Cooking with Collin: Homemade Popcorn
Today is my first attempt at my new weekly segment called Cooking with Collin!
It features a favorite frugal recipe of mine (or a favorite of a Hip2Save reader). This first recipe I am going to feature is something that I LOVE to munch on at night and I can actually eat the whole bowl! Yes, I have done this on numerous occasions. 🙂 Any guesses?!
Why of course, Popcorn!
And, no, I am not going to tell you about a deal you can score on Pop-Secret or Jolly Time… but I’m actually going to tell you how you can make your own popcorn at home. You don’t need any sort of contraption… just a large Pan with a Lid. Now I will admit, I was pretty intimidated about even trying to make homemade popcorn at first. But now I am a popcorn popping fool and you will soon be too! 😉
Alright, so here is the recipe…
Homemade Popcorn
yield: 4 SERVINGS
Make this easy homemade popcorn with less than three ingredients!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons of Coconut Oil, or any oil of your choice
- 1/2 cup of Popcorn Kernels
- Salt to taste
Directions
1
Put 3 tablespoons of oil in a large pan and cook on medium heat.
2
Add a generous pinch of salt.
3
Add the 1/2 cup of popcorn kernels to your pan. Make sure the pan lid is tilted slightly to let steam escape.
4
Now in a rocking motion move the pan back and forth over the burner. The kernels will start popping soon!
5
Once the popping slows, remove the pan from the burner. This is the hardest part of the whole process as you can easily burn the popcorn if you don’t remove it in time.
Additional Notes
I personally think it’s best to remove the popcorn before you think it’s done that way you’ll have a better chance of it not burning and kernels will still be popping even when you remove it from the heat.
Hip Tip: I love using Coconut Oil as it gives the popcorn a slightly sweet taste. Shhhh…don’t tell anyone as this is my super secret ingredient!
Wasn’t that easy?! Now you can go enjoy a bowl of delicious, freshly popped popcorn! Oh and if you have any popcorn seasoning ideas, please share in the comments! I would love to try out some new popcorn variations! Thanks!
Try this: Caramel Corn in the Microwave!
For those of you who can find it…BLACK JEWEL POPCORN! GET IT GET IT!
I substitute olive oil for coconut oil…once the popcorn is done popping, I grind some fresh black pepper, grate in some fresh parmesan using a Microplane (the really good stuff, not the powder in a can), then add a smidge of olive oil. After it’s all stirred up, it’s time to dig in! I like it because it’s cheesy, without getting clumps of cheese everywhere, and the black pepper adds a nice bite. The olive oil helps the pepper and cheese stick to the popcorn. Yum!
Oh my… that sounds like heaven!
Awesome! I’ve wanted to try my own for a while now and this seems so perfect and EASY!!
Thanks for the recipe and the topic, Collin–I feel inspired 🙂
Add melted butter and sprinkle with Brewers Yeast!
yummm yes Brewer’s yeast is really good!
nutritional yeast and sea salt is pretty addicting on popcorn. the first time i tried it, i was a bit wary and wasn’t sure about the new flavor, but now this is the only way we eat popcorn (and the nutritional yeast actually adds nutrients like B vitamins!)
I add a little melted butter to mine and sprinkle with parmesan cheese the powder kind…it sticks to the buttered popcorn better and tastes oh sooo delish!
You know, I got a pressure cooker ONLY for popcorn making [[and broccoli making]]. Not together, of course.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE homemade popcorn and hate the microwave kind. I don’t necessarily hate the taste but just that it isn’t good for you. I don’t use my microwave much because I believe it is unhealthy.
I also use coconut oil to make my popcorn but in order to give the popcorn a yellow color I put the oil in a pint jar and melt it in a pan of water on the stove just until it is liquid, then I squeeze a beta carotene softgel into the oil. It will make your oil a rich yellow color (and it’s good for you!). I let the oil harden again. Coconut oil is a medium chain fatty acid and is better for you than fish oil so don’t worry about the extra calories you get!
