Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe·Leave a Review

This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission – at no extra cost to you.

Who doesn’t love popcorn?

Have you ever met anyone who doesn’t? Pretty sure that person doesn’t exist.

With that in mind, how can we not all want to learn how to make the best popcorn ever?! Why not take your favorite, crunchy snack, as simple as it is, and learn how to make it the best it can be. If you’ve never made stovetop popcorn before, it’s way easier than you might think. Yes, you have to keep an eye on it – unlike when you make it in the microwave – and yes, you have a few dishes to wash – again, unlike when you make microwave popcorn – but trust me when I tell you, that it is 1 million percent worth it.

Okay, I am not saying that you should never make microwave popcorn again. I totally will, out of sheer convenience, and microwave popcorn is decently good, it does the trick. BUT when you’re really craving popcorn, then why not make it the best it can be? Especially when that little bit of extra effort really makes a huge difference in flavor. Besides, we all know that anything fresh always tastes the best. No preservatives or crazy oils are in the popcorn that you make yourself.

I have been making stovetop popcorn for years now. It’s always been good, but I finally found the ultimate, BEST WAY to make stovetop popcorn. Best part? You only NEED 3 simple ingredients (+ 1 extra for the best flavor, but it’s optional), and no special equipment to a make the most crunchy, delicious, satisfying popcorn right on your stovetop.

That’s right. There is no need for any kind of clunky popcorn popper.

Let’s do this! Let’s elevate our snack time!!!

Popcorn only requires a 3 simple ingredients. All you really need is popcorn kernels, salt, and a fat to cook the popcorn in. That’s the basics of what is truly needed for popcorn, which is great. Simple is best. My theory when it comes to a recipe that only contains a few ingredients, is to use the highest quality of each of those ingredients, that you can get your hands on.

Why?

Because, when you have minimal ingredients you need all those ingredients to be at their best, so that they can really shine. Make sense?

Here we go, we’ve put our best ingredients forward!

Ingredients for stovetop popcorn:

kosher salt – we are going to turn it into fine, powdery popcorn salt. Yes, you can make your own popcorn salt!!! Very exciting!!!
Ghee – ghee is clarified butter. AKA butter that has been cooked down so the water has been removed, leaving behind more buttery flavor. It just makes sense that we cook our popcorn in Ghee, it gives the popcorn a more buttery flavor, it’s great for high heat cooking. It’s a win win!!! (If you want to keep this recipe vegan/dairy free you can use a high heat cooking oil instead, no prob. However, I highly recommend ghee for the best flavor, if not vegan).
Popcorn kernels – can’t have popcorn without them.
Nutritional Yeast – This is 100% optional, but 1,000% recommended 😜. If you haven’t had nutritional yeast before, it’s a deactivated yeast that has a nutty, (some say cheese-like) flavor. It’s absolutely delicious on popcorn. It has become our absolute favorite way to add a good pop (HA! POP 🤣) of flavor to our stovetop popcorn. Seriously, it makes the popcorn addictive.

That’s all you need to make a super tasty popcorn.

How to make stovetop popcorn:

Make popcorn salt – All you do is grind up your kosher salt in a spice grinder, into a fine powder. I like to make extra and store it in a labeled jar so that your popcorn salt is ready to go whenever you want to make some popcorn.
Prepare the nutritional yeast (if using) – Nutritional yeast comes in a flake form, in order to get it to stick to the popcorn better, it’s helpful to turn the thicker flakes into a finer powder. I just use my mortar and pestle to turn it into a finer consistency.
Prepare your tin foil lid – THIS method right here is what has made a HUGE difference in making stovetop popcorn. Before, I would use the lid that came on my pot and the condensation would drip down back into the popcorn and make it soggy. Instead, use a piece of foil as the lid, and poke holes in it so that the steam escapes during cooking!!! GENIUS!!!! No soggy popcorn!!! Thank you to the one, the only, Alton Brown, for teaching me the tin foil lid method for making stovetop popcorn! Never going to use a regular lid again!
Pop your popcorn – All you need to make stovetop popcorn is an 8 quart stew pot. No need for any fancy, special popcorn making pan. The same pot that you make soup in will do just fine for making stovetop popcorn. From here all you do is melt your ghee, add the popcorn salt, add the popcorn kernels, and stand by to give the pan a good shake a few times during popping. I think hearing popcorn popping on the stovetop is such a fun experience.
Add flavor – Once all the popcorn is popped you transfer it to a big mixing bowl, and toss the crushed nutritional yeast onto the popcorn. If you’re using the nutritional yeast, that is. I really hope you do.
Enjoy – sit down on your couch with your warm bowl of freshly popped popcorn, press play on that movie, and dig in!

