How To Make Popcorn Without a Microwave

Learn how to make popcorn without a microwave. Not only is it simple, but it tastes better, and it’s a healthy snack!

When I was a little girl, I distinctly remember hearing my dad in the kitchen, shaking the pot on the stove. Multiple nights every week, he would make a lot of popcorn and bring it out in our huge silver bowl. The 7 of us would eat it in front of the TV during movie night or while we watched Love Boat or some other late 80s show. Those memories take me back to my childhood.

When I first became a grownup, I made store-bought microwave popcorn often. It seemed like the next iteration of popcorn. Who needed to make it in a pot anymore? But over time, I became more health conscious. One day, my attorney friend was telling me about a class action lawsuit he was working on – gobs of people were suing the microwave popcorn companies for developing cancer after years of sniffing the fumes from microwave popcorn bags right after tearing open the top of the bag. What?! Honestly, I’m not sure how that lawsuit ended up, but it freaked me out!

It was definitely time for me to go back to my roots!

Why is homemade popcorn healthier?

One of the things I try to do in my family is to make real food. That means as much as I can, I start with the whole food and go from there. In my recipe, I use coconut oil, sea salt, and a cup of popcorn kernels. Compare that with the laundry list of ingredients on the back of a box of store-bought microwave popcorn. I bet you can’t pronounce half of those ingredients!

Try to google the phrase “is microwave popcorn bad for you?” You will be amazed at the articles that come up. There’s a plethora of information showing that all the weird ingredients, paired with chemicals within the packaging are a health nightmare.

Homemade popcorn is made with simple ingredients that are a healthy way to snack, and popcorn itself is a whole grain. You can even make your own popcorn in different ways. I find the best way to be on the stovetop, but that’s not the only way. You can also make it in an air popper, or even with homemade microwave popcorn in a paper bag. The best part is that you don’t even need to be skilled in culinary arts to do it!

Does homemade popcorn taste better?

This question is pretty subjective and a matter of opinion. There’s something about store-bought microwave popcorn that leaves a really weird coating on the inside of my mouth. I don’t exactly know what it is, but it is definitely off putting and one of the things I hate about microwave popcorn. So for me, I’d definitely say yes!

If I go by responses to my homemade popcorn, I’d say it’s a resounding YES that homemade tastes better. Not only are people often commenting on how amazing it is, but I’ve had multiple people text me to ask how I make my popcorn after their children have had it at my house. To me, that is the best part. If teenagers prefer it, it’s a win!

I do notice that processed food tastes very different as I move more and more of our diet to real, whole food. I now would not even prefer to eat the microwave kind because it is SO salty and tastes super artificial.

So….try it and judge for yourself! I think you’ll love it.

How to make homemade popcorn without a microwave:

1. Add 2T of coconut oil and 3 unpopped kernels into a large, heavy bottomed pot in a single layer. You can also substitute a light tasting olive oil, vegetable oil, or canola oil. However if you’re trying to avoid seed oils, I’d stick with coconut oil or olive oil)
2. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and heat until you hear all 3 kernels pop.
3. Uncover and quickly add a cup of kernels (1 cup of popcorn kernels), and 1 1/2t. of pink Himalayan sea salt (preferably ground in a blender)
4. Shake pot every 15-30 seconds. Some people want to stir with a wooden spoon, but I think that’s pretty dangerous since the hot kernels could pop at you. So just shake the pot.
5. In between shakes, tip lid SLIGHTLY to let out a little steam. Do not make this large enough for popcorn kernels to jump out!
6. When you hear the pops slow to 1-2 seconds or 2-3 seconds between the last kernel popping, take off heat and pour into a large bowl!
7. Enjoy!!

Total Time: just a few minutes!

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Step by step instructions on how to make homemade popcorn without a microwave:

It will shock you to see how easy this is! Here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients:

Popcorn – I love Jolly Time Popcorn because almost always completely pops, without leaving kernels at the bottom

Pink Himalayan Sea Salt – I put mine in a blender so it’s more like popcorn salt

Coconut oil –I use this one from Costco

Instructions:

Begin by choosing a large pot with a tight fitting lid. I use my big soup pot and it’s probably around 6-8 quarts. It’s also important to gather all your ingredients and your large bowl to pour the completed popcorn into. The process is really fast once you start!

