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!
I like using a large wok
Thank you for this recipe. I just made it and it’s delicious. After it was done I melted a tablespoon of vegan butter to toss it with and sprinkled it with Trader Joe’s everything but the elote seasoning mix. It’s perfect!
You’re welcome, Veronica!
I’m glad you wrote this I always thought the oil had to almost cover the top of kernels but your way works just as well, thank you less calories. Just a tip I use avocado oil since it has a higher smoke point and it’s nutty and delicious.
Perfect! Was just looking for guidance on oil to kernel ratios when this popped up. Glad I saw it and appreciate the tips on warming the oil. Had very few unpopped kernels and no burnt pieces. Delicious!
Great to hear, SC!
I have been making stovetop popcorn for years and thought I figured it out – sometimes it burns, and sometimes it’s good. But, I tried your recipe and this is a game-changer. It turned out perfect! And if that’s not all, I looked at the sprinkling of pepper and thought, come on, that can’t be tasty, but I was wrong! I didn’t use butter, just salt and pepper and it was better than butter. Thank you! Now, excuse me while I pig out on my popcorn…
That’s great to hear, Don!
Worked out perfectly, Thank you so much!
Seriously a perfect recipe. Works so well, delicious and such fresh tasting popcorn (microwave popcorn always tastes a bit stale to me).
Kids love it too!
I make stovetop in a ¨whirley Pop¨ using virgin Coconut oil. My question is about the oil effect on the popcorn. Does the cooking oil penetrate the popcorn or is is simply a way of transferring heat to make it pop? or a bit of both?
It helps the corn to pop.
Y-E-S!!!! You need this in your life. :-) Followed directions, popped 1/3c in less than 5 minutes after oil was warm. Hit everything with lots of garlic and onion powder, (and salt) and now need to clean my keyboard, haha! Do it and many thanks for the recipe. Cheers!
Great to hear, Rachel! Thank you for your review.
This recipe is amazing!! None of my popcorn burnt and almost all of my kernels popped. I used coconut oil (abt 1/4 tsp) and abt 2 tbs popcorn. Worked so well!!
Hooray! Thank you for your review, Adri.
I was previously using a different method I saw online for cooking popcorns. It wasn’t bad in the beginning but I ended up burning them quite often and I always left with unpopped kernels. So I researched it last night and came across your recipe. I tried it and the popcorns came out perfect. My husband and I really enjoyed them. Thank you so much Kate for your detailed instructions. From now on this is how I am going to make my popcorns.
Hooray! Great to hear, J.T.
I made this and it was so perfect. Every single kernel was popped and not a single piece was burned. I didn’t realize what a big difference letting the oil cool would make. This is seriously life changing!!
Great to hear, Oona! I appreciate your review.
Perfect! Thank you!
I’m glad you love this popcorn, Francisca!
Thanks so much for this recipe. I was burning every batch I made…frustrated I turned to Google to solve the dilemma and found your blog.
An FYI, I had recently bought corn from Amish Country Popcorn and the Red is delicious.
I’ve been making stove top popcorn ever since I was a kid. And that was a long time ago. Thank you for showing me what I’ve been doing wrong all of those years. I’ve always used popcorn, oil and seasoning. But never the 1 minute wait. That took the texture up to a new level. Well done.
You’re welcome, Barry! I appreciate your review.
Thanks for your tips on popping healthier popcorn, I always over do the butter!
I will also try letting the popcorn ‘rest’ for 60 seconds before hitting it with the heat.
Do you use any different popping method for popping mushroom popcorn? I have trouble with it not being tender. I’ve been using canola oil.
I have never been able to make popcorn on the stove, I always burn it. But today I finally did it, Thank you!
You’re welcome, IIse!
Hi, I want to try the stove top ti… but I wonder why cant I add the seasoning right away to the pot?
Hi Andrea! I find it’s best as written. I hope you try it!
Will never buy microwave popcorn again. Thank you so much
You’re welcome, Alysha!
Yesterday I made your roasted ratatouille recipe, and I LOVE it. I came back to the site to browse and found this recipe. I make popcorn often because popcorn is one of the few crunchy things you can guiltlessly have on WW. It made PERFECT popcorn. All kernels popped; none burned. The oil to kernel ratio was perfect. Pink Himalayan Sea Salt makes this a gourmet delight. I will be signing up for the newsletter.
Tried this recipe a couple months ago and it is my go to! My family and I have really enjoyed eating it a couple nights a week since then, haha! I think the tips about letting the kernels sit in the hot oil and titling the pot lid really made the recipe.
