An easy recipe for homemade caramel popcorn that’s sweet and salty, buttery and crunchy. You won’t believe how quickly this popcorn comes together, with no candy thermometer needed for the caramel. Just cook the caramel briefly on the stove, pour it over the popcorn, and then bake it for a few minutes until it’s done. Once it cools, the popcorn is crunchy and ready to eat!
Looking for more candy and snack ideas? You’ll also love this toasted trail mix, classic English toffee, and soft salted caramels.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ridiculously Easy. Making candy and caramel can be intimidating, especially if you have to monitor the temperature with a candy thermometer. But this easy recipe is totally stress-free, and always turns out perfectly.
Versatile. Don’t like almonds? Leave them out, or add peanuts instead for a homemade crunch ‘n’ munch treat. You could even add butterscotch chips (after the popcorn cools).
Stays Crunchy for Days. Once the popcorn cools completely, store it in an airtight container. It’ll stay crisp and crunchy for days and days!
Perfect for the Holidays. Homemade treats make great gifts, and crunchy caramel popcorn would be a delicious addition to a Christmas cookie box. Or make it on Halloween, for family movie and game night, or for snacking while out picking apples and pumpkins!
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Popped Popcorn. You’ll need to start with about 12 cups of plain, unseasoned, unbuttered popcorn. See my FAQ section below for my preferred stove-top method of popping popcorn.
- Almonds. You can use either raw almonds, or roasted and salted. Or use peanuts instead.
- Butter. Use unsalted butter for the caramel. If you use salted butter, you’ll need to reduce the extra salt in the recipe.
- Dark Brown Sugar. Adds sweetness to the caramel.
- Light Corn Syrup. As an invert sugar, the corn syrup stabilizes the sugars in the caramel so it doesn’t have a crystallized texture.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- Baking Soda. The baking soda plays an important role by adding tiny air bubbles into the caramel, giving it a light and crunchy texture. Without the baking soda, the caramel could end up chewy instead of crunchy.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness.
- Nutmeg. The nutmeg is optional, but it adds a wonderful flavor.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 275 F, and prepare a large rimmed baking sheet by lining it with a sheet of parchment paper. You can also line it with aluminum foil, but you’ll need to spray it well with non-stick baking spray.
- Pop the popcorn and spread it onto the baking sheet with the almonds.
- In a saucepan, melt the butter, then stir in the brown sugar, corn syrup and water. Stirring constantly, bring the caramel to a boil over medium heat, then boil for 2 minutes.
- Remove the caramel from the heat and stir in the vanilla, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.
- Pour the hot caramel over the popcorn and stir it to coat the popcorn evenly in the caramel.
- Bake on the center oven rack for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
- Let the caramel cool and harden before eating.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the best way to pop popcorn on the stove?
- Start with a large, lidded stockpot. Place it on the stove over medium heat, and melt 1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil or vegetable oil in the pot.
- When the oil is melted, add 3/4 cup popcorn kernels, and swirl them around in the oil.
- Place the lid on, then let the popcorn heat up. Don’t shake or jiggle the pan as the popcorn pops, just let it pop.
- When the popcorn sounds like it’s done or almost done popping, remove it from the heat immediately so the popcorn on the bottom doesn’t burn. Remove the lid so the steam doesn’t make it soggy.
- Now it’s ready to spread out on the baking sheet so you can pour on the caramel. Be sure to remove any unpopped kernels.
Can I start with microwave popcorn?
It would probably be fine, as long as it’s not buttered/seasoned. Air-popped popcorn would also work.
Why is there baking soda in the caramel?
The baking soda plays an important role by adding tiny air bubbles into the caramel, giving it a light and crunchy texture. Without the baking soda, the caramel could end up chewy and sticky instead of crunchy. The science behind this is that the baking soda reacts with the acids present, creating carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide produces millions of teeny tiny bubbles which makes the caramel more porous. Those bubbles create a light, airy crunch in brittles and hard caramels.
How long does homemade caramel popcorn stay fresh and crunchy?
Stored in an airtight container, it will stay crunchy for at least a week, maybe longer.
You Might Also Like
Toasted Trail Mix English Toffee Salted Vanilla Caramels 
Salted Caramel Sauce
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Did you love today’s recipe? Please rate the recipe and let me know in the comments what you thought! Also, be sure to follow Curly Girl Kitchen on Instagram, and tag me when you try one of my recipes so I can see all your delicious creations!
Crunchy Caramel Popcorn with Almonds
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Large Rimmed Baking Sheet + Parchment/Baking Paper
Ingredients
- 12 cups plain popped popcorn (from 3/4 cup popcorn kernels)
- 1 cup almonds, raw or roasted/salted
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- ¼ cup light corn syrup
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 275 F, and prepare a large rimmed baking sheet by lining it with a sheet of parchment paper. You can also line it with aluminum foil, but you'll need to spray it well with non-stick baking spray.
- Pop the popcorn and spread it onto the baking sheet with the almonds.
- In a saucepan, melt the butter, then stir in the brown sugar, corn syrup and water. Stirring constantly, bring the caramel to a boil over medium heat, then boil for 2 minutes.
- Remove the caramel from the heat and stir in the vanilla, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.
- Pour the hot caramel over the popcorn and stir it to coat the popcorn evenly in the caramel.
- Bake on the center oven rack for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
- Let the caramel cool and harden before eating.
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