Party Snacks – Flavoured Popcorn and Homemade Popcorn Seasoning
Popcorn with homemade popcorn seasoning – a great every day snack and a super homemade gift.
Here’s the full run down on homemade popcorn seasoning including:
- three recipes
- best popping method
- difference between white or yellow popcorn
- how to make popcorn seasoning stick to the popcorn
- how much butter to use on popcorn
Three Homemade Popcorn Seasoning Recipes
Chili Lime Seasoning
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp dried lime zest 4 limes
- 4 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper more or less – you decide!
Instructions
- If using fresh limes, zest limes the night before and leave on a plate overnight so the zest has a chance to dry out.
- Mix all ingredients together well. Pour into a small jar.
Notes
After zesting the limes, squeeze and collect the juice. If you don’t need it right away, freeze it in ice cube trays for later use.
Yield Enough to fill a 1 ounce jar.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
BBQ Seasoning
Ingredients
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp hungarian paprika
- 3 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp tomato powder
- 11/2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Mix together all ingredients until well blended.
Notes
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
Chili Cheese Seasoning
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp real cheddar cheese powder
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper more or less as you prefer
Instructions
- Mix together all ingredients until well blended.
Notes
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
What’s the Best Popping Method?
Make real popcorn on the stove, in a popcorn kettle or in an air popper – it’s fresher and better than anything else you’ll find. Ditch microwave popcorn.
White or Yellow Popcorn?
Whatever. My family didn’t even notice I made two different batches. Compared side by side, the colour of the popped corn was different, but popping quality and price were the same. If there was a difference in taste, the amount of hull (the stuff that gets caught in your teeth) or the ability of seasoning to stick to the popcorn, we didn’t notice. Maybe our palettes just aren’t refined enough, or maybe it just doesn’t matter.
Do you have a preference?
How to Make Popcorn Seasoning Stick ?
We’ve tried two methods for mixing the seasonings with the popcorn. Both worked equally well – as long as you work fast on hot popcorn.
Option 1 – The Seasoned Hot Butter Method
Melt butter. Stir homemade popcorn seasoning into butter making sure to eliminate all lumps. Pour a little over fresh, hot popcorn. Toss to mix. Pour a little more over popcorn, toss to mix. Repeat until butter and seasoning mix has been evenly spread over popcorn.
Option 2 – The Dry Sprinkle Method
Melt butter. Pour a little over fresh, hot popcorn. Toss to mix. Pour a little more over popcorn, toss to mix. Repeat until all butter has been evenly spread over popcorn. Quickly sprinkle and toss dry seasoning mix equally over popcorn.
What’s the Optimum Ratio of Butter/Popcorn/Seasoning?
Here are the basic ratios we use, based on our hot air popper. For more intense flavour, simply add more seasoning.
½ cup unpopped popcorn = 16 cups or 4 Litres of popcorn (1 ice cream pail)
For 16 cups of popcorn use 4 Tbsp butter and 1 to 2 tsp of seasoning .
Enjoy your popcorn!
Interested in more tasty treat recipes to give as gifts or bring as a party treat?
Sign up to get articles by Getty delivered to your inbox. You’ll get recipes, practical tips and great food information like this. Getty is a Professional Home Economist, speaker and writer putting good food on tables and agendas. She is the author of Manitoba’s best-selling Prairie Fruit Cookbook, Founder of Fruit Share, a mom and veggie gardener.