Praline Popcorn – we are obsessed with this dessert! SOOOO good! Sweet and Salty in every bite! Super easy to make and no candy thermometer required! Popcorn, salted pecans, brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, vanilla, baking soda. The BEST Caramel Popcorn I’ve ever eaten. Can make ahead of time and store in an airtight container. Great for a movie night, parties or homemade gift!
Remember this recipe.
Pin this recipe to your favorite board now to remember it later!
Pin This RecipePlain Chicken participates in affiliate advertising programs. We may earn a commission when you make purchases through links on our site.
Easy Homemade Caramel Popcorn Recipe
This Praline Popcorn should come with a warning label. It is crazy good! I whipped up a batch yesterday and it is almost gone. You can’t walk past this caramel popcorn and not take a bite. Sweet & salty in every bite. YUM! This recipe makes a ton, so it is great for sharing with friends. I am taking a batch to a football party this weekend.
How to Make Homemade Praline Caramel Popcorn
This popcorn is super easy to make – too easy! Pop two bags of microwave popcorn according to the package instructions. Place the microwave-popped popcorn and pecans in a giant bowl. Remove any unpopped popcorn kernels.
Next, make the caramel mixture. Combine light corn syrup, unsalted butter, and brown sugar in a large saucepan. Bring the sugar mixture to a boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat. Stir in vanilla extract and baking soda. Pour the caramel mixture over the popcorn and pecans. Stir with a silicone spatula until the popcorn and pecans are well coated with the caramel sauce.
Pour the coated popcorn onto large rimmed baking sheets and bake in the oven for an hour. Finally spread the popcorn on to parchment paper or wax paper and let it cool.
Helpful Tips & Frequently Asked Questions
- You can use any flavor of microwave popcorn that you prefer. I used buttered popcorn for this batch because that is what I had in the pantry. I think plain, salted, or kettle corn would be good too.
- You are going to want to use a large saucepan for the caramel mixture. When you add the baking soda, the mixture is going to foam up and expand. If you use a small saucepan, you will have a giant mess!
- What does baking soda do? The baking soda makes the sugar mixture light and airy – perfect for caramel corn.
- I use lightly salted pecan halves. You can use any nuts that you enjoy. Walnuts, cashews, or almonds are equally delicious.
- For extra fancy popcorn, drizzle melted white chocolate over the cooled popcorn.
- How Long with Praline Caramel Popcorn Keep? This will keep for several weeks in an air-tight container. I place the cooled caramel corn in gallon ziplock bags. Great for storage and easy snacking.
- Is Caramel Popcorn gluten-free? Yes! This is a delicious gluten-free dessert.
- Store popcorn in an airtight container at room temperature.
Praline Caramel Popcorn Makes a Great Gift
As I said, this recipe makes a lot of popcorn. It is great for homemade holiday gifts. Put some in cellophane bags with a ribbon. Perfect for co-workers, teachers, bus drivers, and neighbors. I like to make a batch for holiday snacking. You can’t go wrong with a big batch at Thanksgiving and Christmas! It is also great for tailgating. Basically, this is great for everything! LOL!
Here are a few of our favorite homemade snack mixes from the blog that are also great for holiday snacking and gift-giving this holiday season:
Fire Crackerz {Football Friday}
Fire Crackerz – spicy Cheez-Its – coated in red pepper flakes and Ranch dressing – SO addictive! Great for parties!…
Cashew Crunch – FOOTBALL FRIDAY
Cashew Crunch – CRAZY good Coconut & Cashew Chex Snack Mix! Sweet & salty in every bite. SO addictive! Cashews,…
Christmas Muddy Buddies
Christmas Muddy Buddies – Chex cereal tossed in peanut butter, red and green candy melts, and powdered sugar. This stuff…
White Chocolate Trash Mix (Chex Mix)
Alton Brown’s White Chocolate Trash Mix – aka White Chocolate Christmas Chex Mix – HIGHLY addictive! Makes a great neighbor…
Praline Popcorn
Ingredients:
- 2 (3.3-oz) bags of microwave popcorn
- 3 cups pecan halves
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- ¾ cup corn syrup
- ¾ cup butter
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- ¾ tsp baking soda
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 250ºF.
- Pop popcorn according to package directions.
- In a large bowl, combine popcorn and pecans.
- In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, combine brown sugar, corn syrup, and butter. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and baking soda. Pour over popcorn mixture, tossing to coat evenly.
- Pour popcorn mixture into a rimmed 15×10-inch pan. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes.
- Pour onto wax or parchment paper to cool. Break into pieces.
Notes:
- You can use any flavor of microwave popcorn that you prefer. I used buttered popcorn for this batch because that is what I had in the pantry. I think plain or kettle corn would be good too.
- You are going to want to use a large saucepan for the caramel mixture. When you add the baking soda, the mixture is going to foam up and expand. If you use a small saucepan, you will have a giant mess!
- What does the baking soda do? The baking soda makes the sugar mixture light and airy – perfect for caramel corn.
- How Long with Praline Caramel Popcorn Keep? This will keep for several weeks in an air-tight container. I place the cooled caramel corn in gallon ziplock bags. Great for storage and easy snacking.
Steph
Remember this recipe.
Pin this recipe to your favorite board now to remember it later!
Pin This Recipe
Quick question- I don’t have corn syrup. Can I use honey?
I have not done this with honey, so I can not say if it works. If you try it, let us know how it turns out!
This sounds very good! Going to make some for Christmas gifts!
It makes a great Christmas gift!
Hi! For the Praline Popcorn recipe can you use bagged popcorn, like Skinny Pop, instead of 2 packs of microwave popcorn? The recipe says it makes 13 cups. Would that be the same amount if I use pre-popped popcorn?
Thank you.
yes – you would need about 13 cups of cooked popcorn