This classic Easy Homemade Buttery Caramel Corn recipe is quick and made without any corn syrup. It is a delicious summertime or holiday dessert everyone will go crazy over!
Freshly popped popcorn, almonds and peanuts drizzled with a caramelized buttery sauce, this sweet snack is hands down, one of the most irresistible treats you will make.
It's perfectly crunchy and has a richer more buttery flavor than cracker jacks.
It reminds me more of that gourmet style popcorn you can only find in upscale stores packed in those fancy cylindrical tubs. But it's much less expensive!
Sweet crunchy munch for a gift anyone?
Why This Recipe Works
This recipe has been tested more than any other recipe on my blog. I wanted to get it just right.
And if you've ever tried making homemade caramel popcorn before, you know how it can turn wrong quickly.
I have had batches turn out either burnt, chewy, sticky, or overly sweet or a combination of these.
But I discovered a few tricks along the way that ensure you get a smooth, crunchy caramel every time.
- Use baking soda
- Bake the popcorn
- Work quickly
Make Your OWN Homemade Popcorn
When I was younger, my mother would always make homemade popcorn on the stove. She'd pull out the Orville Redenbacher and within 5 minutes, we had yummy buttery, salty popcorn ready to go for our movie!
Making your own popcorn is SO easy and also saves you A LOT of money. Plus, for this recipe, you don't want to use store-bought popcorn. You want plain, unsalted sugar-free popcorn so you have a fresh canvas to work with.
To make your own homemade popcorn, you'll need some oil and un-popped kernels to a pot set over medium-high heat. Cover with a lid or poke holes in some aluminum foil for a make-shift lid.
Then wait for all of the popping to stop. The popping is like a bell curve. It will start slow, then speed up, then slow down again. When it slows down, you'll want to turn off the heat so you do not burn your popcorn. The tricky part is making sure you pop as many kernels as possible without burning it!
Lay your homemade popcorn out onto a baking sheet and pour your luscious caramel sauce all over the plain popcorn. Toss the popcorn a bit until it is coated nicely. Then bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Making Your Caramel Glaze
This recipe is one I have tested over and over...and OVER...again.
Caramel is NOT easy to make especially without corn syrup but don't be intimidated by it! Just be patient and have all your ingredients ready.
The sweet caramel glaze comes together very quickly.
Items You'll Need
- A small sauce pot
- Non-stick baking sheet or parchment paper
To get the right crunchy texture, you need to let your sauce reach the right temperature for a certain period of time so that when the sauce cools. the sugars harden.
If your sugar doesn't reach the right temperature, it will be too soft and sticky resulting in chewy caramel popcorn, kind of 'toffee-like'. On the other hand, if you heat your sugar too high for too long, you'll have some real tooth-cracking popcorn. No bueno.
Ingredients
- brown sugar
- butter
- salt
- vanilla
- baking soda
- vinegar
To make your sauce, you will need to add your brown sugar, butter, salt, and vanilla to a sauce pan and heat it over high on your stove-top while mixing consistently.
Then at the 5 minute mark, add in your baking soda and vinegar and stir quickly before removing from heat.
Tip* Brown sugar gives your caramel a deeper flavor as opposed to white sugar.
Why Baking Soda?
Using baking soda will create tiny carbon dioxide air bubbles and help to create a softer texture in your caramel and one that will melt in your mouth rather than stick to your teeth.
Why Vinegar?
The vinegar is meant to help prevent a grainy, sugary texture since this recipe does not use any corn syrup.
Expert Tips:
This recipe is not difficult but it does require your full attention to make sure it comes out perfectly. Here are some tips to ensure your caramel popcorn comes out delicious every time.
- Do not leave your caramel alone on the stove. Use a flat wooden spoon and stir, stir, stir!
- Brown sugar is the only sugar I recommend for this recipe.
- Have all of your ingredients ready to go! This will ensure you work quickly and leave no room for error.
- Make sure your popcorn is not burnt! Burnt popcorn will ruin the entire recipe.
- Watch your heat when making your caramel. You cannot salvage burnt sugar!
- Feel free to add other nuts you like into your popcorn.
- Make sure to pick out any un-popped kernels. They are NOT fun to bite on.
FAQ's
Your caramel popcorn will turn soggy if the caramel was not cooked properly or heated to the right temperature.
Adding some baking soda helps.
It is best eaten within a day or so but can last up to a week.
In a sealed, air tight container or plastic bag. No need to refrigerate.
Other sweet holiday snacks you'll love:
Dark Chocolate Sweet and Salty Bark
Ridiculously Moist Christmas Cake Balls (without a stick)
Easy Buttery Caramel Corn (Without Corn Syrup)
Ingredients
Popcorn Mix
- ¼ cup popcorn kernels (makes about 6 cups popped)
- 2 tbsp oil or butter
- ½ cup peanuts
- ½ cup almonds
Caramel Sauce
- 6 tbsp melted butter
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 1 tsp baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250°F.
