A spicy stovetop popcorn recipe flavored with cumin, chili powder, cayenne and smoked paprika. Firecracker corn is a blast of flavor. Plus, How to cook stovetop popcorn and how to cook popcorn using a stovetop popcorn maker. It’s easy!
Don’t you love the smell of fresh popped popcorn? My all time favorite snack food, has been, currently is, and will always be popcorn.
What’s yours? In this post we’ll talk about a spicy seasoning for homemade popcorn and learn how to cook stovetop popcorn.
When I was growing up, a couple times a week, Dad would pop corn in his favorite stovetop popcorn maker, my mom’s deep fried chicken skillet. With a lid of course.
He’d slice an apple and some cheddar cheese and fan them out on a plate, serve up bowls of popcorn and that that would be our evening snack while watching television.
As soon as I figured out I really needed to learn, he taught me how to cook stovetop popcorn. Let’s take a look.
How To Pop Stovetop Popcorn
Oh popcorn. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. And please don’t let me catch you making popcorn from those microwave packets.
Popping corn on the stove top is so much easier and healthier. And you can add real butter instead of the butter flavored oils that are in those microwave packets.
All you need is popcorn kernels, a good pot with a lid, salt and butter. Stovetop popcorn is one of the tastiest and cheapest snacks around. And did I mention that it all comes together in less than 15 minutes? So here’s how to make stovetop popcorn.
I use my Le Creuset 6 quart Dutch Oven.
Perfect popcorn recipe: 3 tablespoons oil, ½ cup popcorn kernels, 1 ½ tablespoons melted butter.
- Use a good quality heavy bottomed pan. This could be a cast iron skillet or a Le Creuset Dutch oven, or even a good quality saucepan. Just make sure it has a good fitting lid.
- Heat that skillet over medium heat. Even the slightest hint of burnt oil will transfer that flavor to the popcorn. Not good.
- Pour in the oil and add a couple of kernels of popcorn. Once those pop, you know you’re ready to rock and roll.
- Add the rest of the corn kernels and remove the pan from the heat and shake the pan to coat the kernels with oil.
- Place the pan back on the heat and cover with the lid.
- Once the kernels start popping, shake the pan vigorously to make sure the kernels are dispersing evenly and popping evenly.
- Once you hear the last few kernels popping, quickly remove from heat.
- In the meantime, melt butter in microwave.
- Transfer half the popcorn to a large bowl. Season with half the seasoning.
- Using a dinner plate, or lid, cover the bowl and shake to distribute seasoning.
- Add the rest of the popcorn, seasoning and butter and with the lid, or dinner plate, cover the bowl and shake again.
What Oil To Use For Popcorn
- Canola oil is my choice for the best oil to make homemade pop corn. It’s clean taste doesn’t overwhelm the wonderful flavor of the popcorn.
- I also like to use Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It’s the healthiest choice .
- You can use coconut oil like the movie theaters use. I like to use refined coconut oil, as the flavor is milder. Some think using coconut oil for popping corn is the absolute best choice.
- Avocado Oil is another good choice. With its neutral flavor and smoking point it makes an excellent choice.
Stovetop Popcorn Popper
Another great stove-top popcorn method is to purchase a stovetop popcorn popper like a Whirley Pop. I love, love, love mine.
I’ve included an affiliate link for your convenience. I’m a member of the Amazon Affiliate Program. If you purchase the stovetop popcorn popper, I’ll receive a small commission at no addition charge to you. Check it out.
I’ve had a Whirley Pop Popcorn Maker for years. It practically lives on my stovetop and pops a perfect batch of popcorn every single time. It turns out popcorn that’s fluffy, crispy and not chewy.
Is popcorn healthy? Pop corn is definitely one of the healthier snack options out there. Especially if you make your how homemade stovetop popcorn.
Popcorn is a whole grain, it’s gluten free and you’re getting a fair amount of fiber.
The healthy benefits of popcorn do not apply to movie theater popcorn of caramel corn.
Spicy Popcorn Recipe, how to pop stovetop popcorn
I hope you give this homemade stovetop popcorn recipe a try, and if you do, please come back and give the recipe a star rating. And leave a comment about your experience with the recipe.
And if you have a favorite flavored popcorn recipe, let me know, I’d love to give it a try.
Explore More Spicy Appetizer Recipes
And if you’re looking for more appetizer recipes, don’t miss my appetizer category. You’ll find lots of great finger food recipe ideas including the most popular on my site for Shrimp Campechana.
If you liked this recipe, please leave a star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I always appreciate your feedback and hearing how everything went.
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Firecracker Corn, Stove Top Popcorn Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- ½ cup popcorn
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder a good quality blend
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon New Mexico Red Powder or Ancho, or Cayenne pepper
- 1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter
Instructions
- Mix spices in a small bowl.
- Melt butter in microwave, about 30 seconds.