A pan is a cheaper way to go, but if you have a few extra bucks to spend, there is a great stovetop popcorn popper called a Whirley-Pop by Wabash Valley Farms. We just love this. I found it at my local smaller Hardware store but it’s also available on Amazon.com for about $22. It’s well worth every penny! ENJOY!
The coconut oil I get already has the yellow coloring. I order it online.
I love reading your posts! I crack up so often! Keep these coming you “Popcorn Popping Fool!”
Just started a new blog if you like please check it out
also, Free “Stop staring at my package” t-shirt from Yupo & something extra posted on my blog
https://saveandlearnwith-april.blogspot.com/
If you have kids that are in college and are studying science might want to check my blog, I will be adding science stuff mainly to help with MCAT studying.
Thanks
April
We love this: https://www.shakedownspice.com/ on our popcorn! Two great flavors to add variety!
Just like we use to do it when I was a kid 🙂 the best!!
I was going to say that! I loved making homemade popcorn with my mom!
Delicious and so much better for you than the diacetyl or whatever laden microwave popcorn.
You can also put the popcorn in a brown lunchbag and microwave it.
We love cinnamon sugar on our popcorn!
For extra indulgence, we add peanuts or M&M’s (not to cinnamon sugar popcorn) if we have those on hand.
Isn’t coconut oil bad for you? I thought it had a lot of trans fats in it.
this link explains a lot about coconut oil
https://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/features/cocgood.html
Oh contraire Patti!!
Actually Coconut oil and Palm oil are the only vegetable oils that are safe for you to cook with.
Even Olive oil is not safe to heat up to high temperatures, plus coconut oil is a brain superfood, it is super healthy, you should look it up some more.
Garlic salt and Parmesan cheese. MMmmmmmmm. Or barbecue seasoning with sugar.
I found an air popper at a Discount Wholesale store that was going out of business. The thing retails at target for more than $30. The exact same one was just featured in a magazine (Southern Living or Rachel Ray or something) as the healthiest popper because it uses NO oil and you can top it how you want. It was on sale for $5, THEN I got 75% off because the store was closing. NOT TOO SHABBY!!!! Before I even saw this post, I had just made us a batch, and mixed mine w raisins and M&Ms 🙂
I just wanted to add to make it even more amazing, once you have your popcorn popped and buttered, add a few handfuls of shredded cheese!!! YUM!
Usually, I will make two pots of popcorn. I leave the first bath alone, for immediate snacking, the second batch I place on a cookie sheet(wax paper) , and then melt some choc. chips (1 cup) in the microwave and drizzle that over the popcorn, Let it cool and store in air tight container for EMERGENCY choc. fits! The salt and the Choc on the popcorn satisfies the hunger and a little healthier than a snickers. GOOD STUFF!
My daughter’s getting braces today & was told she can’t eat popcorn (which she loves) for the next 16 months. Besides popcorn-flavored rice cakes, do you have any suggestions as to what she could eat that taste like popcorn? Thanks!
There are some chips called Pop Corners that taste exactly like popcorn but in a chip form. They have I think 5 different flavors to choose from. My sister actually got them as a snack on a JetBlue flight and got home and ordered some because they were so yummy. The kettle corn flavor is my favorite! You can order them at http://www.popcorners.com. I haven’t seen them in any stores yet unfortunately.
Also, my son has had braces for almost a year, and he still eats popcorn all the time. I know he’s not supposed to, but we haven’t had any problems yet!
Thanks, they seem to sell them at Big Lots in our area. She’ll give it a try! Thanks too for all the other suggestions. You guys are great!
she may not like the idea of this, but what I do for my toddler is bite the crunchy bits off and stick all the fluffy bits in a seperate bowl for him. Lol. There are chips in the store that are like the fluffy bits of popcorn sort of too, maybe called puffed corn or something like that.
When I had braces at 16 (I’m 32 now) I was told to eat one piece at a time. Of course I never followed that and ate it by the handfuls! Just tell your daughter to brush really well after and use a toothpick to remove any kernels.
They sell at the grocery store we usually get the “better made” brand here in Detroit, a huskles pop corn, kind of like Cheetos but popcorn shaped and flovored!
Just be careful. It was popcorn that broke one of my braces and shoved it into my gums.
