Old-Fashioned Homemade Caramel Corn (No Corn Syrup)
Got a crowd coming that needs something to snack on before the big meal? This old-fashioned homemade caramel corn coats a big batch of freshly popped popcorn in a from-scratch caramel made with honey, butter and brown sugar instead of corn syrup, then bakes low and slow until every piece is crisp. One batch makes about 3 gallons, enough to fill a stack of gift tins.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Homemade Caramel Corn
- Serves: 4
- Main Ingredients: honey, unsalted butter, packed brown sugar, salt, baking soda, popped popcorn, vanilla extract, butter flavoring
- Why You'll Love It: This recipe for caramel corn includes freshly popped popcorn covered in a homemade caramel sauce. It's perfect for a holiday gift or snack.
Years ago I started bringing a batch to Thanksgiving to keep everyone happy until dinner, and now it’s a tradition. It’s inexpensive to make, naturally gluten-free and stays crisp for up to 2 weeks, so it makes a great homemade gift alongside candied pecans and candied peanuts.
Why This Caramel Corn Recipe Works
Letting the honey caramel boil undisturbed for 3 minutes gives it the right thickness, and stirring in baking soda at the end makes it foam up light so it coats the popcorn in a thin, even layer. Baking at a low 250°F for an hour, with a stir every 15 minutes, dries the coating out so it turns crunchy instead of sticky.
Ingredients for Homemade Caramel Corn
Popcorn: I pop about 1 ½ cups of kernels in ⅓ cup oil on the stovetop. A popcorn maker or plain, unbuttered microwave popcorn works too.
Honey: I like the flavor of honey better than corn syrup. If you swap in corn syrup, keep an eye on it in the oven since it may cook faster.
Butter flavoring: It gives that movie theater taste, but extra vanilla works fine.
You’ll find the exact amounts in the recipe card below.
Helpful Tips Before You Start
- Use a big pot with a lid to pop the corn, and keep the lid on, since popping kernels are very hot.
- Pick out any unpopped kernels before coating so nobody cracks a tooth.
- Coat the popcorn in two batches in a large dishpan so it’s easier to stir.
- Add 2 cups of salted peanuts with the popcorn for a sweet and salty crunch.
How to Make Caramel Corn
1Pop the Popcorn
Preheat the oven to 250°F and grease two large baking sheets. Pop the popcorn and let it cool.
2Start the Caramel
Combine the butter, honey, brown sugar and salt in a heavy saucepot over medium heat, stirring constantly until it comes to a boil.
3Boil Undisturbed
Stop stirring and let it boil for 3 minutes.
4Add the Baking Soda
Remove from the heat and stir in the baking soda, vanilla and butter flavoring.
5Coat the Popcorn
Put half the popcorn in a large dishpan, pour half the caramel over it and stir until evenly coated.
6Spread on the Pans
Spread the coated popcorn on a baking sheet and repeat with the rest.
7Bake
Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
8Cool and Break Apart
Let it cool completely, then break it into pieces and store in an airtight container.
Gifting and Serving Ideas
Pack it into tins or cellophane bags for teachers, neighbors and coworkers at Christmas, or set out a big bowl on Thanksgiving to tide everyone over. It’s also a fun Halloween party snack next to chocolate caramel apples and sweet and salty fall snack mix, and you’ll find more ideas in our list of easy Halloween treats and desserts. A mug of slow cooker caramel apple cider on the side doesn’t hurt.
Stored in an airtight container, it stays crisp for up to 2 weeks.
Homemade Caramel Corn FAQs
Can I make caramel corn without corn syrup?
Yes, this recipe uses honey instead of corn syrup, which gives it a richer flavor.
Why is my caramel corn sticky?
It usually needs more time in the oven. The full hour at 250°F with regular stirring is what dries the coating so it turns crunchy.
Can I use microwave popcorn?
You can, as long as it’s plain and not buttered or the caramel corn can turn out too rich and sweet.
Old-Fashioned Homemade Caramel Corn (No Corn Syrup)
Ingredients
- 1 cup honey
- 1 cup unsalted butter two sticks
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 gallons popped popcorn
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon butter flavoring can use more vanilla instead
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Grease two large baking sheets.
- In a heavy saucepot, combine the butter, honey, brown sugar, and salt. Place over medium heat and stir continuously until it comes to a boil. Stop stirring and let boil, undisturbed, for three minutes.1 cup honey, 1 cup unsalted butter, 1 cup packed brown sugar, 1 teaspoon salt
- Remove from the heat and stir in the baking soda and flavorings. Place 1/2 of the cooled popcorn in a large dishpan (I do mine in two batches) and pour over half of the caramel sauce. Stir until evenly coated. Spread onto baking sheet and repeat with remainder on another baking sheet.1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon butter flavoring, 3 gallons popped popcorn
- Place in the oven and bake at 250 for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Allow to cool and break apart before placing in an airtight container.
Hello, Thanks or a great recipe. I just made a batch and it is wonderful. I only made one batch of popcorn. The 1.5 cup of kernells filled my 11 quart soup pot and even lifted the lid. I had a hard time covering all the popcorn and I ended up using 2 large roasting pans instead of cookie sheets as they would not have worked. Next time I will either cut the corn in half or double the caramel sauce. Love caramel…
Thanks for the recipe.
I can’t wait to make this popcorn. It does remind me of standing with my grandmother in her kitchen while she made popcorn balls. She would make these to hand out at halloween. She used the thick steens syrup that stick to your teeth. But they were yummy.
Thanks for sharing.
This looks great, I love the stuff in the box at the store, I can only imagine how good it would be fresh and homemade!!
These look yummy and better than the Crunch’n Munch in a box. And alot easier on the hands than making Popcorn balls and having to deal with the hot Karo syrup when making them before it sets up. I do have to say I like the website 1000 times better now as I am old fashion and still use Internet Explorer and the old version took forever to the blog to load into your webpage. But with all good things that are worth the wait, I would sit and wait on Dial-Up for your pages to load. That is how much I enjoy your site, blog, and recipes. Thanks for all your hard work!!
Could you also share one with the homemade peanut brittle from the old days thank you and God bless you
YUM POPCORN!!
wow, you have great timing! Haylo and I were looking for a recipe for popcorn balls to make for Christmas when I got a new email alert and saw the title… We checked it out (as usual) and she saw the pic of Daz…and instead of popcorn balls everyone is getting this!
I love caramel corn. I’ll have to try your recipe out…great idea to let them snack on it until dinner’s ready.