Instant Pot Popcorn With 13 Flavoring Ideas

Name: Instant Pot Popcorn With 13 Flavoring Ideas
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 12 min
Ingredients: 2 tbsp coconut oil (costco coconut oil); 1 tsp salt; 1/3 cup popcorn kernels

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Instant pot popcorn is very easy to make snacks at home from scratch. Popping corn kernels in the instantpot is so much fun and it gets ready within a few minutes.

In this post, you will find how to make movie theatre popcorn in an instant pot with just two ingredients, tips & tricks, and how you can create thirteen flavors of instant popcorn.

my son picking cooked popcorn from a bowl filled with them

Popcorn vs Kettle corn kernels

There are two varieties of popcorn. Traditional popcorn and kettle corn. Ever wondered why kettle corns are always sweet and traditional ones come in different flavorings? Let see the basic difference between the two.

Traditional movie theatre popcorn is prepared with oil, salt, and butter. Due to saltiness, you can create many flavors by adding different seasonings, like cheese, hot sauces along with olive oil. Popcorns kernels look like corn on the cob, only corn kernels are used for pop-up while heating.

Kettle corn is a close cousin of regular corn but sweet in taste. It is made with oil, salt, sugar, and crunchier in texture. Sugar gives a nice sweet coating and crispy crunch. It gets this name from the cooking method used, kettle corn is popped in a cast-iron kettle. To make homemade kettle corn we use a special kernel known as mushroom popcorn. They are round in shape that helps in uniform sugar coating.

Why Homemade Popcorn

Easy to make– Making them at home ensures the quality check. All you need is 10-15 minutes and few flavoring ideas. A perfect afterschool, mid-day, or game day snack. Kids just love this easy snack anytime. It is one of the instant pot beginner-friendly recipes to cook.
Budget friendly and crowd pleasing– These pressure cooker popcorns are easy on your pocket too. Economically cheap as compared to market bought. Budget friendly as they come in good quantity, and perfect to feed a large crowd. Perfect popcorn recipe for a crowd on holidys.
Healthy snack– Store-bought popcorns or pre-made microwavable packets are loaded with more butter then required. Having artificial flavors, salt, and sugar makes them very unhealthy. Making at home is a better choice knowing what are the ingredients used and how much. Instantpot popcorn recipe is vegan, gluten-free, easy, and healthy. Popcorns are healthy if eaten in a proper way.

Ingredients & Notes

Please check RECIPE CARD for detailed ingredients list with accurate measurement.

There are only two ingredients you need, and your preferred seasoning.

Corn kernels– They are easily available in the market.
Oil– I have used coconut oil, canola oil, and peanut oil so far due to their high smoke point. Now we use only coconut oil to make them.
Salt– Normal cooking salt.
A MUST– Glass lid is required while popping in the instant pot. Without using it oil can splutter all over the place.

What if I do not have a glass lid?

Check in the kitchen, you might have any other glass lid that can fit on an instant pot. But if not then you can get an instant pot glass lid from Amazon.

Variations

You can also try the kettle corn variety that comes with the name of mushroom popcorn. Making instant pot kettle corn is the same as this recipe.

a bowl filled with popcorn made in instant pot.

How to make popcorn in instant pot

Prepare instapot

To make popcorn, first, switch on the instant pot and set SAUTE MODE on. Wait till it shows HOT on the display.

Add coconut oil

Once you see HOT on the display screen add coconut oil and let it heat for 3 minutes.

Add Kernels

After 3 minutes add corn kernels. Mix with the help of a spatula till every kernel is covered in coconut oil. Stir occasionally for 1-2 minutes.

Let Them Pop

After 1 minute 30 seconds around, close the pot with the glass lid and allow them to pop.

Doneness

Initially, you will notice popping sound frequently and then it slows down. Once you notice the slowing down press CANCEL mode.

Shake– Hold the inner pot using mittens and give a shake. This will allow any uncooked kernel to go down at the bottom and pop up further. Let it sit for another 30 seconds.

Remove the glass lid and shake the popcorn well. At this point, you can add your favorite seasoning with little butter. Transfer them to a bowl and enjoy.

Instant Pot Popcorn- is very easy to make snack at home. Learn how to make popcorn in an instant pot with just two ingredients, in a few minutes.