Love popcorn but I had to get a crown because of chipping a tooth on one of the kernels lol
Pirate’s Booty!!!! It tastes similar to white cheddar popcorn. So good! I think it would be fine with braces. You can find it on this link -Walgreens online site. https://www.walgreens.com/store/catalog/Salty-Snacks/Aged-White-Cheddar-Baked-Rice-and-Corn-Puffs/ID=prod6012147-product?V=G&ec=frgl_&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=sku6011073
We were worried about the no popcorn with braces rule too. However, the orthodontists office said it is fine as long as they don’t eat any unpopped kernels. My teen has eaten popcorn through years of braces with no problem.
We sold our air popper at a yard sale, and have never looked back!!! Microwave popcorn has some really bad processed stuff in it, and there’s nothing better than fresh popped over the stove. My husband is the expert, and he uses Peanut oil (because it heats hotter). It tastes so delicious we don’t even add butter!!!
This is definitely my favorite way to make popcorn, but if you have one of the smooth surface stoves you have to be pretty careful about dragging on the stove. I used to be able to just rock it all around dragging it over the burner when my hand got tired, but that was the coil type. It’s not such a good idea on the glass….
I also have a pressure cooker (used, from a garage sale) that I use only for popcorn. The thicker pan keeps the popcorn from burning and pops more evenly. In my house, we have popcorn several times a week. It is an easy and thrifty treat! Thanks for all you do!
I grew up with homemade popcorn and we would always make it two different ways…first we would melt some butter, mix it with brown sugar, pour it over the popcorn, and stir it until it was evenly coated. Sooooo yummy! We would also make popcorn with melted butter and melted marshmallows, basically like rice krispie treats and shape them into balls. And around Christmas time we would make three balls to form a snowman (decorate with chocolate chips for eyes, etc.) and as kids we would give these to our friends for Christmas presents…cheap and yummy! Fond memories!
We started making our own popcorn this past year. It’s super easy and much more economical! We love to add melted butter and “Old Bay Seasoning” to ours. I had read about it online in several posts when I was trying to figure out how to pop popcorn in a pan. I thought “seafood seasoning on popcorn? You have got to be kidding me”. After reading this numerous times, I went to the store, bought the seasoning (without a coupon! LOL) and gave it a try. It’s SUPER good!
i was recently introduced to putting green tabasco sauce on popcorn. Just a little and shake it up. It is so good.
I bought a couple jars of coconut oil from amazon a while back … haven’t tried it yet … a friend told me she does not like it because it burns fast … she likes to use olive oil. I usually do use olive oil but I am anxious to try the coconut oil … I read that it makes awesome popcorn .. and not your post has reminded me again to try it. Did you find that you needed lower the temperature more when using the coconut oil? LOVE POPCORN!!!!!
Oh and here is the other funny thing!! My dog will only eat homemade popcorn- she turns here nose up at regular microwave popcorn- lol
jen
That’s a smart dog!
i love reading everyone’s topping suggestions-we use a popcorn maker we got as a wedding gift. Popcorn is such a yummy frugal treat!
My husband and I make homemade popcorn at least once a week (usually twice)! We LOVE it! I do like the Orville Reddenbacher (or however you spell it) oil for popping. Gives it a “Movie theater” taste but it is more expensive than regular oil. We really like the popcorn that the boy scouts sell each year.
I used to walk to my grandfathers house when I was younger and he ALWAYS had popcorn from the stove. We would sit around snacking and playing cards. Haven’t had it for years. I think I might try to make some tonight for my daughters as they have been sheltered and never had any. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE reading your stuff Collin
I love shredded cheese on my popcorn along with LOTS of butter.
What kind of cheese do you use? We usually do melted butter and salt, which isn’t the healthiest but what the hey! lol
Hoe do you get it buttery without making it soggy?
You can find popcorn machine makers in thrift or 2nd hand stores, even yard sale for really cheap. Make sure they are clean – and then you can go worry free about accidently burning the kernels or being stuck to your stove with pot in hand with little kids in the house and it is still frugal!
