Vegan Popcorn: Salted, Cheesy, and Kettle Corn

This simple vegan popcorn recipe can be made three ways! Regular with salt and oil, cheesy with nutritional yeast, and kettle corn made with coconut sugar! It’s the best ever snack for movie watching or anytime!

Popcorn is the ultimate salty snack! It’s light, salty, and low in calories and fat when done right!

When I was a kid my mom bought an air popper. We made popcorn on the daily! It was so easy. I thought it was pretty amazing because you could get lots of popcorn in minutes without any oil or butter.

The challenge with air popped popcorn is that your seasonings don’t stick because there’s nothing wet to help it stick.

I inherited my moms air popper, and after hanging onto it for years, I ended up donating it after I cleaned out my kitchen. It was one more appliance taking up precious cabinet space!

I started buying Skinny Pop weekly, and would destroy a bag in a couple of days. My popcorn habit was getting expensive. That’s when I decided to give stovetop popcorn a try!

The first recipe I found and used was by Cookie and Kate. This recipe is based on her method, but uses vegan seasonings. It results in perfect popcorn every time!

While you need to use oil to make stovetop popcorn, it’s much healthier than microwave or movie popcorn, and even healthier than Skinny Pop (has fewer calories and fat)!

It also has the best flavor in my opinion. It’s SO fresh and toasty.

This simple recipe requires only three ingredients: oil, popcorn kernels, and salt. It’s also super inexpensive! A large jar of popcorn kernels is only about $2, and yields a TON of popcorn!

This easy, quick, and versatile recipe will become a favorite! I’ll show you how to season your stovetop vegan popcorn in three ways to create some of the most popular popcorn flavors: salted, cheesy, and kettle corn!

Why you’ll love this vegan popcorn recipe…

• Easy and Quick
• 3 basic ingredients
• 10 minutes
• Inexpensive
• One recipe, numerous flavoring options
• Vegan and dairy free
• Naturally gluten-free snack

Recipe Ingredients and Notes

Popcorn Kernels: You can find popcorn kernels in the aisle that sells microwave popcorn and bags of popcorn. They usually come in 16 ounce or 30 ounce containers. A 16 ounce container has 26 servings, and costs about $2! A bag of popcorn is about $3 and has about 4 servings, so clearly popping your own popcorn at home is a much more cost effective option!

Oil: Use a high smoke point oil, such as avocado oil, grape seed oil, or safflower oil.

Seasoning: This is where it gets fun! You can get so creative when it comes to the seasoning for your vegan popcorn! In this recipe, I’ll show you how to season it plain with salt, “cheesy” with nutritional yeast, and sweet with coconut sugar to create the infamous kettle corn flavor!

Tools and Equipment

Heavy Bottom Pot: All you need to pop popcorn is a heavy bottom pot with a lid! The size of your pot will depend on how much popcorn you’re making at one time. However, you can always transfer your popcorn to a large bowl while it’s popping so your pot doesn’t overflow!

A quality heavy bottom pot is important! Cheaper pots do not distribute heat evenly. Thus some spots with be hotter than others resulting in burnt popcorn.

How to Make Vegan Popcorn – Step by Step

Step 1: Add oil to a large heavy bottom pan with a lid. Add two corn kernels. Cover and heat over medium.

Step 2: Wait for the two corn kernels to pop. When they’ve popped, remove the pot from the heat. Add the rest of the corn kernels to the pot, and wait for one minute. This allows the corn kernels to adjust to the heat of the oil, and prime them for popping, without the oil getting too hot!

Step 3: Place the pot back on medium heat. Cover with the lid. Give the pot a shake to evenly distribute the kernels. When the kernels begin to pop, slightly vent the lid of your pot to prevent the popcorn from steaming. Shake occasionally as the popcorn is popping.

Step 4: When the popping slows to one pop every few seconds, remove from heat. If your popcorn begins to overflow, tip the pot and transfer to a large serving bowl, and place back on the heat to finish popping.

Step 5: Add your seasoning. For salted popcorn, add about half a teaspoon of salt. Cover with lid, and shake to evenly distribute. Then transfer to a large serving bowl. If making “cheesy” popcorn. Add salt, and nutritional yeast to the popcorn pot. Cover with lid, and shake to evenly distribute. If making kettle corn, add the coconut sugar, cover with lid, shake, and transfer to serving bowl. Serve immediately, and enjoy!

Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the complete recipe and instructions.

