Healthy Stovetop Popcorn
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Looking for a healthy alternative to processed and boxed snacks?
This Healthy Stovetop Popcorn is perfect in so many ways. It’s frugal, easy to make, and of course so delicious!
Popcorn is a great healthy snack you can make anytime in your own kitchen. No need to buy expensive pre-popped bags at the store.
All you need is some popcorn kernels, oil, salt, and a great popper.
Stovetop popcorn is one of the best snacks ever. You can make it in under 10 minutes and it’s so frugal too. AND it’s great for controlling the snack monster too. You can’t just easily run to the cabinet and grab popcorn like you would a bag of chips or cookies.
Unless you make a batch (or two) of popcorn ahead of time, it takes some work and time to make it, so you’re less likely to give in to mindless eating.
And it’s a lot cheaper than buying chips and other packaged snacks too!
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Is Popcorn Healthy?
Of course whether something is healthy or not depends on what your criteria are, but in many ways, popcorn is one of the healthier snacks out there.
We use organic popcorn and organic oil, and the toppings that we use are typically all organic as well, with grass-fed butter being a favorite.
Popcorn is a whole grain and if you are watching calories, you can eat a lot more popcorn (about 2.5 cups) of popcorn for the same amount of calories in a small serving of tortilla chips.
There are some natural practitioners who claim that popcorn hulls adhere to your intestinal lining. I have heard of some practitioners who apparently can tell if their patients have eaten popcorn by palpating their gut. Odd but I guess it could be true!
If you’re talking about movie theater and microwave popcorn, however, that’s a whole different ballgame. Those are typically made with highly refined oils, and the toppings often have artificial flavor and colors as well.
In addition, microwave popcorn bags are not healthy either. They’re often coated with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which is the seriously toxic and is the chemical coating on Teflon pans that has come under file. The NIH warns that PFOA can cause many health issues that none of us would like.
The BEST Stovetop Popcorn Popper
We’ve had this stovetop crank-style popcorn popper for years.
Most crank-style poppers are made of aluminum, but this one is made from stainless steel — much better for a non-toxic lifestyle. And it works great, too!
Great Northern Stainless Steel Stovetop Popcorn Popper
I love that this popper is stainless steel (not aluminum) -- no shaking needed and makes up to 5 quarts in minutes!
If you’re really proficient in the shaking-the-pan-over-the-stove-burner method, that’s great, but our family has gotten so much use out of this popper and I was never really successful at the shaking the pan method. And with this popper, even most kids handle making popcorn on their own (of course with age-appropriate supervision).
When our kids were little, we typically had them stand in an ultra-safe kids learning tower (our tower can support 500 pounds safely) while popping. That way there was no fear of them toppling off of a chair and getting injured.
Ingredients
Directions
- Put oil and popcorn into the popper over medium heat.
- Turn crank slowly at first and then quickly once the popping starts.
- Stop cranking when no more popping is heard.
Recipe Notes
- We used to use Real Salt bought in bulk, but I’m considering buying Jacobsen’s salt going forward because it’s known to be very low in lead.
- Coconut oil is a wonderful choice for popping corn. It has a high smoke point which means that it is fairly-stable cooking oil. You do not want to use olive oil for your popcorn as its smoke point is too low. Butter is also not a great choice but it is a fine topping option. Basically, cook your popcorn at a temperature at which you do not produce a bunch of smoke, because the abundance of smoke indicates that you are damaging the fat.
- I like to use 2 tablespoons oil for most batches. Plain popcorn has a fairly-high glycemic load so adding the extra fat tempers that a bit. Sometimes I use 3 tablespoons, but the resulting product might seem a bit heavy to you. Try it and decide what amount you like.
Healthy Flavored Popcorn Recipes
So, now that you have this easy homemade popcorn recipe that you are armed with one step towards more healthy snack eating, you can really serve up some fun, healthy snacks in the kitchen by trying our family’s favorite popcorn recipes:
- Healthy Peanut Butter Popcorn
- Herbes de Provence Popcorn
- Dorito-Flavored Popcorn
- The BEST Popcorn Seasoning Ever – everyone asks for this recipe whenever we serve it.
