This old-fashioned popcorn candy is made with an easy homemade caramel sauce and baked in the oven for crunch. No thermometer needed!
I’m back from a few days’ vacation in the French Riviera, and honestly, I couldn’t be more relaxed. The beaches, the narrow rustic streets, the little boutique shops – it was truly paradise. Not to mention the unique kitchen props and vintage pieces I found (and bought, of course) in those little shops. See, I have way too many addictions. 😉
Now about this caramel popcorn, just like my Nutella pretzels and candied almonds, this stuff is dangerous and addictive. If I keep making these delicious treats, I won’t be able to have the balanced diet I’ve been trying to reach for the last few months (clearly with no success yet). The popcorn in this dessert is mixed with a delicious caramel sauce, then baked in the oven for crunchiness. It’s sweet, but not overly so like some other caramel corn I’ve tried before. Unfortunately, that’s no good news for you because it means you can easily find yourself eating an entire bowl without noticing. I did.
If you don’t have a popcorn maker, you can use 2 store-bought bags of microwave popcorn (natural taste with no added butter) or use this trick: put 3 tablespoons of popcorn kernels in a brown paper lunch bag and fold the top twice to seal the bag tightly. Microwave on high for about 1 minute and 30-45 seconds. This method yields 5 cups, so you’ll need to do it twice for this recipe.
Once you have the popcorn, we prepare an easy-peasy homemade caramel sauce by heating together butter, brown sugar, and honey (and salt, if using). Usually, recipes for caramel corn will call for corn syrup, but since not all of you have this ingredient at home, I’ve found that replacing it with honey works just as well. If you do have corn syrup, you can replace the honey with it in equal amounts. Let the mixture simmer for 5 minutes on medium heat until it’s bubbly and thick. Immediately after removing the pan from the heat, add vanilla extract and baking soda. The mixture will foam up due to the baking soda, so be careful.
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Mix the popcorn with the caramel in a bowl until all pieces are evenly coated – the more care you take with this step, the more delicious each bite will be! So mix, mix, mix! Remember to do this gently, though, so the popcorn doesn’t break. At this point, the caramel corn will be chewy, so the next step is to put it in the oven (for crunchiness). Place it in a single layer on 2 baking sheets and bake.
The popcorn should be left in the oven for an hour at a low temperature. Stir the mixture every 20 minutes (2 times in total) to prevent burning. Most importantly, each time you stir, try to control yourself from nibbling because it smells so darn good!
Love caramel popcorn? Try this!
Salted Caramel Cheesecake Mousse – This creamy salted caramel cheesecake mousse has a deep caramel flavor, a touch of salt, and caramel corn garnish. It’s an individually portioned dessert that not only looks gorgeous, but tastes amazing, too!
Caramel Popcorn
Ingredients
- 10-12 cups air-popped popcorn*
- ½ cup (1 stick or 115g) butter
- 1 cup (200g / 7 oz.) dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup honey
- Pinch of salt (optional)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 200F/95C degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
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Place popcorn in a large bowl. Set aside. In a medium saucepan on medium heat, bring butter, sugar, honey, and salt to a boil. Let the mixture simmer for 5 minutes, whisking occasionally. Remove the saucepan from the heat and immediately add vanilla extract and baking soda (be careful, the mixture will foam) and stir. Pour the caramel over the popcorn and toss until evenly coated. Spread popcorn evenly over prepared baking sheets. Bake for 1 hour, stirring the mixture every 20 minutes (twice total) to prevent burning. Cool completely on a wire rack. Once fully cooled, break up any popcorn that is stuck together (or, if preferred, break into clusters). Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Recipe Notes
*You can use 2 store-bought bags of microwave popcorn (natural taste with no added butter) or the following trick: put 3 tablespoons of popcorn kernels in a brown paper lunch bag and fold the top twice to seal tightly. Microwave on high for about 1 minute and 30-45 seconds. This method yields 5 cups, so you’ll need to repeat it for this recipe.
Julie @ Lovely Little Kitchen says
This caramel corn looks so yummy and your pictures are so adorable! Pinned!
Shiran says
Thank you so much Julie!
Angie (@angiesrecipess) says
This looks so inviting!
Shiran says
Thanks Angie 🙂
Traditionally Modern Food says
i love caramel popcorn thanks for the recipe:)
Shiran says
My pleasure 🙂
Cindy @ Pick Fresh Foods says
Yum, caramel popcorn sounds delicious! I’ve never tried to make it, but your recipe looks so easy. I am going to try this.
Shiran says
Can’t wait for you to try them Cindy!
Lindsey @ American Heritage Cooking says
I must try my own caramel corn soon!! Yours looks delicious! I am super jealous of your trip to the French Riviera! J’adore la France!
Shiran says
I know! I love France!! Thanks Lindsey 🙂
Guillem says
It looks amazing!
Winnie says
זה מסוכןןןןןןןןןןןן
זה כל כך טעים שפשוט אי אפשר להפסיק לאכול את זה
Kloe's Kitchen says
So excited to try this recipe!! Am I drowning you with comments??? Ha! I just like your site….okay LOVE your site!
Shiran says
Feel free to write as many comments as you like 😉 Thank you so much for all the sweet words!
brooke says
I made your recipe right away. Absolutely loved it. Making it again tonight to set out tomorrow with christmas snacks. It just melts in your mouth.
Thank you and happy holidays.
Shiran says
I’m so glad to hear that 🙂 Happy holidays to you and your family, Brooke!
Allison says
Just made this, it was so quick and easy! I omitted the honey and added extra salt when I coating the popcorn with caramel YUM
Shiran says
Thank you so much Allison, that’s so nice of you to share this!
April says
This is the best recipe I have found.Thank you for having detailed description and amount of each ingredient. (you would be surprised, there are many out there that don’t) I just tried this for the first time and then I found your recipe. Granted I didn’t have baking soda or vanilla but it still turned out pretty good. Can’t wait to try your recipe!!
Shiran says
Thank you for your sweet comment, April! I’m glad to hear that my post and recipe were helpful 🙂
Emmy says
Turned out great!! I left out the honey and made it up with brown sugar, I’ll have to try it with next time. Curious, what part does the baking soda play?
Shiran says
Hi Emmy! I’m glad it turned out great 🙂 Without getting into chemistry, the baking soda help to create air bubbles in the caramel, ultimately making it softer to the bite once cooled.
Saadet says
OMG!!!Just tried this and me and my two daughters almost finished the whole thing???I wasn’t expecting it to be so good because of corn syrup!I am not buying caramel corn anymore !Thank you so much for sharing???
Shiran says
I’m so happy to hear that you and your daughters like it 🙂 Thank you so much for your comment!
Dada says
Making it tonight
Dada says
????
Karyn says
Absolutely delicious and a fan favorite around here. I’ve gotten a lot of good comments on the honey flavor vs the usual corn syrup most recipes call for. I usually use a little less popcorn for that much caramel. (I have a caramel problem. The popcorn is pretty much just a vehicle for the caramel.) I’ve found it’s important to heat the mixture slowly, and if you heat it to 300 degrees and stir it into the popcorn fast enough, like a crazy lady, you don’t have to put it into the oven.
Shiran says
Thank you, Karyn! I’m also addicted to caramel, so I know what you mean 🙂
Jenny says
Great recipe! Popcorn turned out great and I’m excited to bring it to our friends harvest party! I love that no corn syrup was used. Bravo!
Cindy Owen says
Every recipe I tried the brown sugar was always crystal like and real grainy. This is the best one hands down. The parchment paper works like a charm and it didn’t get real dark like aluminum foil does. I will use this recipe forever thank you so much.