The ultimate Caramel Popcorn! With a thin, crispy, even coating of caramel on every piece, this caramel corn stays crispy for weeks. Caramel corn can be made with or without corn syrup – I’ve discovered the perfect substitute that works 100% perfectly!
Terrific grazing dessert for gatherings. And because it stays fresh for weeks, it makes for a sensational food gift!!
Caramel Popcorn
I make caramel popcorn a LOT all throughout the year. I make it for:
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gifting – just a pure act of kindness without any ulterior motives;
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bribing – when I’m trying to sway decisions / get in or stay in someone’s good graces. (This happens more than I care to admit 😂); and
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dessert for gatherings – it’s a brilliant grazing option for dessert so your family and friends don’t need to commit to a huge slice of chocolate cake because they’re stuffed full from dinner!
The reason it makes such a regular appearance around here is because it ticks a lot of boxes:
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long shelf life – 100% crispy for 2 – 3 weeks;
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is low effort to make a fair volume (this makes about 11 – 12 cups);
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it’s gluten free (useful for gatherings / gifting); and
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everybody loves it – young and old!
This stuff is CRAZY addictive!! UPDATE: This year (2020) I’ve also made special Christmas version of Caramel Popcorn called Christmas Popcorn Candy, flavoured with classic warm festive spices and almonds!
Why this is THE Caramel Corn recipe
If you’ve ever made caramel popcorn and ended up with uneven globs of caramel on the popcorn which ends up stuck in your teeth – I feel your pain.
I’ve been there and done that, and it was many years before I discovered the secret to perfect, crispy, evenly coated caramel corn:
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BAKING SODA (aka bi-carbonate soda, or bi-carb for short); and
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BAKING.
Baking soda is the secret to an even, thin coating of caramel on the popcorn. When it’s added to the caramel, it makes it foam up so it increases in volume and makes it easier to coat the popcorn more evenly.
The baking part serves two purposes:
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Coat popcorn evenly – initially, the caramel remelts so when you toss the popcorn, it coats the popcorn more evenly and thinly (thanks to the baking soda!); and
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Crispy caramel and popcorn – during the 2nd half of baking time, the caramel and popcorn dries out, making the thin caramel coating AND popcorn super crisp. This caramel corn stays crispy for WEEKS!
What you need for Caramel Popcorn
Here’s what you need. Not very much stuff!!
For those of you outside of the US and Canada who can’t get corn syrup, don’t fret. Glucose is a 100% perfect substitute. I make caramel popcorn quite regularly (food gifting!) so I stock up on corn syrup when I visit the States. But I always run out.
So I had to find a substitute. And after making dozens and dozens of batches with glucose, I am happy to report that glucose is a perfect substitute for corn syrup!
(If you’re wondering why you need corp syrup, its purpose is to ensure the caramel doesn’t crystallise ie instead of turning into liquid, you end up with sugar grains. Caramel is easy but can be temperamental. Corn syrup makes it a sure thing. 🙂 )
How to make Caramel Popcorn
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Pop your popcorn kernels using your method of choice – stove or popcorn maker, if you have one (I do, but for some reason digging it out of the back of the cupboard seems like more effort than cooking the popcorn on the stove);
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Make caramel – simmer butter, sugar and corn syrup or glucose;
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Whisk in baking soda to make the caramel foam up!
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Toss popcorn with caramel – just do the best you can here, the caramel will harden as it cools. Don’t worry if it’s not evenly coated, we do this in the next step;
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Bake 45 minutes, tossing 3 – 4 times – this makes the caramel coat the popcorn evenly, then makes the caramel and popcorn crisp so it stays crispy for 2+ weeks!
Caramel warning: handle with care because that molten goodness is mighty hot! So don’t be tempted to stick your finger in for a taste test!
Full coverage vs lighter coating
The popcorn you see pictured in the photos and in the video has full caramel coverage. Meaning, the ratio of caramel to popcorn is such that it’s intended that every piece of popcorn is coated with caramel.
Full coverage caramel popcorn is very sweet! It’s made with 1/3 cup kernels, 10 cups popcorn, and is literally like candy. If you eat it by the handful like Butter Popcorn, chances are you will regret it….unless you have a major sweet tooth (otherwise try my Light ‘n Salty Butter Popcorn)!
I usually go full coverage when I’m gifting to people I don’t know that well (ie usually work related bribing😈) because it looks better.
For my own personal purposes, for my family and friends, for gifting to people I know, I do a lighter coverage. Lighter coverage popcorn has visible white splotches because you don’t get full coverage. It’s made with 3/4 cup kernels and it is definitely still sweet and indulgent.
No one has ever had my Lighter Coverage caramel popcorn and said “that’s not sweet enough”! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
More Popcorn recipes
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Movie Popcorn – buttery, yellow and it stays crisp for days!
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Caramel Popcorn
Ingredients
For the popcorn
- 1/4 cup (60ml) vegetable oil (not required if air popping with a popcorn maker)
- 1/3 cup popping corn (10 cups popcorn, Note 1 for lighter caramel coverage)
For the caramel
- 100g / 7 tbsp butter , unsalted
- 1 cup (220g) brown sugar , packed
- 1/2 cup (170g) corn syrup , light (sub glucose, Note 2 more subs)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
Instructions
Popcorn
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add a few pieces of popcorn and wait until it pops, then quickly remove.
- Add remaining popcorn, elevate off stove to shake and spread corn out evenly. Cover with a lid. Once the popcorn starts popping in earnest, shake the pot gently once.
- Remove from heat when the popping stops (when you can count to 3 between pops) and transfer to a (very!) large bowl. You need 10 cups of popcorn.
Caramel:
- Preheat oven to 110°C/230°F.
