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Easy Caramel Corn

Easy Caramel Corn

This caramel corn is so easy to make and it tastes fantastic.  It makes the absolute perfect snack or gift for the holidays!

Easy Caramel Corn - Caramel corn that's easy to make and tastes fantastic. The perfect snack or gift for the holidays!

Mmmm, popcorn.  Or, more specifically, caramel corn.  Easy caramel corn that is absolutely fantastic.

Need I ramble any more about it?  Or is that enough information to make you want to jump up and make some immediately?  It really should be.  I mean, caramel corn.  Who doesn’t love it?

I’ll admit, we’re the people that buy that Chicago mix cheese/caramel corn giant bag of popcorn and then fight over the caramel portion.  I kind of like the combo of the cheese and caramel popcorn, but if I’m completely honest, I buy it for the caramel portion.  If there was no cheese popcorn at all, I’d probably be pretty happy.

Easy Caramel Corn - Caramel corn that's easy to make and tastes fantastic. The perfect snack or gift for the holidays!

Which begs the question, why do we even buy the mixed bag? I’m not really sure.  I guess because it goes on sale at Costco sometimes, and, well…..caramel corn.

But – this is so stinking easy to make that I may not be tempted by that bag again.  Well, probably not.  I’ll keep you posted.

This recipe makes a giant batch of popcorn, and it really is very simple.  Boil a few ingredients for 5 minutes, pour it over popcorn and stir, and then bake for an hour.  That’s it.  So easy.  And it makes a ton.

So there’ll be plenty to give away, plus lots left over to fight your family for.

Easy Caramel Corn - Caramel corn that's easy to make and tastes fantastic. The perfect snack or gift for the holidays!

Yield: 10-12 servings

Easy Caramel Corn

Easy Caramel Corn

This caramel corn is so easy to make and it tastes fantastic.  It makes the absolute perfect snack or gift for the holidays!

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup popcorn kernels
  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup corn syrup
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
  2. Pop the popcorn however you like (I used an air popper) and pick through it to remove any un-popped kernels. Put it in a large roasting pan and place it in the oven to keep it warm while you prepare the caramel.
  3. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
  4. In a large saucepan, over medium heat, combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and salt.
  5. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring, then remove the mixture from the heat.
  6. Stir in the baking soda and vanilla.
  7. Take the popcorn from the oven and pour the caramel over top of the popcorn.
  8. Stir the popcorn to coat it all with the caramel and spread it on the two prepared cookie sheets.
  9. Bake the popcorn for 1 hour, stirring well every 15 minutes.
  10. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and spread the popcorn out on wax paper to cool, breaking the pieces apart as it cools off enough to handle.
  11. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Notes

Source: Adapted from Chew Out Loud.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 355Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 49mgSodium: 515mgCarbohydrates: 49gFiber: 0gSugar: 49gProtein: 0g

Nutrition Information is estimated based on ingredients used and may not be exact.

Susie Chamblee

Monday 10th of May 2021

Can you add nuts to this recipe and heat them up with the popcorn prior to pouring the Carmel corn sauce over it...Thanks

Stacey

Monday 10th of May 2021

I haven't tried that myself, but I think it would be fine!

Catherine Chevalier

Friday 20th of November 2020

If I only have salted butter on hand, how much salt should I add to this recipe. ....is there a reason I should use only unsalted butter?

Stacey

Friday 20th of November 2020

Decrease the salt to 1.5 teaspoons if you’re using salted butter. There is 1/2 teaspoon of salt in 1 cup of salted butter. I used unsalted just because that’s what I always buy!

Abby

Saturday 19th of December 2015

HI, I want to make this with my g'kids...... so I would like to know if I can start with store bought already popped bagged popcorn ?? This sounds like a wonderful recipe. I appreciate any & all help / advise you can offer. Thanks

stacey

Saturday 19th of December 2015

Yes, store bought popcorn would work just fine. Just stick it in the oven to warm up while you make the caramel sauce as I find it is much easier to coat the popcorn if it's warm first as the caramel doesn't harden as quickly then. I think about 20 cups of popped popcorn would be about what the 1 cup of kernels gave me.

Christin@SpicySouthernKitchen

Friday 18th of December 2015

What a yummy snack! Your caramel corn looks perfectly coated in goodness :)

Happy Valley Chow

Thursday 17th of December 2015

WOW!! I absolutely love caramel corn and this recipe looks awesome. Thanks for sharing, pinned! :)

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