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Vegan Caramel Popcorn

10 min

Snack

10 ingredients or less
Jazz up movie nights with this incredibly simple-to-make and delicious caramel popcorn! You'll find yourself reaching for handful after handful.

Servings

(2 cups per serving)

Total

10 min

Prep

3 min

Cook

7 min

Free from

Soy symbol

soy

Peanut symbol

peanut

Treenut symbol

tree nut

Sesame symbol

sesame

Gluten symbol

gluten

Ingredients

Popcorn

Caramel sauce

Directions

  1. Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed large pot on high heat. Add the popcorn kernels, stir, and cover. Shake every 15 seconds until popping starts. Then reduce the heat to medium-high and shake until the popping slows. Remove from heat, and keep the lid on until popping stops.
  2. To make the caramel sauce, add the coconut oil and maple syrup to a small pan on medium-high heat. Simmer for 2 minutes, stirring throughout.
  3. Then turn off the heat* and stir in the remaining caramel sauce ingredients.
  4. Drizzle the caramel sauce over the popcorn and toss to coat. Spread out the popcorn onto parchment paper and let sit for 5 minutes to harden as it cools. Enjoy!

Notes

  • †Refined coconut oil is coconut oil that doesn't smell or taste like coconuts. If you prefer a strong coconut taste, use unrefined coconut oil instead. The coconut oil needs to be solid for this recipe, and not melted. If the oil is soft, place it in the fridge until hardened.
  • * Don't turn off the heat too soon as the sugar won’t harden and crisp when added to the popcorn, but also be careful not to overcook as the sugar can burn.

Storage

  • Best if enjoyed immediately, otherwise store in an airtight container on the counter for up to 1 day.
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Nutrition info

Focusing on numbers can harm our relationship with food. Instead, our philosophy is to Nourish the Cells & the Soul. For specific nutrition needs due to a medical condition, consult a dietitian or physician. While we strive to provide accurate nutritional information, we cannot guarantee its accuracy. See our disclaimer for details.

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Phillipa - Oct. 22, 2024, 12:39 a.m.

This is so tasty, quick and easy and also my first time making popcorn. The whole family enjoyed it. I initially thought it would have been better with more sauce but as I ate it I realised I was wrong. Very very good. Thank you!

Reply
Lillith Walker - Aug. 24, 2024, 8:12 p.m.

Rarely am I disappointed in recipes from this site. This popcorn recipe was okay, but not great. Even though I cooked the “caramel” for over two minutes, it never firmed up and it had no real flavor other than being sweet. I added two pinches of salt and it could’ve used a bit more. The batch ended up a greasy mess that tasted like soggy French toast. Not my favorite.

PUL small logo PUL Team - Aug. 26, 2024, 3:50 a.m.

Hey Lillith, I’m so sorry to hear this recipe didn’t meet your expectations. Indeed, the popcorn is meant to stay soft rather than firm up like store-bought caramel popcorn. Cooking the mixture a bit longer might help, and if you ever want to make it again with a firmer texture, using brown sugar instead of maple syrup could be a good option. Thanks so much for sharing your feedback—we hope you find some of our other recipes more to your liking! <3

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Cat - Dec. 30, 2023, 9:47 a.m.

Hi there

I used maple syrup, salt and cinamon only and it was delicious.
Thankyou x

PUL small logo PUL Team - Jan. 3, 2024, 12:37 a.m.

So happy that the popcorn was enjoyed, Cat, thank you!

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Anina - Oct. 1, 2023, 10:46 a.m.

Family favorit!
One of the first recipes we ever tried from you like years ago and we still love it.

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Magda - July 3, 2023, 7:52 p.m.

Delicious, sweet and chrunchy

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Laetitia M. - July 2, 2023, 6:40 p.m.

Very tasty! However the caramel didn’t really harden, I don’t really know what I did wrong.

PUL small logo PUL Team - July 4, 2023, 3:45 a.m.

