An easy sweet and salty homemade Kettle Corn recipe plus tips on how to make the best kettle corn without burning the sugar.
Kettle corn is usually considered a fair-time or amusement park treat (who doesn’t love wandering around eating handfuls of the stuff out of a giant $9 bag??), but it’s actually incredibly easy to make at home and just as delicious.
What is Kettle Corn? How is it Different from Popcorn?
The only difference between popcorn and kettle corn is a little bit of sugar. Unlike popcorn, kettle corn is cooked with sugar, which when heated melts and coats the popping kernels making them both sweet and salty.
It makes a perfect movie-night snack or quick and simple dessert.
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil: You can use your favorite neutral cooking oil here. Refined coconut oil also makes a fabulous kettle corn oil as it has a clean, light flavor (unrefined will make your popcorn taste like coconut). But I think cheap, easily accessible vegetable or canola oil gives you the most classic fair-time flavor.
- Popcorn kernels: You can find loose kernels of popping corn at the store next to the boxes of the bagged microwave stuff. Any brand should work, but Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn is my go-to.
- Granulated sugar: Classic kettle corn uses white granulated sugar, but if you want a more caramel-y flavor, you can substitute brown sugar to make Brown Sugar Kettle Corn.
- Salt: We’ll use just a bit of salt because good kettle corn should be both sweet and salty.
Equipment
You don’t need any special equipment to make kettle corn, just a pot or large skillet with a long handle and a lid. Make sure your pot is at least 3 quarts (larger if doubling the recipe) and not too heavy. You’re going to be vigorously shaking the pan while the kettle corn cooks so you don’t want something that’s going to be too heavy to easily handle.
How to Make Kettle Corn (Without Burning the Sugar)
- Accept that you are probably going to burn a little sugar at first. I know, I know, I just said we weren’t going to be burning our sugar, but the first time or two you make kettle corn with a new pot/range/type of popcorn, you’re probably going to get a burnt kernel or two until you know how everything handles heat. Just pick them out and move on.
- Set a large bowl or sheet pan on the counter next to your stove so you can immediately pour your finished kettle corn into it. The bottom layer of kettle corn will burn in a hot pan quite quickly, even off the heat. You want to get finished kettle corn out of the pot as quickly as possible once it’s finished popping.
- Start with hot oil. Starting with hot oil means that your sugar will spend less time in the pan while the oil heats up, so it won’t have as long to start burning. To make sure you start with oil that is the right temperature, put three unpopped kernels in with your oil, and once you hear all three pop, it’s time to add the rest of your popcorn!
- Use more pot than you think you need. We already covered this above, but using a large pot gives everything room to move so your sugar isn’t just sitting on the heat, burning. I always use at least a 3-quart pot for 1/4-cup unpopped popcorn.
- Pull homemade kettle corn from heat before your corn stops popping. Standard popcorn wisdom says to pull your popcorn when you have 3 seconds between pops. For kettle corn, you want to pull it at around 1 to 2. As you get to know your pan and stove better, you might be able to extend this time, but it’s best to start here.
A Note About Unpopped Kernels: If you have dental work or are feeding this to kids, it’s best to pour the popped kettle corn onto a baking tray, let it cool for just a minute, and then sift through and pick out any unpopped kernels.
Unlike regular popcorn, the unpopped kernels don’t always just fall to the bottom of the bowl. They can clump in with the popped kettle corn pieces and are easy to bite into if you’re not careful.
FAQ
How to Store Kettle Corn
You probably won’t have leftovers, but if you’d like to make a big batch, kettle corn should stay fresh for up to a week. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.
Kettle Corn Troubleshooting
If your kettle corn is coming out a little chewy rather than crunchy, it’s probably because your pot has a tightly fitting lid and there was too much steam trapped inside while the popcorn popped.
Next time, crack the lid just slightly while cooking. To do this safely, hold the handle of the pot in your left hand and with your right, use a small kitchen towel wrapped around the lid handle to protect your wrist, and offset the lid (with the crack facing away from you) just enough to let steam escape but keep the popcorn kernels in.
More Easy Desserts
- Small-batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cinnamon Bun Kettle Corn
- Small-batch Brownies
- S’mores Cookie (For Two)
A Note on Yield and Multiple Batches
This recipe makes about 10 cups of kettle corn, which sounds like a lot, but a single person can definitely eat that on their own. If you plan on eating this with someone else and you’re not great at sharing (I’m not 😉 ), double the recipe. As long as your pot is large enough, doubling the recipe won’t change the cooking process in any way.
If you need to make a ton of kettle corn and you’re making multiple batches, be sure to wash the pan and let it cool slightly between each batch. Any remaining sugar in the pan will immediately burn if you try to make a second batch without washing it out.
Easy Kettle Corn
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or cooking oil of your choice
- 1/4 cup popcorn kernels
- 2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Set a large bowl on the counter to pour your popped kettle corn into.*
- To a large heavy-bottomed pot (with a lid) add oil and 3 kernels of popcorn. Cover and heat over medium-high heat (medium if your stove runs hot) until you hear all 3 kernels pop.
- Add the rest of your popcorn and shake the pan for a few seconds to coat the kernels. Pour sugar and salt directly over the popcorn. Cover and shake for 3 seconds, rest for 3 seconds, repeat, until popcorn begins to pop steadily.
- Once that starts, shake pan mostly continuously, pausing occasionally to listen for breaks in popping. Once there is about a 2 second break between pops, pull from heat. Transfer popcorn immediately to your bowl.
