Perfect Stovetop Popcorn
Learn how to make perfectly popped popcorn in under 10 minutes! You'll never go back to microwave popcorn after you make this recipe. It's healthy, too!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 8, 2024
Little-known fact: I am a stovetop popcorn connoisseur. I’ve been making popcorn on the stove since my parents taught me in elementary school. Stovetop popcorn is infinitely better than microwave popcorn or air-popped popcorn. If you haven’t made it yet, you’ve been missing out!
I’m on a mission to make sure everyone knows how to make popcorn from scratch. Today, I’m sharing all of my popcorn-making tips so you can make perfect stovetop popcorn at home, too. All you need are popcorn kernels, a good pot with a lid, oil and salt. You can do it!
Of all the salty, crunchy, savory snacks out there, stovetop popcorn is one of the tastiest and cheapest snacks. I love that I can make it in under 10 minutes if I’m craving a snack, and easily adjust the amounts to yield a single serving or popcorn for a party.
The 10-minute buffer period is actually great, since it means I can’t reach into the pantry and mindlessly snack on popcorn. That’s why I don’t keep tortilla chips on hand—I eat them too fast.
How to Make Stovetop Popcorn
- Use a good, heavy-bottomed pot. Cheap pots don’t distribute heat evenly, and you can end up with hot spots that burn the popcorn.
- Don’t crank the heat up too high. It’s too easy to burn oil at temperature higher than medium heat, and if you catch even a whiff of smoke coming from the pot, your popcorn is going to taste burnt.
- Start with two popcorn kernels to gauge the temperature. Once those pop, your oil is hot enough. Add the remaining kernels and remove the pot from the heat for 1 minute. This primes the popcorn to pop without burning the oil.
- Tip the lid ever-so-slightly while the popcorn is popping. That way, the popcorn doesn’t steam itself in the pot and lose crispness. (See photo above.)
- If the popcorn starts overflowing the pot: Simply remove the lid and tip the excess popcorn into a bowl. Return the lid and return the popcorn to the heat until popping slows.
- Season with salt carefully. You can always add more, but you can’t take away too much.
Scroll down for my recipe!
Watch How to Make Popcorn
Cooking Oil Options
- Extra-virgin olive oil: You can absolutely make popcorn with olive oil, as long as you cook it over medium heat. Olive oil is my favorite oil to use and it’s the healthiest option.
- Coconut oil: Movie theaters cook popcorn in coconut oil and it is delicious. Opt for unrefined (virgin) coconut oil, which is more redeeming than the highly refined version used at theaters.
- Canola oil and other vegetable oils: I avoid canola oil since it’s usually highly processed. Avocado oil, grapeseed oil and safflower oil are good neutral options.
Recommended Popcorn Seasonings
- Black pepper and good olive oil: This variation is so good that it made it into my cookbook.
- Cinnamon honey butter: This popcorn is a little sticky, but irresistible. Whisk 2 tablespoons melted butter with 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup and 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
- Spice it up: Sprinkle with cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes or white pepper.
- Lemon popcorn: Finely grate some lemon zest (one small lemon’s worth or less) over your batch of popcorn. This goes well with finely grated black pepper and Parmesan, too!
- Nutritional yeast: This is a healthy vegan alternative that offers butter flavor. Here’s how my friend Ali makes “nooch” popcorn.
- Melted butter: It’s hard to beat melted butter. Even just one to two tablespoons offer a lot of flavor.
Is popcorn healthy?
In the crunchy, salty snacks category, popcorn is definitely one of the healthier options. That is, if you make popcorn on the stove with a reasonable amount of high-quality oil and don’t douse it in butter or caramel afterward.
I make popcorn with extra-virgin olive oil and organic popcorn kernels, so I’d say my popcorn is as healthy as popcorn gets. Popcorn is a whole grain, and it offers some redeeming fiber. You can enjoy a big serving (2.5 cups) of popcorn for the same amount of calories as a handful of tortilla chips.
Movie theater popcorn and flavored microwave popcorn are another story. They’re typically made with highly refined oils and coated in artificial “butter flavor” chemicals and preservatives.
Even if you’re buying unflavored microwave popcorn, the bags themselves pose health concerns. They’re typically coated with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which is the same toxic substance that coats Teflon pans. PFOA’s stick around in the human body for long periods of time, and the EPA states that PFOA’s at sufficient levels can cause a host of health problems, including cancer.
Why make stovetop popcorn?
It’s super delicious and chemical-free. Granted, you could also make air-popped popcorn and it would be free of all the bad stuff, too, but it’s flavorless and dull. Snacks should taste good! Stovetop popcorn tastes way better with as little as one tablespoon of oil for eight servings.
