Making your own popcorn seasonings is so much easier than you would think. Today I’m showing you how to make 7 of my favorites, from Dorito to Mexican Hot Chocolate!
DIY Popcorn Seasonings: 7 Ways
The day I learned that popcorn is a whole grain was a pretty big day. Suddenly my favorite mindless-munching snack was a healthy one, and let’s just say I ate a lot of popcorn after that discovery. But while many store-bought flavors of popcorn are loaded with butter and sugar, you can make your own DIY popcorn seasonings at home that are more healthy (and cheaper too!)
TIP: These seasonings are awesome for roasted pumpkin seeds too!
To make DIY popcorn seasonings you’ll need:
- 4 cups unflavored popcorn
- 1 tsp oil
- Ranch: ½ tsp dried dill, ½ tsp dried chives, ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp onion powder, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper
- Cinnamon Sugar: 2 Tbsp powdered sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon. ¼ tsp salt
- Gingerbread: 1 ½ Tbsp powdered sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground ginger, ¼ tsp ground cloves
- Coconut Curry: 1 Tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut, ½ tsp curry powder, ¼ tsp salt
- Dorito: 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast, ¼ tsp garlic powder, ¼ tsp onion powder, ¼ tsp cumin, ¼ tsp paprika, ¼ tsp chili powder, ¼ tsp salt
- Mexican Hot Chocolate: 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 Tbsp powdered sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp salt, pinch of cayenne pepper
- Taco: 1 Tbsp taco seasoning, 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
Kitchen tools you may find useful:
I’ve found a few ways of making the seasonings really stick to the popcorn. I always like to spray the popcorn lightly with either flavorless or olive oil (depending if I want the olive flavor to shine through, like in the savory seasoning recipes).
Simply spray or drizzle the oil over the popcorn, then toss to coat the whole batch. Then sprinkle on your seasoning and toss once more for evenly coated popcorn!
Another way to ensure your seasonings stick is to swap out regular sugar for powdered sugar in the sweet recipes. This light sugar will coat each kernel without all sinking to the bottom. Ready to get popping?
While we’re talking about popcorn, I can’t help but mention our popcorn chocolate bark. This bark is great to package up for holiday treat giving or to make for any gathering. It’s the perfect salty-sweet balance you’ve been looking for!
If you love making your own seasonings, this homemade taco seasoning is our favorite! It boasts so much more flavor than the packet versions, you won’t be disappointed. You can also try my french fry seasoning too!
And just in time for chilly weather, our homemade chili seasoning will have you hooked.
DIY Popcorn Seasonings
IMPORTANT - There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate ItIngredients
- 4 cups unflavored popcorn
- 1 tsp oil
- Ranch: ½ tsp dried dill, ½ tsp dried chives, ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp onion powder, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper
- Cinnamon Sugar: 2 Tbsp powdered sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon. ¼ tsp salt
- Gingerbread: 1 ½ Tbsp powdered sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground ginger, ¼ tsp ground cloves
- Coconut Curry: 1 Tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut, ½ tsp curry powder, ¼ tsp salt
- Dorito: 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast, ¼ tsp garlic powder, ¼ tsp onion powder, ¼ tsp cumin, ¼ tsp paprika, ¼ tsp chili powder, ¼ tsp salt
- Mexican Hot Chocolate: 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 Tbsp powdered sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp salt, pinch of cayenne pepper
- Taco: 1 Tbsp taco seasoning, 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the ingredients to your seasoning of choice.
- Prepare popcorn in either the microwave or traditionally on the stove.
- Spray or drizzle oil onto popcorn, tossing to evenly coat.
- Sprinkle seasoning over popcorn and toss to coat once more. Serve warm.
Amanda Davis
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Shelby says
Great recipes!
Bonnie says
how long do they keep? I want to make them ahead of time for a wedding
Amanda Formaro says
All of them, with the exception of the Coconut Curry, will last just as long as your dried herbs and spices. Which is quite a while. Just check the expiration date on your spices. The Coconut Curry has shredded coconut in it, so I wouldn’t make that one more than a few days ahead. And if you do, store it in the refrigerator.