Herb & Seed Flavorings

Herbed Popcorn:
1 tsp. each dried sage, fennel, marjoram, thyme, basil, summer savory, and rosemary
2 tsp. minced garlic
Mix herbs and garlic with melted butter and drizzle over popcorn. Mix to coat. Salt to taste.

Garlic-Herb:
Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a saucepan; add 4 grated garlic cloves and 1 teaspoon each finely chopped fresh rosemary, sage and thyme and cook 1 minute. Drizzle over 16 cups hot popcorn and toss with 2 teaspoons kosher salt.

Frenchified Popcorn
French Food at Home | February 2003

1/4 cup unsalted butter, more if you like
About 1 1/2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 1/2 Tbsp. grapeseed oil
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
1 Tbsp. herbes de Provence
Celery salt to taste
Salt

Melt the butter with the crushed garlic, ever so gently, in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat and set aside to infuse. Heat the grapeseed oil in a large pot. Add the popcorn, tossing to coat. Cover, and shake the pan over high heat until all the corn has popped. Remove from the heat. Pluck the garlic cloves from the butter and pour over the popcorn. Toss. Add the herbes de Provence and plenty of celery salt. Toss again. Season with regular salt to taste, and serve.

Lemon-Dill Popcorn:
2 Tbsp. lemon zest
1 tsp. dill weed
Mix lemon zest and dill weed with melted butter and drizzle over popcorn. Mix to coat. Salt to taste.

Sesame
This popcorn was pretty good. The sugar created a crunchy, almost a candy coating, that helped to keep the sesame seeds on, although quite a few ended up in the bottom of the bowl. The sugar was not overwhelming - just a hint of sweetness.
Also see Sesame Salt for Popcorn

4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sesame seeds
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
12 cups hot popcorn
Toast sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Add butter and melt. Stir in sugar and kosher salt and dissolve; toss with hot popcorn.

Italian Breadstick Popcorn
Adapted from Whirley Pop Recipes

The basil brings out the Italian flavor and the garlic powder makes the popcorn reminiscent of a good breadstick.

FMM: I changed the original recipe based on the time I tried it. Needs more garlic powder and the herbs need grinding. I also added the melted butter to give more flavor.

1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon popcorn salt (very finely grained)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons melted butter
8 cups popped popcorn, hot and fresh

Grind the basil and parsley in a spice grinder. Mix together the basil, parsley, garlic salt, and popcorn salt. Immediately when the popcorn is finished popping, transfer it to a large bowl with a lid. Add the spice mixture when the popcorn is still very hot, drizzle on the olive oil and melted butter, and close the lid, shaking until the popcorn is evenly coated. Doing this while the popcorn is hot will allow the spices to stick better to the popcorn, resulting in a better flavor.

Cheese Flavor Popcorn

Also see Cheesy Popcorn

Parmesan-Rosemary:
1/2 cup grated parmesan
3 tablespoons olive oil (in place of butter)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Toss hot popcorn with grated parmesan, olive oil, finely chopped fresh rosemary and kosher salt.

Parmesan Pepper Popcorn
Gourmet | September 2003

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
About 8 cups hot plain popcorn
1 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/3 cup)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Drizzle oil over hot popcorn in a large bowl and toss to coat, then toss with cheese, pepper, and salt.

Italian Popcorn:
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
Mix oregano and peppers with melted butter and drizzle over popcorn. Mix to coat. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Pizza Popcorn:
2 tsp. minced garlic (or garlic powder)
2 tsp. Italian seasoning (or oregano)
1 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Mix seasonings with melted butter and drizzle over popcorn. Mix to coat. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Homemade Nacho Cheese Powder:
We did not have the cheddar cheese powder and substituted Parmesan. I tossed the hot popcorn (1/2 cup unpopped) with the dry spices, then added the butter, then the cheese. The spices distributed better this way. This wasn't bad; definately has a Tex-Mex flavor.
3/4 cup cheddar cheese powder* (use 1/2 cup)
3/4 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Pulse everything together in a spice grinder until you have a smooth powder. Sprinkle on popcorn, pretzels, tacos, sloppy joes, or whatever appeals to you.
*dehydrated cheddar cheese ground to a powder
Yield: Just over 3/4 cup Nacho Cheese Powder

Tangy Sour Flavorings

Dill Pickle Popcorn:
1 Tablespoon coriander seed
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
1-1/2 teaspoons dill weed
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon citric acid
Place all ingredients for dill pickle flavoring in a spice grinder and process until smooth.
Drizzle hot popcorn with melted butter. Start sprinkling with dill pickle flavoring and tasting until desired flavor is reached

Salt and Vinegar:
1/4 cup malt vinegar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
16 cups hot popcorn
Combine malt vinegar and kosher salt in a small spray bottle; shake to dissolve the salt. Spray over hot popcorn. [I would think the popcorn would be soggy, but it could be put in a 250 degree oven to dry it out.

