It’s Popcorn Time! Quick & Easy Savory and Sweet Popcorn Recipes & Fun Facts!

It’s popcorn time! Check out our savory and sweet popcorn recipes at the end of this article.

When was the last time you went to the movies? You ordered popcorn, didn’t you? And if you’re like me, when I’m being bad, I ask for extra butter…of course. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

I love it when the national food day is something I absolutely love and can’t imagine not eating again…many, many times.

“Love is sharing your popcorn.” – Charles Schultz

Today, we celebrate National Popcorn Day. Falls every year on January 19^th and even during the COVID quarantines, people are still eating popcorn…mostly in their homes.

National Popcorn Day – January 19th

Variety.com dedicated an entire article to at-home popcorn sales during the COVID lockdown and the increase in sales popcorn suppliers are experiencing.

Jolly Time popcorn company’s president, Garry Smith, told Variety that after only six weeks of quarantines being put into place microwave popcorn sales grew by up to 50%! So, popcorn time has become more frequent under lock-down.

Did you know that Popcorn can pop-up up to 3-feet in the air? Now, that’s quite a feat if you asked me.

So, we know we all love popcorn, but is it healthy? 

The answer, you’ll be happy to know, is yes (as long as it isn’t dripping in butter). Here are some Health Benefits of eating popcorn.

“Popcorn for breakfast! Why not? It’s like grits, but with high self-esteem.” – James Patterson

Top 4 Health Benefits of Eating Popcorn

1. Popcorn provides us more protein than any other type of cereal grain.
2. Popcorn contains more iron than eggs and then roast beef.
3. Popcorn has more fiber than potato chips or pretzels. In fact, 100 grams of popcorn contain 15 grams of fiber!
4. Polyphenols are great antioxidants that protects our cells from damage by essentially killing free radicals.

Head over to PoppedFresh for 7 more health benefits of eating popcorn. While you’re there, check out their amazing popcorn gift baskets. They’re based in California, and offer a variety of popcorn flavors, including kettle, cheese caramel, and chocolate, to name a few. 

*NOTE: I am not affiliated with PoppedFresh and do not receive any monetary compensation for recommending you to their website and for any purchasing you might make. I simply love their products!

Who eats the most popcorn?

Americans consume more popcorn than any other country in the world, roughly 15 billion quarts of popped popcorn every single year! That works out to about 45 quarts of popped popcorn per person living in the U.S. That’s a lot of popcorn!!

It’s popcorn time! Scroll down for some savory and sweet popcorn recipes.

“When I was 14 -years-old, I made this PowerPoint presentation, and I invited my parents into my room and gave them popcorn. It was called ‘Project Hollywood 2004’ and it worked. I moved to L.A. in January of 2004.” – Emma Stone

Long gone are the days when only buttered popcorn was available. Now-a-days, if you can think of a flavor combo, it can be served on popcorn.

Just do a quick Google search for crazy popcorn flavors and you’ll find everything from beer flavored popcorn, to egg nog, loaded baked potato, red wine & cheddar cheese, peanut butter & chocolate, pink cotton candy, hot cinnamon (I want to get my hands on that one), cookies & cream, strawberry, watermelon, grape, orange, green apple, blueberry, blackberry, ketchup, even a special ‘pregnancy mix’ for all the pregnant mothers out there of dill pickle and ice cream, and for those not already caffeinated enough, there’s caffeine-infused popcorn available for a little pick-me-up.

Sweet & Savory Popcorn Recipes

Try some of our favorite popcorn recipes below:

Basic Stovetop Popcorn Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil (or use olive oil or coconut oil for a healthier version.)
• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
• Salt to taste

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Place oil and popcorn kernels into a large, heavy pot and cover it.
2. Cook over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes or until the popping almost stops.
3. Remove from heat and pour into a large serving bowl.
4. Season with salt, as desired.

Easy Caramel Popcorn

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 and 1/2 cups butter, cubed
• 2 and 2/3 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 24 cups popped popcorn

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large heavy saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. 
3. Add brown sugar and corn syrup, stirring until brown sugar is dissolved.  
4. Bring to a full rolling boil. Boil and stir 1 minute.
5. Carefully remove from heat and quickly stir in vanilla.
6. Pour the hot caramel mixture over popcorn; stirring carefully to coat.
7. Using a rubber spatula, press the coated popcorn onto the two prepared pans. Cool.
8. Pull apart into pieces. Store in airtight containers.
9. ENJOY!

Spicy Tex-Mex Popcorn

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels 
• 3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil (can use olive oil for a healthier option)
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds 
• Refrigerated butter-flavored spray 
• 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon chili powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat, cook the popcorn kernels, oil and cumin seeds until oil begins to sizzle. Cover and shake for 2-3 minutes or until popcorn stops popping.
2. Transfer the popped corn into a large bowl.
3. Lightly spritz with butter-flavored spray.
4. Add the remaining spices and herbs and toss to coat.
5. Continue spritzing and tossing until popcorn is coated, but NOT wet.
6. ENJOY!

Nacho Cheese Popcorn

INGREDIENTS:

• 10 cups popped popcorn (roughly 1/3-1/2 cups kernels) 
• 1 teaspoon paprika 
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin 
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan 
• 1/4 cup butter melted

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Place pooped popcorn in a large bowl. 
2. Combine paprika, cumin and parmesan in a small bowl. 
3. Pour melted butter over popcorn, and sprinkle with spice mixture. 
4. Carefully toss until popcorn is evenly coated. 
5. ENJOY!

Want to kick up the heat? Sprinkle some hot chili sauce or oil over the popcorn, and/or toss some red hot chili flakes in to the mix.

Looking for more snack ideas? Try our quick and easy chocolate covered strawberries.