How far can you take popcorn? Past butter and salt, sure, but also past unconventional flavors like Korean BBQ and tiramisu.
We make a lot of popcorn around here with the Popper, and we're firm believers that there's no limit to what you can do with it. That includes using it as the crust for your cheesecake or turning it into ice cream.
Without further ado, here are 15 ways to cook with popcorn:
1. Bread Chicken Tenders With Popcorn
Use popcorn the way you’d use panko to coat your chicken. Just whiz plain popcorn in a food processor until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs, then dip your chicken in flour, then beaten egg, then the popcorn.
Whether you bake or fry it, you’ll get a toasty, slightly corny crust that’s different from your usual breadcrumbs. Cook the chicken to 165°F and keep an eye on the color so the outside doesn't get ahead of the inside.
2. Add Popcorn to Your Cookies
Give classic chocolate chips a fun twist by adding popcorn to the mix. Plain, salted, or any sweet popcorn works, like kettle corn. What's important is that you use fresh popcorn.
Crush about a cup of it into small pieces, roughly the size of a chocolate chip. You can do it by hand, or seal it in a zip-top bag and press it gently with a rolling pin. Once the flour is mixed in, gently fold the popcorn into the dough along with your chocolate chips and chopped nuts, if you're using them.
These cookies are best eaten within a few days, because the popcorn loses its crunch after a while.
3. Eat Popcorn for Breakfast
Here's a little history fact: in the late 1800s, people ate popcorn the way we eat cereal now. So if someone tells you that you're only using this as an excuse to have popcorn for breakfast, argue that all you're doing is honoring tradition.
Pour cold milk over your choice of popcorn, add a sliced banana and a drizzle of honey if you want, and try to eat everything before it gets soggy.
4. Make Popcorn Bars
Think Rice Krispies treats, but made with popcorn. They’re super easy to customize. Use marshmallows or melted chocolate to bind them, and stir in whatever mix-ins you like to make them your own. They’re great as after-school snacks, potlucks, bake sales — you get the drift.
Melt your marshmallows or chocolate, fold in the popcorn (pick out any unpopped kernels so no one loses a tooth!) and any mix-ins, and press it all into a pan. Let it set, then cut it into squares.
5. Turn Popcorn Into Ice Cream
Popcorn ice cream is ridiculously easy to make even without an ice cream maker. Blend popcorn into cream and milk, let it steep so the buttery flavor soaks in, then strain it and freeze. Our buttery popcorn ice cream recipe walks you through each step, and it works with kettle corn too if you want something sweeter.
GOOD TO KNOW: The longer the popcorn steeps, the stronger the flavor. Give it a couple of hours if you want something bolder and have the patience to wait.
6. Top Your Mac and Cheese With Popcorn
Just like with the chicken tenders, popcorn can stand in for bread crumbs here, too. Scatter it over your mac and cheese before it goes in the oven, and it toasts while everything bakes. The texture is crunchy on top and creamy underneath, with a toasty corn flavor in every bite.
7. Make Popcorn Pancakes
Looking for another excuse to have popcorn for breakfast? Put it in your pancakes. Warm some milk until it’s steaming, add about a cup of popped popcorn for every cup of milk, and let it steep for about 30 minutes or until the milk tastes like popcorn. Strain out the popcorn, pressing down to squeeze out as much milk as you can, and use it in your batter in place of regular milk.
If you want a stronger popcorn flavor, refrigerate it overnight. The flavor is subtle either way, so top the stack with popped popcorn and melted butter.
8. Bake Popcorn Cornbread
The idea here is cornbread with a little extra corn. Grind about 2 cups of plain popped popcorn in a food processor until it looks like coarse meal, then add it to your batter along with the cornmeal. It’s still cornbread, just with a stronger corn flavor.
9. Blend Popcorn Into Soup
Soup season or not, you'll want to try popcorn soup at least once. Simmer corn and onion in stock until soft, then puree it until smooth. Next, drop in several handfuls of popcorn, let it bubble gently for about 5 minutes, and puree again. Pass it through a fine strainer, and you get a smooth, rich soup.
10. Make Popcorn Chocolate Bark
Chocolate bark comes in clutch when guests show up unexpectedly or when you’re short on time to make your usual party showstopper. Spread melted dark or milk chocolate on a parchment-lined tray and scatter popcorn over the top. Finish with a pinch of flaky salt, chill until firm, then break it into pieces. You can also customize it with whatever you have on hand, like crushed pretzels, roasted nuts, or dried cranberries.
11. Stir Popcorn Into Granola
Homemade granola is all about making it yours, so why not add popcorn? Start with oats, honey, and a little oil, then toss in popcorn along with whatever else you like, such as nuts or coconut. Spread it all on a baking sheet and bake low, around 250°F, for about an hour. Stir it halfway, and add your favorite dried fruit in the last half hour so it doesn’t dry out.
12. Swap Bread Crumbs for Popcorn in Meatloaf
After popcorn pancakes and popcorn soup, meatloaf with popcorn in it doesn’t sound so out there. Grind several cups of popped popcorn until it’s fine, and mix it into your meatloaf in place of the bread crumbs, along with the usual milk, egg, and onion. Bake at 350°F for about an hour, until the meat reaches 160°F for beef or 165°F for turkey.
13. Use Popcorn as Croutons
Popcorn can sub in for croutons, and it’s a lot lighter than bread. Just toss plain popcorn with a little olive oil, grated Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Then sprinkle it over a Caesar salad or a bowl of tomato soup right before serving so it stays crunchy.
14. Press Popcorn Into a Pie Crust
For your next cheesecake, tart, or pie, skip the graham crackers and reach for popcorn. You can make a no-bake cheesecake popcorn crust by cooking butter and brown sugar together until bubbly, then stirring in crushed unsalted popcorn until it’s evenly coated. Press it into a springform pan and chill it while you make the filling.
Tart and pie recipes bake the pressed crust for about 10 minutes before the filling goes in. It goes especially well with peanut butter or caramel, and you can mix in crushed cookies too.
15. Stir Up Popcorn Syrup
For anyone who can't start the day without coffee or end it without popcorn, popcorn syrup lets you have a little of both in one cup. Heat sugar and water with a pinch of salt until the sugar dissolves, stir in a few handfuls of popcorn, and let it cool. Refrigerate it in a jar for a day or so to let the flavor develop, then strain out the popcorn. Stir a spoonful into a latte or cocktail, and keep the rest in the fridge and use it within a week.
Tips for Cooking With Popcorn
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Use plain popcorn for savory recipes. Plain popcorn from your Popper lets you control the salt and flavor. Save kettle corn and other sweet popcorn flavors for things like cookies, bars, and cereal.
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Fresh popcorn works best for crunch. If yours has gone chewy, though, spread it on a baking sheet and warm it at 250°F for about 5 minutes to crisp it back up. For more ways to use up a leftover batch, see our leftover popcorn post.
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Pick out the unpopped kernels and grind in small batches. They can damage the blades of your food processor or blender, and they're hard on teeth, so check before you grind or fold anything in. Popcorn also takes up a lot of room, so a few cups at a time keeps your machine from getting overloaded.
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Add popcorn last when you want crunch. Popcorn softens fast once it meets anything wet, so stir it in or sprinkle it on right before serving.
Popcorn Beyond the Bowl
We’ve still barely scratched the surface with popcorn, even if we always seem to find ourselves experimenting in the kitchen. Treat these 15 as a starting point. Who knows what you’ll come up with?
Don’t have a Popper yet? Now’s a great time to get one and explore what popcorn can do. Start by browsing our popcorn recipes.
