You can now make the most perfect vegan caramel popcorn just like you get at the carnival in your own home!
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YALLLLLLLLL. This vegan caramel popcorn, when made correctly, is soooooooooo good.
Okay, enough of the hype up.
Seriously though, you don’t need a lot of ingredients and it comes together really quickly.
It’s perfect to remind you of carnival or fair food, while also being a great snack for family movie nights or game nights with friends.
But I want to tell you a quick story and be completely honest about something too. If you look at the video shared below, we said that we were only going to share this recipe if we could perfect this recipe. I think this was one of the more trying recipes we’ve ever made (have yall seen our recipe list, we make a lot of recipes!?.
It took us probably 6 or 7 tries before we finally got it to be the consistency that we wanted and that reminded us of the caramel popcorn that you’d get from a food vendor. We hope you love it as much as we did.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this vegan caramel popcorn Top 8 Allergen Free?
The only ingredient that we need to worry about is the vegan butter that we are using. Just make sure to get a soy free vegan butter like the Earth Balance soy free in the red tub.
Can I prep this vegan popcorn ahead?
Yes! This caramel popcorn will last for 5 days if stored in an air tight container at room temperature.
Can I use store bought or microwaved popcorn?
Absolutely. You can use whatever your favorite popcorn is to start and then just drizzle the vegan caramel sauce over once made.
Can I make this recipe oil free?
At this time, we don’t have a recommendation for oil free version. The vegan butter adds a richness to the caramel sauce that we don’t want to replace at this point because of how good it is.
However, while we personally haven’t tested, you could try using a variation of date caramel sauce. to see if you can get a similar result.
What other fun vegan recipes should I make?
If you love these vegan corn dogs, then you will love some of our other vegan carnival fair food ideas!
Pin this Vegan Caramel Popcorn for later:
🥳 Get the Full Recipe
Vegan Caramel Popcorn
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter
- ½ cup dried popcorn kernels
- 1 cup cane sugar
- 4 tablespoon vegan butter
- ¼ teaspoon salt, optional
Instructions
For the Popcorn
- Add oil and butter to a stock pot and heat over medium high heat.
- Once butter has melted and starts to bubble, add the kernels and tilt the cover so it's on but there's an opening so air can escape.*If your lid has a steam release you can just put lid on completely
- Let heat, shaking occasionally to rotate the kernels, until all the kernels have popped to avoid burning. Remove from heat when you only hear 1 or 2 pops per second. Transfer to a large bowl. *See video if needed for visual
- Line a baking sheet with wax paper. (Can use parchment if that's all you have)
For the Caramel Sauce
- Heat sugar in pan over medium heat, stirring constantly.Sugar will clump and melt after a few minutes. Careful not to burn.
- Once sugar has melted, remove from heat immediately.
- Stir in the butter until melted completely.*If the caramel starts to separate return to heat and stir constantly until combined. May take 3-5 minutes.
- Immediately pour over popcorn, stirring as you pour to cover as much popcorn as you can.
- Transfer to wax lined baking sheet and spread out. Let cool completely (about 5 minutes).
- Break the popcorn into pieces.
- Sprinkle with salt if desired.
- Serve immediately or store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
This was freaking awesome! And so easy! Very addicting!
So glad that you loved it!
I loved your sheet pancake recipe and can’t wait to try this one next! <3
So happy to hear that!