Caramel popcorn is sweet, crunchy and hard to stop eating! This yummy snack is easy to whip up: pop the kernels or use premade popcorn. Then cook a thick caramel sauce with brown sugar and butter and toss the popcorn in the sauce. We also came up with a printable retro popcorn box, which you download below, for gift giving or to serve the caramel popcorn at your next movie night at home. Enjoy!
Gift caramel popcorn
Homemade caramel popcorn is a fantastic food gift: delicious, quick, easy and made with ingredients that won’t break the bank. Plus, you can double or triple the amounts for even more to treats. The downloads for this recipe include a free printable popcorn box and printable tent food labels. So you can package the caramel popcorn in the boxes wrapped in a piece of cellophane or fill small treat box and seal the top with a food label – recipients will love you either way!

More popcorn recipes
Can’t get enough popcorn? We got you covered! Try our lavender chocolate popcorn.


Caramel Popcorn Recipe
Caramel popcorn is sweet, crunchy and hard to stop eating! This yummy snack is easy to whip up: pop the kernels or use premade popcorn. Then cook a thick caramel sauce with brown sugar and butter and toss the popcorn in the sauce. Making caramel popcorn from scratch gives you the option to flavor your popcorn with different seasonings. For example, add 1 tbsp vanilla extract when cooking the caramel, dust the freshly coated popcorn with cinnamon, or decorate with melted chocolate.
Ingredients
For the popcorn
- 30 ml (1/8 cup) light cooking oil (e.g. canola or sunflower oil)
- 55 g (1/4 cup) popcorn kernels
- a pinch of popcorn salt
For the caramel
- 80 ml (1/3 cup) water
- 200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
- 45 g (3 tbsp) butter
Instructions
Pop the popcorn kernels. Add the cooking oil into a tall and wide, heavy-bottom pot or saucepan and shake to dispense the oil evenly across the bottom of the pot. Heat the oil over medium-high heat. Once you can smell the oil, put a kernel into the pot. If you see small bubbles forming around the kernel the oil is hot enough. Add the remaining kernels and put the lid on. Shake the pot lightly, so the popcorn doesn’t burn to the bottom of the pot. Take off the heat once the popping slows down. Let sit for 1 minute, so any unpopped kernels pop. Transfer into a large, heatproof mixing bowl and sprinkle with a pinch of popcorn salt or fine grain salt.
Tip: If you’re want to take a shortcut, skip the step above and use 4 cups ready-made popcorn.
Cook the caramel. Add the water, sugar, and butter into a heavy-bottom saucepan and bring the mixture to a rolling boil over high heat. After 3 minutes reduce the temperature to medium-high heat and continue cooking. Stir constantly and watch the caramel closely. At first, the mixture will become white and foamy and then change color quickly, going from white to light brown within 1 to 2 minutes. Once the sauce is thick and has a golden-caramel color, take off the heat.
Coat the popcorn. After removing the sauce from the stovetop, pour the caramel immediately over the popcorn. Use a large spoon to mix and coat the popcorn. The caramel is still very hot so be careful not to burn yourself. Then spread the coated popcorn in a single layer on a lined baking tray (sheet) and allow to cool the touch.
Package and gift. Once cooled, break the caramel popcorn into smaller chunks and fill into a serving bowl or our free printable popcorn box. For gift-giving, package the popcorn in small cellophane bags, seal with tape and decorate with a printable tent food label.
Notes
Storage & Shelf Life
Caramel popcorn tastes delicious on the day it’s made. You can store
the popcorn for 2 weeks in airtight containers or sealed plastic bags.
Make sure the popcorn isn’t exposed to humidity as it easily draws
moisture and won’t taste as crisp and fresh.

Assemble the printable popcorn box
Print the box on A4 or letter size photo paper or card stock. Optionally, print the decorative pattern on the back of the box. Cut out both parts along the outlines. Score and fold the box using the bone folder and metal ruler. Alternatively, use a scoring board and stylus or do it freehand.
To assemble the popcorn box, apply an adhesive to the grey flaps and glue together both parts of the container. You can either use double-sided tape, a strong glue stick, or super glue. Line the box with food-safe tissue paper or grease-proof (wax) paper and fill with the caramel popcorn.
Free Printable Caramel Popcorn Box
Click on the button to download your free printable popcorn box to serve and gift your popcorn!