Butter Popcorn Recipe
Posted Feb 20, 2024
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This Butter popcorn recipe is easy to make in 5 minutes with 4 ingredients (including real butter) & is even more delicious than movie theater popcorn!
Butter popcorn is one of my favorite savory snacks, and this recipe is truly the best. It’s a must-have on our family movie nights (along with this homemade kettle corn).
My husband perfected this buttered popcorn recipe – and let me tell you it’s addictingly delicious. Using real, high quality ingredients makes it so good you can’t just take one handful.
Plus, it only takes 5 minutes to make butter popcorn that tastes significantly better than the movie theater popcorn. My 2 year old son loves helping. As soon as a movie starts, he clammers around the kitchen collecting all the supplies and ingredients needed to make this recipe – it’s adorable.
Butter Popcorn: Ingredients & Substitutions
- Popcorn kernels. Choose your favorite brand/variety.
- Coconut oil. This is used to pop the popcorn kernels. I have tried canola oil, butter, and olive oil (which all work) and nothing pops corn as well as coconut oil. It does not impart a coconut flavor to the recipe either.
- Salted butter. Unsalted butter works well, you may just need to slightly increase the popcorn salt.
- Popcorn salt. This Redmond popcorn salt is the only brand we buy. It’s delicious, full of minerals and is so fine that it sticks well to the kernels.
How to Make Butter Popcorn
This recipe is easy to make in 5 minutes (or less). However, I’ll walk you through some tips and trips to ensure it turns our perfectly every time.
Begin by melting the butter in the microwave, then set it aside.
Then, put 1 Tablespoon coconut oil and 3 kernels of popcorn into a stovetop popcorn maker (we use a Whirley Pop).
Next, heat the popcorn maker over medium heat and stir to combine the oil and 3 kernels of popcorn.
Then, cook the 3 kernels and coconut oil over medium heat until the kernels pop (this indicates that the oil is hot enough to cook the rest of the popcorn).
Once the three kernels pop, add the rest of the popcorn kernels and stir vigorously to combine with the lid on.
Stir continuously as the popcorn begins to pop.
When the popping slows down, turn off the heat and continue stirring over the warm burner until the popping stops.
Immediately pour the popcorn into a large bowl (preferably one with a lid, although you can use a large bowl and then use a baking sheet as a “lid” for stirring.
Next, evenly drizzle the melted butter over the popcorn.
Then sprinkle with popcorn salt.
Then, secure the lid, invert the bowl, and shake vigorously (the goal is to coat the popcorn with both butter and salt). Taste and add more salt as desired.
Serve
Serve immediately – it’s best when it’s warm and fresh from the stovetop.
Store
Store leftover buttered popcorn in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days – although we never have leftovers.
Buttered Popcorn Recipe FAQS
Technically you can, but butter burns faster than coconut oil so I don’t really recommend it.
Yes absolutely – it makes the best buttered popcorn if you do it this way. Be sure to shake it so the butter is evenly distributed throughout the kernels.
Follow the instructions in this recipe (melt the butter, pour over popped kernels then shake to coat).
Add the butter to the popcorn after the kernels are popped.
Yes, you can. However if you have a regular Whirley Pop, you will need to pop the kernels in two batches.
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Homemade Butter Popcorn Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup popcorn kernels
- 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
- 6 Tablespoons salted butter melted
- ½ teaspoon popcorn salt (or to taste)
Instructions
- Melt the butter in the microwave. Set aside.
- Place 1 Tablespoon coconut oil and 3 kernels of popcorn into a stovetop popcorn maker.
- Heat the popcorn maker over medium heat and stir to combine the oil and 3 kernels of popcorn.
- Cook over medium heat until the 3 kernels in the oil pop (this indicates that the oil is hot enough to cook the rest of the popcorn).
- Once the three kernels pop, add the rest of the popcorn kernels and stir vigorously to combine with the lid on.
- Stir continuously as the popcorn begins to pop.
- When the popping slows down, turn off the heat and continue stirring over the warm burner until you do not hear any more popping.
- Immediately pour the popcorn into a large bowl (preferably one with a lid, although you can use a large bowl and then use a baking sheet as a “lid” for stirring.
- Evenly drizzle the melted butter over the popcorn. Then sprinkle with popcorn salt.
- Secure the lid, invert the bowl, and shake vigorously (the goal is to coat the popcorn). Taste and adjust salt as desired.
- Serve immediately.
- Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Coconut oil. This is used to pop the popcorn kernels. I have tried canola oil, butter, and olive oil (which all work) and nothing pops corn as well as coconut oil. It does not impart a coconut flavor to the recipe either.
- Salted butter. Unsalted butter works well, you may just need to slightly increase the popcorn salt.
- Popcorn salt. This Redmond popcorn salt is the only brand we buy. It’s delicious, full of minerals and is so fine that it sticks well to the kernels.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