If you want to drizzle butter to your stovetop popcorn (so tasty), go right ahead. Even one tablespoon of butter on those eight servings of popcorn adds a lot of real butter flavor. Do you know how much saturated fat is in a medium movie theater popcorn? An entire stick of butter’s worth.
Best Stovetop Popcorn
Learn how to make perfectly popped popcorn in under 10 minutes! You’ll never go back to microwave popcorn after you make this recipe. Recipe yields about 10 cups (about 4 servings).
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or coconut oil
- ½ cup popcorn kernels, divided
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
- In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, combine the oil and 2 popcorn kernels. Cover the pot and wait for the kernels to pop, which might take a few minutes. In the meantime, place a large serving bowl near the stove so it’s ready when you need it.
- Once the kernels pop, turn off the burner, remove the pot from the heat and pour in the remaining popcorn kernels. Cover the pot again, and give the pot a little shimmy to distribute the kernels evenly. Let the pot rest for 60 seconds to make sure the oil doesn’t get too hot before the kernels are ready to pop.
- Turn the heat back up to medium, put the pot back onto the burner and continue cooking the popcorn, carefully shimmying the pot occasionally to cook the kernels evenly. Once the kernels start popping, tip the lid just a touch to allow steam to escape (see photo).
- Continue cooking until the popping sound slows to about one pop per every few seconds. (If the popcorn tries to overflow the pot, just tip the upper portion of popcorn into your bowl and return it to the heat.)
- Remove the lid and dump the popcorn into your serving bowl. Sprinkle the popcorn with a couple pinches of salt, to taste, and any other topping you would like. Toss the popcorn and serve immediately, for best flavor and texture. The popcorn will taste good for several hours, though.
Notes
Where to buy popcorn kernels: Look for them near the microwave popcorn. I like to buy organic, which I find at Trader Joe’s or health stores.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
A word on safety
I burned some carpet in my house while making stovetop popcorn at age 10, and learned a valuable lesson to never leave hot oil on the stove unattended.
The risk here is entirely minimal. Don’t leave the kitchen, and remove the pot from the heat if you see any whiffs of smoke (which is unlikely). If the oil starts smoking at all, you’ll want to let start over. Let the oil cool before adding water to the pot to clean it.
If smoke ever starts billowing out of an oiled pot, whatever you do, do NOT remove the lid or add water. Turn off the stove, don’t touch or move the pot, and if it’s a small amount of oil (like for making popcorn), let it burn out on its own.
Here’s more information about grease fires. Teach your kids!
Thanks for the great instructions. I wasn’t too familiar with how to do this and I got great results because of your post.
Simple instructions, amazing popcorn. Thank you for sharing!!! This is a game changer.
You’re welcome! I’m glad you loved it.
Just made this popcorn recipe and came out perfect for the first time! Coconut oil worked wonders and it tastes great! Thank you so much!!
Tried this for the first time tonight. It was absolutely amazing! Your instructions are perfect. Much better flavor than air popped. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Chelsea! I appreciate your review.
Agreed! This popcorn is perfect! Thanks!
You’re welcome! I’m happy you tried it, Natalie.
I made this tonight for the first time ever. I’ve been without a microwave for over 5 years and there have been times I’ve considered buying one simply for popcorn….
I’ll never have that thought again!
This was so easy and tasty.
I used coconut oil to cook, then used some more coconut oil, melted with a bit of salt and it tastes SO GOOOOD.
Wonderful! I’m happy you liked it, Lacey.
The only way to make popcorn. This is my go-to recipe! Thank you!!
I made popcorn in the microwave but my microwave burned out so I tried this method. Best popcorn I have ever had
Love this recipe!
That’s great to hear, Jacqueline! I’m glad you love it.
So glad to see this. I was searching for a way to figure out fat and calories in stove top popcorn and this recipe fit the bill for me. I like using a good olive oil too so it’s good to see I’m not the only one.
I did make this recipe using coconut oil. The only difference is I used a whirlpool popcorn maker.
I have been using flavored popcorn salts but I’m transitioning to healthier options. Have found that chili powder works well but will try black or white pepper too. Will also experiment with creole seasoning I make using a recipe I found at gumbopagesdotcom.
Like you I remember making stovetop popcorn with my granny as a kid. Fresh roasted peanuts and stove popcorn were a great activity for us. Thanks for bringing back those memories.
What a brilliant recipe!!!! Thank you soooooo much!!! Our popcorn was a total success thanks to your clear instructions! We had real fun making and eating it!!!!!
Thank you! I’m happy you love it.
Thank you this was awesome:)
Great easy to follow instructions. Fail proof! I have taught 10 year old grandson how to make popcorn using your recipe and he make it every night.
