2 Microwave Caramel Corn is the best and easiest way to make caramel corn! In a matter of minutes you can have crunchy and delicious caramel corn.
We are big popcorn eaters at our house. Some of our other favorite ways to enjoy popcorn are this Peanut Butter Popcorn. Key Lime Popcorn almost tastes as good as the pie and this Nutella Marshmallow Popcorn is to die for! And how fun is this Popcorn Cake, perfect any celebration.
For over 30 years my family has been making this delicious microwave caramel popcorn. I got the recipe from my friend Pam. We were in a mom’s group together and each month we took turns putting together a lesson, visual aids and a treat idea for everyone that could be used with their family.
One month Pam shared her family’s microwave caramel corn recipe for the treat. We all totally fell in love with it and have been making it ever since. The fun thing about this recipe is how easy it is! You don’t need a candy thermometer or have to worry about the caramel hitting a certain temperature. The whole recipe is made in the microwave!
Easy Caramel Corn
Besides being easy, what I love about this microwave caramel popcorn recipe is that it makes a dry, crunchy caramel corn. I know there is a divided camp on caramel corn. Some like it gooey and sticky and some like it dry and crunchy. I’m a dry and crunchy caramel corn girl!
The other great thing about this recipe is the caramel corn is made in a brown paper bag so clean up is easy too. After you cook the caramel popcorn in the microwave, you spread it out on wax paper on the counter to dry. Then just toss the paper bag!
How to Make Microwave Caramel Corn
- You will need 16 cups of popped popcorn, be sure and remove the unpopped kernels. Place in a large brown grocery store bag.
- Combine brown sugar, corn syrup and butter into a microwave safe bowl, be sure the bowl has higher sides, as the mixture will expand and bubble and you don’t want it to overflow in the microwave.
- Place bowl in microwave and microwave for one minute, remove and stir. Repeat this process for four additional minutes, removing to stir after each minute. You will do this for a total of five minutes. The mixture will get hot and bubbly.
- Remove and add in baking soda and vanilla, stir until foamy.
- Pour hot sugar mixture into bag over popcorn.
- With a wooden spoon stir mixture to coat popcorn as much as possible. It’s o.k. if it doesn’t get totally coated, it will as it cooks in the microwave.
- Close the bag and fold over the top, make it small enough so that it fits into your microwave.
- Microwave for one minute, remove and shake. Repeat. Microwave for 30 seconds, remove and shake. Repeat. A total of three minutes.
- Pour the caramel corn onto a baking sheet or a piece of parchment paper. Allow to cool.
Caramel Corn Flavor Variations
It is easy to dress this caramel popcorn up too.
Snickerdoodle Caramel Corn: just add a couple teaspoons of cinnamon sugar into the brown bag when you pull it out of the microwave for the last time. Be sure and give it a good couple of shakes to get it evenly distributed. Do it quickly as the caramel sets up quickly and the sugar will not stick to the kernels if it is too dry.
White Chocolate Caramel Corn: While the caramel corn is cooling on the wax paper, just drizzle melted white chocolate on top. The white chocolate caramel corn was a HUGE hit at a party I took it to and everyone kept asking me where I bought it. No one could believe I actually made it! One of our friends even suggested that maybe I should go into business and sell it. It is easy to make, but I would rather share the recipe so you can make your own microwave caramel popcorn to enjoy!
Here are some other fun flavor caramel corn combinations I have put together.
- S’more Caramel Corn
- Gingerbread Caramel Corn
- Peppermint Bark Caramel Corn
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Caramel Corn
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Microwave Caramel Corn Recipe
Microwave Caramel Corn
Ingredients
- 16 cups popped corn I used my air popper
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup corn syrup
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2-1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Pop 16 cups of popcorn and place in a large brown grocery bag
- Cook sugar, syrup and butter in a medium to large glass bowl in microwave on high for one minute
- Stir and repeat for a total of five minutes, should be hot and bubbly
- Add baking soda, vanilla and mix until foamy
- Pour mixture over popcorn in brown paper bag, stir to coat
- Fold bag over and place in microwave.
- Microwave for one minute and shake, repeat.
- Microwave 30 seconds and shake, repeat
- Pour popcorn out onto parchment paper to cool.
Nutrition
Originally posted March 27, 2014
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If I don’t have a large grocery store brown paper bag- is there something else you can suggest? Lunch sized paper bags seem quite small to get the job done.
I have only ever used a large grocery bag. A lunch sack would be way too small. And you need to be able to roll down the top of the bag while it is in the microwave so not sure if a department store shopping bag would work either.
Just made this today & It was Awesome! I will be making this again & again & again for sure! Thanks for sharing it!
Yum-mo! I love Carmel popcorn but have never tried, or heard of making it in the microwave before. I am definitely going to try this!
New family favorite! Thank you
So glad your family enjoyed it!!
Wow what a great tip. My husband Loves caramel corn so I will be making this 🙂 I would love for you to share this at my T.G.I.F. Linky Party 🙂
Hope your family enjoys it as much as ours!
I have a similar recipe, which we love, but this sounds like it’s easier cleanup.
I bake mine in the oven for a few minutes.
Enjoy your step by step instructions. Great pictures.
This is an easy cleanup – just throw the bag away!
this looks so good! i am drooling & i can taste it from here.
Kellie, We love this stuff at our house!!
I’m feeling both appreciative and horrified at seeing this recipe! LOL! I love Carmel Corn and having this easy of access to it might be a problem! Thanks for sharing. Love your blog!
I can not be held responsible….. Enjoy it!!!
Sharing on fb today! Looks delicious!!!
Thanks Amy!!!
