This Easy Salted Caramel Popcorn Recipe is my favorite Caramel Corn Recipe! It’s so easy and adding that extra salt gives it the perfect salty/sweet combo!
Salted Caramel Popcorn Is The Best Caramel Corn Recipe
This Salted Caramel Corn Recipe is possibly one of my favorite snacks of all time! It’s crispy, coated in homemade caramel, easy to make and has the perfect sweet and salty balance. I haven’t met one person who doesn’t love this salted caramel corn recipe because it’s both simple and delicious! This caramel corn recipe is so loved it even made it into my book by popular demand!
I’ve even adapted this recipe into Pumpkin Spice Caramel Corn as well as Caramel Apple Caramel Corn. And certainly if you’re salt sensitive you can leave off the extra salt!
How To Make Homemade Caramel Corn
Making Salted Caramel Popcorn is SUPER easy. It’s a super easy snack for movie night, or perfect to package up and give as gifts around the holidays. It’s pretty foolproof, and you don’t need baking soda or a candy thermometer like a lot of caramel corn recipes call for.
You will need an Air Popper Popcorn maker. If you don’t have one, they are fairly inexpensive. Here’s the link to the one I use. I have had readers use microwave popcorn for this if they don’t have an air popper. Most have great results, but I have never tried it that way, so I can’t give 100% confirmation it will work, although I don’t see why it wouldn’t.
Ingredients / What You Will Need
- Popcorn: Unpopped popcorn kernels are super easy to find. You can generally find them at the supermarket, WalMart, Target etc. You can even order them on amazon. I, honestly, just buy an expensive container of kernels, like Orville Redenbacher, so don’t get too hung up on brands etc.
- Butter: I use salted butter in this recipe because it’s SALTED Caramel Corn, but certainly if you don’t have salted you can use unsalted and add a bit more salt at the end!
- Brown Sugar: Using brown sugar in this recipe makes it a little deeper in flavor. Since you aren’t actually making caramel that cooks until it is a deep amber color, the brown sugar gives you the color that you desire.
- Corn Syrup: I use light corn syrup in this recipe. The subtle sweetness in the corn syrup makes the caramel sauce come together easily and gives the caramel corn the perfect texture. You could certainly use dark corn syrup if that’s all you have.
- Salt: I use kosher salt or sea salt in this caramel corn recipe. The slightly coarser grain and smoother taste gives this the perfect salty/sweet balance. You can use Iodized salt if it’s all you have, but use a light hand. You can always add more if necessary.
Do You Bake Caramel Corn?
Yes! After you air pop the popcorn and make your caramel sauce on the stove, you bake the caramel corn for 30 minutes at 300°F, stirring it every 10 minutes. This step in the recipe is what makes the caramel corn crispy and not chewy. If you like chewy caramel corn you can certainly eat it after you coat it with your caramel. It will get stuck in your teeth though! haha!
How Much Unpopped Popcorn Do You Need For Caramel Corn?
1/2 cup of unpopped kernels yields about 16 cups of popped corn. So for this recipe you get about 16 cups of Salted Caramel Popcorn!
How Much Salt Do You Add To Caramel Corn?
Please realize this is COMPLETELY up to you. I list 2 teaspoons in the recipe as a guideline, but you can absolutely add more or less depending on your personal preference. I stated above that I don’t recommend using Iodized Salt, but if you do, start with only 1 teaspoon, as it is a very fine grain and add more from there. Kosher salt and sea salts are generally a little coarser.
Variations / Add-Ins
Sure! You can easily add in extras to this caramel corn recipe. Here are a few ideas:
- Peanuts: Add these before you pour the caramel sauce on top and coat them with the caramel before baking.
- M&Ms: Add these when the caramel corn is cooled for the ultimate movie snack!
- Raisins: Now this might not be for everyone, but a lot of people like this combo! Add these after the caramel corn is cooled.
- Pretzels: You can add these before you pour the caramel on top or after it’s cooled if you prefer the pretzels aren’t sweet. If you do want to add pretzels to this mix before coating with the caramel, you might need to increase the amount of caramel by 50% to ensure everything gets coated!
