Caramel Corn is quintessential fall food and this recipe is quick, easy, and can be made in the microwave! No candy thermometers or complicated instructions, just warm, buttery caramel coated bites. Now there are generally 2 schools when it comes to caramel corn: those who like it warm and soft, and those who like it crisp and crunchy. This recipe is awesome because 1. It tastes amazing, 2. It’s suuuper easy, and 3. You can make it gooey or crunchy. You can even form it into popcorn balls. Pretty much anyone and everyone who eats this asks for the recipe!
How do you make caramel corn in the microwave?
You’ll want a large, microwave save bowl. I use a large glass mixing bowl. Use a bowl that’s larger than your ingredients to leave room for the mixture boiling and growing in volume as it cooks. You’ll combine brown sugar, butter, and a little corn syrup in the bowl and microwave just until everything melts together and is stirred smooth.
TIP: Cut your butter into small pieces so it melts quicker.
After it’s melted and smooth, then you’ll cook it for a couple minutes to dissolve the sugar. It will look like caramel after you pull it out (because it is caramel!)
The magic happens when you add the vanilla (watch it sizzle!) and the baking soda. Stir in the baking soda and you’ll see the caramel actually grow and become lighter in caramel and almost….fluffy.
What’s the easiest way to mix caramel corn?
At this point, your popcorn should be in a large bowl. The largest bowl you can find. Use one that is way bigger than you think you’ll need, it just makes it SO much easier to stir. I use a ridiculously large bowl like this one for my caramel corn, and also rice krispy treats. It’s one of my most favorite kitchen tools!
You’ll also want to make sure you carefully remove ALL unpopped kernels from the bowl so you don’t break a tooth.
Mix it up well with a big spoon. The longer it sits out, the firmer it will get, but it won’t ever get crunchy-hard unless you bake it.
How do I make crunchy caramel corn?
If you’d like to turn your soft caramel corn into crunchy caramel corn, all you need to do is bake it! Just spread it all out on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake at 300 degrees for about 30 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes.
For a variation try this reader favorite: Cinnamon Bun Popcorn
Easy Caramel Corn
Ingredients
- 12 cups popped popcorn about 1/2 C kernels
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup Karo syrup light or dark is fine
- 1/8 teaspoon salt if you are using salted microwave popcorn then omit salt here
- 1/2 cup real butter 1 stick
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Pop popcorn and set aside. Place brown sugar, Karo syrup, salt, and butter in a microwave safe dish. Microwave for 30 seconds. That should be enough to melt the butter at least half way. Stir it all to combine. No microwave on high for 2 minutes. Take it out and stir. Microwave for 2 more minutes.
- While the caramel is cooking, put the popcorn in a big bowl. Use one that is way bigger than you think you'll need. Also, remove any un-popped kernels. When the caramel is done cooking, take out of microwave and add baking soda and vanilla. Stir well and then pour over popcorn and stir up popcorn immediately to coat.
- Eat warm straight out of the bowl, or spread out onto waxed paper or foil and let cool to room temperature (for soft, gooey popcorn).
- For crunchy caramel corn: spread out on a cookie sheet (you might need 2) and bake at 300 degrees for about 20-30 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes. Pull out a piece and pop it in the fridge to let it cool quickly to test crunchiness!
Questions & Reviews
This is so good. We may have made 2 batches this week already. Thanks!
25 years Aton I learned his in i. On g be except we poured to her the Carmel into the popcorn then put it in a brown paper sack and microwaved for 1 minute. Stirred the new repeat for 1 minute again. Im lazy and have skipped that step but not sure why we did it!
I want to go make this for breakfast now :).
I love Caramel Popcorn! Since the first time I went to the US and bought a little box of “Cracker Jacks”, I became a fan of it. And after trying different and better recipes, I started to find a way to make it myself. But I need to know one thing: Is it mandatory to use corn syrup? or Can I replace or avoid using Corn Syrup on this recipe?
Honey often works as a replacement for corn syrup. You can try that, but you’d have to experiment!
Seriously, this is one of my FAVORITE recipes from your blog. I make it all the time and always get requests for the recipe. I had a vegan friend ask about if my caramel corn recipe was adaptable to be made without animal products. Any advice? Or will this only work with real butter?
Hi. I made this recipe but halved all the caramel topping ingredients because I only had one bag of microwave popcorn on hand. I think I should have lessened the cooking time because my caramel turned crunchy pretty fast… It was still good but I prefer chewy! Anyway, I shall try again tomorrow. Thanks for the recipe!
Seriously the most addictive caramel popcorn recipe ever! Made it for some friends and I to eat on a road trip…the popcorn didn’t make it to our destination. We devoured it!
I made this today and it turned out great! Your recipe is a keeper! Since I wanted it to be a little crunchy I put it in a 300 degree oven for just 10 minutes and it was perfect. No need to do a half hour.
I learned waaay back in Home Ec that the easiest way to make caramel popcorn is in a brown paper grocery bag. You dump the popped corn in there, then pour your caramel over the top. Roll up the top of the bag and shake like a mad woman. Dump it out into your bowl (or cookie sheet for drying) and throw the messy, sticky bag away and forget about washing that dish. It’s sooooo much easier to mix and does a better job of it too! Now I always keep a paper bag or two on hand.
I’ve been making your cinnamon bun caramel popcorn for years and love it! I made this version tonight to hand out as a party favor for my daughters movie party birthday- it’s super good, too. One question though – when you bake it does the popcorn become kind of sugary as it dries? Mine becomes a little crystal-like versus the glossy look it has before it goes into the oven. It still tastes fantastic – just double checking that I’m doing things right. Thanks for your input. 🙂
This is sooo good. I am excited for my stay-at-home date night now. Movie and the best caramel popcorn? Sounds perfect. Now if the kids will just go to sleep… Also, I like to add mini marshmallows to the popped corn before I add the sauce. It melts them a bit and you get bites of yummy, soft marshmallowey caramel. And I sprinkled on some kosher salt and it was so good.