Stovetop popcorn is, was, and will always be one of my favorite budget-friendly snacks. It takes only minutes to make, can be flavored with hundreds of different ingredients, both sweet and savory, and it is shelf stable. Really, what more could you want in a snack?? And if you’ve only experienced microwave popcorn, hold onto your seat. Stovetop popcorn is a whole different beast! The kernels are fluffier, have a better texture, and a more intense corn flavor. Once you go stovetop, you’ll never go back.
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What Makes Popcorn Pop?
To understand how to make stovetop popcorn, it can help to understand what makes popcorn pop to begin with. Every dried kernel of corn still contains a small amount of moisture in the center. When that moisture heats up rapidly and turns into steam, pressure builds within the kernel until it eventually pops. To get the best pop you want the hottest oil and the fastest increase in temperature (which is why I don’t add the kernels until the oil is already hot).
What Oil Should You Use to Make Stovetop Popcorn?
Stovetop popcorn is all about the oil. The hot oil is what causes the kernels to pop into a big, fluffy, crunchy cloud and it’s important that you use an oil that can withstand a very high heat. If you use a lower heat oil, you risk the oil reaching its smoke point and then flash point, which will cause the oil to burst into flames (not good). To avoid this, make sure to use a “high heat” oil, or an oil that has a smoke point of 400ºF or higher. Some oils that have a high smoke point include (but are not limited to): vegetable, canola, corn, grapeseed, avocado, safflower, and sunflower oil.
Why is My Popcorn Always Small and Hard?
There are a few things that can cause popcorn to not pop into big fluffy pieces. Here are the most common reasons:
- Old kernels – if your popcorn kernels are very old, they won’t contain as much moisture in the center and therefor won’t pop as big.
- Not enough oil – if you don’t use enough oil, there won’t be enough to heat the kernels quickly and evenly, and you’ll get a lot of half-pops and small pops.
- Adding kernels to cold oil – When kernels heat up slowly with the oil the pop will be less dramatic and the pieces will be smaller.
How to Season Popcorn
My favorite part about popcorn is that you can literally add anything to it. My favorite go-to seasoning is Tony Cachere’s, but I also love plain salt and freshly cracked pepper. A little sprinkle of grated Parmesan is great, as is sriracha, truffle oil, nutritional yeast, or garlic herb seasoning. Oh, and butter. OMG butter.
And if you’re into sweet popcorn, butter, sugar, and cinnamon!
Share your favorite popcorn topping with me (and the rest of us) in the comments below!
How to Make Stovetop Popcorn for One
The recipe below makes about 8 cups, but you can also make a smaller 2-4 cup batch for one person. I usually do 1 Tbsp oil and 2 Tbsp corn kernels, making sure to use a very small sauce pot.
Easy Stovetop Popcorn Recipe
Servings 4 2 cups eachIngredients
- 2 Tbsp high heat cooking oil* ($0.04)
- 1/3 cup popcorn kernels ($0.19)
- 2 Tbsp butter (optional) ($0.26)
- 1/2 tsp seasoning salt (optional) ($0.05)
Instructions
- Add the oil and one kernel to a large sauce pot. Place the lid on the pot and turn the heat onto medium-high. Wait for the test kernel to pop.
- Once the kernel pops, add the rest of the kernels, replace the lid, and give the pot a swirl to coat the kernels in the hot oil. Wait for the kernels to begin to pop. You can swirl again to redistribute the hot oil, if needed.
- Once the kernels begin to pop rapidly, crack the lid a little bit to allow excess steam to escape. Make sure it’s only open a little to keep the pot hot enough to continue popping the corn.
- When the popping slows to about one pop per second, turn off the heat. Wait a few extra seconds for the last few pops, then remove the lid and pour the popcorn into a bowl.
- Let the pot cool for two minutes or so, then add the butter to the still hot pot. Allow the residual heat in the pot to melt the butter, swirling the butter to maximize the contact with the hot pan. Drizzle the melted butter over the popcorn bowl, then sprinkle with seasoning salt or your favorite herbs and spices.
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Notes
Nutrition
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Do you love homemade popcorn recipes? Try this fun & easy Popcorn Balls recipe next!
How to Make Stovetop Popcorn – Step by Step Photos
Add 2 Tbsp high heat cooking oil to a medium sauce pot. Examples of high heat cooking oils include (but are not limited to): vegetable, canola, corn, grapeseed, avocado, safflower, and sunflower oil.
Add one “test” kernel to the pot. This kernel will be the indicator for when the oil is hot enough to add the rest of the kernels. Place a lid on the pot and turn the heat onto medium-high. Wait for the test kernel to pop.
When the test kernel pops, remove the lid and add ⅓ cup of popcorn kernels. Replace the lid and swirl the pot a bit to coat the kernels in oil.
As the popcorn begins to pop, crack the lid on the pot just slightly to allow excess steam to escape (otherwise it will collect on the lid and drip down onto the popcorn). When the popping slows to about one pop per second, remove the pot from the heat and let it sit a few seconds more until the popping stops all together.
