Hands down the BEST baked caramel popcorn recipe you will find. Buttery caramel is poured over the popcorn and baked to perfection! This post was originally shared in 2012 and now includes a step by step video.
Watch our step by step video!
Homemade Caramel Corn
Homemade English toffee and baked caramel corn have been our go to gifts during the holidays for over about 15 years. Forget making cookies, a bag of caramel popcorn is where it’s at! I’ve tried microwaved versions, sticky caramel corn, etc. but nothing has been as good as this recipe. What family wouldn’t want a bag of fresh baked caramel corn to snack on during a Christmas movie night?
The caramel coated popcorn is buttery, crunchy, and so delicious. I stumbled across it online back in 2006 on Paula Dean’s website and quickly memorized it after making it SO many times. I love that it is a no-nonsense recipe. 6 ingredients, minimal prep work, made on the stovetop, and no candy thermometer!
Here’s what one reader said, “Used this recipe for my daughter’s wedding last fall. Made enough for 100 people, everyone raved about it. In fact right now I’m making some for my son’s wedding this weekend. It’s the only thing he insisted on. Plus he wants a little bin for himself after the wedding!”
Baked Homemade Caramel Popcorn Ingredients
- 6-8 quarts of popped popcorn (about 2/3 cup unpopped kernels, popped)*
- 1 cup butter
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
*You can also use microwave popcorn. If you go this route, use a homestyle one that doesn’t have a lot of butter and salt already on it.
Instructions
Pop popcorn kernels in air popper.
Why do you need to use baking soda in this recipe?
Can you make caramel popcorn with margarine?
Baked Caramel Corn Recipe
Perfect Baked Caramel Popcorn
Ingredients
- 8 quarts of popped popcorn about 2/3 cup unpopped kernels, popped
- 1 cup butter
- 2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup light karo syrup
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Place popcorn into a roasting pan or large baking pan. Set aside.
- Combine butter, sugar, salt and karo syrup in a medium sauce pan and heat over med-high heat. When bubbly, set timer for 5 minutes and boil, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat and add baking soda. Stir.
- Pour over popped corn and stir to coat evenly.
- Bake at 200 degrees, stirring every 15 minutes, for 1 hour. Pour out onto waxed paper and cool.
Notes
Nutrition
I make a similar version but w/o baking soda or salt. Nor do I bake it after mixing in the caramel which I have cooked in the microwave. Easier and quicker to the good stuff.
I wondered how it would be if I did not bake it. It always gets to dry, I will try just spreading it out after I pour on the caramel.
I haven’t tried that before, but I would think it would be equally as delicious! 🙂
No thank you dkzody I will take the labor of love over microwave any day.
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Thanks so much! I’m using this for my Movie Party with my girls at my house but I was wondering how much popcorn this would make?
Hi Cindy!
It should make about 8 quarts. So I’d say it would serve 6-8 people. Enjoy! 🙂
How many days before the event can I make the popcorn? Will it still be fresh if I make it a week before the event?
Hi Nicole! I’ve kept it in a storage container for up to 5 days and it was fine. I haven’t tried it longer than that. Good luck! 🙂
My grandfather passed down a very similar recipe. I agree this is the best! It also keeps very well in the freezer – I often put it in a ziplock and just take out handfuls when we want them.
Delious. Made caramel for Halloween and put corn in Halloween bags. Everyone loved it. Thanks for posting recipe
Sure thing! Glad you liked it!
Tried quiet a few recipes….this one the best!!! Hands down!!!
This looks really good and I will definitely be trying this out. Will be pinning this on my Pinterest autumn board.
Salted or unsalted butter?
I use salted!
Thanks so much
Used this recipe for my daughter’s wedding last fall. Made enough for 100 people, everyone raved about it. I just dumped the popcorn after it cooled and dried into large clear Rubbermaid storage bins and placed large 16oz red solo cups for people to scoop up a cupful. I’ve never baked caramel corn before but it was the right thing to do, it turned out to be 93° and crazy humid. The caramel melted off the apples we made but the popcorn stayed perfect. In fact right now I’m making some for my son’s wedding this weekend. It’s the only thing he insisted on. Plus he wants a little bin for himself after the wedding. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
That is awesome, and what a great idea to serve it at a wedding! It really is such a great recipe, our favorite!
I LOVE this recipe! It’s easy enough for me to be able to make it! I think I’ll give this Popcorn as neighbor gifts. Thanks for sharing! Will definitely use this recipe again!
Awesome! When you find a good one there’s no point trying any others!
I found the recipe had too much butter and too much baking soda.
1 cup butter and 1 teaspoon baking soda. Is that what you used? That’s pretty standard for caramel popcorn—-sorry you didn’t like it.
I finally tried this baked caramel popcorn. I wonder if my mixture, though I set the timer for 5 minutes, was overcooked. It was dark and didn’t easily coat each kernel as in the picture of yours. The caramel is super stuck to the pot I cooked it in. I was surprised no one else had this issue, by reading the comments.
It does taste good though, for which I am grateful. I also sprayed my cookie sheet with nonstick spray because having never made before, with my luck it would stick like crazy. But I don’t think it needed to be sprayed.
Hi CC! It definitely sounds like it was cooked too long or on too high of heat. Every stove cooks differently. Maybe drop it down a bit next time once it begins to boil to med-low? I’m glad it still tasted good for you! 🙂
Do you use light brown sugar or dark?
Hi! I use light.
My husband grew up in Argentina. They sell popped corn with orange marmalade. Wonder if I could substitute marmalade for less corn syrup and sugar–heat, add baking soda????????
That sounds interesting and worth a shot!
I’d like to make this with plain skinnypop popcorn I bought at Costco! Could you give me a rough idea how many cups of made popcorn for this recipe? Thanks!!!!
6-8 quarts. I’m not sure exactly how many cups of popped popcorn that would be. 24 would probably work.
This is similar to my grandmother’s recipe. Her recipe also has 1 tsp of Vanilla that you add with the baking soda and is baked at 250. I have made it with both butter and margarine, both work fine. The margarine makes it soak into the popcorn a bit more than the butter but no appreciable difference. I have a friend’s mother that is allergic to dairy so I always make hers with margarine and nobody else can tell which batch I gave them.