Oven-Baked Caramel Corn

This homemade baked caramel popcorn is SO much better than store-bought. It’s crispy, sweet, buttery perfection that you can bake in your home oven. Plus, old-fashioned caramel corn makes a great holiday gift!

Try my microwave caramel popcorn for another easy homemade treat. And then, make this cinnamon caramel corn that’s perfect for fall!

Each Christmas season, my friend and co-worker Ann would gift a big bowl of her homemade caramel corn to our office. It was most definitely the best caramel popcorn I had ever experienced. And she baked it in the oven! I never found so many excuses to visit the kitchenette, to replenish the snack supply at my desk. Now, nearly 20 years after my first bite of Ann’s baked caramel corn, I can still say it’s the best I’ve ever had. Go on. Treat yourself. Treat your friends (because this crispy, buttery caramel corn makes a FABULOUS gift).

Why You’ll LOve This Caramel Corn Recipe

• 6 ingredients. You might have them in the pantry already!
• Baked in the oven. After preparing a quick homemade caramel sauce on the stovetop, all you do is drizzle that over the popcorn, toss, and bake. It’s a quick and easy method that takes an hour or less.
• Buttery, crisp perfection. The caramel glaze is not too thick, not too thin. It’s crispy and has a wonderful buttery flavor. Better than any store-bought version I’ve tried.
• Addictively delicious. I will give you one warning. Do not eat a single piece of this caramel corn unless you’re prepared to indulge in a whole lot more. It is the highest level of addictive!

“Truly THE best caramel corn that I have ever tasted. SO delicious and perfectly crisp and extremely addictive. I’m going to be making this over and over again”

Paula

Ingredients You’ll Need

This old-fashioned caramel popcorn recipe is an easy one, leaving you with a nice big batch in about an hour’s time. Plus, the ingredients are super simple. Here are some notes. Scroll down to the recipe card for a printable list with the full recipe details.

• Popped popcorn – Air-popped popcorn is best. Our family makes popcorn two to three times a week using this stovetop popper. These are our favorite popcorn kernels. Not only do I like the texture, but I love that it’s white so it stands out beneath the caramel.
• Butter – Salted or unsalted.
• Brown sugar – You could also use granulated sugar, though the flavor won’t be as caramelized.
• Light corn syrup – Corn syrup is an essential ingredient in caramel making that gives the finished caramel a chewier, softer consistency. This caramel corn recipe won’t work without corn syrup, so don’t skip it!
• Salt
• Baking soda – Make sure not to use baking powder, which isn’t the same thing. Baking soda is key to perfect homemade caramel corn, see below.

Why Do You Add Baking Soda to Caramel Corn?

So, there’s a little science involved in making caramel corn. The baking soda reacts with the acidity in the brown sugar and corn syrup, creating tiny carbon dioxide air bubbles. These bubbles aerate the caramel, making it smoother and easier to coat the popcorn. It also prevents the caramel from becoming rock-hard once it cools.

How to Make Caramel Corn

These are the easy steps to make deliciously buttery, sweet, and crispy baked caramel corn. Scroll to the recipe card for printable instructions.

• Warm the popcorn. Spread the popped corn onto two large rimmed pans and keep it warm and crisp in a 250° F oven.
• Make the caramel. In a saucepan on the stovetop, combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Bring it to a boil. When the temperature reaches 248°F (this usually takes about 5 minutes), remove the pan from the heat and stir in the baking soda. The mixture will foam and turn lighter in color.
• Coat the popcorn. Drizzle the hot caramel mixture over top of your warmed popcorn. Fold to coat as evenly as you can. Don’t fret if it’s not coated quite as well as you’d like, as you’ll fold the caramel corn 3 more times before it’s finished baking.
• Bake. Place the caramel corn back into the oven and bake for 45 minutes, folding every 15 minutes. Done! You are now the proud maker of the best caramel corn on earth!

