With Fall now in full swing, I’m loading myself up in all the spiced flavors that come with the season. I feel the need to get my Fall-fix through food since living in California doesn’t make for very good seasons (it’s still 75 and sunny over here without a crunchy orange leaf to be found).
One thing I’ve noticed is that people are going absolutely crazy over everything pumpkin (I’m looking at you pumpkin spice latte). While I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with this, I feel like other flavors should get some of the starlight as well!
That’s why I created this easy recipe and, let me tell ya, things are about to get real delicious reeeeaal fast up in hurrrrr! I introduce to you my easy recipe for No-Bake Salted Caramel Kettle Corn. And yes, it’s just as good as it sounds.
Before we get into the details of this yummy dessert, I have found that this is one of the best treats to serve up in any gathering. Especially during the fall festivities, you have planned for the season. Not only is this recipe super easy to make, but it’s one of the best snacks because it is easy to serve, even easier to eat, and guests of all ages are sure to enjoy it.
I discovered the joys of popping my own popcorn a month or so ago from my good friend Taylor and, I’ll admit, have gotten a little too obsessed. There’s just something so exciting watching the little kernels pop up into fluffy pieces of joy and slathering on the sea salt and parmesan.
With all the popping that I have done, it was not long after that I realized the beauty in mixing different ingredients to create scrumptious flavors. In fact, it was through that exploration that this perfect recipe was born.
I’m not ashamed to say I usually make two pots of it a day and don’t feel complete without a 5 minute popping session… It’s all for the better, though, since it gives me a healthier snack and is much more economical than buying your typical microwavable bags.
For this recipe, feel free to use either, but I highly recommend picking up some kernels from your local grocery store and giving it a go yourself! Not only is it cheaper, but it makes the recipe all that more endearing if everything is from scratch!
Up till now I’ve only gone savory with my popcorn, but as I was sprinkling on some sea salt on to my latest batch, I came upon a glorious conclusion. Salted. Caramel. AHHH!
The flavors of the salted caramel naturally make it the perfect snack for the falls season. With the melt in your mouth flavor and crunchy in all the right places texture, it was a quick win for me.
I wanted the normal kettle corn goodness but with the added flavor booster of salt to bring out the extra sweetness and make things totally over the top!
This recipe involves making your own homemade salted caramel (which is totally easy and fast) and stirring it into your freshly popped popcorn into one beautiful and absolutely mouthwatering mess. Are you drooling yet?
Many kettle corn recipes call for the caramel-loaded popcorn to be baked after, which was exactly what I planned to do until I tasted it after drizzling the caramel on and deemed it completely unnecessary.
While it may make the popcorn stay good longer and keep it from getting stale, standing over a hot oven and stirring every 10 minutes or so didn’t sound appealing to me and I knew it would be happily gobbled up within the next 24 hours anyway!
I’m the kinda girl who wants her salted caramel popcorn ASAP, so I can tell you from firsthand experience that this recipe is perfect for us inpatient eaters!
The final result is a quick and easy treat that will make people go crazy! Once I had finished letting the caramel cool for a few minutes, I had my housemates standing around ooing and ahhing and munching away.
A massive bowl of it was gone within 6 hours and people couldn’t stop raving over how delicious it was. New favorite Fall recipe? I think yes!
- ½ cup unpopped kernels (or make 10 cups of the microwavable popcorn)
- ¾ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- heaping ½ tsp of sea salt
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- Pop the popcorn as instructed by the packaging. Set aside in a large bowl.
- In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the butter until melted and stir in the brown sugar. Bring to a boil for 3 minutes.
- While the caramel is boiling, mix together the salt and baking soda. After 3 minutes of boiling has passed, add it in and stir till combined.
- Take the saucepan off the heat and pour it in batches into the popcorn, stirring the popcorn after pouring the caramel in each time.
- Let cool slightly and enjoy!
This salted caramel popcorn recipe is a perfect dish for your fall festivities. If you have young children at home, then this recipe is easily something you can do with them so that they can have just as much fun making it as they will eat it.
If you’ve accidentally made too much, (I may or may not be speaking from experience), then you can easily store away the rest in little plastic gift bags and give away to friends, family members, and even neighbors. When you package the salted caramel popcorn delight just right, it makes for the perfect gift-giving opportunity.
Once you have tried out this easy to make popcorn, be sure to share with us how it went. Let us know in the comment section below what you thought of it. And if you think you know someone in your life that could use a little bit of salted sweetness, don’t forget to share this delectable recipe with them as well!