Stovetop popcorn is so good and so easy to make that you'll never want to buy the store-bought microwave stuff again.
Stovetop Popcorn
It's unfortunate to me that I've wasted so much of my life eating store-bought microwave popcorn when stovetop popcorn is SO much better and healthier.
I don't want you to waste another moment of your life with second-rate popcorn either, when you could be eating the good stuff with such a simple recipe!
Stovetop popcorn is easy to make, fresh, crisp, and healthy. It's a homemade whole grain that passes as a healthy snack for adults and kids.
All you need is a few basic ingredients, a large pot, and these tips I'm sharing to make the most amazing popcorn of your life!
Which Cooking Oil to Use for Stovetop Popcorn
It is generally recommended to use a cooking oil with a high smoke point when popping popcorn.
Smoke point refers to the temperature at which the oil starts to burn and smoke. When an oil hits its smoke point, it begins to break down, burn, lose beneficial nutrients, and can even create harmful free radicals.
Smoke points of cooking oil can vary. However, usually the more refined an oil, the higher the smoke point.
High smoke point oils include avocado oil, canola oil, corn oil, and grapeseed oil.
Don't fear if you're looking to use less refined oil! For the purposes of popping popcorn, olive oil and coconut oil (with smoke points 410°F and 350°F respectively) are both acceptable for this purpose.
How to Season Stovetop Popcorn
Stovetop Popcorn can be seasoned in SO MANY WAYS. Sweet to savory, homemade or store bought.
If we do store bought seasoning, we usually buy Kernel Seasons (which you can get from Amazon here, or you can find the basic flavors at most grocery stores. I've seen it at our local mom-and-pop stores, Walmart, and Meijer.) Our favorite flavor is the white cheddar.
Here are some of our favorite homemade seasoning flavors:
- Classic butter and salt: Can't go wrong with this classic. Just melt some butter in a microwave-safe bowl, then pour it over the popcorn and add salt. We started using popcorn salt recently, and it's even more amazing.
- Truffle Salt: For a little extra luxurious, don't-want-to-share flavor.
- Fresh cracked black pepper and olive oil: A little different than the norm, but still really good.
- Nutritional yeast: Gives popcorn a cheesy flavor without any weird additives. Plus, it's vegan friendly!
- Add a little spice: Try sprinkling a little cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, or even a little curry for an extra kick.
- Sweeten it up: Maple syrup or honey and cinnamon-sugar make an excellent sweet popcorn topping. Mix 2 parts butter with one part honey or maple syrup. Then sprinkle cinnamon-sugar on top. You can also toss in a few chopped walnuts or pecans! Or if you love caramel corn, try this easy oven baked version.
- Premade seasonings: Add a little taco or ranch seasoning for an old favorite used in a new way.
More Snack Recipes You'll Love
- Oven Baked Caramel Corn - one of my favorite things to do with popcorn. Sweet, crunchy, and delicious!
- Homemade Tortilla Chips - these are the best! Crunchy, salty, and way better than store bought.
- Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels - for all the sweet-and-salty lovers out there!
- Toasted Pumpkin Seeds - possibly the best part of Halloween. I used to make these with my mom and grandma, and now I'm sharing their recipe.
- Greek Nachos - a seriously delicious epic snack with gyro spiced meat, pita chips, whipped feta, and hummus! Yum!
Stovetop Popcorn Video
Stovetop Popcorn
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or coconut oil
- ½ cup popcorn kernels
- 2 tablespoons butter melted (optional)
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- In a large heavy bottomed pot over medium heat, add oil and 3 popcorn kernels. Wait for kernels to pop (may take a few minutes as the oil needs to heat up). Place a large serving bowl nearby.
- Once your three kernels have popped, add the remaining kernels. Cover and gently shake the pot to evenly distribute the kernels and cover them with oil. If your lid does not have a venting hole, tip it slightly so that the steam can be released. If your pot starts overflowing, dump some into a serving bowl and allow the rest to cook.
- Continue cooking until the popping slows to about one pop every 3-4 seconds. When done, transfer immediately to the serving bowl.
- Toss with butter if desired. Salt to taste.
Notes
- Use a large, heavy-bottomed pot. A "too thin" pot won't distribute heat evenly (think dollar store quality). However, it's not a good time to pull out the cast iron either. A thick cast iron will retain too much heat and will fry and burn the popcorn. Also choose a large pot so that all 10 cups of popped popcorn will fit. My well-loved 6-quart ceramic coated pot does the trick every time.
- Leave the heat at medium. Oil can burn really easily at higher than medium heat. If the oil smokes, even a bit, the popcorn will also taste burnt.
- Start with three popcorn kernels to test the temperature. Once the test kernels pop, the oil is hot enough to pop the remaining popcorn.