Recipe Tips and Variations

• Don’t overheat the caramel. Even with the corn syrup and baking soda working together to soften it, overcooked caramel will turn rock hard after it’s cooled. Use a candy thermometer to check the temperature and take it off the heat once it hits 248°F.
• Toss the popcorn well. Make sure every popped corn kernel is well coated so that you don’t wind up with clumps of caramel with bare pieces mixed in.
• Bake the popcorn. It might seem obvious, but yes, you need to bake your caramel popcorn! Baking is key to crisping up the outside and hardening the caramel just enough that it sets. If you don’t bake it, the caramel corn will be soggy.
• Let it cool off a bit. This caramel corn is softer and chewier when it’s fresh from the oven, so be sure to let it cool a little before you dig in.
• Add spice. Sprinkle in cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, or give your caramel corn some kick with cayenne pepper.
• Add mix-ins. Toss your caramel corn with nuts, chocolate chips, M&Ms, or other candies. I also sometimes mix in salted popcorn pieces for a sweet-salty mix.

Ways to Serve Caramel PopCorn

So many people appreciate really great caramel corn. That’s why I think it’s one of the best edible food gifts, especially during the holidays! This year I used these sweet little baking cups to hold the homemade caramel corn. A friend gave them to me, and I just love them.

I like to fill the cups with caramel corn and add them to treats platters. Or slip them into a small clear food bag, twist the bag top, and tie on some ribbon. It makes a beautiful little homemade gift.

For an extra special treat, especially during the holidays, I like to drizzle my caramel corn with dark chocolate. It’s a fun an easy treat that I’ll bring out at parties with more sweet snacks like rosemary thyme spiced nuts and chocolate peanut butter Ritz cookies.

How to Store Caramel Corn

To keep your homemade caramel corn as fresh as possible, store it in an airtight container, or a large zip-top bag with the excess air pressed out. Properly stored, caramel corn will last 2-3 weeks!

More Homemade Treats

• Oreo Truffle Balls
• Toffee
• Peanut Butter Cups
• Spiced Nuts

Homemade Baked Caramel Corn

Yield: 6 quarts caramel corn

prep time: 10 minutes mins

cook time: 50 minutes mins

total time: 1 hour hr

This homemade baked caramel popcorn is SO much better than store-bought. It's crispy, sweet, buttery perfection! And it makes a great holiday gift!

4.5 Stars (70 Reviews)

Print

Equipment

• Orville Redenbacher’s Gourmet White Popcorn Kernels
• Whirley Pop 
• Large Rimmed Pan
• Candy Thermometer

Ingredients

• 6 quarts popped corn (I like to use these white popcorn kernels. I think the white popped corn is prettier and I like the texture better)
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 2 cups packed light brown sugar
• ½ cup light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 250°F.
• Spread freshly popped corn (we use this stovetop popper) onto two large rimmed pans. Place in the oven to keep popcorn warm and crisp.
• In a heavy 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Stir every now and then, dissolving the sugar. Bring mixture to a boil and cook until it reaches the firm ball stage of 248° F, using a candy thermometer. This should take about 5 minutes or so.
• Remove from heat and stir in baking soda. Caramel mixture will foam.
• Remove popped corn from oven and pour hot caramel mixture over it, in a fine stream. Fold to mix well. Return pans to oven for 45 minutes, stirring and scraping up caramel from bottom of pans every 15 minutes. Remove pans from oven to a cooling rack. Once caramel corn is cool enough to handle, and not yet hardened, break up any large clumps using your fingers. Then let caramel corn cool completely. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Notes

from the recipe box of friend Ann Hauer, who got the recipe from a high school Home Ec cookbook

A great twist on this recipes is to drizzle melted chocolate over the cooled caramel corn while it is still in the pans. I melt 4 ounces of chocolate bark and 6 ounces of dark or semisweet chocolate chips together and drizzle over the caramel corn. This can be altered to your own chocolate preference – I’ve just found this ratio pleases both the milk chocolate and dark chocolate lovers in our family. Let the chocolate set completely (can refrigerate briefly to speed up the process) and then break the caramel corn into chunks.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 1 Calories: 442kcal Carbohydrates: 79g Protein: 8g Fat: 15g Saturated Fat: 8g Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g Cholesterol: 31mg Sodium: 139mg Fiber: 6g Sugar: 41g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Spoonacular. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.

Did you make this recipe?Please leave a comment below. And share a photo on Instagram with the hashtag #afarmgirlsdabbles or tag @farmgirlsdabble!

© Brenda | A Farmgirl’s Dabbles

Cuisine: American

Course: Dessert

This post was previously published in 2010. Photographs and text were updated in 2019.