Brown Butter Popcorn

This brown butter popcorn with flaky sea salt has a delicious savory toasty flavor and tastes extra buttery! Can easily be made with an air popper or on the stove-top!

Course Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 5

Total Time 10

Servings cups

Calories 142kcal

Author Kyleigh Sage

Equipment

air popper

Ingredients

¼ cup unsalted butter
½ cup popcorn kernels
½ teaspoon flaky sea salt to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Brown Butter

For more process shots and tips, check out my in-depth guide to making brown butter!
Add the butter to a light colored pan and melt over medium heat.
Once melted stir frequently and watch closely for the formation of brown specs on the bottom of the pan. First the butter will get thick and foamy. Then it will start to bubble rapidly. Don't stop stirring the butter. After a few minutes, the butter will start to turn a golden brown color and you'll start to see those brown specs on the bottom of the pan. It will smell intensely buttery, nutty, and rich.
Once you see the brown specs, remove from the heat and immediately pour into a separate heat-proof bowl to stop the cooking process. Let it cool for at least 10 minutes before tossing with the popcorn.

Air Popped Popcorn

Using an air popper, pop the popcorn according to manufacturer instructions, then dump into a large serving bowl.
Toss the popcorn with brown butter until it's evenly coated and season with flaky sea salt to taste.

Stovetop Popcorn

If using a stovetop popcorn maker, you'll also need ¼ cup of some kind of high smoke point oil to pop the popcorn in! Options I like are: coconut oil, peanut oil, canola oil, or ghee.
In your stovetop popcorn maker, heat ¼ cup of oil and 3-4 popcorn kernels over medium heat (don't forget to put the lid on).
Once those kernels pop (about 2-3 minutes) add in ½ cup of popcorn kernels and give the pot a shake to evenly coat the kernels in oil. Cover the pot with the lid and continue to cook the popcorn, turning the handle constantly (if using a large pot instead of a popcorn maker with a crank, be sure to give the pot an occasional shake to ensure it doesn't burn).
Once the kernels start to pop, watch closely until the popping sounds slow down to one pop every 2-3 seconds. Remove from the heat and let sit for a minute or two until the popping completely stops.
Remove the lid and dump the popcorn into a large serving bowl. Then toss with brown butter or your desired toppings!

Notes

Popcorn is always best eaten the same day. Air-popped popcorn (before adding butter) will stay fresh for 2-3 days in an airtight container, but once popcorn has been buttered it just doesn't keep very well.

Nutrition