To get the oil to temperature, put 2T of coconut oil in the pot with 3 popcorn kernels. Put the lid on and put it on medium-high heat.

Once you hear the 3 kernels pop, quickly take off the lid, add the 1c. of popcorn in a single layer and 1 1/2t. salt and put the lid back on and shake the pot from side to side.

For the next few minutes, keep the pot on medium heat or medium-high heat. Shake the pot side to side every 15-30 seconds or so. In between shakes, tilt the lid so it is a tiny bit ajar, allowing the steam to escape. This part is really important because it makes your popcorn crispy, instead of chewy!

Once you hear the pops diminish to about 1-3 seconds between them, carefully pour the popcorn into the large serving bowl. You’ll want to do this quickly so the popcorn on the bottom doesn’t keep cooking and burn or set off the smoke alarm! Be careful and keep you face away so that if there are still unpopped popcorn kernels, they won’t pop in your face.

And that’s it! Even my 12 year old can easily whip out a batch! Don’t be jealous of his blue on blue, pattern on pattern look! 🙂

How do I make popcorn salt?

Making popcorn salt is essentially just making powdered salt! I take about 1c of our regular Himalayan sea salt and put it in the Vitamix. Any blender would work for this. Just blend it up for a few seconds until it looks powdered like the one below. This sticks SO well to the popcorn and makes it so you don’t need butter to adhere the salt.

Do I have to use coconut oil?

No, you don’t! I grew up making this with vegetable oil and a little melted butter. People also make it with canola oil. I do try to avoid seed oils as much as I can, so I think a better alternative would be a light tasting olive oil.

I absolutely LOVE making this with Ghee! It gives it such a buttery flavor. Ghee is butter with the milk solids taken out. The milk solids burn and make it so that butter cannot be heated to a high temperature. By taking those out, you can maintain the buttery flavor but still have a high smoke point, making it perfect for homemade popcorn.

Another one I absolutely LOVE is Red Palm Oil. Using this actually gives it the yellowish color and buttery flavor that you’re used to with microwave popcorn.

I always have coconut oil and rarely have ghee or red palm oil laying around, so that’s why I recommend coconut oil. It’s much more accessible and easily found in the grocery store. Plus it’s SO good!

Tips and tricks on how to make popcorn without a microwave:

*If you use a cast iron dutch oven to make the popcorn, once the oil is heated up, you’ll want to reduce to medium heat. Cast iron holds SO much heat, so you could easily burn the popcorn by keeping it at a medium-high heat.

*Mushroom popcorn is super fun and makes a huge puff without an enormous hull. This is especially good if you’re going to be making crunchy caramel popcorn or this amazing caramel corn that is soft and gooey!

*We use an enormous bowl to put our popcorn in. If you don’t want to make as much as we have here, you can easily cut the recipe in half!

*We often take this as a snack when we go places. People love it and it’s a wonderful alternative to to chips and all the other processed crackers and salty treats.

*Put your Himalayan sea salt in a blender and let it go for 10-30 seconds. You’ll powder it and that’s essentially popcorn salt! It makes the salt stick to the popcorn so much easier!

More tips:

*Make sure you add the salt when you add the kernels. Alton Brown says that adding it at this point allows the kernels to pop around the salt, trapping the salt inside the kernels. That way you don’t need to add any additional butter in order to get the salt to stick to the kernels. It works perfectly!

*If you make too much popcorn, just store the extra popcorn at room temperature inside an airtight container, and you can enjoy it for days!

*You can use melted butter, cooking spray, or even sprinkle nutritional yeast or your favorite seasonings as a fun topping!

*Snack mix idea: Toss your popcorn with pretzels, nuts, or even chocolate chips for a yummy sweet and salty mix.

*Try a sweet treat by making popcorn balls with your homemade popcorn.

I hope you try it out!! If you do, let me know what you think!

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