The Best Caramel Corn Recipe (2024)

The BEST homemade caramel corn recipe! I’ll show you how to make caramel corn that’s perfect as a snack or made for gifts. Yummy!

My husband and I have been on the hunt for the best caramel corn recipe for awhile. We’ve been making caramel corn for years but always found it that was a bit chewy at the end, which is not exactly what we were looking for. We finally found the this caramel corn recipe that’s easy and leaves a crunch!

If you’re looking for a great appetizer for the big game, this is a perfect fit! If you’re looking for the perfect homemade gift to take to neighbors during the holidays, I would recommend puppy chow or this recipe I’m sharing today! It was a huge hit at our house and so much fun to make. It does take a bit of time, but the results are delicious! This is one of those appetizers that’s great for kids and adults alike. My niece liked it so much I think she ate half of it!

The Best Caramel Corn Recipe

To make the homemade caramel corn recipe you’ll need the following ingredients.

• 4 quarts popped corn (1/2 cup un-popped)
• 1 Cup brown sugar
• 1/2 Cup corn syrup
• 1/2 Cup butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit and pop the popcorn. About 1/2 of a cup of un-popped popcorn makes 4 quarts of popped popcorn. (Say that 10 times fast.) Place the popped popcorn into two 13×9 pans and put them into the preheated oven. I use the disposable pans for easy clean up.

Mix the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt in a sauce pan over medium-high heat. Stir constantly. Bring it to a boil. Allow it to boil for 5 minutes without stirring.

Remove from heat and add baking soda and vanilla. Mix well. The baking soda makes it foam. Just stir quickly and be ready to ladle onto your popped popcorn.

Pour the caramel syrup over warm popcorn. I did it one ladle at a time. Once I added one scoopful, my husband would then stir the popcorn to evenly coat it. We added another scoopful, tossed the popcorn, another scoopful, tossed the popcorn. This really is easiest with two people, a scooper and a tosser. 🙂

Bake the caramel covered corn for 45 minutes in the 250 degree Fahrenheit oven. Toss the popcorn every 10 minutes.

Remove the caramel corn from the oven and spread onto a layer of foil that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

Let cool and enjoy! What I love about this recipe is the fact that it’s not chewy. The caramel corn gives a nice light sweet texture that’s crunchy. You can add nuts if you want to add another dimension of flavor! Enjoy!

More Homemade Snack Ideas

• Easy Candy Corn Sugar Cookie Bars
• Homemade Trail Mix (With Brown Sugar Pecans!)
• Simple and Easy Homemade Granola Recipe