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
Homemade Baked Caramel Corn
Equipment
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
Nutrition Information:
This post was previously published in 2010. Photographs and text were updated in 2019.
Just made a batch a few days ago. Glad I gave most of it away because I can’t keep my hands out of it. Yummy!
I also add crisp bacon to the caramel corn for the saltiness. Also homemade Kahlua is awesome as I make it early in the year then when Holidays come I pour into empty kleen root beer bottles with a tag saying Have a Merry Xmas in a GIFT BASKET. How fun is this?????????? Love your recipes they are awesome. TKS
Can’t wait to make this!! I was wondering why you mix chocolate and chocolate bark? I haven’t used the bark before.
ohgoodgolly this looks sooooo good…perfect treat for the game day crowd! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
can you tell me what is corn syrup?
Can i buy it in the UK or similar??
Hello, Trish! Corn syrup is used as a sweetener and thickener, and helps prevent sugar crystallization. I’m not sure whether it’s available in the UK, but I did find a link for a homemade substitute that had good reviews: http://www.food.com/recipe/homemade-corn-syrup-substitute-simple-syrup-74080/review – hope that helps!
I made this the other day and it was FABULOUS! I split it into two batches, one plain and one with chocolate — let me tell you, the chocolate is a must! Everyone raved over both batches, but all agreed that the chocolate made it that much better. I’ll definitely be making these as my Christmas Treat for neighbors. How cute will it be wrapped up in a bag with bow — perfect!
Hello Laura – thanks for visiting, it’s great to know more MN bloggers. It seems as though you might like this caramel corn as much as I do!!
Oh my gosh ~ I just found your blog & can not seem to leave even though I need to get back to work :) This looks just like the Harry & David Moose Munch that I love, love, love! Can not wait to make this!
Hello Lynda – I’m so glad you found me! I’d love to know what you think of the caramel corn.
Chocolate on caramel corn–of course! It seems perfectly obvious, now. I’ll be trying that for sure! I like to gift homemade truffles or biscotti for Christmas. I have also given homemade Kaluhua. A good friend of mine gifts her homemade Bailey’s every year. I love receiving from the heart gifts!
Hi Kirsten! Truffles are my ultimate treat!! Now you know what I’ll be craving all day long. Homemade Kahlua & Bailey’s? That sounds fantastic. I know I have an article saved about making that, it’s very intriguing to me. Thank you so much for sharing!
Caramel Corn is part of our food group during the holiday season. But I’ll have to do it with the chocolate. It looks wonderful.
Thank you Sylvie! Homemade caramel corn is always a special treat, but the chocolate drizzle really amps up the flavor & fun!
Looks delish! I printed and hope to make this next weekend. I stumbled the post, hope it brings you a few more visitors. ;-)
Thank you Amanda!!
Wow! I love your blog. Your pictures of food are sooooo beautiful. I love all the backgrounds you’ve chosen to display your goodies!
I’m visiting from Mingle Monday!
Blessings
Rachymommy – MommyTopics.com
Thanks for mingling! And for your lovely compliments.
This is a wonderful Christmas gift to give. Yours looks delicious and the fact that it’s baked in the oven just means that the calories in the chocolate has been fully reduced right?!
That’s exactly right, Paula!
I use a similar recipe, only I make mine in the microwave (super easy, I know). I *love* to make it gourmet… last year I even smashed candy canes on top of melted chocolate chips!
{Stopping by to say “hi” from Monday Mingle.}
Thanks for mingling! Hmmmm…will have to try the candy cane thing…
This is just what I was hoping for! I am starting to plan the holiday gift giving…and this will be perfect! Thanks so much for the great idea! Keep ’em coming!
Will do – thanks Sara!
What a treat! I just love that you are going to be offering us even more treats that can be offered as gifts for the holidays…happiness!!!
Thanks Avril – stay tuned!
sounds amazing~~mmmmmmmmm!!! i will make this when i am ready to gain about 20lbs!!!!LOL!!!
I’m always looking for homemade gifts to give, as I love gifts with a personal touch. I think I just found what I’m taking my office holiday party!
Hello – thanks for stopping by, and enjoy that caramel corn!
Oh. my. This looks really yummy! I’m just wondering how you can ever give any away?!
Hello Melinda – thanks for visiting! The secret to having enough to give away is simply to make a double batch. :-)
I LOVE the addition of chocolate to caramel corn! How gorgeous!
Hope you are having a great Mingle Monday! Talk to you soon!
Thanks, Robyn. Just can’t beat that caramel and chocolate together!
I am bookmarking this recipe! I have not given gifts like this, because of poor planning. But, this year look so forward to doing so. GREAT idea! Have a super start to your week.
Thanks again, Kim. Have fun with gifting this year!
I have been making this popcorn for many years now. I make several batches around the the holidays because everyone loves it. I got my recipe off of the karo syrup bottle. I think this is the best popcorn ever. Way better then the “popcorn factory.”