closeup of popped corn in stainless steel pan
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Homemade popcorn with healthy topping ideas

Homemade popcorn is a staple in our home. Everyone in our family likes it and there’s so many ways to change it up that we do not get sick of it. We can make it taste salty and buttery, sweet, or go full on dessert just by adding our favorite toppings.

bowl-of-popcorn-with-boy-eating-in-background

We make sure to make our popcorn using the most nutritious ingredients possible. As a mom I love having a vehicle like popcorn to get some really awesome nutrients in them and they have no idea.

how to make homemade popcorn with healthy toppings

Ingredients

  • Organic sprouted popcorn kernels. We have a membership to Thrive and buy these, but you can buy them other places as well. Amazon has several options. Sprouted popcorn breaks through the kernel’s outer layers unlocking nutrients and making it easier for your body to digest and absorb.
  • Organic Coconut Oil. We also buy our coconut oil from Thrive, but you can buy coconut oil almost anywhere these days. We prefer the regeneratively grown organic coconut oil. In a perfect world you would want to find coconut oil that is organic, cold pressed, virgin, and comes in a glass container. The kind I buy does not meet all these standards, but sometimes you just have to buy the best you can.
  • Toppings we love: pink salt like this one, Nutritional Yeast, organic cinnamon, organic coconut sugar, well sourced protein powder, well sourced collagen powder. We rotate through different variations of these toppings depending on what we’re hungry for.

Healthier Toppings

Our go-to is salt and nutritional yeast. It gives the popcorn a very buttered popcorn taste that we love. Plus nutritional yeast is a great source of nutrients and minerals that I love getting into my kiddos.

If we are wanting something a little sweet we’ll go for cinnamon and coconut sugar. It’s like cinnamon toast crunch popcorn that we gobble up faster than we probably should. Sometimes I will add a little collagen powder or even the nutritional yeast to give it a healthier kick. We buy this collagen powder and it does not change the flavor of the popcorn but adds some great protein. They also have a chocolate flavor that would probably be delicious but we have not tried that.

We’ve also put protein powder on our popcorn and loved it, especially my oldest. Make sure to source quality protein powder like these so you are getting the most nutrition as possible.

Instructions

Using a medium size sauce pan (we use a stainless steel one like this) add three tablespoons of coconut oil to your pan.

tablespoon of coconut oil going into stainless steel pan on stove

Let the oil melt over medium low heat. For some reason my stove tends to run hot, so you may be fine with medium heat.

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Add 3-6 kernels to your melted oil (heat still on) and put the lid on. Wait until all your kernels have popped then turn off heat.

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kernels-popping-in-lidded-sauce-pan-on-stove

Remove lid and add about 1/2 a cup of kernels to your hot oil (heat still off). Place the lid back on pan. I like to swirl the kernels around in the pan so that they are all coated in the hot oil. Do this for about 20-30 seconds. The goal is to heat all your kernels up evenly.

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sauce-pan-full-of-popcorn-kernels-on-stovetop

Keeping the lid on your pan, turn the heat back on to medium-low. Your kernels should start popping quickly. Turn heat off once the popping slows to one pop every 2-3 seconds. You do not want to burn your popcorn.

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Immediately pour freshly popped corn into a large bowl. Add desired toppings and enjoy :).

hand-holding-bowl-of-popcorn
closeup of popped corn in stainless steel pan

Homemade popcorn with healthy topping ideas

A healthier spin on this classic snack. Use well sourced ingredients and add some delicious toppings suggested for a nutritional and yummy snack the whole family will love.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 3 tbsp Coconut Oil
  • 1/2 cup Sprouted Popcorn Kernels plus 3-6 kernels for temp checking oil
  • 1-4 tsp Favorite Toppings

Buttered Popcorn Topping

  • 1/2-1 tsp Salt
  • 1 tbsp Nutritional Yeast

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Topping

  • 1 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp Coconut Sugar
  • 1/4 tsp Salt (optional)
  • 1 tsp Nutritional Yeast (optional)
  • 1 tsp Collagen (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Using a medium (at least 3 quarts) pan, melt coconut oil over medium low heat.
  • Keeping heat on, add 3-6 kernels to hot oil and cover pan with lid.
  • Once all kernels have popped, turn heat off. Add ½ cup of kernels to hot oil with heat still off. Place lid back on pan and swirl kernels in oil to evenly coat for about 20-30 seconds.
  • Keep lid on pan and turn heat back on to medium-low. Pop kernels until it slows to one pop every 2 seconds or so. You do not want to burn popcorn. Popcorn should pop relatively fast.
  • Immediately transfer popcorn to large bowl and add desired toppings while it is still hot.
  • Enjoy 🙂

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