- Stovetop Pan Method: Use a good quality heavy bottomed pan. This could be a cast iron skillet or a Le Creuset Dutch oven, or even a good quality saucepan. Just make sure it has a good fitting lid.Heat that skillet over medium heat. Even the slightest hint of burnt oil will transfer that flavor to the popcorn. Not good. Pour in the oil and add a couple of kernels of popcorn. Once those pop, you know you're ready to rock and roll. Add the rest of the corn kernels and remove the pan from the heat and shake the pan to coat the kernels with oil. Place the pan back on the heat and cover with the lid. Once the kernels start popping, start shaking the pan vigorously to make sure the kernels are dispersing evenly and popping evenly. Once you hear the last few kernels popping, quickly remove from heat. In the meantime, melt butter in microwave.
- WhirleyPop Stove Top Popcorn Maker Method: Over medium high heat on the stovetop, combine canola oil and popcorn in Whirly Pop Pop Corn Maker. Give it a good swirl then wait for the corn to start popping and then start turning the Whirly Pop handle. Lower heat slightly and pop corn until the last kernels are popped.
- Remove from heat and pour half of the popcorn into a large popcorn bowl. Season with half of the seasoning mix and half the butter. Cover the bowl with a lid, or dinner plate and shake well. Add the rest of the popcorn to the bowl and pour in the remaining seasonings and butter. Cover again and shake well.
Nutrition
Firecracker Spicy Corn … How to Cook Stovetop Popcorn … It’s What’s for a Snack
Why Trust My Recipes? I am a Culinary School Graduate and a lifelong student of home cooking. I hope to inspire you try to cook as often as you can. I’ve been cooking for 50 years, and my recipes are tried and true tested and tested and then tested again before published. To read more take a look at my About Page.
Great recipe, but you forgot the salt!
It was delicious
I need to try this. Like really need to. I burned some kettle corn recently and have to redeem myself. I can’t burn this!
I’ve not tried Kettle Corn. And love it.
love this spicy combo…we inhale popcorn at our house!! gotta try this soon!! movie night!
Inhale more describes our popcorn eating habit around here.
You brought back so many wonderful memories with this post. We use to have popcorn and a treat… my favorite was fudge… on Sunday nights while watching TV! I still like to have something chocolate with popcorn and I love the seasoned popcorn you have made!
I’m loving the fudge idea RaeDi. Anything sweet and salty and I’m in love.
We just put whatever bbq rub I have out on the counter with our popcorn, very tasty.
I l-o-v-e- love that idea Chris.
More than once I’ve made a meal out of a bowl of popcorn and a glass of wine. There is nothing like popping it on top of the stove. I love your new design, Lea Ann.
Thanks Cathy! And guess I’m going to have to give that popcorn/wine thing a try.
Testing….my isn’t your new blog design fabulous!!! 🙂
We love our Whirley Pop too! One year, I gave everyone one for Christmas we love it so much. I also can’t tell you how many Sunday nights we’ve had popcorn for dinner after a weekend of too much eating. We try to go butter-less on those nights 🙂 I’ve been looking for some popcorn recipes where I can reduce the sodium intake and this sounds perfect!
Love the idea of giving everyone the gift of a Whirley Pop for Christmas!
i’ve had many a dinner of popcorn, sliced apples, and cheese. cheers!
Are you from Kansas??? 🙂 I even love popcorn for breakfast.
I don’t know why I’ve never been a big fan of popcorn. Don’t get me wrong, I like it and can eat a lot of them at the movies, but other than that I don’t give it a lot of thought. Maybe I just need the right flavoring and this is it! Spicy is always good 🙂
And see, I’m just the opposite. Don’t like the movie popcorn. Too salty and too buttery. Guess i’m a popcorn purist.
One of hte perks of making your own popcorn is all the fun seasonings you can add! This blend sounds so tasty!
I agree Joanne, I need to play around with seasonings more than I do.
Glad you like this as much as I do. I even added a pinch of Aleppo to my last batch and it worked quite well. 🙂 What I loved most about this post was learning your ingenious shaking method! I use a wide wooden spoon to stir and my dogs come running because they know I’m going to spill popcorn. (every time) Thanks for the shout out, too. Cheers!
I thought about the Aleppo, but wanted to try your “pure” version first. Well, maybe you should stick to the spoon, don’t want those dogs to miss out. However, I drop enough while eating that mine always get a few kernels.
I would so love a bowl of this right now. I am battling a very sore throat right now so looking at this is torture for me. Yum!
uh-oh! Are you back from England?
I LOVE my Whirley Pop.. and I’m really digging this recipe! Great flavor combo!
I adore my Whirley Pop. I just bought one for a friend. No household should be without one. 🙂
Another reason to love you! Popcorn is my favorite snack also. I actually own two Whirley Pops, one for home and one for the cabin! Of course I like experimenting with it, I like your spicy version. I’ll probably end up having tonight…for dinner 😉
If I had a cabin I’d own two also! Every household should have a Whirley Pop! 🙂
Perfect flavor combination. Popcorn isn’t a favorite of mine, but every now and then my gardener will get on a kick and have popcorn several times a week. He pops it in an old 60’s harvest yellow electric popper. Then he leaves it for me to wash :/
I’m trying to picture that old 60’s harvest yellow popper.