The Best Homemade Popcorn Seasoning (Easy Savory Spice Blend)
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If you’re looking for a simple way to make popcorn taste amazing without weird additives, this homemade popcorn seasoning is a must-try.
Almost every time we make this and bring it somewhere, someone asks, “What’s on this popcorn?!”—and then goes back for more. It’s that good.
The best part? It’s made with simple herbs and spices you likely already have on hand (or can easily mix up ahead of time). It’s actually based on my homemade vegetable broth seasoning, but it works incredibly well as a savory, crave-worthy topping for popcorn.
So, we have a popcorn problem.
Healthy Stovetop Popcorn, Healthy Peanut Butter Popcorn, and Healthy Kettle Corn, we love basically every which way to enjoy popcorn including this Dorito Popcorn.
But as a whole foodie family, we do not love the icky chemical fake stuff that most popcorn seasonings are made of.
Well, great things often come as the result of mistakes and that includes this homemade popcorn seasoning recipe. It seriously might be the best popcorn seasoning you have ever tasted.
How this Homemade Popcorn Seasoning Recipe Came to Be
Pretty much we take this popcorn (and we take it EVERYWHERE), people ask us for the recipe. It's even been called “seriously delicious” by some.
This great popcorn seasoning originated one day when we were preparing popcorn to take to an outing.
We'd been avoiding gluten (so pretzels are out of the question [except for the gluten-free ones that cost a small fortune!]) and we avoid MSG type stuff and artificial cheezy flavor that is on simply every variety of Doritos and such snack foods. Not to mention the GMO corn.
We often would take this Herb Popcorn with us, but we'd run out of the topping blend. So, I decided to try topping the popcorn with this Homemade Vegetable Broth Mix instead.
And it was surprisingly delicious.
Oh, and in my opinion, the best way to pop popcorn is in a handy dandy crank handle stainless steel popper.
Recipe Notes and Substitutions
- Blending: While this recipe is basically just my Homemade Vegetable Broth seasoning on top of popcorn, you definitely want to blend the seasoning before using it on popcorn so that the homemade popcorn seasoning will adhere well. Otherwise, you will have large flakes of rosemary and parsley on your popcorn. Not fun!
- Organic: I highly recommend using only organic popcorn. Almost all corn in the US is GMO, which creates all kinds of problems for your health, so please choose organic. Popcorn is such a reasonable snack, it's not a big deal to spend a little extra on buying organic!
- Avocado Oil: Although you can make the popcorn with either butter or organic coconut oil, I recommend using avocado oil since it has such a high smoke point!
- Thyme: You can try subbing organic thyme for the summer savory, but it will be a tad stronger.
- Oil Topping: Popcorn must be popped with some oil or have a healthy oil spray on it for the seasoning mix to stick. Alternatively, sprinkling with some water works as well but it's a little tough to get the water to work without ending up with soggy popcorn.
How to Get Seasoning to Stick to Popcorn
Dry seasonings won’t stick well to plain air-popped popcorn unless there’s a little moisture on the popcorn first, in the form of fat or even water.
To help this homemade popcorn seasoning stick, try one of these options:
- Melted butter or ghee – classic and very flavorful
- Olive oil or avocado oil spray – a lighter option. A refillable oil sprayer works really well for this.
- A light mist of water – works in a pinch if you want to avoid added fat (I used to avoid fat, but now I eat a lot of it.)
After lightly coating the popcorn, sprinkle the seasoning over the top and toss well.
Where to Buy Quality Spices
And if you are looking for a good place to get spices, try Frontier. I love their quality and mission. Starwest Botanicals has great products too.
How to Make Homemade Popcorn Seasoning
- Combine the spices.
- Blend until the mixture becomes a fine powder.
- Sprinkle over freshly popped popcorn.
The Best Homemade Popcorn Seasoning Ever!
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons celery salt (see my Homemade Celery Salt)
- 4 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 2 tablespoons ground summer savory
- 2 teaspoons dried marjoram
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground sage
Instructions
- Combine all in a small bowl.
- Store in glass or plastic container with a tight fitting lid.
- Stir or shake occasionally before use to redistribute ingredients.
- Simply sprinkle on top of freshly popped popcorn and enjoy!
Notes
- Blending: For best results, blend the seasoning mix before using so it sticks evenly to the popcorn. This prevents large herb flakes (like rosemary or parsley) from separating.
- Organic Popcorn: I recommend using organic popcorn whenever possible, since most conventional corn is genetically modified. It’s an easy upgrade for a healthier snack.
- Best Oil for Popping: You can use butter or coconut oil, but avocado oil is ideal due to its high smoke point.
- Herb Substitution: If you don’t have summer savory, you can substitute thyme, but the flavor will be slightly stronger.