Serve these instant pot popcorn immediately. Check the below section for extra flavors or seasoning to make fun popcorn for the party.

popcorn served in a bowl in front of instant pot

Tips & FAQ’s

The First & foremost tip is to avoid using butter. Butter gets burnt at the bottom of an instant pot. Use it after popping up and mix nicely.
Once you see HOT on the display screen then add coconut oil. Let the oil heated for 2 minutes before adding kernels. This step is actually very important.
Do not stuff instant pot with popcorn kernels. Ideally, 1/3 quantity is good enough to cover the bottom of 6qt instant pot evenly.
Close the pot with glass lid. While it helps to maintain the temperature of the inside pot, it also helps to avoid spluttering oil. Be careful.
Once popping sounds go down, CANCEL the SAUTE mode, and take out the insert pan.
Dont let stay popcorns in instapot for longer, transfer to a bowl asap.

What is the best oil to make popcorn?

Coconut oil is the best oil to make popcorn due to its high smoking point. It provides the perfect temperature to pop kernels without breaking. So if you think can I use coconut oil for popcorn then your answer is definitely YES.
You can use olive oil, clarified butter, and homemade ghee to make popcorn without coconut oil. Always add butter at the end of the cooking process and you can make instant pot popcorn with butter easily.

Can I make popcorn without oil?

Using oil ensures corn kernels to be heated evenly and helps them in popping without burning. Without oil making popcorn at home is not easy, you will end up burning them even before popping them up.

Traditionally corn kernels are prepared by using the hot sand frying/hot salt frying cooking technique used by street vendors. This is the only way to make popcorn without oil or butter. You can always season them with desired flavorings.

Why doesn’t popcorn pop in my instant pot mini

If you are using instant pot mini then 1/3 cup quantity may not work and overcrowd the bottom of the insert pan. Use 1/4 cup with coconut oil and you are good to go.

How to butter popcorn without it getting soggy?

Ever wondered why homemade popcorns get soggy with butter when compared to movie popcorn? This is because butter has higher water content than butter-flavored oil popcorns you get at movie theatres. Due to butter-flavored oil that has low/no water content, popcorn has a distinct flavor and crunch.
To get the same effect use clarified butter AKA ghee infused with your favorite flavoring. Ghee has a high smoking point and is healthy. If you wonder can you make popcorn with ghee then the answer is Yes. Instant pot popcorn with ghee has a similar process as this recipe.

13 Fun Popcorn Flavors

My family enjoys butter popcorn more often and I do make cheese, caramel, and cinnamon sugar flavored popcorns on kids’ demands. All these flavorings work well for instant pot popcorn.

Butter
Caramel
Garlic parmesan
Barbeque
Buffalo
Cinnamon sugar adding sugar & cinnamon powder makes sweet & warm popcorn. They taste really amazing with the sweetness of using cinnamon sugar.
Garlic & herb add any herb like oregano, rosemary along with minced garlic in melted butter. Add this garlic herb butter to hot popcorn.
Cheese you can add cheddar & parmesan cheese to popcorns and just microwave for 1 minute.
Chilli lime flavour Adding cayenne pepper along with lemon juice & lemon zest gives a refreshing zingy taste.

These seasonings will go well with kettle corn as well. Just pop them with oil & salt and use any of these seasonings to make kettle corn more interesting. This is a detailed infographic on delicious homemade popcorn flavors.

infographic that displays 13 delicious flavors for homemade popcorn.

Best oil to cook

So, should you choose Coconut oil when making instant pot popcorn? Which is the best oil to use for making popcorn? Coconut oil is BEST if used while making popcorn in the instant pot for various reasons.

It is much healthier with good fats.
Has a high smoke point.
It also ensures to cook kernels at high heat which is required for them to pop.

It is my first preference after using canola and peanut oil. Other oil may break down at higher temperatures result in burnt popcorn. If coconut oil is not available then feel free to use olive oil, clarified butter, or ghee.

Check Instant Pot Ghee

It is always best to add butter and favorite seasoning while serving.

Popcorn not popping?

Popcorn kernels pop up for one reason. There is trapped moisture inside the skin of the kernel. When kernels are cooked at high temperatures and pressure becomes too much to bear when they pop up.

If popcorn kernels are old and this moisture is dried out, in this case, kernels will not pop out and burn easily at the bottom. Make sure you are buying good kernels and keeping them in an airtight container after use.

Popcorn will not pop up if they are stored for a longer time, or very old packages date or stored in open. TRIED & TESTED

How to store

Popcorn gets soggy if kept longer at room temperature. You can store them in an airtight container for some time. I prefer to store them only for two days in a glass jar, beyond that, I noticed a stale smell.

How to serve

Serve immediately with your favorite seasoning as mentioned above and enjoy.

They are best to enjoy in short trips, as snacks in school, or while watching movies and anytime if you want.

More Instant Pot Recipes

You can check some more beginner-friendly Instant Pot Recipes from the blog.

Few more Instant pot dinner recipes to make

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