If you're looking for a way to jazz up your movie night bowl of popcorn, you need to try this Strawberry Popcorn. It's made with simple ingredients, but is absolutely packed with strawberry flavor and fun!
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When it comes to snack foods, I think popcorn is pretty close to the top of the hierarchy. Is there anything better than sitting on your couch with a giant bowl of popcorn and tuning into the latest hit television series or movie?
Of course, I love a generously buttered and salted popcorn, but I also love that popcorn is one of the most versatile of snack foods. It can be savory or sweet or even a combination of the two (kettle corn is the best!). It can be pure or packed with other delicious ingredients from sprinkles to cookies to candies. It can be flavored almost any way you can dream of.
And this strawberry popcorn is my current favorite. It's a pretty simple recipe that doesn't require too many ingredients. But it's absolutely packed with strawberry flavor and so fun to eat.
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
If you're bored of regular popcorn and want to give it a major flavor boost, this is the recipe for you! It's perfect for strawberry lovers or anyone who wants to add a little fun to their snacking.
It's a fun Valentine's Day tasty treat, but strawberry popcorn is also a great favor to make for any party or baby shower where pink is in the color scheme.
It can be served in little individual cups or small bowls on a popcorn bar and makes for a fabulous party popcorn.
Plus, it's super easy to make and doesn't require too many ingredients!
🗒 Ingredients
As I mentioned, you only need a few simple ingredients for this strawberry popcorn. You may not have them all currently in your pantry, but they can be easily purchased.
Here's what you need (be sure to check out the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient amounts and full recipe directions):
- Canola oil
- Popcorn kernels: If you don't want to pop your own popcorn, you can use microwave popcorn or even purchase a bag of pre-popped popcorn. I recommend using plain popcorn and not salted or buttered.
- Strawberry candy melts
- Freeze-dried strawberries
- Pink, red, or multi-colored sprinkles: I usually purchase my specialty sprinkles from Sweetapolita, but a pink sprinkles mix like this one would be great, too. You can use any kind of sprinkles you want!
🍿 How to make strawberry popcorn
Making this yummy snack food is easy! If you're making your popcorn from scratch, you'll start by popping it.
You might have your own favorite way to pop popcorn and you can certainly use an air popper or your own method. Here's the method I like to use for the stove top: Put the canola oil and popcorn kernels in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high.
When the first kernel pops (the test kernels!), cover the pot and remove it from the heat for about 30 seconds.
Place pot back on the stove and once kernels start popping, vigorously shake the pot back and forth, keeping it on heat. Once popping slows, take pot off the heat and remove cover. Put popped corn in a large mixing bowl.
You want your freeze-dried strawberries to be roughly chopped. I usually put mine in a little plastic bag and gently crush them with a meat tenderizer.
Make sure you leave some big pieces and don't crush them too much!
You also need to melt your candy melts. You may have your own favorite method for doing so, but here's my recommendation:
Put candy melts in a microwave safe bowl and place in the microwave for 1 minute at 40% heat.
Stir mixture with a spoon and then repeat regimen at 30-second intervals, stirring in between each one, until candy melts are fully melted.
Now drizzle the candy melts over the bowl with the popcorn, add the freeze-dried strawberries and sprinkles, and toss to combine.
I always sprinkle any extra strawberry dust from crushing the strawberries over the top of the popcorn. It's pretty and delicious!
And call your family and friends together because it's officially snack time!
This popcorn is absolutely packed with strawberry flavor. It's sweet and fun and so totally addictive. If you're snacking while watching a movie, be careful because the bowl could be gone before you know it!
This is such a fun spring and summer snack to me, but since you don't make the popcorn with fresh strawberries, it can really be enjoyed any time of year.
⏲️ How to store
This strawberry popcorn is best when enjoyed fresh, but you can also store it for about 3-4 days in an airtight container at room temperature.
We always make a big batch (this recipe makes about 12 cups of popcorn mix) and enjoy it for the next few days!
🎉 Variations on recipe
I like the simplicity of this strawberry popcorn and the fact that it's made with just a few ingredients and packed with fruity flavor. That said, there are so many things you could add to the popcorn mixture to jazz it up more and suit it to the tastes of your family. Here are some great options:
- Chocolate chips: If you want flavor like a chocolate-covered strawberry, try adding chocolate to the popcorn! I think dark chocolate chips would be especially delicious.
- White chocolate chips: For extra sweetness for all my white chocolate lovers, the addition of white chocolate chips would be tasty.
- Nuts: Nuts would add some additional crunch and nutrition and turn the popcorn into a sort of trail mix. I love the idea of pecans, pistachios, or cashews.
- Shredded coconut: Strawberry and coconut is always a delicious flavor combination.
- Candy: Add your favorite candy to the popcorn. Fruity candy like Skittles would be tasty, as would chocolate candy like M&MS.
- Mini marshmallows: For a little more sweetness and a fun look, add some mini marshmallows.
- Oreo cookies: Use the flavor of your choice from original to birthday cake.
- Graham crackers: Graham flavor would be delicious in this popcorn.
🍓 Can I use fresh strawberries?
I highly recommend using freeze-dried strawberries for this recipe instead of fresh ones.
Fresh strawberries contain a lot of moisture and will likely make the popcorn quite soggy. They also won't distribute strawberry flavor quite as well as freeze-dried will.
👩🍳 More popcorn recipes
I like taking a basic snack like popcorn and jazzing it up with more flavor and fun! Here are some of my favorite popcorn mixes and other recipes involving popcorn:
- Oreo Funfetti Popcorn
- Buttered Popcorn Cookies
- Christmas Party Popcorn
- Easter Candy Popcorn
- Halloween Party Popcorn
- Sriracha Basil Popcorn
- Bacon Jalapeño Cheddar Popcorn
- Caramel Corn
- Spicy Popcorn Balls
- Unicorn Popcorn (from Crayons and Cravings)
If you love making homemade popcorn, I hope you'll try this strawberry popcorn recipe.
It's the perfect snack for all your family movie nights and will be loved by both kids and adults alike!
What's your dream flavor of popcorn?
📖 Recipe
Strawberry Popcorn
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp canola oil
- ⅓ cup popcorn kernels
- 8 oz. strawberry candy melts
- 1 cup roughly chopped freeze-dried strawberries
- Pink, red, or multi-colored sprinkles
Instructions
- Put oil and popcorn kernels in a large pot over medium-high. When the first kernel pops, cover the pot and remove it from the heat for about 30 seconds.
- Place pot back on the stove and once kernels start popping, vigorously shake the pot back and forth, keeping it on heat. Once popping slows, take pot off the heat and remove cover. Put popped popcorn in a large bowl.
- Put candy melts in a microwave safe bowl and place in the microwave for 1 minute at 40% heat. Stir mixture with a spoon and then repeat regimen at 30-second intervals, stirring in between each one, until candy melts are fully melted.
- Drizzle candy melts over popcorn and toss with chopped freeze-dried strawberries and sprinkles.
Notes
- If you don't want to pop your own popcorn on the stovetop, you can buy a bag of microwave popcorn or even use a bag of pre-popped popcorn. I recommend plain, unsalted and unbuttered popcorn.
- Store popcorn in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.
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