Caramel Corn

Looking for the perfect at-home Friday night snack or go-to gift idea during the holidays? A homemade caramel corn recipe is your answer. It’s like magic—unassuming popcorn kernels are coated with sweet, gooey caramel and are baked low and slow until crisp.

Ingredients for Caramel Corn

• Popcorn: Our easy caramel corn recipe allows you to pick whatever style of popcorn you prefer: premade, microwaved, air-popped or stovetop prepped. If you’re using premade or microwaved popcorn, make sure it isn’t already heavily buttered and salted. Try to get the plainest popcorn at the store.
• Brown sugar: We use brown sugar to make the caramel, so it has a darker hue to stand out against the beige popcorn.
• Butter: You’ll need 1 cup butter (two sticks) to enrich the cooked sugar and turn it into caramel.
• Corn syrup: Light corn syrup keeps the caramel soft and stretchy.
• Vanilla extract: We round out the flavors of this caramel corn popcorn recipe with a dash of vanilla extract.
• Baking soda: The caramel sauce will bubble up when the baking soda is added. Those bubbles will retain a little moisture when cooled and ensure that your caramel corn is crisp—but not hard like toffee.

Directions

Step 1: Prep the popcorn and make the caramel

Preheat your oven to 250°F and place your popcorn in a large bowl. In a large saucepan, stir together the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue to boil the caramel for five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Editor’s Tip: When making the caramel, don’t walk away or your caramel could burn or bubble over.

Step 2: Pour the caramel over the popcorn

Remove the saucepan from the heat. Stir in the vanilla and baking soda; mix well. Pour the caramel over the popped popcorn and stir until well-coated.

Editor’s Tip: After adding the baking soda, you’ll see a color change and there will be some steam, so be careful.

Step 3: Bake the caramel corn

Pour the caramel-covered popcorn into two greased 13×9-inch baking pans. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Let the caramel corn cool completely at room temperature. Enjoy!

Taste Recipes

Recipe Variations

• Add mix-ins: As soon as the caramel corn is done baking, toss in a handful of your favorite mix-ins, like chopped nuts, pretzel pieces, M&M’s, snack mixes, cut-up Reese’s or chopped Oreos. A caramel corn popcorn recipe is one of the best ways to use up leftover Halloween candy!
• Drizzle with melted chocolate: After the caramel corn has cooled completely to room temperature, drizzle it with white or dark melted chocolate.

How to Store Caramel Corn

Let the caramel corn popcorn recipe cool completely to room temperature so the caramel is set. Break up the big chunks, then pour the caramel corn into a zip-top baggy or an airtight container to maintain freshness.

How long does caramel corn last?

Not very long before it’s gobbled up, especially if you use it in treats like our Halloween snack mix! But if you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, store your easy caramel corn recipe in an airtight container away from moisture and humidity for up to three months.

Can I freeze homemade caramel corn?

This easy caramel corn recipe is not a good candidate for the freezer, since moisture from the freezer will make the caramel corn soggy.

Caramel Corn Tips

Taste Recipes

Can I use a corn syrup substitute?

Unfortunately, we don’t recommend swapping a corn syrup substitute for the corn syrup in this easy caramel corn recipe. The corn syrup ensures the caramel keeps a soft bite and doesn’t crystalize or harden too much once the caramel has set.

Should I use microwave popcorn or stovetop popcorn?

You can use either for this caramel corn popcorn recipe, but we’ve found that stovetop and air-popped popcorn have fewer unpopped kernels. Plus, you have better control over the doneness of the popcorn. Microwaved popcorn totally works, but it’s definitely more prone to burnt or underpopped popcorn.

Also, take a moment to sift through your popcorn for any unpopped kernels. Using two bowls and your hands, slowly transfer popped corn from one bowl to the other. In the end, any unpopped kernels (or “old maids” as some call them) should remain in the bottom of the bowl. Discard the unpopped kernels and repeat this process, if desired.