More Popcorn Recipes You Will Love
- Fruity Pebble Kettle Corn
- Peanut Butter Cup Popcorn
- Caramel Apple Popcorn
- Red Velvet Popcorn
- Snickers Popcorn
- Popcorn Cake
Salted Caramel Popcorn
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 16 cups 1x
- Category: Popcorn
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Snack
Description
Makes about 16 cups of caramel corn
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unpopped popcorn kernels (about 16 cups popped corn)
- 1 cup salted butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup light corn syrup
- 2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Set aside.
- Pop popcorn kernels using air popper into a large bowl.
- In a small saucepan melt butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and 1 teaspoon salt together over medium heat. Bring to boil. Boil for 4 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat and let it cool for 2 minutes. It needs to stop boiling before you pour it on the popcorn.
- Pour caramel mixture over popcorn and stir to coat evenly.
- Pour popcorn into lined pan, sprinkle remaining salt on top (1/2 tsp – 1 tsp depending on your personal taste preference) and place in oven. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
- Allow popcorn to cool on a parchment lined counter.
Notes
You can add in 2 cups of nuts to the un-coated popcorn if desired! Coat with caramel as states!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 168
- Sugar: 9.1 g
- Sodium: 295.8 mg
- Fat: 11.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 15.3 g
- Protein: 1.2 g
- Cholesterol: 30.5 mg
Want To Save This Recipe?
Mmmmm, I love caramel and this recipe sounds so good. I think the addition of some nuts would make it awesome too. Either pecans or peanuts.
I think I may have found something that can top my all-time favorite of Almond Bark Popcorn. And this recipe is it. Can’t wait to make this before our next coming trip!
Thank you for sharing. I have bookmarked your site and will be back!
I just made this again for about the 10th time. ALWAYS a hit, ALWAYS perfect. I usually double it and whenever I take it to work, it doesn’t even last one hour. I add almonds, pumpkin seeds, and peanuts. This is the easiest recipe and so reliable. Thanks!
Love to hear this!! Thank you so much..and what great ideas for add-ins!
I’ll have to try. Looks good!
I have a question about the salt. I have a container of sea salt that I use to refill our salt grinder. Do I use the unground, chunky salt or grind up the salt and use it that way?
The salt will melt into the caramel, so you can use the ground up salt and it will be fine!
ooooh I actually have all the stuff to make this. I am taking a day trip on Friday- I think this would be an awesome snack! I know this was originally posted about a year ago- but I wanted to address the stove issue. I have a new stove that is barely 6 months old and depending on the temperature it can take up to 20 mins to reach the set temperature, even if the oven has already “dinged” that it’s ready. I learned this the hard way and many ruined loaves of bread and baked goods. But it’s inconsistent in this temp thing. My new rule: I have started using an oven thermometer. Just an FYI for those who have recipes that turn out fine and then for some strange reason – not the next time..etc. It’s saved a LOT of frustration recently.
Just made this…followed the instructions exactly as written and it turned out perfectly. Yum!!
Fantastic!!
Thanks! I made it a day and a half in advance and it held up fine in the plastic favor bags which were just tied shut with ribbons. I made about 60 goodie bags – about 120 cups of popped popcorn! It was a long messy process since I had to do batch after batch. First I popped an entire bag of corn kernels (about 4 large stock pots full) and then I baked off two trays at a time (about 5 rounds of baking). Lined the entire kitchen table with parchment paper for my workspace. Some batches baked up better than others depending on how much caramel was used (sometimes too much which made it gloppy) and how long I baked it (15 minutes was actually best for me). When you remove the hot pans from the oven I recommend dumping them out asap or the caramel that has settled at the bottom of the tray will create gooey globs all over. Not the worst thing (kids loved it) but it will definitely take a toll on your teeth. I preferred the more consistent pieces that were lightly coated and still crunchy. All and all – a huge hit! Would definitely make a normal sized batch anytime to enjoy on the couch! It’s been a few days now and I’m sharing the leftover bags with coworkers. The popcorn has soften some but everyone is thinks its delicious and wants the recipe.
Looks delicious! How long do you think this stays “fresh”? I am going to make up a few batches so I can bag them as party favors. Do you think two/three days in advance is okay?
I think if you keep it airtight it would be fine for up to 3 days
omg this popcorn is ridonculous! Thanks for sharing a great and very easy recipe!