Popcorn Cake is a super easy no bake dessert recipe that’s great for parties! It has the perfect balance of salty and sweet – with popcorn, pretzels and marshmallows mixed with your favorite candy!
The Best Popcorn Dessert Recipe
This Popcorn cake is one of the most popular recipes on my site since 2009! Gooey, sweet and salty perfection!
This, my friends, is what you call a “Popcorn Cake”. If you’re not a little bit intrigued by this you might need to check your cool kid card at the door.
There is no way that you could frequent this little website of mine and not have the potential of this buttery, salty, sticky sweet cake dotted with M&M’s make your heart skip a beat or three.
This is “want to” food, not “have to” food. It’s a choice you make…
Like we all watch the news and weather because it’s best to know how to dress for the day, or who’s the vice president. But the Bachelor and the Housewives are pure “want to”. Get it?
This cake is the food equivalent to The Bachelor.
I mean, look at this gooey gorgeousness…
The execution is rather simple. Take a look…
You have popcorn, candy, pretzels and melted marshmallow…
Also don’t feel like you’re stuck with M&M’s and pretzels. Sub in chopped Snickers, or Kit Kats…or use potato chips instead of pretzels…or even Rice Krispies to give it some extra crunch!
How to Make No Bake Popcorn Cake
Remove any extra kernels from the popcorn that didn’t pop. Broken teeth aren’t cute y’all.
Then, just stir up the mixture…
And then press it into a lightly greased bundt or tube pan.
Press it down using a sprayed piece of parchment paper…
And let it cool for a about an hour, so it will slice nicely…
Then just invert the pan onto a plate and you’re done!
This is such a fun alternative to a cake at a party!
This has been one of my most popular recipes on the site since 2009 for good reason! Such a fun dessert!
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Popcorn Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Popcorn Cake is a super easy no bake dessert recipe that’s great for parties! It has the perfect balance of salty and sweet – with popcorn, pretzels and marshmallows mixed with your favorite candy!
Ingredients
- 2 bags of microwave popcorn, popped with unpopped kernels removed
- 2 cups M&M’s
- 1 1/2 cups broken pretzel sticks
- 16 oz mini marshmallows (8 cups)
- 1/2 cup butter
Instructions
- Prepare a large tube or bundt pan by spraying with cooking spray.
- You start with 2 bags of buttered microwave popcorn in a large bowl.
- Pick out the kernels that didn’t pop.
- Now mix in 2 cups of M&M’s and 1 1/2 cups broken pretzel sticks.
- Now melt 1 stick of butter over low in a large saucepan or microwave.
- When melted add in a 16 oz bag of mini marshmallows (8 cups)
- Stir until melted and smooth and remove from the heat.
- Allow it to cool for about 2 minutes, while stirring constantly and then pour it over your popcorn mixture.
- Stir until all the ingredients are combined and then press into the prepared pan.
- Cover with foil and let your cake set for at least an hour to cool.
- When you are ready to serve the cake loosen sides of your cake from the pan by running a butter knife around the edges.
- Flip your pan over onto your serving platter.
- Your cake should come out pretty easily.
- You want it to cool completely so it will cut easily.
- Cover tightly and store for up to 1 day.
Notes
store airtight for up to 2 days. Best if eaten same day as made.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 384
- Sugar: 41.4 g
- Sodium: 111.1 mg
- Fat: 15.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 60 g
- Protein: 3.3 g
- Cholesterol: 25.2 mg
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Never mind! lol I just re-read the instructions! lol
Hi! This looks amazing! Do you recommend plain or buttered flavoured popcorn? Which works better?
I have been making this since the 80s! It’s awesome with roasted peanuts too. Love your blog!
Thank you so much!!
Substitute the pretzels for gluten free ones and this would be the prefect gluten free “cake” for my son! I also bet adding a little melted peanut butter would be good too. I see so many variations.
I know this is an older post (and you may not remember!) but do you know how much (in grams or cups) the popcorn amount is when cooke? I do mine the old school way (I don’t have a microwave) and am unsure how much a bag of microwave popcorn will produce.
Same for marshmallow. I make my own and not sure how many grams it will equate to but I can try and work that out!
Wow this is definitely a showstopper centrepiece if you want a normal cake alternative at a party..
you aren’t doing anything to improve my waistline, but I love it!!
This looks fantastic, can’t wait to try it.
Wondering if you have ever made cupcakes instead of a cake? Would it be too sticky?
I was thinking about making “popcorn” balls for Halloween with this recipe? Thought process would be to spray my hands lightly with “oil in the can” and shape into balls and place in individual bags for whatever holiday or nothing just for fun. Looks really yummy for sure!
That would be great!!
I think I just fell in love with you….
Our French teacher would make this for us when we behaved ourselves. We had to be able to get marbles from one jar (the bad jar) to the another jar (the good jar). She would move one marble over per day when we were good that day. Then, when all of the marbles were in the “good” jar, she make us a popcorn cake. Just like this, except with peanuts & not pretzels. Oh, this takes me back…