- To make the popcorn:Add 2 tbsp oil, or butter, and ¼ cup popcorn kernels to a large pot. (Make sure your pot has a heavy bottom to prevent burning.) Cover your pot with a lid or tin foil. Turn the heat to high and wait for the kernels to start popping.Once the popping starts, wait about ONE minute and turn off heat. The popcorn should be done popping at this point and should be ready! Pour your popcorn onto a sheet pan or baking sheet. (Make sure to pick out any unpopped kernels!)
- Add your peanuts and almonds to the sheet pan and set baking sheet aside but keep it close by.
- This step is important. If you heat your sugar too much, it might burn in the oven but if you don't heat it enough, it will not harden.Add your brown sugar, butter, vanilla extract and salt to a sauce pan set over MEDIUM-LOW heat. Stir once so its mixed but then allow it to simmer for 5 minutes without touching it. If you start seeing/smelling smoke, your heat it too high and you may need to start over. If it does not simmer, turn up your heat a TOUCH. DO not boil.
- In the mean time, have your baking soda and vinegar ready to go!
- Turn off the heat and add in your baking soda and vinegar and mix together. Quickly pour the sauce over the popcorn and give it a few tosses with a wooden spoon so it coats as much of the popcorn as possible. It's okay if all of it is not fully coated.Bake for approximately 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and toss popcorn again until fully coated. Allow it to cool completely and store in a sealed plastic container for 5-7 days.
Great recipe! I have been looking for a good caramel corn recipe with no corn syrup and this is perfect! Thanks so much.
Thanks so much! Glad you liked it!
This recipe is genius. Love it.
Thanks Lizzy!
This recipe its the best and i love caramel popcorns and this recipe its a bonus buttery caramel popcorn its an upgrade to normal caramel popcorn
Thank you!
I made the Easy Caramel Popcorn and my family LOVED IT!!
I'm so glad they liked it! Thanks so much for your review! 🙂
Love this recipe and no corn syrup! Easy to make and family loves it. Especially on this holidays/winter break. Al-tho I did cut the baking soda to 1/2 teaspoon. Still tasted fantastic!
Hi Beth! Thanks so much for your review. I am SO glad everyone loved it!!
I love this recipe!! I’ve already made it once and I have another batch in the oven right now!! I’d highly recommend this!! The only diff thing I do is melt some chocolate and toss my still warm popcorn in it. So good 🙂
Hi Julianne, I am so glad you loved the popcorn!! The addition of chocolate sounds delicious! 🙂
It’s good but chewy. Does it need to cool more-it’s been 15 minutes
Hi Kelly! If it's chewy, the sugar did not reach the crack stage yet. This could have happened because the heat was too low on your stove. You may need to stick it back in the oven for another 5 or 10 minutes.
This makes great caramel corn- so much better than the recipes with corn syrup (which always have that weird mouth feel/aftertaste)I confess that I burnt the first batch of caramel but I kept the flame on low for the 2nd go and it worked perfectly.
Hi Angie! Thanks so much for your review! I am so glad you enjoyed it!!
Excellent recipe! Flavorful and buttery, hands down some of the best caramel corn ever! This is my first time making it and it turned out perfectly!
Thank you for your sweet comment Michelle! I am SO thrilled it came out as expected!
Wow good thing I checked my oven in 10 mins mine was just on the edge of being burnt. I did use microwave popcorn. I also ate it all. Next time I will turn my oven to 150 for 5mins and test it from there....
Grant, Thanks for the comment! It def. should not burn. This may happen if your heat on your stove was too high to begin with. Did you simmer it over Med/Low heat? It should have simmered softly not boil. Let me know!!
Easy to make but burnt in the oven . I will lower the oven next time and bake for ten minutes
Hi Richard! Thanks for your review! If the sugar was heated too much on the stovetop, it CAN burn in the oven. Instead of lowering the oven temp, I suggest lowering the saucepan temp before baking. Let me know how that goes!!!
This turned out really well. 6tbl of butter makes it pretty oily but I think it’s necessary to get the correct consistency. The flavor and texture is just what you would want from caramel corn.
Baking soda NOT baking powder as stated in the ingredients
Hi Ginger, Silly mistake that makes a difference! Thank you so much for pointing that out! All fixed! 🙂
It's not expand all, there are many corn bean still raw beans. Although i add butter. I heat brown sugar at right temperature, so amazing sauce, good colour and taste.
So cool snack, i cook it many times per week. it's not very hard to roast corn but I have a problem with caramel sauce. It's a little bit hard and need pay attention. An amount of salt balance taste. It's a good recommend for snack.
I'm a fan of popcorn. Buttery caramen corn is really perfect snack for a weekend night and a interesting film. Before I just added only sugar but with caramen my popcorn is very attractive. I roast popcorn by microwaves. While I cook caramen sauce.
Easy, came out great the 1st time. Good flavor. A little oilyer than I'd like but I could have added a touch too much butter. Overall good.
Hi Victoria, I am glad you liked it!