Dill Pickle Popcorn #2:

This wasn't bad but the flavor was not very strong; I did not think "dill pickle" when I ate it, not enough dill nor vinegar. Try boiling down vinegar or dill pickle juice to concentrate, then melt the butter in the same pan. Also due to the vinegar, the popcorn was not all that crisp the next day after being bagged. Perhaps it should be crisped in the oven after adding the vinegar.
12 cups popcorn
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 Tbsp. vinegar (I added 1/2 Tbsp. more), or dill pickle juice
1 teaspoon garlic powder (used onion powder)
1 heaping tablespoon finely snipped fresh dill (or 1 teaspoon dried)
Kosher salt and black pepper
Stir together the butter, vinegar, and garlic powder, then add it to the popcorn. Stir well, then stir in the dill and plenty of salt and black pepper. Taste for seasoning and prepare to become wildly obsessed.

Lime & Dill Pickle Popcorn:
3 quarts Pop Corn, popped
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp dill pickle brine or white vinegar
3/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

In a 6-quart Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add mustard seeds: cover and cook about 1-2 minutes or just until the seeds stop popping (be careful not to burn seeds). Reduce heat and stir in lime juice, pickle brine, pepper, salt, turmeric and cayenne pepper. Stir in popcorn until well coated. Serve immediately or spread popcorn mixture on sheets of foil to cool. Store in an airtight container.

Brown Butter–Lemon:
6 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
16 cups hot popcorn
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Cook butter in a skillet over medium heat until browned, about 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in lemon zest; drizzle over hot popcorn. Toss with kosher salt.

Sour Cream & Ranch Flavors

Sour Cream & Onion Seasoning for Popcorn
2 tablespoons powdered buttermilk (found in the baking aisle)
1⁄2 teaspoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon onion powder
1⁄2 tablespoon dill
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese (the powdered kraft type)
Stir all together. Adjust for taste and put in a shaker container. Add liberally to buttered popcorn, chips, crackers, etc.

Sour Cream & Onion Spice Mixture for Potato Chips from Jeff Mauro

3 tablespoons buttermilk powder (found in the baking aisle)
2 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons minced fresh dill

In a spice grinder, combine the buttermilk powder, onion powder, garlic powder, sugar, dill and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Grind into a homogeneous powder. Toss with hot popcorn.

Also see Sour Cream & Onion Popcorn recipe

Cool Ranch Popcorn:
3 teaspoons buttermilk powder (found in the baking aisle)
1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon dried dill
8 cups popcorn
Mix buttermilk powder and spices with melted butter and drizzle over popcorn. Mix to coat.

Peppery & Spicy Flavors

Pepper Popcorn:
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. lemon zest
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. paprika
Mix seasonings with melted butter and drizzle over popcorn. Mix to coat.

Hot Mustard Popcorn:
1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. thyme
Mix seasonings with melted butter and drizzle over popcorn. Mix to coat.

Tex-Mex Popcorn (w/ cheese):
1 Tbsp. cumin
1 Tbsp. chili powder.
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Mix seasonings with melted butter and drizzle over popcorn. Mix to coat. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Sassy South of the Border Popcorn:
2 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper (cayenne)
Mix spices with melted butter and drizzle over popcorn. Mix to coat. Salt to taste.

Chili Popcorn
Gourmet | September 2003

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
Scant 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
About 8 cups hot plain popcorn

Stir together salt and spices in a small bowl. Sprinkle over hot popcorn in a large bowl and toss to coat.

Buffalo Wing Popcorn:
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons Frank's Red Hot sauce
12 - 16 cups popcorn
Put butter and Frank's Red Hot sauce in a small saucepan. Heat until the butter is melted. Toss with popcorn in a large bowl. Salt to taste.

Crumble in 1/4 - 1/2 cup blue cheese, if desired

Sriracha-Lime:
5 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup Sriracha sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lime zest
1 tablespoon lime juice
16 cups hot popcorn
Salt
Whisk melted butter with Sriracha, grated lime zest and lime juice; drizzle over hot popcorn and toss. Season with salt.

Mexican Popcorn w/ Lime
adapted from Jamie Oliver Magazine

6 tablespoons coconut oil, divided
1/3 cup popcorn kernels
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
kosher salt
juice from 1/2 lime & zest from 1 lime

Pop the popcorn kernels in 3 Tbsp. coconut oil. Put popcorn in a large bowl and set aside.

In a small saucepan melt remaining 3 Tbsp. coconut oil. Add the smoked paprika, oregano & cumin to the oil and let sit over heat for 1 minute. Stir in the juice of half a lime and quickly stir mixture onto the popcorn. Season with salt & sprinkle lime zest throughout the batch of popcorn.

Mole:
6 tablespoons melted butter
6 tablespoons jarred mole sauce
16 cups hot popcorn (3/4 c. unpopped)
Salt
Whisk melted butter and jarred mole sauce; toss with hot popcorn. Season with salt. I would crisp the popcorn in a 250°F to dry out the Mole sauce.

