All recipes

Old-Fashioned Caramel Popcorn

Old-Fashioned Caramel Popcorn features airy popped corn coated in a glossy caramel that’s buttery, sweet, and lightly salty for perfect balance. Each bite shatters with crunch before melting into rich toffee notes from brown sugar and corn syrup. Ideal for movie nights, game day spreads, or packing into bags for gifting and parties.

  • Prep15 mins
  • Cook45 mins
  • Serves8
  • DifficultyEasy
Old-Fashioned Caramel Popcorn
  1. 1

    Gather all ingredients.

  2. 2

    Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Spray a large, shallow roasting pan with cooking spray, fill it with popcorn, and place it in the preheated oven while you prepare the caramel.

  3. 3

    Combine brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, and salt in a heavy 2-quart saucepan over medium heat; stir constantly until the mixture comes to a boil.

  4. 4

    Stop stirring and boil the mixture for 5 minutes.

  5. 5

    Remove from the heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla until fully combined.

  6. 6

    Pour the syrup over the warmed popcorn and stir until it is evenly coated.

  7. 7

    Return to the oven and bake for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

  8. 8

    Remove from the oven and spread onto a large sheet of foil greased with cooking spray.

  9. 9

    Cool, then break apart and store in a tightly covered container.