Making Homemade Microwave Popcorn

Are you sick and tired of all the extra preservatives and additives found within store bought commercial popcorn?

I sure am!

Which is why I decided to start making my own homemade microwave popcorn.

It's much healthier, fresh, and will taste exactly how I want it to.

Homemade microwave popcorn in a red serving bowl.

Homemade microwave popcorn in my favorite red serving bowl.

And I'll show you how easy it is. It's so flippin' simple that I'm certain you'll say to yourself, "Oh, duh!, of course!"

It's so easy a cave man can do this. As a matter of fact, they practically were doing just that. Except way back then in the old days when our ancestors actually lived outdoors, they made all natural organic popcorn, which was heated over very hot sand.

Health Benefits Of Making Homemade Microwave Popcorn

Why is homemade microwave popcorn better for you and I?

Most store bought popcorn has extra additives and preservatives. Yes, even most microwave popcorn contains a bunch of extra stuff.

Prepackaged popcorn will definitely contain preservatives. They have to. Otherwise, by the time the popcorn reaches us, the consumer, it would be stale. And probably taste like paper.

We will show you 2 different methods:

Basic technique using a paper bag.
Using a microwave safe bowl as a homemade popcorn popper.

How To Make Homemade Microwave Popcorn

This is how we make perfect microwave popcorn using a paper bag.

Add 1/3 of a cup of popcorn kernels to a paper bag.

Here, I'm using a regular size brown lunch bag, and Market Pantry yellow popping corn kernels. I purchased these two items from my local Target retail store.

Need bags? You can find an assortment of paper bags here. You'll see brown, white, assorted colors, party favor themes, and more. Search for "popping corn" and/or other choice ingredients while you're there, too.

Fold the top of the bag a couple times to make sure that the popcorn doesn't fly out of the bag when popped, and end up all of your microwave.

If you're uncertain about the folded top holding in place while in the microwave, there's a couple things you can do...

Many people will staple the folded top. Although it's been suggested to be harmless, I personally just don't like the thought of metal being in the microwave.

I like to make a small tear and then fold the sections the opposite directions from each other.

Depending on your microwave, allow it to run 1 1/2 to 3 minutes. Shut it down when the popping kernels become less frequent, about 4-5 seconds in between pops.

I made a couple batches for this recipe demonstration, and each batch took me just a few seconds over 2 minutes to pop to perfection.

Homemade microwave popcorn in a paper bag.

Homemade Microwave Popcorn Popper

This is a fun little hack that i have come to love. We are basically turning a bowl into our very own microwave popcorn popper. And we don't have to pay extra money for something that we most likely may already have in our kitchen.

Using a microwave safe bowl will allow you to add butter, seasonings, and other ingredients. You control your own ingredients.

Or, just eat it plain and all natural.

Essentially, it's as healthy as you allow it to be. Until you start adding unhealthy ingredients. It's entirely up to you and how you want to feast on this lovely snack.

For this next demonstration, I'm using a medium size multi-purpose bowl from my Sterilite 8 piece bowl set used for mixing, storage, and serving. And now as a popper.

You'll need a microwave safe bowl with a lid (or something that can be used as a lid), 1/3 cup of kernels, and your choice of seasonings to top it off.

Adding popcorn kernels to a microwaveable bowl.

Add the kernels to the bowl. You can add a tablespoon of oil if you would like, but I generally prefer not to because it seems to get a little messy.

Place the lid loosely on the bowl and microwave on high for about 2-3 minutes, until it's done when you hear about 4-5 seconds in between popping

It's not necessary to tightly secure the lid. Just place it on top of the bowl to prevent the popcorn from bursting out all over your microwave.

Once it's done, carefully remove from the microwave. Be careful because the bowl will most likely be hot, especially the steam coming from inside the bowl of freshly popped popcorn.