- Keep the serving bowl nearby. While the oil is heating, get a large bowl to keep nearby. This way you can dump the popcorn in quickly if the pot starts to overflow and when the popcorn is done popping.
- Tip the lid to keep the popcorn crisp. If your pot lid does not have a venting hole, tip the lid back just a tiny bit (not enough to let any popcorn escape) to keep the popcorn crisp and prevent it from steaming.
- If the popcorn starts overflowing from the pot, quickly remove the lid and dump some into the serving bowl. Then cover again and return to the heat to finish popping the remaining popcorn.
- Season with salt carefully. Start with a little and taste test before adding more. You can add more if needed, but you can’t take away too much.
- Store popped popcorn in a zip bag or container with a lid at room temperature for up to a week.
Nutrition
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Joy says
I put melted coconut oil on mine.
Shanika says
I love stovetop popcorn! It's the best! This recipe looks so easy to make!
Veena Azmanov says
Best movie time snack and surely happening this weekend. Yum..
Noelle says
Great for a movie night!! Love this recipe, so simple
Lauren Vavala | DeliciousLittleBites says
I always wanted to try this! My kids are going to be so excited for our next movie night!
Alison says
Popcorn is my favorite go to snack! This recipe is easy to do and saves me money from buying the store bought popcorn.
SHANIKA says
There's nothing like Stovetop Popcorn! I love how easy this is to make!
Aimee Mars says
I absolutely prefer stovetop popcorn and after many burned attempts at making it I could definitely use a recipe like this one.
Sue says
I've been using popcorn to satisfy my end of day need for something crunchy, and the stove top method is the best!
Sara says
I love this method! Growing up I thought we had to have a popcorn maker when the whole time we could have been using a stovetop! lol I've got some serious making up to do.
Edyta says
This is awesome. Thanks so much for this tutorial. My 6 years old always wants popcorn and I'm hesitant doing it in a microwave because of the health issues. I love that it is so easy to make it in a pot!
Amanda Wren-Grimwood says
Perfect snack and some great tips here to get it cooked just right too.
Alison says
Popcorn is my favorite snack! This recipe is so simple and delicious!!
Dannii says
This looks perfect for our next movie night, and I can't wait to try it.
Angela says
A great way to make popcorn! I love the topping options.
Priya Lakshminarayan says
Love this! Perfect for date nights...trying this tonight
Cecilia Vazquez says
I tried the stove top was it was awesome. Thank you
Dave says
Use avocado oil instead of olive. It has a smoke point of 560°, ghee - 485, Extra Light Olive - 468, refined coconut - 450; other oils I would not bother using. The hotter the oil, the better the corn. Using a heat gun, I heat mine right up to 450. Theaters and kits use coconut oil because the commercial poppers get extremely hot. A stainless pot on a stove can easily pass 700°F so watch for smoke.
I make stovetop popcorn all the time. Even had a nice 4-quart SS Whirly Pop once - no thanks - too small and too difficult to clean.
Not wishing to steal any thunder because I love this site - just sharing my experience from years of a lot of trial and error.
Basic guideline for the right size pot: 1oz of kernels roughly equals 1 quart popped.
Use the ratio of 1:3 (2oz of oil and 6oz of corn) for 6 to 8-quarts popped depending on whether you're using regular "butterfly" or "extra-large mushroom" corn kernels.
Here's what works for me - this takes some experimentation to get the amounts correct based on the volume of your pot and amount of corn used so it all pops without a lot of grease:
Heat the oil until it just begins to smoke, dump in all the corn, give it a swirl, quickly cover with an aluminum foil lid and poke some SMALL holes in it with scissors partially opened about 6 times to let the steam out - otherwise your popcorn will be tough. On heat, give it about 5 swirls because in about 15-20 seconds, it will start to pop. About halfway thru, uncover and shake often. Dump into a large SS mixing bowl, let sit for a minute then salt.
To make it really theater-style, place the bowl with the corn into a 225°F oven for 30 minutes. It will be crispy instead of chewy just like that out of the theater machines. Bag any leftovers. It will stay crispy for two days before it begins to absorb moisture thru the plastic bag.
While you're at it, get some orange Flavacol popcorn salt to round it out.
Yes, I know Flavacol can be bad for you, but you have to use it to excess.
I get popcorn bags to make it taste even better. LOL Have fun...!
Michelle says
Thank you for all of the tips! I'll have to give all of them a try! I will say, I can't use avocado oil because I really hate the taste. Everyone always says it's flavorless but I can taste a STRONG bitter flavor. So maybe it's one of those things like how not everyone likes cilantro because it tastes like soap to some people? I don't know. So anyway, that's why I always use coconut oil or light olive oil.
Lori Lear says
56 yo here that grew up with the same love of stove top popcorn as my Daddy. These days I toss in a tablespoon of bacon grease before adding the kernels because it adds SO MUCH yumminess!
Michelle says
That does sound delicious!