Hey Laetitia, it's possible the heat was turned off too soon. We don't want to turn off the heat too soon as the sugar won’t harden and crisp when added to the popcorn, but also be careful not to overcook as the sugar can burn 🤗

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Kelly - June 29, 2023, 2:50 a.m.

Absolutely delicious!!!! And so fast and easy!

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Diane - June 26, 2023, 5:20 a.m.

Delicious! I put mine in the refrigerator for a little while right before eating it to make it extra crunchy. Yum.

Reply
Mickel E - April 16, 2023, 11:55 p.m.

I absolutely love caramel popcorn. I’m so glad to now know how to make it. Give it a try! You’re in for a delicious surprise

PUL small logo PUL Team - April 17, 2023, 1:12 a.m.

So happy to hear, Mickel, thank you 🤗

Reply
Giovanna - March 30, 2023, 3:05 p.m.

Hi! I really love this recipe! The popcorn was sooo good! Unfortunately I didn`t have the maple syrup (it`s very expensive here), but instead I used brown sugar. Not so healthy, but it tastes great! The cinnamon and the vanilla makes it very special 💕, never have seen sweet popcorn with this ingredients before. Here in Brazil a very popular way is making the popcorn with caramel and red coloring (or with gooseberry), it`s kind of a street food. Thanks!

PUL small logo PUL Team - March 30, 2023, 6:46 p.m.

Hey Giovanna, thanks so much for sharing your experience with the recipe! Brown sugar sounds like a delicious substitute and we love the sound of the gooseberry flavour. Hugs to Brazil 😃

Reply
Pallavi - July 4, 2022, 9:23 p.m.

Hi, this is a great recipe. I just have a small query - could you suggest an option for maple syrup? I live in Delhi, and maple syrup is not quite abundantly available here unless on steps into a supermart. So it will be good to know an alternative ingredient.
Thanks

PUL small logo PUL Team - July 4, 2022, 10:48 p.m.

Hey there, Pallavi, thanks for the question! An alternative liquid syrup will work if that's accessible. We hope you enjoy the recipe if you're able to give it a try. Sending hugs to Delhi 🙂

Reply
Adam - Dec. 30, 2021, 4:25 a.m.

Worked alright. It will keep and be more crispy putting it in the oven on 300 for 8 minutes. Shuffling it around every 2 minutes or so. It's a good quick way to make a wonderful snack.

PUL small logo PUL Team - Dec. 30, 2021, 6:10 a.m.

Thanks a bunch for sharing your experience with this one, Adam - it's so appreciated 🙂

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Olivia Marie - Nov. 3, 2021, 7:08 p.m.

This was perfectly sweet! I didn't get my to crisp on the popcorn but I'm willing to try again because it was that yummy.

PUL small logo PUL Team - Nov. 4, 2021, 3:44 p.m.

So glad it was enjoyed, Olivia! Leaving the coconut oil and syrup mixture on the saucepan for a tad bit longer should help it crisp on the popcorn more ✨

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Linda - Oct. 16, 2021, 4:52 p.m.

Would give this more than 5 stars if I could. It's sooo good. Kids love it and it's so simple to make. No need to every buy toffee popcorn again.

PUL small logo PUL Team - Oct. 17, 2021, 2:33 a.m.

We appreciate this so much, Linda, thank you! So happy it's being enjoyed 🌻

Reply
nesya - July 13, 2021, 5:15 p.m.

Hi just to know, why baking soda?

PUL small logo PUL Team - July 18, 2021, 12:57 a.m.

A wonderful question, Nesya! The baking soda reacts with some of the acidity in the recipe which causes the caramel to foam. This basically helps the caramel have a softer texture that sticks to the popcorn and prevents it from getting too hard 🙂

Nesya - July 18, 2021, 8 a.m.

Ahh well thank you so much for responding!
helped a lot

Reply