This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Our sweet and buttery caramel popcorn recipe only takes 6 ingredients and is made in the microwave!
homemade caramel corn!
Popcorn is our go-to snack of choice for movie nights. When we’re craving something sweet and crunchy it’s always caramel popcorn!
You can find packaged caramel popcorn at lots of retail stores, but the real deal is HOMEMADE popcorn made in your kitchen. It tastes 100x better and fresher – and makes the perfect treat!
We often like to air-pop our kernels for maximum freshness and flavor, but you could easily start with pre-popped corn or microwave a couple of bags. The sweet caramel coating is just 5 ingredients and cooks up in the microwave in minutes! It’s a quick dessert – easy to whip up seconds or thirds! 😉
Crunchier than our Caramel Marshmallow Popcorn, this caramel popcorn recipe is undeniably delicious!
WHY WE LOVE IT:
- Great all year long. It’s a favorite for parties and movie nights, but also great to gift for birthdays and holidays like Christmas!
- Yum factor! Homemade is always better than store-bought and this is caramel perfection!
- Ready in minutes. This is a deliciously easy dessert with its simple ingredients and easy instructions.
Ingredients
PREP TIME: 10 minutes
COOK TIME: 5 minutes
- 2 (3.29-ounce) bags plain popcorn – Use microwave bags of popcorn or a popcorn maker. You’ll need about 9-10 tablespoons of popcorn kernels or 18-20 cups of popped plain popcorn.
- ¾ cup butter – We use unsalted butter but salted butter can be used instead.
- ⅓ cup white Karo syrup – or another brand of light corn syrup
- 1½ cups brown sugar – We use light brown sugar, but dark brown sugar can be used.
- ¾ teaspoon salt – Reduce if using salted butter.
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- variation – Drizzle chocolate or white chocolate over the caramel popcorn while it’s cooling on the cookie sheet, or add chopped nuts.
How Much Popcorn to Make
A 3.25 bag of popcorn contains 2.5 servings, each serving is 2 tablespoons of kernels which makes 4.5 cups of popped corn. For this recipe, you would need 2 bags which is 9-10 tablespoons of kernels or 18-20 cups of popped popcorn.
How to Make Caramel Popcorn
- PREP. Make 2 bags plain popcorn and place it in a large bowl. Remove unpopped kernels.
- A good trick is to pour your popcorn over a cooling rack. The un-popped kernels will fall through the cracks and the popcorn will stay on top.
- CARAMEL. Using a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl add ¾ cup butter, 1½ cups brown sugar, ⅓ cup karo syrup, and ¾ teaspoon salt. Heat in the microwave for 2 minutes.
- Add ¾ teaspoon baking soda to the melted ingredients. The mixture will foam up. Stir well.
- The longer the caramel topping cooks, the crunchier it will be. This caramel corn recipe is meant to have more of a crunch, but if it is too hard to eat, then it was cooked for too long.
- COAT. Pour over popcorn and toss together evenly coating all of the pieces.
- Place the coated popcorn in the microwave for 1 minute and then stir. Place it back into the microwave and heat for another minute. For crunchier popcorn, heat it for another minute.
- ENJOY! Line a baking pan with parchment paper and spread the coated popcorn on it to cool. Break apart and enjoy this caramel popcorn recipe!
Stove top directions
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, Karo syrup, and salt and stir while the mixture comes to a boil.
- Boil the mixture for 5 minutes without stirring it. Add the baking soda and mix to combine everything and remove from the heat.
- To avoid crystallization, be cautious about scraping the sides of the pot and accidentally stirring in the crystalized caramel.
- Drizzle over plain popcorn in a large bowl, toss to evenly coat, and spread on a lined cookie sheet to cool completely.
More Like This
Popcorn Treats
Sweet Snacks
Collections
Caramel Popcorn Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 (3.29-ounce) bags plain popcorn
- ¾ cup butter
- ⅓ cup white Karo Syrup
- 1½ cup brown sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Make popcorn and place it in a large bowl. Remove the unpopped kernels.
- Using a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl add the butter, brown sugar, syrup, and salt. Heat in the microwave for 2 minutes.
- Add the baking soda to the melted ingredients. The mixture will foam up. Stir well.
- Pour over popcorn and toss together evenly coating all of the pieces.
- Place the coated popcorn in the microwave for 1 minute and then stir. Place it back into the microwave and heat for another minute. If you want crunchier popcorn, heat it for another minute.
- Allow the popcorn to cool and enjoy!
- Note: If you used salted popcorn, then reduce or omit the added salt.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Break apart and store in airtight plastic bags or containers at room temperature for up to 5 days. The caramel may soften after a few days of being stored. To crisp it up again, place it in the oven set to 250°F for about 5-7 minutes.
Hmmm, I clicked on your recipe because it promised no corn syrup. And then you use Karo syrup. According to my Google at least, Karo is the brand name of a corn syrup. Are you suggesting we can make it while omitting the corn syrup because the instructions didn’t
You can make corn syrup
Dear Kristyn,
Can you please provide the old recipe as well. Thank you
Yes, please, this used to be my favorite recipe!!
I think this is it
16 cups popped corn
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
CARAMEL. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Then add in the brown sugar and mix everything together really well. Continue stirring while you bring the mixture to a boil.
Boil the mixture for 5 minutes without stirring it. Once the 5 minutes are over, add in the vanilla and baking soda. Mix to combine everything.
TOSS. Take the caramel off the heat. Drizzle the caramel sauce over the prepared popcorn in the large bowl. Toss it all together lightly to evenly coat the popcorn.
List has karo syrup. I thought no syrup.
you use honey instead it helps the sugar to not crystalize. if you don’t it may just be a little harder to make the syrup but totally possible
So good
The instructions are for a stove top, no corn syrup, caramel sauce, but the recipe is for the microwave with corn syrup.
It’s Karo syrup 🙂
That is just a brand name of white/light corn syrup
Have you ever tried using this recipe to make Popcorn balls? I’m wondering if it will be too hot to handle.
I have not, for this recipe. One way to find out 🙂
Why is my Dr caramel popcorn sagging… how can I make it crispy
You can boil your caramel for a little longer. Boiling the caramel for less time, makes it more chewy 🙂
It as easy and DELICIOUS.
Happy you think so! It’s our favorite! Thank you so much!
My caramel initially separated, but I added a but of hot water & mixed it well, then it snapped back into creamy caramel!
I am so glad it did!! Thank you for trying it!
I made this today for A family get together. It was a huge hIt. It was thE talk of the day. I followed directIons exactly. I used a gas stove And Kept thE heat on low. Turned out great.
That makes my day!! Thank you so much for saying that!