- Melt butter in a saucepaan over medium heat.
- Add sugar, corn syrup and salt. Stir until just combined.
- When it starts to bubble, simmer for 4 minutes - DO NOT STIR!
- Remove from heat then quickly whisk in vanilla and baking soda. When you stop whisking, the caramel will foam and increase in volume.
- Quickly pour straight over popcorn, toss until caramel cools and starts to harden.
Baking to crisp:
- Spread popcorn on 2 baking trays.
- Bake for 45 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes or so. Caramel will remelt for the first 2-3 tosses - tossing coats popcorn more evenly with caramel. (If using glucose or honey, bake further 15 minutes).
- Remove from oven, leave to cool. Gently break into pieces and serve. Stays crisp 2 - 3 weeks!
Recipe Notes:
- honey (bake 15 minutes longer)
- treacle
- golden syrup
Nutrition Information:
Originally published May 2014, updated September 2019 with new photos, new video and slight improvements to recipe!
Life of Dozer
Today’s selfie attempt….
I’m so grateful food doesn’t move!! 😂
You’re my first “go-to” for ANYthing! Truly.. and I’m never disappointed! The popcorn was scrumptious and I was SO happy to gift it in little bags… (I added some coconut, cashews and peanuts to some of it – a feeble attempt to make it a little “healthy”! Delicious!) xx
I’m sorry but you’re wrong. You say that it can last 2 weeks or 3 but this popcorn is sooooo good that it only lasted a day.
Thanks for your good work !
Cheers from France
I made this for a Christmas party. Turned out really well. In fact I couldn’t stop tasting it!!
My 94 year old mum loves this and the carers at her facility line up for it. 😍
Hi Nagi! I’ve made this popcorn twice now, and while the flavour is amazing the caramel is chewy rather than crisp and sticks terribly to my teeth. At first, I thought I needed to bake it longer, so the second time I baked it for 60 minutes then turned off the oven and left it in for another hour. But it still came out sticky. Any suggestions on how to troubleshoot this? Would a higher temperature work? Is 110C with or without fan?
Mine also turned out chewy. It tastes great but sticks in your teeth. Is the oven temperature mean to be 110 fan-forced? I cooked it at 100 fan forced as I didn’t want it to burn.
Has anyone tried making this with oil/coconut oil instead of butter? Thanks!
made this on a whim on a Monday night but had no glucose or honey or syrup, so tried it with simple syrup (ie 2:1 sugar:water) instead. Went by cracking temp (154C) more than time. I probably took it too far as the caramel turned out more bitter than I’d like. Otherwise recipe worked ok but I’d def recommend getting the glucose to make sure it goes smooth!!
Not only have I made this 3x in 2 weeks I’ve shared this recipe with 5 friends that asked for it. Delicious! I’d add peanuts but they mess with me some. I think though for holiday gatherings I will add nuts. Thank you for sharing!
I Actually Used Maple Syrup In Replace of The Corn Syrup & It Was Really Delicious 🙂 Thank You So Much
Made this popcorn and loved it. It got eaten in a day 🫶🏼
So yummy, I added chili flakes and chopped roasted peanuts! Have yet to make a recipetineats meal haven’t liked.
I just made this recipe today. Used 2 packs of microwave popcorn (natural flavor) in a heavy stainless pot to make normal coating. For the caramel I substituted baking margarine for butter, and omitted vanilla — didn’t have any in the house, and the grocery ran out too. Still turned out magnificently crunchy and yummy! Very dangerous IMHO, because I didn’t realize how much I was eating! Thank you for this treasure!
This is SO GOOD! I made it for Christmas treats.
I used Golden Syrup (kind of the staple for here in Australia). I took the caramel toffee mixture to cracking point (154 celsius) then added about 1/6th a cup of thick (heavy) cream at the same time as adding the baking soda and vanilla extract. Once the popcorn was coated, I put them on baking paper lined trays then into the oven.
The coated popcorn is lightly crunchy, while where the caramel has pooled at the bottom is partly hard partly chewy. Next time I’m going to add a bit more cream and see what happens.
Honest question- what cream? I’ve made this recipe a few times and I don’t use cream. I also don’t have pooled caramel. It’s all on the popcorn.
I came here to make another batch for my kids post game snack tomorrow and your comment is puzzling.
Is it an Australian thing? To add cream?
Hi Clara. It’s just heavy cream/thick cream, and is often used in Caramel Sauce recipes to add a delicious creamy, slightly milder in sweetness flavour. Not necessarily an Australian thing, I just prefer the taste so used it in this. The addition of cream added more liquid so I guess that’s why it pooled onto the sheet tray a little. It made nice little clusters I could pop into gift bags.
Best caramel popcorn ever! You never get enough coverage with store bought, and so this is just incredible! I now make it for the family every Christmas! Always a hit!
Omg if you haven’t tried this you need to. The best caramel popcorn ever. Everything worked just the way it said it would. Takes a bit of time but well worth it.
I loved this recipe. I live in Germany and used agave syrup and some sugar beet syrup (Grafschafter Goldsirup) instead of corn Sirup.
I doubled the salt and used 1/2 cup unpopped corn and it was still enough coating. Super delicious and addictive. Will be my Xmas give-away instead of cookies.
I know you say it makes a lot, but not in my household. It lasts a day if we are lucky. I have made this recipe multiple times and will continue. It my favourite flavour combination.
Delicious!!! Thank you so much for this perfectly perfect after dinner treat. (You and Dozer look like an ad for the Pacific Northwest, USA, advertising winter fun!)
I made this on a whim for my husband to take to poker night. I added a cup or so of sweet and spicy peanuts. He sent me a picture of the empty bowl about 30 minutes into the game…