Healthy Stovetop Popcorn
Ingredients
- 1-3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1/2 cup popcorn
- salt
Instructions
- Put oil and popcorn into the popper over medium heat.
- Turn crank slowly at first and then quickly once the popping starts.
- Stop cranking when no more popping is heard.
Notes
- We always use organic popcorn due to the proliferation of genetically modified corn on the market. (According to this article in the Washington Post, in 2009, already 80 percent of corn was genetically modified.
- The salt that we use and love is Real Salt which you can purchase in various locations. It is a wonderful, non-bleached, natural salt with no additives (did you know that regular table salt is bleached and has chemical additives to keep it from clumping — and some brands even have added sugars!). We get ours (and our organic popcorn) through our family’s buying club with Country Life Natural Foods.
- Coconut oil is a wonderful choice for popping corn. It has a high smoke point which means that it is fairly-stable cooking oil. You do not want to use olive oil for your popcorn as its smoke point is too low. Butter is also not a great choice but it is a fine topping option.
- I like to use 2 tablespoons oil for most batches. Plain popcorn has a fairly-high glycemic load so adding the extra fat tempers that a bit.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Do you have any favorite budget-friendly snacks in your home?
Any favorite popcorn flavors to share?
I have heard recently from Dr. Steven Masley, a functional doctor that coconut oil should not be used on high heat that it destroys the good part of the oil and makes it not so healthy. Have you heard about this? I have been using avacado oil but my husband really liked the coconut oil.
I have heard that the smoke point is lower. I try to cook our popcorn on a lower heat. It does take longer, however.
hi!
Can’t one use a microwave to make the organic corn ? I’ve heard a paper bag works well.
Jane
Yes, I have heard that too. I personally don’t like to use the microwave, as I am concerned about the health effects on the food, but you can do it in a pinch or if you aren’t concerned. Take care.
Why do you say popcorn has a high glycemic load? It’s actually low-to-moderate on the glycemic index (55) and definitely has a low glycemic load (<10)
You know, I am not sure. I just saw that as well…..I guess I’ve been told it so many times. I just saw that it’s 55 for air popped. I couldn’t find info for what it is popped in oil. Any idea?
Yes, Dr Mercola, who probably teaches more about the dangers of GMO than anyone, said in his blog that popcorn cannot be genetically modified … and so I do not worry about that ONE problem when making popcorn. BTW, if you Google whirlypop, you can find everything you need to know about how to pop corn as well as find the popper.
Glad to hear it. But some of it sure tastes like it’s been modified into styrofoam :(.
This is exactly the way I make popcorn and everyone loves it… I bought a whirlypop about 30 years ago and have used that for making popcorn ever since. When I could buy coconut oil, I began using that .. 5? years ago. All this makes for the very best popcorn and I eat it when I want a snack… I tell everyone to get this kind of popper… wonderful tool.
We love it too!!
There is (currently) no GMO popcorn in the world. I was told this by an exec at Jiffy Pop who sent me some info that I have since deleted. Are you aware of this fact? Thanks!
I heard that. I do find it hard to believe b/c some of the popcorn I’ve tried tastes like cardboard. But for now I am happy to hear it.
When using an air popper like we have, would you suggest adding some melted coconut oil to the finished popped corn before adding seasonings like your herbs de provence?
Hi Torie. You will need to add something moist to the popcorn or the toppings won’t stick. Coconut oil sounds great! I’ve heard natural palm oil is wonderful but I haven’t tried it yet. Hope you enjoy it!
I LOVE making popcorn. My favorite is a sugar-free, organic Kettle Korn. It’s really fast, easy and super healthy. It doesn’t get much better than that!
Thanks for sharing, Angela. I’m OK with that. I know sharing links can be hard to discern – when it’s OK and when it’s not. I’ve flubbed myself. I look forward to trying your version!
darn, your link expired.
My hubby just informed me that he’d like to have popcorn!! Looks like we need to stock the shelves over here.
Uh oh….Country Life has great organic popcorn…you can order with us next time 🙂