Are you looking for delicious dark chocolate popcorn? Or, even better, a sweet dairy-free popcorn recipe?
This popcorn recipe can be made at home, making it way healthier than getting it out and about. Plus, this is a fun recipe that can be used for date night or to get your kids involved in the cooking process.
Not only can popcorn be a savory snack, but adding chocolate and cinnamon can make it sweet and salty! If you don’t want your recipe overly sweet, try using darker chocolate, around 80% or greater.
How To Make
Popcorn is one of the quickest and easiest recipes out there. This recipe uses a microwave and is a twist on classic microwave popcorn recipes. You can also make this at home instead of buying bagged popcorn to save loads of money.
To make popcorn using a paper bag, add the kernels and oil to a paper bag and fold down the top a few times so it doesn’t pop open in the microwave. It cooks for the same time as a microwave bag, or about 2:30. Don’t stray too far away, and listen for the popping to stop.
My favorite method is using a microwave popper. It’s so easy: You dump the kernels into the vessel, and that’s all! It’s easy to clean up, too.
A bag of popcorn can cost $3-4 for four servings, whereas a bag of kernels costs $5-6 for nearly 50 servings. The math is matching!
Ingredients You Need
You need only four main ingredients to make dark chocolate popcorn. Just a few ingredients make this recipe if you want something sweet but don’t want to spend much time in the kitchen.
- Popcorn kernels, any variety works
- Olive oil instead of butter to make it vegan
- Vegan chocolate chips. You can melt down a chocolate bar if you don’t have chocolate chips. Depending on the store, sometimes a bar is cheaper, too!
- Maple syrup makes it sweet and sticky in a good way, like caramel corn. You can also use a vegan honey alternative.
How to Pop Popcorn At Home
Popping your kernels at home has many benefits and is way easier than you might think. Plus, making it at home is cheaper and isn’t likely to have dairy unless you add it yourself.
You can cook your popcorn in several different ways. This dark chocolate popcorn recipe uses the microwave, but there are many other ways to make popcorn at home.
- Microwave- the quickest way
- Air fried – the innovative way
- Stovetop- the traditional way
If you want to step this up a notch or three, add it to a vegan charcuterie board or pair it with a vegan wine from Barnivore.
Dark Chocolate Popcorn
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup popcorn kernels unpopped
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2-3 tablespoons dairy free chocolate chips
- 1 teasponn cinnamon
- 1 pinch sea salt optional
Instructions
- Add the popcorn kernels and olive oil to a reusable microwave popcorn popper or a brown paper bag folded over many times. Give it a good shake to coat the kernels in oil. Cook for about 2-2:30 minutes, depending on your microwave heat settings. Once the pops are 2-3 seconds apart, carefully remove it from the microwave because it will be hot.
- Drizzle the melted chocolate and maple syrup over the popped kernels and sprinkle with cinnamon and sea salt.