Growing up my dad always preferred to make his popcorn on the stove. Thanks for sharing how it’s done.
Great advice in here. Thank you. Will try the pepper and olive oil seasoning.
I hope you love it! Thank you for your review, Andrew.
I made this, added a lot of salt and around 4 tbsp of melted butter, shook it around (the bowl has a lid) and it’s pretty good! Thanks! :)
You’re welcome, Daniel!
Made a perfect batch following your recipe. Thank you!
Using a Midea stove top and a Soltam pot. Followed directions, I guess it taking over 2o min. For 1 of thec2 kernels to pop should of been an indication. So 2nd try was not a charm. 1st batch had on 5 out of 9 setting. 2nd batch on 4 got 6 kernels to pop. Other than that I discovered burnt kernels are soft enough to eat ;). Got kernels from health store today. Why won’t it pop?
Sometimes the popcorn can be older causing issues, even if you just got it. Depends on how long it has been on the shelf.
So easy and popcorn came out perfect!!
Great to hear, Sunni!
Thanks for this easy to make recipe! Just looking at popcorn for a crowd.
really love this recipe, but can you make it in the oven
Turned out perfectly and so delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome, MS!
I just made some popcorn following your directions and it came out perfect. Thank you !
That’s great to hear, April!
Perfect popcorn every time!
O M G
Perfect right out of the gate! No burned kernels – not even a kernel Even no kernels left unpopped! I’ve never tried something the first time and it’s fantastic. Exactly as described — Thank you!
PERFECTION!
I’ve tried making stovetop popcorn before and failed miserably…
I didn’t have a single unposed kernel!
They were perfect
This was my first time making pop corn on the stove and the instructions were perfect. It turned out really great. Thanks!!
You’re welcome, Ruth!
Perfect! I had to make a lot for a classroom party so I did 3 batches with 3 different oils – olive, coconut and ghee. Ghee had the most flavor, which I liked but my daughter did not. Olive oil was the cleanest. Coconut was least good. Thanks!
Perfect! I had to make a lot for a classroom party so I did 3 batches with 3 different oils – olive, coconut and ghee. Ghee had the most flavor, which I liked but my daughter did not. Olive oil was the cleanest. Coconut was least good. Thanks!
Hooray! That’s great to hear, Katie.
Your popcorn recipe says 1/2 c. popcorn “divided”…what does this mean?
See the instructions. You will pop two kernels first to make sure the oil is hot enough, then add the rest.
First time making popcorn from kernels, and it came out amazingly well. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Carolyn!
Just wondering why are we dividing the popcorn kernels as recipe states
Please see the post. To make sure the oil is hot enough to pop.
Hi. I’m confused on the wording “divide the kernels”. You stated to just put 2 into the pot. Why are we dividing them? ?
That is what I mean by dividing. I hope that helps!
I’ve been making popcorn on the stovetop for as long as I can remember! Glad to know about the healthier oils option as I’ve always just used canola oil.
A few years ago a friend recommended popcorn salt. It’s grains are very tiny and has some color which makes it easier to regulate how much you use. It sticks very well! I’ve been using it ever since.
You’re welcome, Sue! Thank you for your review.
Wonderful instructions, delicious popcorn! I’m throwing out my air popper, because this method is so easy and it tastes way better.
Thank you for sharing this method. This was the best popcorn I’ve ever made. When using the traditional directions, the popcorn is always burnt by the time all of the kernels are popped.
You’re welcome, Dani!
Great instructions. I used 2 Tbsp butter flavored oil. It was delicious.
I want to know if I use more butter flavored oil, will the popcorn taste moister and more buttery?
I’m 72 and never ever used a recipe until today. It’s the best popcorn I’ve ever made. Thank you. Chris
You’re welcome! Great to hear, Chris.
Thank you for this. Perfect!
Wow! I followed the recipe exactly as written and it turned out perfectly! I used olive oil and will have to experiment a bit with toppings. I added nutritional yeast only and it definitely wasn’t enough for flavor. I wonder if I’ll need to dress it with something sticky first (butter, syrup, flavored oil etc) so that salt and other seasonings will stick to it? Trying to keep it light :-)
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
You’re welcome, KLewis!
Hey my friend was burning popcorn so I looked at receipes and found this. Got really well made popcorn and only burnt a mere few. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Rish! I appreciate your review.
Best popcorn EVER!! I always wondered why my popcorn was not crunchy and would stick to my teeth. Thank you for these helpful tips!
You’re welcome, KB!
Thanks! Never knew about setting pan off for 60 seconds after pouring in the kernels after 2 pop, and was hoping to use olive oil.