I love that! How fun. Thank you for sharing.
aw, that is so sweet, he will remember that forever.
I started making popcorn just like you do as kid in the 1950s. I love this popcorn and refuse to eat microwave popcorn. It’s awful! About 40 years ago I received a West Bend Stir Crazy countertop popcorn maker. It’s now a little beat up, but it still works great, and I’m sure has made a thousand batches of yummy popcorn.
Perfection.
I grew up in Indiana making popcorn this way. Our cousin’s neighbor had a popcorn farm and we usually got five gallon buckets of popcorn every year. We had one pot and lid dedicated to making popcorn, but then realize the pan was aluminum and that was the end of that. I look forward to making it again.
the “1/2 cup kernels divided” in the list of ingredients was confusing. usually that would mean divide in half and add to pot at separate times. but this recipe instructs two kernels and then the rest of the 1/2 cup. otherwise yummy. and loved using coconut oil.
Hi Suzanne, I’m sorry you found that confusing. You use the two kernels to make sure it’s hot enough to add the rest. No need for two pots. I hope this helps!
BEST popcorn I’ve ever made. Thanks!
Thank you, Josie!
The directions were clear and easy to follow. The popcorn was perfect. This is the way I will make popcorn from now on. Thank you for sharing!
These came out deliciously crunchy and perfectly golden! Thanks!
Just made some for the kids. Cajun seasoning on one batch and just salt and pepper on other. Both turned out great. Thanks for the simple but great directions!
I tried this but after 16 min of trying to heat my coconut oil and making my whole house smell like awful smoke And the kernels didn’t pop I had to stop – not sure what I did wrong, but I’m sure it would have been delicious!
Hi Hollin! I’m sorry to hear that. Did you let the two kernels pop with the lid on before adding the rest, per instruction one?
I had this issue too while using a Dutch oven on an electric stove. I turned up the heat a notch and added two more kernels, and they began popping. Maybe the heat was too low or maybe the first two kernels just didn’t feel like popping. But it worked well in the end! Thanks for the recipe!
I’m glad it ended up working for you, Keane! Thank you for your review.
I want to make popcorn balls so I looked for a recipe to make good popcorn, reliably. Sure, as a kid, we could never get the jiffy pop to come out consistently good, and when we made it in a pan, there was a lot of shaking going on, and often burnt or unpopped kernels. Until this recipe! Taking it off the stove for a whole minute was never something I would have thought to do, but great results. Thank you!
Hi Kate, I also started with the two kernels in the oil without the lid. After a while, I double checked the recipe and still wasn’t sure. I ended up putting it on and it popped shortly thereafter but thought I would share just in case to make your awesome recipe bullet proof!
It was delish otherwise! Thank you so much!!
Thanks, I’ve bookmarked this page to give to people who want to know why my popcorn is so good. I haven’t tried the 1-minute rest after putting in the kernels though. Game changer there!!
I encourage people to get innovative with seasonings. One big objection to some suggestions is “wasting so much at the bottom.” Here’s a trick I use: put the seasonings into the melted butter or oil that you add to the popped bowl. I never have any salt at the bottom (or smoked paprika, for that matter). BTW, if you are forced to use an air popper, this trick is the ONLY way to get anything to stick to those kernels!!
Thank you for sharing, Belinda! I’m glad you enjoyed it and love your innovative seasoning idea.
It turned out amazing ,for the first time .
Thanks alot
Your popcorn recipe is perfect, and my husband and I ate it all up.
Much better…letting the lid vent the steam out…my popcorn is crunchy not chewy!
just tried this and it is delicious! I wanted to stop using the popcorn bags and start using healthier options. Thank you so much for sharing!
You’re welcome, Lisa!
Followed instructions and popcorn was perfect!! Thank you
For more flavour I will make popcorn using bacon fat. Awesome!
Perfect! I’d been burning mine lately so figured I’d consult the internet again and this was literally perfect. Thank you so much!!
This popcorn is sensational!!!
Years ago I lived in the Caribbean, my daughters father used to make stovetop popcorn which was so perfectly popped each time it was amazing. Every time ~ I would burn it. This is a game changer!
Hello popcorn my old friend*****
True thanks
I’m glad you love it, Mardi! Thank you for your review.
I have 3 different popcorn makers and stovetop is still my favorite. Your tips made this the best. Perfectly crunchy, nothing burnt, and I’m pretty sure every kernel popped.
Yes, it really is the best! Thank you for you review, Susan.
Can I make this for a crowd? Like…5 cups of kernels to yield 40 servings? How large a pot would I need? Would that even work?
Hi, would use a large pot and do it in batches to get to the quantity you need.
I need to do the same. Wonder if it will still taste fresh if popped and seasoned a day before serving.