At this point you have a big pot full of fluffy popcorn, but it needs to be seasoned. Pour the popcorn off into a large bowl.
Let the pot cool for about two minutes, then add the butter. The pot should still be plenty hot enough to melt the butter. Swirl the butter to help it melt in the hot pot.
Drizzle the melted butter onto the popcorn.
Then sprinkle seasoning salt or your favorite seasoning blend onto the buttered popcorn.
Dig in!
Thank you!! I was one of the people who asked you how to do this. :) I’m excited to try it out.
You’re very welcome! :)
I just tried it and it was amazing! This is going to revolutionize my snacking experience! :D
Ummm i really want to tell you about hippy popcorn.
Sounds like you have the popping down but i would suggest popping it in oil., like you said and then putting in in a bowl and adding either soy sauce (just drizzle a little bit and stir and repeat) and the magic ingredient: engivita yeast! Not sure if I spelled it correctly. But seriously. The best. Yum. And healthy you’ll pee yellow hecause of the vitamin B. Seriously. Try it. It’s awesome if you don’t burn the popcorn.
Can also try spicing it up with a few chili flakes in the oil or tumeric and chili powder. But try it naked first.
Sounds like engivita yeast is nutritional yeast? Quite a few people have suggested that, so I can’t wait to try! I love the idea of soy sauce, too!
Oh man! This brings back memories to my college days. Every Friday night a group of us would have movie and wine nights and it didn’t take long before popcorn was a major part of our get-togethers. We loved how cheap and tasty the popcorn was and tried tons of fun new recipes and styles. We did a lot of the basics and classics as you would guess, but we also got pretty adventurous a few times.
Some of the memorable ones include a sea salt, lime, and tequila popcorn (Margarita popcorn), A pesto popcorn with pine nuts and basil, and a spicy sriracha popcorn.
The crowd favorite however was just plain ole popcorn with butter and garlic salt. The one you find in a big green container at the store. To this day I dont think any popcorn could beat it.
Now I need to go buy some popcorn and try to make this old tradition come back again!
In both the recipe and the picture descriptions you say to wait until there are 1 or 2 pops per minute. I think you must mean one pop ever couple of seconds or something similar.
Thanks for posting though, I am old enough to remember a time before microwaves and trust me, this is how you ought to make popcorn.
I have high blood pressure, so I’m trying to limit my salt intake. I usually toss a couple of handfuls of popcorn kernels in a brown paper lunch sack, crumple the top of the sack, and microwave the whole thing for about a minute and 45 seconds. Without oil or salt, the popcorn is on the sweet side, but that’s fine. When I use the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter spray, it tastes quite a bit like ordinary popcorn.
The easiest way is definitely in a lunch paperbag in the microwave. You just have to fold the end of the bag and microwave the corn kernels for 2-3 minutes at hight intensity!
I have a hot air popper. Bought it at a garage sale and I LOVE it. I adore caramel corn (brown sugar, butter and vanilla) when I’m craving decadent and sweet but love chilli powder, nutritional yeast, salt and olive oil when I want something a little more savory.
This! I used the stovetop technique for a while until a saw a sale for a hot air popper on Amazon (it was maybe $20). The stovetop technique is easy but there’s maybe nothing easier in all of cooking than using the hot air popper. Plus there’s virtually no cleanup needed.
Near the end of the popping, do you mean to say 1-2 pops per **minute** or second? When I pop popcorn in the microwave, it says per second. If I waited for the popcorn to be popping at 1-2 pops for minute, I’d have burnt popcorn (and a lot of really angry co-workers!).
I spent 3 years in college working at a movie theater and learned that coconut oil makes the best popcorn, and that adding your salt to the pan with the unpopped kernels gives perfectly distributed salt to every last bite. Throw in some sugar for kettle corn!
Cook it in coconut oil and season with truffle salt THE BEST
I have an electric stove. As soon as I put the popcorn in the pot(after the 1st kernel has popped) I turn off the heat and let the pot stay on the burner. The leftover heat pops the corn and I don’t end up,with burn kernels at the bottom of the pan. Also, you shouldn’t use a Teflon coated pan for popcorn.
“Once the popping slows to just a couple pops per minute…”
I’m not sure you mean to say minute as the pops slow down, usually that’s described as slowing down to one pop every few seconds. A whole minute would mean burned popcorn!
We did not invent this recipe – but have enjoyed it and used it as a seasoning pack with 1/2 cup un-popped kernels as gifts from one kid to his buddies. “Italian Bread Stick” and my-o-my is it tasty!
8 cups popped popcorn, hot and fresh
1 tablespoon basil
1 tablespoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon popcorn salt (or fine grain salt)
Note – we’ve found old kernels aren’t as tasty as a new bag. Spring for it and become a stove top popped corn junkie!!
Yum, I don’t know why I’ve never tried stove-top popcorn! Popcorn is one of my favorite snacks, too. I will give it a try!
does this work with margarine? or butter?
Margarine and butter both contain water, which can mess with the popping process, so you definitely want to use some sort of pure oil. You can put the melted margarine and butter on top, just not to pop the kernels. :)