Peanut Butter Popcorn
Posted: 07/08/2013
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This peanut butter popcorn is perfect for the peanut lover in your life. A great blend of salty and sweet all in one fantastic popcorn snack.
Did you all hear that I like popcorn?
Oh, you did?
Well, you heard right. I could eat it every day. I am forever trying to watch my figure so I try to limit myself (rather unsuccessfully) to popcorn once a week. I love my air popper and never ever eat microwave popcorn.
Peanut butter popcorn is a nice change of pace from traditional butter and salt. It’s everything you want from popcorn: sweet, crunchy, and a little bit salty. It’s sticky too, but that’s just a bonus.
About Peanut Butter Popcorn
The flavors of peanut butter and honey blend so well in this perfect treat. Think honey roasted peanuts!
This gourmet popcorn is topped with a bit of sea salt for the perfect balance of salty sweet. Roasted peanuts add flavor and textural contrast, and the extra protein is always a bonus.
How To Make The Glaze
The glaze ingredients are simple and you probably have everything you need in your pantry. Honey, sugar, peanut butter, and vanilla extract are heated up and poured over the popcorn and peanut combination. It’s just enough coating to touch every popped kernel and make it sticky sweet without being a huge mess.
Have I mentioned yet how easy this is to make? No candy thermometers or anything involved and only about 10 minutes of hands-on time. You’re going to love this recipe!
What kind of popcorn is best?
I like to use air popped mushroom popcorn for sweet popcorn treats like this because it pops up nice and round and holds the glaze really well without deflating and getting soggy. I dragged my feet forever on buying it online but it turns out it is completely worth it. Give it a try and I’m sure you’ll be hooked too.
If you have regular popcorn, no worries, this recipe will turn out just fine.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
servings
This peanut butter popcorn is perfect for the peanut lover in your life. A balanced mix of salty and sweet all in one fantastic popcorn snack!
Ingredients
- 10 cups popped popcorn, about ⅓ cup unpopped kernels (see note)
- ½ cup dry roasted peanuts, unsalted
- ½ cup honey
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter (natural peanut butter is not recommended)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250℉. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Add popped popcorn and peanuts to a very large mixing bowl. Stir to combine. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, heat honey and sugar over medium heat until simmering. Simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Stir in vanilla and peanut butter.
- Pour the hot mixture over the popcorn and stir to coat, working quickly.
- Spread onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Stir and continue baking for an additional 10 minutes.
- Cool and enjoy. This treat is best eaten the day it's prepared.
Notes
- 10 cups of popped popcorn is about the amount in a 3.29-ounce bag of microwave popcorn. Use a plain or sea salt variety.
- A great shortcut for this recipe is to use bagged popcorn. A 5-ounce bag (like Boom Chicka Pop Brand) has about 11 to 12 cups of popcorn. Use a plain or sea salt variety.
- Add ins: Stir in ½ cup of Reese’s Pieces, mini Reese’s peanut butter cups, or M&M’s after popcorn has cooled.
- Chocolate drizzle: After baking, let the popcorn cool slightly. According to package directions, melt ⅔ cup Ghirardelli Dark or Milk Chocolate wafers and drizzle over the popcorn. Let set 15 minutes, and enjoy.
- Do you have to bake this popcorn? You CAN enjoy this without baking; however, it will remain sticky. The additional step of baking helps dry the popcorn and makes it less messy to eat.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 2cups, Calories: 366kcal, Carbohydrates: 49g, Protein: 9g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 9g, Sodium: 145mg, Potassium: 241mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 37g, Vitamin C: 0.1mg, Calcium: 20mg, Iron: 1mg
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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Marla T Padilla says
can you substitute the sugar with sweetener???
Rachel Gurk says
I’m not sure what kind of sweetener you’re referring to….did you have a particular type in mind?
Pamela says
My 4 yo has been insisting i make him “pinka-butter” popcorn, so I consulted the googles and ended up here. The reaction to this recipe was over the top: the 8 year old’s knees were wobbly, and then he pretended he died from the good. The six year old ran around cheering. The four year old said to tell you this popcorn is weawy, weawy awesome to taste, and now he is singing a happy Pinka-Butter Operetta and doing interpretive dance. Good work.
Rachel Gurk says
Oh my goodness, this comment made my day! Kids are the best. Thanks for sharing!
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
Mmm this popcorn looks so sweet and salty and tastyyy!
Sarah K. @ The Pajama Chef says
what a great treat!
Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking says
I love caramel corn, and adding peanut butter sounds like an amazing treat! This is a great recipe, Rachel!
Kelli @ The Corner Kitchen says
Looooove this popcorn! Such a perfect snack!!
Nutmeg Nanny says
Oh yes! I would eat the hell out of a bag of this deliciousness.
katie says
I love popcorn yet hardly ever make it at home… I need to get on the popcorn making train!
Cassie | Bake Your Day says
We are popcorn soul-mates. I love this!
Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking says
This is such an awesome snack, Rachel! I’m a peanut butter nut (har har) and would love this!
Katrina @ In Katrina's Kitchen says
This is probably a weird comment but I’m kind of in love with those tiny paper bags. :D