- Allow to cool for a couple of minutes (sugar will be VERY hot) before eating. Keep an eye out for unpopped kernels as you eat, and enjoy.
Notes
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission if you make a purchase using them. There is absolutely no additional cost to you.
Lisa says
Delicious recipe but even better instructions! I’ve had a recipe I used for years but didn’t want to go through my cookbooks to find it and found this one online. I make regular popcorn on the stove with the hot oil and 3 kernels, but I’d never thought of doing it for kettle corn. Brilliant!
Angeles says
I read your recipe and followed it to the “T.” It came out perfect! Super delicious and I only burned 3 popcorn kernels. Thank you so much. I’ve been craving kettle corn and this did the trick.
Adam says
It was very easy and not as scary as the instructions sounded, I didn’t even burn any popcorn on my first try!
Cassie P. says
Thanks for your recipe, which I found on the Reddit popcorn group. I doubled the recipe and made it in my Great Northern Popcorn Stovetop 6-1/2 Quart Popper. I used 1/4 cup Kirkland coconut oil, 1/2 cup Trader Joe’s organic popcorn kernels, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and substituted 1/2 tsp Flavacol popcorn seasoning for the salt. The kettle corn was a success! Thanks!
Patrick says
Here are my tips for successful kettle corn cook…I also let the 1/4 cup of popcorn kernels “rest” for a full minute after adding the sugar & salt allowing all the kernels to come to the same temperature before resuming the cooking process.
My next tip involves an on/off approach to cooking the popcorn. Usually 8 to 10 seconds on the heat & 8 to 10 seconds off the heat shaking constantly until popping slows to 2 to 3 seconds between pops. This keeps the sugar from getting too hot keeping it in the sweet spot so to speak.
Kim says
Delicious and simple! I used brown sugar and it tastes like a cross between Kettle and Carmel corn. Will definitely be using thia recipe over and over again. Thank you!
Brittnay says
So, as someone who knows someone who owns a kettle corn tent, I want to say this is a solid recipe for people at home.
Only thing I would say is that tents use corn oil. My friend buys mazola in bulk. It gets that buttery taste to pair with the sweet and salty. Hope this helps people!
Tracy says
Thanks for the seal of approval and the oil tip! Using corn oil makes so much sense!!
Jeannette Lara says
I want to make this so bad! Especially after all the comments, my mouth is watering! What pot/pan did you use? Should it be cast iron or any aluminum pot will work?
Pauline Miller says
Perfection! I followed directions as posted and Im HOOKED!
Thank you for posting this delicious recipe
Nolan Tokai says
Made this recipe twice now and wow first time it was good second time was amazing I did 50/50 brown to white sugar and when it was finished cooking I put it in a metal bowl and tossed immediately with salt flakes 10/10
Anna says
Me and my brother made this and it was delicious, he suggests to put some cinnamon on it before it completely cools and it really takes it up a notch!
Tracy says
So glad you both enjoyed it, Anna!!
Solsmiles says
Definitely after it pops, not with the sugar! It will burn if you do. Ask me how I know 😉
Angie says
Thank you for sharing! I made this in my Whirley stovetop popcorn maker and it turned out fabulous. I adjusted my temp to the low side of medium high and not a single kernel burned. Definitely a keeper and will try brown sugar for caramel corn next. The cost effectiveness compared to bagged is well worth making your own.
Jaimie says
The recipe was easy to follow and I’m sure if I tried it again it would come out perfect- I used coconut sugar because that’s all we have and it came out pretty burnt. Still edible, and good enough to eat!
Wondering if I should make any adjustments since using coconut sugar?
Thanks so much for posting this <3
MG says
Solid recipe. I never made popcorn before. Followed your directions exactly (used granulated sugar, popcorn salt, and Amish country red popcorn). Big thanks on the steam thing, popcorn came out super crispy and tasty. I proceeded to eat it all at once and had to come right back to leave a review. Thank you so so much!!
CC says
Popcorn suffered due to reckless abandon. Perhaps it’s because my husband didn’t follow the directions exactly. This is my ode to not following directions.
First, he “guessed” at the oil amount (a bit too much.)
Second, he didn’t coat the popcorn kernels. Then, he dumped the sugar and salt in one area.
He shook the pan only left to right, even after I told him to shake front and back, too. He had the heat too high and I told him to put it on medium. Instead, he turned the heat too low and the popcorn stopped popping so he thought it was done. It wasn’t as about 20% of the popcorn wasn’t popped and some of the sugar wasn’t melted.
Some of the popcorn was coated with sugar, but most wasn’t. It was slightly overcooked. A lot of the sugar wasn’t melted.
I think I need to make special directions for him. Of course he suggested I make it, which might be the real reason for his behavior!
Tracy says
OMG I’m dying laughing. Thank you so much for sharing. I truly feel as if I went on this journey with you!! LOL
Ilona says
Time to make it ourselves. They get lost when they have more than a sentence for instructions. Bless their hearts .
Honestly, on certain things I don’t even leave it to chance. Kettle corn is too precious.
Lisa says
Can this be prepared in a West Bend Stir Crazy corn popper? It stirs while popping. Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Tracy says
Hi, Lisa, I’m not familiar with this machine at all, so I can’t say for sure, but I did a quick google, and according to WestBend’s own website, it should work okay. If you try it, please let me know how it works out!