Hickory Smoked Barbecue Popcorn

4 ½ Tablespoons vegetable oil
¾ cup white popcorn kernels
Smoked Hickory Sea Salt

Barbecue Butter:
4 Tablespoons Butter
2 Tablespoon Barbecue Sauce

Pop the popcorn in the oil. When the popping has almost stopped, dump into a large paper bag and sprinkle with salt and shake. Next add the Barbecue Butter to the popcorn and shake really well to ensure popcorn is well covered.

To make the Barbecue Butter, melt the butter. Add the barbecue sauce. Stir until combined. Turn off the heat and let the flavors meld for 5 to 10 minutes. Pop the kernels while the butter is infusing.

BBQ Popcorn
from http://flavorrd.com/

This popcorn has that salty-spicy-sweet flavor you.find in Barbecue Potato Chips.

For the BBQ Seasoning:
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. kosher salt

For the Popcorn:
8 cups of air-popped popcorn
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. BBQ seasoning

Combine all of the BBQ seasoning ingredients in a small jar or spice shaker and mix well. You will have plenty of leftovers to use in future batches.

Drizzle half of the olive oil over the warm popcorn (or use an oil sprayer!) and sprinkle with 1 tsp. of BBQ seasoning. Mix well and top with the other half of the olive oil, and another teaspoon of seasoning.

Cajun Popcorn:
This popcorn tasted good. Would make again. We mixed the spices with 4 Tbsp. butter, then poured on the popcorn and tossed well. I might like less paprika. Using smoked paprika instead may be good.
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
Mix seasonings with melted butter and drizzle over popcorn. Mix to coat.

Cajun Popcorn #2:
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 chopped scallions
Mix seasonings with melted butter and drizzle over popcorn. Mix to coat. Salt to taste.

Curry Popcorn:
1 Tbsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp. turmeric
1 pinch cayenne
Mix seasonings with melted butter and drizzle over popcorn. Mix to coat. Salt to taste.

Popcorn Snack Mixes

Most of these recipes add bagel chips, potato chips, nuts and other ingredients to the mix. Some use packaged seasoning mixes. The seasoning mixes I tried gave the popcorn an artificial flavor and I would not use them again.

To make popcorn: Heat 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat until one kernal pops. Add 3/4 cup kernels. Cook, shaking the pot occasionally, until the popping subsides. Makes 12 to 16 cups popped popcorn.

Ranch:
This recipe is okay, but the seasoning mix was quite strong and gave it an artificial flavor.
4 tablespoons butter
1-ounce packet ranch seasoning mix
16 cups hot popcorn
2 tablespoons chopped chives
Salt
Melt butter with ranch seasoning mix; toss with hot popcorn and chopped chives. Season with salt.

Blue Cheese–Almond:
4 tablespoons melted butter
16 cups hot popcorn
1 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 cup toasted sliced almonds
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Drizzle melted butter over hot popcorn; toss with crumbled blue cheese, toasted sliced almonds, and kosher salt.

Mustard-Pretzel:
This wasn't bad, but again the problem was with sogginess (I bag popcorn to take to work for the week). It should be baked in the oven if is is to keep the next day. The pretzels didn't do much for me - leave them out or use less and break them into smaller pieces.
4 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
12 cups hot popcorn
4 cups mini pretzels
Whisk melted butter with dijon mustard, sugar and kosher salt; drizzle over hot popcorn and toss with mini pretzels.

French Onion:
I was not fond of the onion soup mix, too artificial tasting, and all the onions sank to the bottom. Brian liked it. If we ever make it again, I would grind the soup mix in a spice grinder to grind the onion to a powder. I did not add the French-fried onions, which may have helped with the flavor.
6 tablespoons butter
1-ounce packet onion soup mix
16 cups hot popcorn
6-ounce package French-fried onions
Melt butter with onion soup mix; toss with hot popcorn and French-fried onions.

Barbecue:
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon each cumin, paprika, granulated garlic, chili powder and barbecue sauce
pinch of cayenne
12 cups hot popcorn
4 cups lightly crushed barbecue potato chips
Salt
Melt butter with the spices, barbecue sauce, and the pinch of cayenne; toss with hot popcorn and lightly crushed barbecue potato chips. Season with salt.

Everything Bagel:
12 cups hot popcorn
4 cups broken bagel chips
6 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons each white and black sesame seeds
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1 tablespoon granulated onion
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Toss hot popcorn with bagel chips, melted butter, white and black sesame seeds, caraway seeds, granulated onion, granulated garlic, and kosher salt.

Za’atar:
6 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons za’atar spice blend
1 teaspoon kosher salt
12 cups hot popcorn
4 cups broken pita chips
Whisk melted butter, za’atar spice blend and kosher salt; drizzle over hot popcorn and toss with broken pita chips.