Top Tips for Making the Best Ever Vegan Popcorn

• Use a quality heavy bottom pan to evenly distribute the heat, and prevent burnt popcorn.
• Don’t pop the popcorn on high heat. The kernels will burn in the oil, resulting in a burnt flavor.
• Heat the oil first. Add two kernels. When those pop, the oil is ready. Then add the rest of the kernels.
• Take the pan off the heat for one minute. This allows the kernels to adjust to the heat of the oil, before placing it back on the stovetop to pop!
• Slightly vent the lid while popping. This allows the popcorn to remain crispy, and prevents a steaming effect.
• If the pot begins to overflow, just transfer some to a large bowl, put back on the heat, and continue the popping!
• When popping begins to slow, remove from heat. Your popcorn is done!

What is the best oil to use for stovetop popcorn?

The oil you choose for your popcorn is very important! For one thing, if you’re trying to keep it healthy you do not want to use some of these specialty flavored popcorn oils! They are full of artificial, processed ingredients.

Olive Oil: Olive oil does not have a high smoke point. While you can use it, you must keep the heat to medium.

Coconut Oil: If you have coconut oil at home, this is another good option. Unrefined virgin coconut oil, which is the healthier option, doesn’t have a high smoke point, so you have to be careful not to heat it too high.

High Smoke Point Oil: When popping popcorn you don’t want the oil to get so hot that it burns the kernels before they pop. That’s why it’s important to choose an oil with a high smoke point and a neutral flavor. All of the below oils work well for popcorn.

• Avocado oil
• Grape seed oil
• Safflower oil

How do you make vegan popcorn oil free?

If you choose to make your popcorn oil free, simply use an air popper popcorn maker! Then add your favorite seasoning.

Since you are not using any oil, your seasoning will not stick to your popcorn well. I would suggest using wet seasonings instead of dry. For example for a kettle corn flavor, toss the popcorn in maple syrup. For salted popcorn, toss the popcorn in coconut aminos.

How do you store and keep popcorn?

It’s best to eat and enjoy stove top vegan popcorn immediately. That’s the best part of making it! You can easily adjust the ingredient amounts based on serving size. So, if you just want to make enough for one serving, you can easily do that!

I don’t recommend making a large pot of popcorn with the intention of snacking on it throughout the week. It’s best to make it fresh when you want to eat it, than it is to make a large batch for storing purposes.

However, if you have extra popcorn after popping, and want to store it for later, I suggest storing it in an air tight container. For example, a large zip-lock bag, with all the air removed before sealing.

Just keep in mind that it will lose some of it’s fresh crispy flavor. It will keep for a day or two, but best to eat fresh or within the hour!

Additional Flavor Ideas

• Spicy: Sprinkle black or cayenne pepper overtop.
• Maple Cinnamon: Drizzle two tablespoons of maple syrup overtop, and sprinkle with a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon.
• Butter Flavor: Melt two tablespoons of vegan butter. Pour on top of the popcorn. Shake to combine.
• Garlic Butter: Sauté 1 clove of minced garlic in two tablespoons of melted butter, then pour on top of your popcorn.

Is vegan popcorn a healthy a snack?

Depending on how you make it, and the ingredients you use, it can be a very healthy snack!

I’d say it’s a much butter option than chips, French fries, or crackers, when you’re looking for a salty snack.

Use high quality organic ingredients for optimal healthy benefits, such as quality organic oil, and organic corn kernels.

The oil you choose is essential. Using a healthy organic oil with a high smoke point, such as avocado, grape seed, or safflower oil will yield the best results. These oils are less refined than canola oil, vegetable oil, or the flavored popcorn oils you can buy at the store.

The healthiest way to enjoy popcorn, is to use an air popper without oil. This version is suitable for those following a whole food plant-based diet with no oil. Then simply add your favorite whole food plant-based topping, or enjoy plain.

However, in order to make it on the stove top, you must use oil! I only use two tablespoons total for four servings. The result is only about 78 calories per serving.

Be careful how much salt you add. Start with a little. Too much added salt in your diet can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, and even stroke!

When making it at home (not microwave or movie popcorn) there are several health benefits to enjoying this salty snack.

High in Fiber: Popcorn is a whole grain that is high in fiber. Fiber helps you feel fuller longer, and helps with digestion.

Low in Calories: When enjoying homemade air popped or stove top popcorn using limited oil, it is a low calorie snack!

Polyphenols: Popcorn is also a good source of polyphenols, an antioxidant linked to improved blood circulation.

Check out these other healthy vegan snack ideas!

• Vegan Trail Mix
• Air Fryer Apple Chips
• Vegan Protein Balls
• 55 Vegan Snack Recipes

If you’ve tried this vegan popcorn recipe, please rate it and let me know how it turned out. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for more plant-based family recipes your whole family will enjoy!