That’s all there is to making stovetop popcorn. It’s totally easy. Be sure to see the recipe card below for more in depth directions and more tips.

See, there is the tin foil lid with all of the holes poked in to allow the steam to escape. I can’t get over how well this works!!!

Life. Changing.

Not that there is anything wrong with plain popcorn simply seasoned with butter (AKA ghee) and salt, but look how bland that white popcorn looks?

Then look at the picture below with that beautiful golden dust of nutritional yeast on the popcorn!!! Which popcorn do you want to eat?

Golden, beautiful, nutty nutritional yeast popcorn for me! I might even choose it over cheese popcorn. That’s saying a lot since I was raised in the Dairy land!

Some people call popcorn with nutritional yeast on it, “nooch popcorn”. Yes, it’s a popular thing that’s already existing out there in the world. So, if you don’t believe me, then you better believe the world. Nutritional yeast on popcorn is so stinking good!

Anyways, enough about my love for nutritional yeast popcorn!

Movie night snack time will never be the same after you make this stovetop popcorn. I bet you and your family, or your significant other, or whoever you are watching a movie with will be super grateful you made them some stovetop popcorn, instead of microwave!

This stovetop popcorn is fluffy, crunchy, perfectly salted, has a nice undertone of buttery goodness without being greasy. If you add the nutritional yeast, it adds a nice nutty, earthy one-of-a-kind burst of flavor that I bet you will want on your popcorn for the rest of your life. The nutritional yeast on the popcorn is reminiscent of Cheeto dust. Yes, totally lick my fingers after eating this popcorn.

What? Don’t judge. I’m on my couch, in my own house, it’s totally fine to be 5 years old again and lick my fingers. Come on, don’t lie. You will probably do it too!

Guys, I don’t make popcorn often. I am not much of a snacker past dinner (just usually don’t have room for it), but when I do make popcorn, I want it to be super good. I want it to be worthy of that extra full stomach, I want to to feel like a treat that’s worth having. Which is exactly why I usually turn towards making stovetop popcorn rather then microwave popcorn, or buying a bag of pre-popped popcorn. When I have it, I want my popcorn to be freshly made, hot, and to really enjoy each and every crunchy kernel and layer of flavor.

Honestly, I would choose this nutritional yeast stovetop popcorn over popcorn made at movie theaters. After having nutritional yeast on my popcorn, movie theater popcorn just seems bland in comparison. I don’t think I could go back to plain popcorn. I mean, not that I wouldn’t eat plain popcorn if it was offered to me, but it’s just not gonna be as good.

And you thought I was done trying to convince you to put nutritional yeast on your popcorn, didn’t you? HA!

Anyways, I hope you give this popcorn a try, and I hope you become as obsessed with it as we are.

P.S. It’s currently Friday as I am writing this post. It’s supposed to be a rainy night, which means we will probably end up watching a movie….which means I might just be craving some of this stovetop popcorn. So excited!!!

More favorite snack recipes:

Don’t forget to share this recipe with your friends. I mean, who doesn’t want to know about the BEST popcorn recipe?! If you make it, please leave a comment down below, along with a star rating. I love hearing from you guys, and this helps my recipes to be seen by more people. Thanks, friends!

The Best Stovetop Popcorn (With Nutritional Yeast)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews

Author: Emily
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 26 minute
Yield: 3 to 4 1x
Category: snack, side, easy, healthy
Method: stovetop
Cuisine: gluten free, egg free, refined sugar free
Diet: Gluten Free

Print Recipe

Description

This is our favorite recipe for stovetop popcorn, especially when it’s tossed with nutritional yeast. Easy method that doesn’t require unique equipment. The perfect homemade snack.

