Homemade Kettle Corn With Coconut Oil
Homemade Kettle Corn With Coconut Oil is incredibly easy to make at home on your stovetop! You just need popcorn kernels, coconut oil, sugar, and sea salt and you can have fresh homemade Kettle Corn in just a few minutes that is made with organic ingredients.
If you love making homemade popcorn as much as I do, be sure to check out some of my other favorite recipes like Pink Himalayan Sea Salt Popcorn, Rosemary Sea Salt Popcorn, or Organic Caramel Corn Without Corn Syrup.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Homemade Kettle Corn With Coconut Oil
- Ready In: 15 minutes
- Makes: 10 servings
- Main Ingredients: popcorn kernels, coconut oil, cane sugar, salt
- Flavor Profile: sweet and salty
- Dietary Info: vegan, gluten free, no seed oils, eggless
- Difficulty: Easy!
- Why You’ll Love It: fairground kettle corn in your home kitchen, but organic!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Organic: I use organic ingredients in this homemade kettle corn recipe, making it much better than the store bought versions.
- 4 Ingredients: This recipe only has 4 simple ingredients, making it an easy kettle corn recipe to make at home.
- 15 Minutes: I love making homemade popcorn because it's a simple recipe and you're eating warm, fresh kettle corn in no time at all.
- Better Than Store Bought: The result is just so much better than anything you can buy! Just like Best Homemade Kale Chips With Nutritional Yeast or Honey Roasted Cashews, I love making homemade snack recipes.
Ingredients
- Popcorn Kernels: I use organic popcorn kernels, you can easily find these online or even in grocery stores now. I always use yellow popcorn kernels.
- Coconut Oil: I use organic coconut oil as coconut oil is a high heat oil and it provides sweetness which is what kettle corn is known for.
- Cane Sugar: I use organic cane sugar which is a raw sugar compared to white sugar as it is less processed. It's not the same as turbinado sugar (or sugar in the raw though). I prefer organic cane sugar because it has a more deep caramel flavor which gives this kettle corn the best flavor while not being too sweet.
- Sea Salt: The sea salt is what makes kettle corn so addicting with that sweet and salty combo!
*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.
Tips for Homemade Kettle Corn With Coconut Oil
- Kettle corn can burn easily because of the sugar. So, it's important not to add the sugar until the pot is hot enough where the kernels will be popping immediately. This is why we do the 3 test kernels before adding the sugar. This ensures the kernels pop quickly once the sugar is added.
- Don't leave the stovetop when cooking homemade kettle corn as you want to swirl it around as much as possible to prevent burning.
- Make sure to use pot holders as your Dutch oven handles can get hot!
- As soon as there is only 1 second between pops, remove pot from heat and remove lid. This will also prevent burning.
- Make sure to salt it immediately so the salt sticks when the kettle corn is hot.
- Allow popcorn to cool completely before storing. Store in an airtight container so it stays fresh.
How to Make Homemade Kettle Corn With Coconut Oil
- In a large pot add coconut oil and 3 corn kernels, cover with a lid and put over medium-high heat.
- Once one or all kernels have popped, remove popped kernels and add all remaining corn kernels and cover with a lid. Heat kernels for 1 minute.
- Sprinkle the sugar into the pot in an even layer over the kernels, and return the lid. Intermittently, gently swirl around the kernels in the pot to prevent sugar from burning. Once kernels start to pop, shake the pot frequently so sugar does not burn and popped kernels rise to the top.
- When all the popcorn pops and popping slows to 1 second between pops, remove pot from heat and remove lid.
- Carefully pour popped corn into large bowl to cool (careful, kernels can still pop at this time), then sprinkle with the sea salt. Once the kettle corn starts to cool, they may stick together because of the sugar. Once it is completely cool, you can easily break up the clumps.
Movie Night Snack Inspo
We all know popcorn is the quintessential movie night snack! I love making homemade organic kettle corn and curling up on the couch to watch a movie. Try some of my other favorite homemade movie night snacks that pair so well with this organic kettle corn!