- Helping Seasoning Stick: Popcorn needs a bit of oil (or a light oil spray) for the seasoning to adhere. A light mist of water can work, but too much may make the popcorn soggy.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It may vary depending on ingredient brands, substitutions, and preparation methods. Optional ingredients are not included. Net carbs are typically calculated by subtracting fiber and sugar alcohols (such as erythritol) from total carbohydrates. This information should not be relied upon for medical or nutritional purposes.
More Homemade Popcorn Recipes
Try these other delicious ways to flavor popcorn:
- Healthy Stovetop Popcorn – the best method for perfectly popped popcorn every time
- Dorito Popcorn – a bold, cheesy-flavored popcorn made with nutritional yeast and spices
- Garlic Herb Popcorn – a savory herb popcorn with garlic and herbs
So, the next time you are hankering for some yummy organic popcorn, try topping it this way!
I'd love to hear your thoughts after you make this homemade popcorn seasoning!
I read somewhere recently that all popcorn comes from the same, non-GMO strain. Might be worth further research. I’m really enjoying your site :-).
Interesting – I don’t know! Thanks for the kind words!
My husband and I have been making your recipe for years and we just love it!!
Thanks and so glad to hear it. You made my night!
I love your Dorito popcorn seasoning and have been eating that for 3 years ever since I discovered your website. So glad to finally taste the Dorito without all the bad stuff. Thank you so much!!
This “best popcorn seasoning” is difficult because too many herbs that need to go in.
Do you have a BBQ flavor popcorn seasonoing?
Hi there. SO glad you like it. Yes, that one has a lot of things in it but you can keep it as a broth seasoning (see this post) and then blend it for the popcorn so that should help. Maybe I can try to figure out what I would leave out…there might be something. I don’t have a recipe like that but I will try!
I’m a purist when it comes to popcorn for the most part. Oil popped in a popper and topped with butter…maybe some sweet. But I love the other ideas for the use of this seasoning. Thanks!
You are so welcome!! Love the “pure” popcorn too!
I think it’s disgusting that you decide to spread propoganda about GMOs. Monsanto and greedy companies that use GMOs to monopolize and steal from farmers is bad, but GMOs themselves are not harmful. Both broccoli and cauliflower are modified mustard plants. They are GMOs! Humans have genetically modified plants for as long as we have been around. Genetically modified foods are perfectly safe to eat.
Hi there. I apologize for the late reply here–your comment got buried and I just came across it again today. I don’t think you will get my response since your email appears to be a temporary one but I will respond for the benefit of others reading the blog.
GMOs and hybrid plants are 2 different things. https://www.gardeners.com/how-to/gmo-vs-traditional-plant-breeding/7926.html
That article goes into some of the issues at hand. In essence, one is altering the DNA and the other is made via selective breeding. This is another resource on the topic – https://www.ponderweasel.com/broccoli-man-made-food/ . Hope that helps.
Thank You Adrienne. This sounds like an excellent seasoning mix for homemade
croutons as well. I’II have to give this a try.
Barbara
Oh that would taste amazing. Great idea and you’re welcome!
We made this and my kids like it on popcorn, but we haven’t any popcorn for awhile. What we have had a lot of is zucchini. You know how inevitably you miss one or two and they get huge and this happens a few times during the summer? So we have some large ones laying around waiting to be used. I sliced them and roasted them with olive oil and this seasoning. It was such a hit I have made it many time since so that there is always some for my kids ot take in their lunches. Only note was that I had to reblend it because it clumps but that isn’t too big a deal.
Oooh yum!!! We have never had good luck w/ zucchini but I’m going to do this. Sounds great -thanks for sharing!!
Ground thyme or leaf?
Ground :).
My daughter selected this popcorn seasoning recipe from a pin on pinterest and has fallen in love with it! We made it again tonight. It’s delicious! We’ve even used it as a seasoning for chicken and it’s great!
You made my day! We kind of can’t get enough of it either and I too have used it on chicken! It’s great on so many things! Thanks again for taking the time to comment.
Found this from Pinterest, but one question:
WHY 6 teaspoons? Like obviously 2 tablespoons is the exact same thing and not nearly as obnoxious. Are you afraid your readers will confuse the 2 tablespoon ingredients with the 2 teaspoon ones? Have more faith in your fanbase if that’s the case.
Hi Taylor. Thanks for commenting. I think what happened is I multiplied the original recipe to make it a larger batch and didn’t happen to reduce the tsps to tablespoons — it was a mere oversight and had nothing at all to do with a lack of faith in my fanbase. I make mistakes and oversights sometimes :). I don’t see it as any more obnoxious than using 4 T instead of writing 1/4 cup (which I did as well). Perhaps you didn’t notice that. You are the first person to notice this in all the years this has been on my blog. Thanks for pointing it out and hope you enjoy it.
I really like this mix. I used an old spice bottle and keep a jar of it, as well as several other mixes. It’s good.
We love it too and have the same jar. A big one :). Thanks for taking the time to share – did you try the chat masala yet? https://wholenewmom.com/recipes/chat-masala/ It’s another big favorite of ours.