The BEST Homemade Kettle Corn Recipe (Easy To Make In 5 Minutes)

This homemade kettle corn will transport you to the county fair with your first handful. It's deliciously crispy and crunchy popcorn with a sweet and salty flavor that is just addictive. Seriously, you won't be able to stop eating it once you start! And the best part is this kettle corn recipe takes just 5 minutes to make.

The Best Kettle Corn Recipe

Kettle corn has been one of my favorite fair foods for as long as I can remember. And since I love it so much, I've tried pretty much every microwave kind from the store, but none of them taste quite like the fair to me.

So I had to try and make kettle corn for myself, and I know I'm biased, but I think I nailed it. Trust me, this homemade kettle corn recipe has everything you'd want in a classic kettle corn from the fair! It has the perfect ratio of sweet and salty flavors, and the oil it's cooked in makes the popcorn kernels pop perfectly.

The result is extra crunchy, flavorful kettle corn that is downright addictive. I'm telling ya, once you take your first bite of this stuff, you'll be shoveling handfuls into your mouth until the kettle corn is gone!

Now, besides how yummy it is, my favorite part about this homemade kettle corn recipe is just how simple it is to make. All it takes is just a few minutes to whip up, and it's almost effortless.

By the way, if you're looking for another equally delicious fair recipe to pair with the popcorn, you've got to give this fried dough a try. It's one of our most popular recipes on the blog, and if you try it, you'll see why.

Ingredients

Another reason I love this recipe is that it only takes 4 ingredients to make. Honestly, if you have the popcorn kernels, I can almost guarantee you have everything else in your pantry right now to make it!

Anyway, here's what you'll need to make homemade kettle corn:

• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 tbsp white granulated sugar
• ½ cup corn kernels
• ½ tsp salt

Simple stuff, right?

Now, just so you know, the recipe calls for vegetable oil, but you can use canola oil or coconut oil instead. I suggest using coconut oil as the best substitute because it gives the popcorn a sweeter flavor and cooks well at high temperatures. By the way, if you're not a fan of the coconutty taste coconut oil has, just use refined coconut oil. It doesn't taste like coconut.

Oh, also, you can use a lot of these same ingredients to make this air fryer popcorn recipe. So, if you're looking for a more classic butter popcorn, you can give that a try next.

How to Make Kettle Corn

Now it's time for the fun part, making the kettle corn! And, again, it's so, so easy to make.

Basically, all you have to do is heat the oil, add the popcorn kernels to it along with the sugar and salt, and then just shake the pot while the popcorn pops. Yup, that's all there is too! 

Anyway, let's not waste any more time and get popping.

Step 1: Heat the Oil

First, you'll want to place a wire rack on top of a baking sheet and set it aside for later.

Then, after you've got that setup, you'll want to add the oil to a large pot - that has a lid - along with 4-5 popcorn kernels. Cast iron kettles work great, but you can use any large pot you have on hand. Anyway, once you've added the handful of kernels, you'll want to heat the pot over medium-high heat and then cover it with the lid.

Step 2: Cook the Popcorn Kernels

Now, once all the popcorn kernels in the pot have popped, you can remove the lid and add the rest of the kernels, as well as the sugar and salt. Then, after you've got those ingredients added, you can close the pot with the lid and shake it well to completely coat the popcorn kernels with the oil, salt, and sugar.

Now, you'll want to keep the pot over the burner of the stove, and while holding the lid, shake the pot every 10 seconds or so. And you'll want to continue to shake the pot even if you don't hear any popping happening right away.

Anyway, once the kernels start to pop, you'll want to lift the pot from the burner - every 7 seconds or so - and hold the lid on top of it and shake vigorously.

Then, as soon you hear about a 2-second break between the pops, you can remove the pot from the heat, wait a few seconds, and then transfer the kettle corn to the wire rack. 

Step 3: Serve

Now that the kettle corn is ready, you can spread it out on the wire rack with a spatula so that any unpopped kernels can drop through the holes in the rack.

Finally, you can transfer the popped kettle corn to a large bowl and sprinkle it with some more salt and sugar. Enjoy!

How To Store Kettle Corn

This recipe for kettle corn will make about 2 servings, but it's so good that I doubt you'll want to share!  If anything, you'll find yourself making another batch just a few minutes after you whip up the first one.

With that said, if you make too much popcorn and can't finish it all, you can easily store it for another time. Just transfer the kettle corn to an airtight container - or sealed bag - and it'll last on the counter for about 1-2 weeks.

Wrapping It Up

Well, that's how to make kettle corn!

Again, I know I'm biased, but I really do think this is the best homemade kettle corn you'll ever make. It has the best ratio of sweet and salty flavors with a crunch that you just can't get from microwave popcorn.

Anyway, I hope you love this recipe as much as I/we do!

As always, if you give it a try, let us know how it goes in the comments below.

More Easy To Make Snack Recipes

This kettle corn recipe is so easy and delicious and perfect for when you're craving a sweet snack.

With that said, if you're looking for some more sweet snacks to try out, we have a bunch on the blog that you can try next! 

Here are some reader favorites:

• White trash
• Dunkaroo dip
• S'mores dip
• Fried Oreos
• Cream cheese fruit dip

Oh, and as always, make sure to check us out on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube! We post new recipes on them every day.

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