcorn is an easy-to-find, affordable ingredient. You also get a large batch so it's perfect for entertaining, or for sharing with friends and family.
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup Popcorn Kernels (which will yield approximately 20 cups popped)
- 1 tablespoon Oil, use a neutral oil with a high smoke point – we used canola oil
- ½ teaspoon Salt (we used kosher salt
- 8 tablespoons Butter
- 1 cup Brown Sugar, not packed down
- ¼ cup Water
- ¼ teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
You will also need:
- 2 large baking sheets (half sheet pans)
- Parchment paper – to prevent sticking and for easy clean-up
- Extra Large Bowl or, if you don’t have one, a large soup pot or wok will work well too
- Rubber spatula – to prevent breaking the popcorn while stirring
Prep work
There’s not much needed in the way of prep to make this treat. Just one important point, we can’t multitask with this recipe. We have to make the popcorn and the caramel at different times because they each require our undivided attention. Pop the corn first, and then make the caramel sauce. The good news is they both cook up really quick.
- Position the racks in the upper and middle thirds of the oven and preheat to 275°F.
- Gather and measure out the ingredients.
- Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Make the popcorn
Place the oil, kernels and salt in a large, heavy bottom pot over medium-high heat. Cover the pot. Give it a quick shake frequently. The kernels will take about 5 minutes to start popping. When they begin to pop, shake the pot quickly and frequently to prevent burning on the bottom.
Once there is constant and vigorous popping turn the burner off but keep the pot on it. When the popping slows to 1-2 seconds between pops, remove the pot from the burner and move it to a cold one. Uncover immediately to prevent condensation from making the popcorn soggy.
Make the caramel
Add the butter to a medium saucepan. Gently melt the butter over medium heat. When it melts, add in the brown sugar, water and vanilla, stir to combine. Cook the brown sugar mixture, stirring frequently with a fork or whisk for 5 minutes.
When it begins to simmer stir it constantly. Do not leave the caramel unattended it can boil over. Remove saucepan from the heat.
Instructions
Add the popcorn to a large, heat-proof bowl. Use a bowl that’s large enough to fit all of it and stir without spilling. A large pot or wok work well too.
Be very careful, the caramel sauce will be very hot! Slowly add the caramel sauce to the popcorn while folding, tossing and stirring gently with a rubber spatula.
Stir gently to break as little of the pieces as possible. Continue to fold/toss/stir until the popcorn is coated with the caramel.
Divide the caramel corn between the two baking sheets.
Spread it as best as possible into one layer, again, be gentle to not break the pieces.
Bake for 1 hour total, stirring every 15 minutes and rotating the pans (top to bottom, bottom to pot) halfway through the cooking time. Like this:
- Stir after 15 minutes.
- Stir after 30 minutes and rotate the pans, top to bottom and bottom to top.
- Stir after 45 minutes.
- After 1 hour, turn off the oven and crack the door open a little bit. Let it sit in the oven for 5-10 minutes. The popcorn should be completely dry and have a crunchy exterior, if not, leave it in the warm oven to continue drying.
- Remove the pans from the oven, stir and allow it to cool completely.
Storing instructions
Store leftovers at room temperature in an airtight container for about 1 week.
For more information on food storage and safety guidelines visit U.S. Department of Agriculture and foodsafety.gov.
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📖 Recipe
Caramel Popcorn
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup Popcorn Kernels which will yield approximately 20 cups popped
- 1 tablespoon Oil use a neutral oil with a high smoke point – we used canola oil
- ½ teaspoon Salt – we used kosher salt
- 8 tablespoons Butter
- 1 cup Brown Sugar not packed down
- ¼ cup Water
- ¼ teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- You will also need: 2 Large Baking Sheets, Parchment Paper, Extra Large Bowl, Rubber Spatula
- Position the racks in the upper and middle thirds of the oven and preheat to 275°F.
- Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Make the popcorn
- Place the oil, kernels and salt in a large, heavy bottom pot over medium-high heat. Cover the pot. Give it a quick shake frequently. When they begin to pop, shake the pot quickly and frequently to prevent burning on the bottom.
- Once there is constant and vigorous popping turn the burner off but keep the pot on it. When the popping slows to 1-2 seconds between pops, remove the pot from the burner and move it to a cold one. Uncover immediately.
Make the caramel
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add in the brown sugar, water and vanilla, stir to combine.
- Cook the brown sugar mixture, stirring frequently with a fork or whisk for 5 minutes. When it begins to simmer stir it constantly. Do not leave the caramel unattended it can boil over. Remove saucepan from the heat.
Coat with the caramel
- Add the popcorn to a large, heat-proof bowl. Use a bowl that’s large enough to fit all of it and stir without spilling.
- Slowly and carefully add the caramel sauce to the popcorn while folding, tossing and stirring gently with a rubber spatula.
- Stir gently to break as little of the pieces as possible. Continue to fold/toss/stir until the popcorn is coated with the caramel.
- Divide the caramel corn between the two baking sheets.
- Spread it as best as possible into one layer; be gentle to not break the pieces.
Bake the caramel corn
- Bake for 1 hour total, stirring every 15 minutes and rotating the pans (top to bottom, bottom to pot) halfway through the cooking time.
- After 1 hour, turn off the oven and crack the door open a little bit. Let it sit in the oven for 5-10 minutes. The popcorn should be completely dry and have a crunchy exterior, if not, leave it in the warm oven to continue drying.
- Remove the pans from the oven, stir and allow it to cool completely. Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information above is computer generated and is only an estimate. There is no guarantee that it is accurate. This data is provided as a courtesy for informational purposes only.
Tracy
Followed everything and oh sooo good ❣️
Elizabeth
Hi Tracy,
So happy you enjoyed it!
Sivy
Hey, how long does the caramel should be boiling for or what the temp of the caramel should be to know when it is ready?
Thanks.
Elizabeth
It will start simmering during the 5 minute cooking time. Be sure to stir it constantly so it does not boil over.