The machines are easy, just pour in popcorn and turn on – it does all the work for you. Some even have a part where you put butter and it melts from the heat and goes onto the popcorn as it pops out into the bowl. So, all the work is done for you.
My kids love when I make cheddar and sour cream& onion popcorn. I use cheddar cheese powder and sour cream & onion powder.. Probably not exactly healthy, but oh, so yummy!!
This is the BEST way to make popcorn! Don’t be afraid of it! If you have rosemary in your herb garden, throw a sprig or two of rosemary into the oil while it’s heating. It will give you a lovely hint of rosemary flavor. Sprinkle with sea salt and (if you really LOVE rosemary) finely chopped fresh rosemary. It is heavenly!
I have a whirly pop but I’m sure you could make this recipe the same you did. Just use 3Tbs oil 3 Tbs sugar 1/3c pop corn….when it’s done you have Kettle corn oh it’s good.
I LOVE my Whirley Pop! Honestly, I use it daily. I like to pour a little melted butter and parmesean cheese with a dash of salt. YUMMMMMMMM!
so you put the sugar in the oil when you are heating it????
how do you clean it when you are done? I usually have the sugar browned (and I admit, sometimes burnt) on the bottom of the pan and I have always just scrubbed it, but I am worried that I might ruin my whirly pop by scrubbing it.
I love a little ranch sprinkled over my popcorn….no not the dressing kind 🙂 but the hidden valley powdered kind in the packet.
We’ve been doing this since I was preggers with my daughter in 06. ( microwave popcorn is really bad, esp. in pregnancy) we also make kettlecorn this way. After the popcorn starts popping, lift the lid very quickly and have another person dump in sugar. We usually add 1/3 cup. After its out, I add butter like always. YUMMY!!
Great tutorial! Making my own seemed intimidating before I saw this. I am going to try this and train hubby so he can make it for me!
I make my popcorn in our popcorn maker we got as a wedding gift. I use just a smidgen of oil and then use spray butter and salt after it’s done popping. No added calories and it tastes just like movie popcorn! yum! Sometimes I put some white cheddar cheese popcorn flavor on it. oooooohhhh, that sounds so good right now…I may go make some! haha! 🙂
We just throw some kernels into a paper bag, pop it until it’s down to 2-3 seconds, and then pour a bit of melted butter and salt over it. If the extras are done conservatively, it makes one of my favorite and healthy snacks!
I just tried this — mmmm, so delicious! Such a big difference in flavor from the air pop method. Thanks for recipe and inspiring me 🙂
OK, so i do the same thing but i get the Orville Reddenbacher popping topping. I put that on the popcorn right ater its done then shake it up real good in a bowl and its like movie theater poper at home. I make it everytime I have copany and its a hit.
When my dad makes popcorn this way he saves the bacon fat from when he cooks bacon and uses the fat instead of using cooking oil. It tastes pretty darn good!
we make it this way too ~ but we add a little cayenne pepper! Nice and spicy and good for your heart.
Hubby likes his with chili powder and a touch of garlic 🙂
I have a flat top stove. How do I rock the pan back and forth over the burner? I don’t want to slide the pan back and forth because I will scratch the flat top.
To be honest, mine is black and ten years old and I’ve tried like heck to find a scratch I’ve made by popping this way but can’t see any. I imagine just using pots and pans everyday for that long would leave some kind of scratch but there’s only a few at all. I love popcorn made on the stove.
Also, these stoves transmit a lot of heat into the pan bottom and retain a lot of heat in the glass. You can pick the pan up off the stove and shake it (I’ve found that I can get a more vigorous motion going this way, anyway) and then return it to set on heat for 3-4 seconds and pick it back up. The actual popping process is actually very short and is a lot less tiresome on the arms, than say constantly stirring sugar mixture for soft candy.
I love popcorn. I use an air popper. To keep it healthy I use butter flavored pam and spray it when it is done. They to keep it sodium free I use different flavors of Mrs. Dash and sprinkle it on right after I spray the Pam……YUM!
I used to do it this way until I found out that it is not good for you to use any type of spray cooking spray with propellant in them. It is fine to use them to cook with because the propellant cooks out, but never use it without cooking it.