I shy away from microwave cooking because things tend to get overdone in my microwave. I guess I have a stronger microwave than most people. What wattage microwave was this recipe developed for? Thanks
Lisa, Sorry – I don’t know what wattage. It is an old recipe so I am guessing microwaves are stronger now than they use to be! I have an old one.
I am making it today for our Friday Movie Night… Thank you so much for the recipe. I am sharing it on my FB page 🙂
Enjoy it at your movie night. It is one of our favorite treats. Whenever I ask my college kids what they want me to send them they ask for this. When one of my boys was on his mission for our church his companions wrote to me and requested it after I had sent some!!
I no sooner finished reading the title and started to drool! I cannot wait to try this!
Hope you like it – so yummy and easy.
Excellent! Used one bag of microwave popcorn and halved the recipie. Had to cut about 2 minutes off the microwave time because it was burned the first time through. The kids ( and wife ) love it.
I just made this recipe. In the end, when I was microwaving for a minute, my caramel corn BURNED! I was very distraught. Luckily, only some of it burned so I was able to salvage a bit, but the rest had a slight smoke flavor to it. I was using this recipe to make s’mores caramel popcorn (added graham crackers, chocolate, and mallows) so the smokey flavor was actually welcomed and in the end, it turned out great. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Leigh Ann, this is my first time on your sight, and it is wonderful. Truely have enjoyed it. I have a question; I stay at home also, I am a child care provider and I also craft. I hand paint on just about everything. I have wanted a craft business for close to 20 yrs but am so afraid of failing, I don’t take the plunge and pursue it. Do you have any words of inspiration or pointers that could help me out of this fear of failing and no one liking my creations?
The best way I have found to overcome fear is to just DO IT! I always tell my kids the sure way to fail is not to try. Here’s a quote for you:
“The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.” I always look at it this way – What do I have to lose? Maybe a little money invested in supplies. What do I have to gain. ALOT!
We halved the recipe and it worked perfectly! It is so delicious!
I decided to make a huge batch of this for Christmas gifts this year! I’m wondering how long you think it will last if I wrap it up in plastic bags (I know if I keep it unwrapped it will not make it to anyone else’s house!)
If you keep it airtight it will last for several days. It does have a tendency to lose some of it’s crispness though.
I had to try this to believe it….caramel popcorn that doesn’t have to be baked! what a wonderful thing!! this is SO easy, i really thought it was too good to be true. i made it with my 4 and 6 year old to give to the postman, trash collectors and a neighbor. great christmas gift!
So glad you tried it because it really works! It is the only way we have made caramel corn for the last twenty years!
Can you half the recipe? Thanks, can’t wait to try it.
I have never tried halfing it but if you give it a try let me know how it works. It’s so good though you might want to make a whole batch!
Sorry I didn’t see this comment. I have never halfed it because it is just way to good and disappears too fast!
Georgia,
Love the idea of adding the toffee bits and white chocolate. I can’t wait to try it myself!!!
Yum!!
Oh my word this was SO GOOD!!!!! Best caramel popcorn I’ve ever had. I added broken up toffee bits and drizzled white chocolate over it. Amazing. It was totally gone within minutes. I’ll cross-post this on my blog!
I JUST made this seconds ago, and it is OUT OF THIS WORLD! Better than what you find in a store!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Leigh Ann-
I have desperately been searching for a carmel corn that is NOT sticky…. like the kind you can buy in the mall ( it seems only in Utah malls!) I do love Joe Brown’s in Portland here, but would love to do it myself. When I find the baked kind I like, I tend to eat it as fast as I can while its hot and then my jaw aches!
* fun to see Larry and Marsha noted here….
Ashley
Che, The foaming part should happen when you add the baking soda. It will foam up as you stir – I just stir with a wooden spoon and then pour it over the popcorn. I only stir until the baking soda and vanilla are incorporated. Be sure and add the vanilla and baking soda after you cook it in the microwave right before pouring it over the popcorn.
Hope this helps – let me know if you have any more questions.
Thanks for the awesome recipe! Well, I know it’s supposed to be awesome! (and I do believe you since I’m from Oregon too!) I just tried the caramel corn and I cam e up with a question. When I added the vanilla the syrup sizzled a little and then the directions say to mix until foamy. So does that mean mix like with an electric mixer or just stir with your hand and that’s supposed to make it foamy again? Mine didn’t get foamy again. It was only foamy after nuking it the last 2 times. Then caramel corn came out a bit grainy, like brown sugar grainy. Any thoughts? Thanks so much! I’m hoping to perfect it and then play with some flavor combos – with chocolate of course!
irish_425 »
Not a dumb question – sorry I wasn’t more specific. I use light corn syrup.
I just got done reading your blog (don’t know if you saw my first comment on your Cafe Rio page).
Anyway, I see that you are a huge lemon fan like myself! Thought I’d share with you a great recipe that I made last week. It is gluten free (wheat/barley/rye/oat free), but I’m sure you could easily make it with regular flour. Just omit the xanthan gum.
Here’s the recipe: Lemon Cream Coffecake
http://nograinnopain.blogspot.com/2008/09/successful-summer-recipes-its-been-too.html
I also just made this great “Garden Party Lemonade” today that I will probably post tomorrow, and I’m sure you would love it!
Thanks for sharing all your delicious recipes! I’m excited to start trying them.
Stephanie 🙂
Dumb question?……..Dark or white karo syrup? Love your blog. Enjoy your recipes the best.
All I can say is – Yum!
I am going to try this.
We enjoy popcorn and MM’s at our house
just like I enjoyed with your family from way
back in the day. Chocolate
is so good with salted popcorn!
I never would have believed that chocolate would be good on popcorn and I love chocolate and kettle corn. Awhile ago Dale and Thomas Popcorn gave away free samples…and I was sold! I’ll have to try this recipe. It would be a fun one to give to VTing sisters.