Popcorn Toppings that Are Perfect for Movie Night

Popcorn is a classic snack that’s not only enjoyed at the movies but also barbecues, parties, holiday events, and much more. Without adding anything to it, popcorn is a light, whole-grain food that has a neutral yet delightful flavor. But it can get boring eating plain popcorn.

You may get only a few creative popcorn flavors in grocery stores, but this versatile snack can take many different toppings to create unique flavors. You can add numerous ingredients to this traditional snack to make it even more satisfying and up your snack game.

We’ll share some of our best popcorn toppings to spice up your regular salt and butter options for an even better home movie night experience.

11 Best Popcorn Toppings

• Butterscotch

• Caramel Apple

• Birthday Cake

• Maple Bacon

• Dark Chocolate Cherry

• Chili Lime

• Cinnamon Brown Sugar

• S’mores

• Goat Cheese & Garlic

• Spicy Cheddar

• Peanut Butter, White Chocolate, & Marshmallow

Butterscotch

This favorite flavor tastes like regular buttered popcorn but is much richer and sweeter because of the scotch and sugar. You can make this by melting butterscotch chips to coat the popcorn. Add even more butterscotch chips to punch in the flavor and give you a contrasting texture.

Caramel Apple

Caramel corn is a well-known sweet and salty flavor. You’ll get extra crunchy popcorn from the sticky caramel, and its salty-sweet taste will leave you unable to drop the bowl. The apple gives a variety of textures with a bright, tart flavor that combines well with the sweet caramel.

To make this tasty topping, add diced green apples to your popcorn and sprinkle the caramel before mixing it. You can use caramel ice cream or melted caramel candies or make your caramel for extra brownies.

Birthday Cake

Who doesn’t love a good birthday cake? With fun sprinkles and sweet vanilla extract, your popcorn will taste divine. Add melted white chocolate, sprinkles, and vanilla extract to lightly or no buttered popcorn and mix properly.

Maple Bacon

This creative popcorn topping combines gooey maple on salty bacon and buttered popcorn to give a one-of-a-kind flavor. Put maple syrup on popped, buttered popcorn, and top it off with bits of cooked bacon and a little brown sugar.

It’s a complex flavor that’ll have you eating more so that you can taste the different flavors. You can use brown sugar to make candied bacon for a little more sweetness.

Dark Chocolate Cherry

Dark chocolate is rich, creamy, and indulgent — the ideal movie night snack. You can also include it with other tasty popcorn toppings, but when mixed with fruity, sweet cherry, it gives a classic great-tasting combination.

While you can use real cherries, maraschino cherries are juicier and cheaper than real cherries. Add melted dark chocolate and cherry syrup to your popcorn, and then include a few cherries for that extra cherry flavor.

Chili Lime

This popcorn is perfect for those that don’t have much of a sweet tooth but enjoy a little heat. The zesty lime flavor combined with the heat from chili powder creates a fun and unique twist on regular popcorn toppings.

Mix butter, lime juice, cumin, salt, and cayenne, and throw in your popcorn. Chili lime popcorn is great for a friendly gathering, and you can leave out the butter for a healthier option.

Cinnamon Brown Sugar

What’s not to love about cinnamon brown sugar? The warm and robust cinnamon flavor and sweet brown sugar create a heavenly treat. Combine brown sugar, melted butter, and cinnamon. To taste, you can also add a dash of nutmeg, cloves, or allspice.

S’mores

This topping is a great twist on the traditional campfire treat. S’mores is a global summertime dessert you can add to your crunchy, buttery popcorn. Mix some graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and marshmallows.

You can toast your creamy marshmallows over a fire, gas top, stove, or oven. If you love marshmallows, you can coat the popcorn with marshmallow fluff. You can also add melted chocolate or chocolate chips to your popcorn.

This popcorn topping can be quite messy for your hands, but it’s worth it. Ensure a few napkins are nearby, especially if you want to grab the remote.

Goat Cheese & Garlic

Mix crumbled goat cheese with warm popcorn, and add some garlic powder. The goat cheese is quite tart and salty, while the garlic gives a savory popcorn. Take this creative popcorn topping up a notch by adding chopped dill.

Spicy Cheddar

Cheddar cheese has a sharpness that combines well with light, airy popcorn. You can use powdered cheddar cheese or Parmesan cheese to avoid having chunks of cheese in your popcorn.

Add some spice, like cayenne pepper or chili powder, to blend with the rich cheesy flavor and tingle your taste buds. However, avoid adding salt since the cheddar is already salty.

Peanut Butter, White Chocolate, & Marshmallow

With rich peanut butter, chewy marshmallows, and sweet white chocolate, adding popcorn to this mix is the perfect treat. Mix warm peanut butter with melted white chocolate, and then pour this mixture over the marshmallows and popcorn.

How to Get Toppings to Stick to Popcorn

Getting toppings to stick to your popcorn depends on the method you use to pop your popcorn at home. Here we’ll focus on stovetop, air-popped, and microwave popcorn.

Stovetop Popcorn

Before popping: Coat the kernel with oil to help create a binder for your toppings as they pop. We recommend making a thin oil coating with one tablespoon of oil for a quarter cup of kernels to avoid soggy popcorn. Sprinkle a little salt to coat the filling before the popcorn cools down.

After popping: Add some of your favorite toppings while the popcorn is warm. Toss the popcorn in a bowl and repeat until the flavors are right.

Air-popped Popcorn

Air poppers can give your popcorn a dry texture, but this doesn’t mean you should give up on them. You can drizzle (or use a spray mister) adhesives like oil and butter on your popcorn to stick to your toppings.

For a healthier option, you can use water, honey, vinegar, salt water, lemon juice, and more to make a binder for your toppings.

Microwave Popcorn

Before popping: Prepare a paper bag and brush a little oil evenly on one side of the bag. Put some kernel in with some of your favorite toppings, and then fold the bag opening a few times to seal it.

Shake the bag to distribute the toppings evenly and place it inside the microwave with the oiled side facing up.

After popping: If the flavors aren’t enough, you can pour the popcorn into a bowl and mix in more toppings.

What Toppings Can I Put on My Popcorn in a Keto Diet?

You can still enjoy popcorn on your keto diet plan — but you must pay attention to the kind of toppings and how much you eat. Plus, popcorn contains healthy carbs and fiber, contributing the digestion and energy production.

However, if you drizzle your popcorn with caramel, chocolate syrup, or any other high-sugar topping, your popcorn will likely no longer be keto. Instead, increase the fats and flavor with nuts, cinnamon, and salts. For example, you can drizzle nut butter on air-popped popcorn.

Conclusion

Besides the classic salt and butter combination, many topping ingredients combine well with popcorn. These flavor combinations are personal, so feel free to customize them to suit your taste or create a new flavor combination.

You can go for something sweet, spicy, savory, or a combination of two or all three. You may use classic ingredients like chocolate, butter, and peanut butter or unique ingredients like buffalo sauce, bacon, and poppy seeds.