Homemade Microwave Popcorn
I have been on a D.I.Y. kick lately. With homemade ranch dressing mix, Italian dressing mix, taco seasoning, and onion soup mix. Here is another great one to add to the list!
It’s 3 PM and the kids come in from school looking for a snack. If you are like me you try to persuade them to eat the healthiest thing in the kitchen, but more often than not you are out voted for popcorn because of convenience and taste. What if you could both be happy?
Microwave popcorn is not the healthiest thing when purchased from the grocery store. It is full of chemicals, salt, fake butter, and calories, plus unless you have a coupon it isn’t cheap. Why is popcorn so expensive?
I purchased a 2 pound bag of Popcorn kernels for $1.49. And I bought 50 brown paper bags for $1.00. So for $2.49 I am making 50 bags of microwave popcorn for my kids….and me. That is $0.05 per bag!
The added bonus is I know what they are eating, I know how much salt or other flavorings is being put on it, I know there are no chemicals, and everyone is still happy!
All you do is put 1/3 a cup of popcorn kernels in a brown paper bag. That is it. Seriously!
Fold over the Top of the bag! Twice…to keep the popcorn contained. Otherwise, the inside of your microwave will be a free for all of popcorn kernels. LOL
Microwave for 2 minutes or until you hear the kernels stop popping.
Voila! Season with salt, butter, popcorn seasoning …whatever your heart’s desire!
Now…wait a minute….I can hear you already saying, but the boxed stuff is in my pantry and ready to go. Well, this can be too! How? It is super easy!
Just fill the bags with the 1/3 cup popcorn kernels and fold over the top. Fold the bag just like the pre-boxed stuff and place it in a ziploc bag with directions. I used a pencil to write it right on the bag. Just remove from the ziploc, unfold, and microwave!
This is a job for my kids. We just take a Saturday morning some measuring cups and bags and go to town. They love doing it and having their snacks whenever they are hungry!
I just started doing this myself. It’s so easy and you can add whatever flavors you want instead of what they offer. I only do 1/4 cup though. That is enough for me. 🙂
I take a glass bowl, spritz some oil in, throw in 1/4 cup of kernels, cover with a plate, and put in the microwave for 3-4 minutes. I read this trick in Good Housekeeping and I love it and we do it almost daily – totally reusable and free! (Make sure you cover it though – my husband has made that mistake a few times. Oops.)
LOVE it – I am in constant need of new healthy snack ideas for the kids…. TY!
This is jaw dropping easy. I’m taking my jiffy pop off my list and getting bags and kernels. Can’t believe how easy that is. And I control the calorie! Unreal. I feel like I’ve been getting cheated! Thanks for this recipe.
I just bought an air popper over the weekends. Kids thought it was great until they tasted it.. funny how we forget what real popcorn tastes like with out all the added FAT!
Over near the boxed popcorn at the grocery store they sell popcorn salt – which is just finer ground salt. It sticks to the homemade popcorn much better than regular table salt. A jar of that will last you just about forever. I make it in a bowl in the microwave with just a little olive oil and the popcorn salt. So much better than the stuff you buy!
Isn’t this a great find?! I was in awe when I discovered it. It’s so easy…why doesn’t everyone know about it?!
Love Love LOVE this. I don’t like store bought microwave popcorn because it makes me nauseated. I do like homemade popcorn tho & so does the rest of the family. Now when the kids want it I can make it convenient & fast. Thank you so much!!!
This is great! Thank you so much.
Thanks for sharing this. One of my sons would eat popcorn everyday if I let him, but I don’t because of all the other stuff that comes with the already prepared store bought bags. This will save us lots of money and its a much healthier alternative.
Would anyone care to share their favorite seasonings & amounts? Do you just throw in seasonings until it tastes “right”? Any tips for helping all the pieces get seasoned instead of just a few, and the rest of the seasoning falling to the bottom? 🙂
And any suggestions for butter? I like buttery popcorn but whenever I try to do my own butter, it seems like a few pieces get all the butter and are soggy, while the others are tasteless.
I would looove to do this since it sounds so much cheaper and healthier, but I am not a fan of plain popcorn so just wondering about your suggestions!
I use a “Misto” Oil sprayer filled with store bought popcorn oil (like Orville Redenbachers Popping & Topping Buttery flavor popcorn oil). I spray it on the Popcorn after its popped– this way you dont get soggy popcorn from butter. Hope this helps.
I have been doing this since the late 80s! LOL
We used to add popcorn, a scoop of butter and we would double bag it w/a paper towel underneath to minimize any mess.
Works wonders!
if you melt the butter till clarified, the moisture is removed then it wont be soggy, hint melt on low heat till no steam is left, moisture will be gone!
Awesome idea!! Thanks for the tips….sent it out to Pinterest world to share with all my friends 🙂
Thank you- Garrett and I don’t want to invest into the microwave bags anyways, what a GREAT way to make healthy popcorn the way you want it.
I love to do this with only a small amount of popcorn, just for when I want a snack and nobody is interested in sharing. I also slap a pat of butter into the bag with some popcorn salt and then all I have to do after it’s done popping is shake the bag and it’s buttered! The paper bag soaks up the moisture in the butter as it melts so the popcorn isn’t soggy.
This is a wonderful find! We are big popcorn eaters, but have been wary about the chemicals and dangerous fumes produced from the microwave bags. This is so great! Thank you for sharing this.