Movie nights are a go-to for loads of people when they spend the night in. And why not? There’s nothing better than snuggling up under a blanket, turning out the lights and indulging in an epic movie. And everyone knows, that the only real treat you can have for a good-old fashioned movie night is popcorn.

But microwave popcorn doesn’t always hit the spot, so here is a list of some delicious, homemade popcorn recipes to make your movie night special.

Nothing beats a classic!

This is the classic, theatre popcorn flavour that we all know and love – and perfect if you are a beginner to homemade popcorn. All you need is salt, oil, kernels and a pan – that simple. Remember that all your kernels have to lay in a single layer on the bottom of the pan so use a pan that’s big enough!

PRO TIP: When you put the lid on your pan and your kernels are popping, leave the lid slightly ajar so that the steam can escape. This avoids soggy popcorn!
  1. Add oil (coconut or canola are popular but you can use any really) to your pan and put it on a medium-high heat. Add enough oil that it covers the bottom of your pan.
  2. Add three kernels to the oil and wait for them to pop. When they do – your oil is hot enough.
  3. Add the rest of your kernels to the oil and put the pan lid back on.
  4. Give the pan a good shack to cover the kernels in oil.
  5. Keep shaking the pan so the kernels don’t stick to the bottom!
  6. When the popping becomes infrequent take the pan off the heat and pour the popcorn in to a large bowl.
  7. Add salt and mix. Don’t add too much salt – a little goes a long way!
PRO TIP: You can add regular salt to your popcorn but if you’re looking to go the extra mile, you can make ‘cinema salt’. All you have to do is grind down your regular salt in to a fine powder. This fine salt sticks more easily to the popcorn and gives you more flavour!

TRIED AND TESTED: Canola oil vs. coconut oil. Lots of online recipes call for either canola oil or coconut oil to heat the kernels, so I decided to conduct a quick experiment to see which was tastiest! Both achieved a very similar result: all of the kernels popped and produced nice, fluffy popcorn. However, not all oil is made equal.

Coconut Oil and Salt
Coconut Oil and Salt
Canola Oil and Salt
Canola Oil and Salt

The canola oil produced a very neutral tasting popcorn so it needed quite a bit of flavouring. but on the other hand, that neutral taste would be perfect for more complex recipes where you’re adding a lot of flavour anyway.

The coconut oil popcorn has quite a lovely flavour to it – perfect if you are just adding salt. But it might interfere if you are trying to acquire a specific flavour.

PRO TIP: Both of these oil produce quite a lot of smoke if they get really hot so put your extractor fan on high power and close your kitchen doors!

It’s better with a bit of butter

Indulge yourself with some delicious, buttery popcorn! The key to crispy, buttery popcorn is to not use regular butter which is sure to make your popcorn soggy. You have to use clarified butter or ghee. Its quite simple to make clarified butter at home – and the best part is that you can save it for later in the fridge!

  1. Add coconut oil to your pan and put it on a medium-high heat. Add enough oil that it covers the bottom of your pan.
  2. Add three kernels to the oil and wait for them to pop.
  3. When those three kernels pop, add the rest of your kernels and put the pan lid back on.
  4. Give the pan a good shack to cover the kernels in oil.
  5. Keep shaking the pan so the kernels don’t stick to the bottom!
  6. When the popping becomes infrequent take the pan off the heat and keep shaking it until the popping stops.
  7. Add two tablespoons of clarified butter to the pan and shake again to coat the popcorn.
  8. Add another two tablespoons of clarified butter and some salt and shake again.
  9. Enjoy!

Popcorn for your waistline

Healthy popcorn is all about avoiding the butter or oil you would normally use to coat the kernels but then how do you get the kernels to pop in the first place? The secret is to air cook them. To do this all you need a non-stick pan with a tight-fitting lid.

  1.  Put the empty pan on a medium to high heat with the lid on
  2. To test how hot the pan is, put a few small drops of water in the pan – if they sizzle immediately then your pan is hot enough.
  3. Turn the heat down to low-medium heat and add your kernels and immediately put the lid back on the pan.
  4. Shake the pan constantly to stop the kernels burning and sticking to the bottom.
  5. The kernels should start popping about a minute or two after you add them.
  6. When the popping becomes less frequent and you’re happy all your kernels have popped – remove the popcorn from the heat and put it in a large bowl.
  7. Sprinkle some salt over the top and voila: healthy, oil-free popcorn!

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