- Better than the movie theater yellow box treat, try these Chocolate Covered Raisin Clusters!
- Indulge in Vegan Snickers Bars, Homemade Crunch Bars, Healthy Almond Joy Bars, or Vegan Dark Chocolate Mini Peanut Butter Cups are the perfect chocolate companion to this sweet and salty homemade kettle corn!
- Instead of an orange pop, grab a glass of Homemade Orangeade that's made with fresh oranges!
- Try the Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Mini Cookies Without Eggs for bite sized cookies, perfect for movie night snacks!
Recipe FAQ's
You can use extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, or even canola or vegetable oil. Though, I think that organic coconut oil provides the best flavor for this sweet popcorn.
Coconut oil is naturally sweet which pairs really well with the sugar in kettle corn. Plus, it's a high heat oil so it can withstand being heated while the popcorn pops.
Lightly sprinkle it onto the kernels after they have been warmed for a minute. This ensures that the sugar sticks to the hot kernels and evenly coats all the popcorn.
This can happen when the sugar burns if the heat is too high or if you're not swirling around the kernels.
Absolutely — reduce or increase the cane sugar amount to taste. Just know that less sugar will mean less classic kettle corn sweetness (and more plain popcorn).
I haven't tested this with either, but I would recommend trying coconut sugar as it's more similar to cane sugar. Brown sugar may burn more easily with the added molasses.
You can use yellow or white popcorn kernels. The yellow kernels tend to pop larger and fluffier, while white kernels are smaller and tender — both work great with this recipe. But, I prefer yellow.
Because it's made with sugar, it sill clump or stick together naturally. You can break it apart as it starts to cool. But, I love the clusters, they're so tasty!
Allow it to cool completely. Then store it in an airtight container.
If you didn't let it cool completely and stored it, then it can become chewy or soggy.
Make sure to allow popcorn to cool completely before storing. Store in an airtight container in the pantry for up to a week. You can also freeze it for longer!
More Homemade Snack Recipes
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Homemade Kettle Corn With Coconut Oil
Equipment
- Digital Food Scale
- Large Stock Pot
- Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 142 grams popcorn kernels
- 57 grams coconut oil
- 113 grams cane sugar
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- In a large pot add coconut oil and 3 corn kernels, cover with a lid and put over medium-high heat.
- Once one or all kernels have popped, remove popped kernels and add all remaining corn kernels and cover with a lid. Heat kernels for 1 minute.
- Sprinkle the sugar into the pot in an even layer over the kernels, and return the lid. Intermittently, gently swirl around the kernels in the pot to prevent sugar from burning. Once kernels start to pop, shake the pot frequently so sugar does not burn and popped kernels rise to the top.
- When all the popcorn pops and popping slows to 1 second between pops, remove pot from heat and remove lid.
- Carefully pour popped corn into large bowl to cool (careful, kernels can still pop at this time), then sprinkle with the sea salt. Once the kettle corn starts to cool, they may stick together because of the sugar. Once it is completely cool, you can easily break up the clumps.
Video
Notes
- Kettle corn can burn easily because of the sugar. So, it's important not to add the sugar until the pot is hot enough where the kernels will be popping immediately. This is why we do the 3 test kernels before adding the sugar. This ensures the kernels pop quickly once the sugar is added.
- Don't leave the stovetop when cooking homemade kettle corn as you want to swirl it around as much as possible to prevent burning.
- Make sure to use pot holders as your Dutch oven handles can get hot!
- As soon as there is only 1 second between pops, remove pot from heat and remove lid. This will also prevent burning.
- Make sure to salt it immediately so the salt sticks when the kettle corn is hot.
- Allow popcorn to cool completely before storing. Store in an airtight container so it stays fresh.
- High Altitude — Follow the recipe as noted.
Nutrition
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Love making this at home instead of buying it as it’s so much tastier!