Oh my god. I’ve been making stove top popcorn incorrectly my entire life. Always slightly burnt, never quite fully popped. Finally decided to google a recipe to let the experts show me how it’s done. Wow. This recipe changed my life and I will be using it forever. It’s absolutely delicious, definitely the best I’ve ever had. Thank you!!!
This reminds me of my mama making popcorn in the 60’s. She had an electric popcorn maker, added oil in the bottom and two kernels. When those popped, the rest went in, and when the popping slowed way down, she unplugged it. The finished popcorn went into a brown paper grocery bag with salt and meted butter and us kids got to shake! shake! shake to coat. Yummy!
Thank you for sharing, Grandi!
I’ve been doing it wrong for years. Thanks for the tips. F
You’re welcome! I’m happy you were already familiar with the concept.
Best popcorn method I’ve tried! I’ve been making stove top popcorn for years and I was always a little disappointed with the texture (too chewy/dense) and propensity to burn. I was using a bigger soup pot, and never thought to let the popcorn begin heating in the hot oil for a minute before putting on the heat. Kate’s techniques are brilliant! The popcorn turned out light and fluffy without burning and with fewer unpopped kernels. Thank you, Kate!
Just tried this recipe and it turned out PERFECT! Thank you very much!
You’re welcome, Vanitha! I appreciate your review.
So good!
I just tried your popcorn recipe with Rancho Gordo premium crimson popping corn and it was a total hit. The popcorn was a Mother’s Day gift and I didn’t want to screw it up. Boy this recipe is a winner. I went by your suggestion of which oils to use and I used the grapeseed oil I had on hand. The popcorn was absolutely delicious with no burning and there was only a couple kernels in the pan when I poured it into the bowl. Thank you so very much. This is the best popcorn recipe I have ever used.
Thank you for the amazing recipe! My whole family now loves stovetop popcorn. It is so much fresher and better tasting than microwave or even movie popcorn. I buy this amazing small kernel ‘Baby white’ corn from the brand Amish Country (on Amazon) – its our family favorite! We use peanut oil and then season with just real butter and salt. Best snack ever….
Thank you for sharing!
Kate, I am an accomplished home chef and have come to rely on your recipes and procedures. I have never been able to master fried chicken and in my last 10 years, totally lost the ability to make delicious popcorn. It’s really strange that I have been able to make delicious stovetop popcorn since I was 10 (1970) but lost the ability in my 50s. What could have changed? My corn is always rubbery, often has a tiny burn that ruins the whole batch. I have always used olive oil. I have always used a seasoned cast iron pan. Heat is medium since I read your instruction, instead of high. I did have a gas stove fir years. Currently I use the glass top electric miserable appliances so “in fashion”.
I too use organic kernels and have tried 2-3 dozen brands. What is going on with me and my rubber band factory”?!
Incidentally – your recipe was very well constructed and the flavor was very good. You also taught me the “rest oil for a minute” trick.
Sheri
Thanks, I haven’t made popcorn like this for years (and years). I promised some primary school kids I would make popcorn for them tomorrow and your instructions have given me confidence that I can. No broken promises.
I hope everyone loves it!
Used your recipe. Came out perfect. Thanks!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I refuse to have microwave oven in my house so I always had to settle for store bought popcorn. I tried your recipe for the first time today and the popcorn was amazing! All the kernels popped and not a single one was burned!!! I used ghee butter because it can take higher temperature than regular butter without burning, also this way I didn’t need to drizzle it with extra butter. Thanks again for this awesome recipe.
I love it! Thank you for sharing, Sue.
My friend was downsizing and got rid of her air popper. We wanted to make carmel corn and needed to make regular plain popcorn. We stumbled across your recipe and gave it a try. Boy, was it easy and fast! The popcorn turned out perfectly for our Carmel corn. Thanks so much for sharing this!!
I’m happy you both came across this recipe and it worked for you! I appreciate your review, Michelle.
How long does the popcorn last if put in an air tight container?
It doesn’t usually last that long for me, sorry! It should be ok for a few days.
Easy and popped perfectly / no burnt bits. Tasty and much healthier than store bought. Impressed
That’s great, Renee! Thank you for your review.
Can I put the salt and seasonings in the oil before the popcorn pops or do I have to season once it’s in the bowl?
This turned out so great! I followed your instructions to a T and used coconut oil and you were right, this is movie theatre popcorn! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Heather! Thank you for your review.
Fantastic tips! Thank you for sharing your experience and tips. This came out perfectly!
That’s great to hear, Scott! Thank you for your review.
Thanks to your video it’s no more burnt nor half-popped popcorn for me and my family. Thank you again!
Hooray! I’m happy to hear that, Citta. I appreciate your review.