{"id":15612,"date":"2026-02-13T00:24:50","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T17:24:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=15612"},"modified":"2026-02-13T00:24:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T17:24:50","slug":"homemade-popcorn-is-a-life-skill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=15612","title":{"rendered":"Homemade Popcorn Is a Life Skill"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"502\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.myfitnesspal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Homemade-Popcorn-Is-a-Life-Skill-1024x643.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"A wooden bowl filled with popcorn sits on a white surface. Some of the fluffy popcorn has spilled out, scattering around it. The popcorn appears to be plain, without any visible toppings or seasoning. MyFitnessPal Blog\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A not-so-shocking truth: The best popcorn doesn\u2019t come from a bag. Strange as it may seem, popping your own popcorn requires only the most basic of cooking skills \u2014 and we\u2019re not talking about microwaving. The payoff of homemade popcorn is huge \u2014 it\u2019s easy and ridiculously inexpensive to make.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Whether it\u2019s for movies, the Oscars, a Netflix binge or a healthy snack, it\u2019s time to make popcorn. Here are four basic tips and an easy recipe to get you started.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-get-your-dutch-oven\">Get Your Dutch Oven<\/h2>\n<p>Your main tool will be a Dutch oven or a weighty stock pot. Grab a bottle of olive oil or good old vegetable oil. Add 3 tablespoons to the pot (this is enough to pop 1\/2 cup of kernels or to make about 8 cups of popped corn). It sounds like a lot of oil, but without it, steam won\u2019t build up in the pot, and without the steam, there will be no popping of corn. Also, the oil coats the popped kernels and gives the spices something to stick to.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-turn-up-the-heat\">Turn Up The Heat<\/h2>\n<p>Place the pan over medium heat and pour in 1\/2 cup popcorn kernels. These can be any variety \u2014 red, white, yellow, organic \u2014 it doesn\u2019t matter. Stir them with a spoon or spatula to coat them with oil and continue stirring until they start to sizzle. Put the lid on the pan, increase the heat to halfway between medium and medium high.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-listen-up\">Listen Up<\/h2>\n<p>You need to listen to what\u2019s happening in that pot. Don\u2019t walk out of the room or take a phone call for the next few minutes. It won\u2019t take long and soon there will be popping. Once it starts, it\u2019s so exciting. Lots of popping and bursting. Then it will slow a bit after a minute or two. Now is the time to pick up the pot and \u2014 holding the lid closed \u2014 give it a good shake up and down. This prevents the dreaded layer of unpopped kernels on the bottom. Let the popping continue, but if you see any tendrils of smoke escaping from under the lid, immediately lower heat to medium. When the popping subsides to a brief eruption every few seconds, turn off the heat. Set the lid askew so some steam can escape. After a minute of steam release, pour the popcorn onto a rimmed baking sheet, or your biggest, widest bowl. You\u2019re ready to dress that \u2018corn.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-dress-it-up\">Dress It Up<\/h2>\n<p>Immediately drizzle 1\/4 cup olive oil all over the popcorn. You want to do this while the corn is still hot so it coats the popcorn. Toss thoroughly with the intention of coating all the popped kernels with oil.<\/p>\n<p>Lastly, let\u2019s talk about toppings. There are so many ways to add oomph to your popcorn. You can add spice mixes (like the cheesy-and-spicy-flavored mixture below, which tastes like healthy Doritos). Olive oil, or any other liquid oil plays well with spices and helps to keep them stuck to your kernels.<\/p>\n<p>Try adding simple salt and pepper, Parmesan cheese, togarashi \u2014 really \u2014 the sky\u2019s the limit.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever you do, don&#8217;t forget a little bit of sea salt and a big bowl to enjoy it out of.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Active time:<\/strong> 10 minutes <strong>Total time:<\/strong> 10 minutes<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-cheese-less-cheesy-spicy-popcorn\"><strong>Cheese-less Cheesy + Spicy Popcorn<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Ingredients<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>2 tbsp nutritional yeast<\/li>\n<li>1 tsp crushed red pepper<\/li>\n<li>1 tsp kosher salt<\/li>\n<li>8 cups (88g) just-popped popcorn (from 1\/2 cup (110g) kernels)<\/li>\n<li>1\/4 cup (60g) olive oil<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Directions<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Finely grind the nutritional yeast, crushed red pepper and salt in a spice mill or with mortar and pestle.<\/p>\n<p>Arrange popcorn on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with oil; toss to coat. Sprinkle with some of the nutritional yeast mixture and toss well to coat, adding more of the mixture, to taste.<\/p>\n<p><em>Note:<\/em> If you choose to make this spice mix, you\u2019ll want to do so BEFORE you pop the corn so it\u2019s ready to apply and stick to freshly popped-and-oiled kernels!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Serves: 4 | Serving Size: 2 cups<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Nutrition (per serving)<\/strong>: Calories: 224; Total Fat: 15g; Saturated Fat: 2g; Monounsaturated Fat: 10g; Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 587mg; Carbohydrate: 20g; Dietary Fiber: 3g; Sugar: 0g; Protein: 4g<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Originally published February 10, 2019; Updated February 2026<\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.myfitnesspal.com\/homemade-popcorn-is-a-life-skill\/\">Homemade Popcorn Is a Life Skill<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.myfitnesspal.com\">MyFitnessPal Blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.myfitnesspal.com\/homemade-popcorn-is-a-life-skill\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A not-so-shocking truth: The best popcorn doesn\u2019t come from a bag. Strange as it may seem, popping your own popcorn requires only the most basic of cooking skills \u2014 and we\u2019re not talking about microwaving. The payoff of homemade popcorn is huge \u2014 it\u2019s easy and ridiculously inexpensive to make. Whether it\u2019s for movies, the &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15612\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}