Ingredients

Units Scale

1/2 teaspoon popcorn salt (see notes for how to make popcorn salt)
3 tablespoons Ghee (see notes)
1/3 cup popcorn kernels
Optional: 2 to 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast (see notes)

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Prepare the nutritional yeast (if using): Note: if you don’t already have popcorn salt, see notes below on how to make your own. Add the nutritional yeast to a mortar and pestle, and grind it up so that the larger flakes turn into a finer powder. OR you could push the nutritional yeast through a fine mesh strainer. This helps the nutritional yeast to really tick to the popcorn.
Prepare your tin foil lid: THIS step has been the key to making the BEST stovetop popcorn I have ever made. It allows the steam to escape so you don’t end up with soggy popcorn. Grab an 8 quart stew pot and place foil around the top as the lid, so that it is tightly fit. Use a sharp knife to pierce a good amount of slits on the top of the foil (see photo in post). Gently remove the foil lid and set aside.
Melt the Ghee: Heat the pot over medium heat. Add the ghee along with 1/2 teaspoon of the prepared popcorn salt. Allow the ghee to melt.
Pop the popcorn: Once the ghee has melted add the popcorn kernels, give the pan a good swirl so that the kernels are in an even layer. Carefully place the foil lid onto the pot, using oven mitts, if it’s hot, so that the foil is secure. Give it a minute or two and the popcorn will begin popping. Every 2 minutes give the pot a real good shake, being sure to use oven mitts if the pan is hot. Allow the popcorn to continue popping until you hear the popping slow down with about 8 seconds in between each pop. TIP: do not walk away from the popcorn, stay with it the entire time, otherwise it will burn. Remove the pot from the heat and keep the lid on for a few minutes, a few more kernels will pop from the residual heat.
Finish: Carefully remove the foil lid from the pot and pour the popcorn into a large mixing bowl. Add the nutritional yeast and toss to coat.
Serve: serve the popcorn immediately. It’s so delicious while it’s still hot, but also very good once room temperature.

Notes

Make popcorn salt: Note: make popcorn salt before proceeding with the rest of the recipe above. There is no need to buy popcorn salt, all it is is salt that has been ground up into a fine powder. However, the fine salt is helpful for even distribution of the salt when making popcorn. All you do to make popcorn salt is to place 2 to 3 tablespoons of kosher salt (or sea salt) in a spice grinder (AKA a coffee grinder designated for spice grinding), and grind up the salt until it reaches a fine powder consistency. We won’t need all of this popcorn salt for one serving. I suggest storing the extra popcorn salt in a labeled jar so that it’s ready to go the next time you make popcorn. NOTE: if you don’t have a spice grinder then in that case I would recommend buying popcorn salt.

Ghee: Ghee is clarified butter, meaning that it is butter that has been cooked down slowly to remove the water from butter. For this reason it has a more intense buttery flavor then regular butter, and is better for cooking with high heat – which is why it’s ideal for making popcorn. You get that buttery flavor, just by cooking the popcorn kernels in it. If you don’t have ghee, or want to make this recipe vegan/dairy free sub it with a high cooking oil such as avocado oil, or coconut oil.

Nutritional Yeast: Nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast. It has a nice nutty, some say cheese like, flavor that is often used in vegan cooking to add a cheese flavor to non-dairy products. It’s absolutely delicious on popcorn, it’s become our favorite way to eat popcorn. It’s optional to make this popcorn, but I highly recommend giving it a try. You can buy it online, or in the health food section at most grocery stores.

Want a more buttery flavor? If you want even more of a buttery flavor you can melt 2 teaspoons of ghee and sprinkle it on top of the popcorn once it’s cooked. However, if using nutritional yeast you won’t taste much of the ghee, I would only recommend adding extra ghee on top if you are not using the nutritional yeast.

Method adapted from the one and only Alton Brown (especially the foil lid method).

Recipe Card powered by