Crunchy Peanut Butter Popcorn

Crunchy peanut butter popcorn has that perfect sweet and salty balance. It is perfect for movie night, game night, tailgates and more!

This peanut butter popcorn has that sweet and salty thing going for it. If you like caramel corn and peanut butter, this is the perfect snack for you.

Little Dude and I both have a love for peanut butter and popcorn.  So, I thought we should mix them together and see how it goes.

The first time I tried making peanut butter popcorn, I made it using the same idea as Jenny’s Smacky Delcious Mix and Grandma Scharnhorst’s Microwave Caramel Corn where you use the microwave to dry it out.  

While that method works great for some things and certainly saves some time, I couldn’t get the texture I wanted for this recipe.  So I reverted to using the oven to get that crunchy finish like in baked caramel corn.

Baking it in the oven does take a little bit of time, but it is totally worth it. Besides, it is not active time.

You can be doing other things while you wait for the timer to beep. Then it’s just a quick stir and back in the oven. Easy peasy!

What is this peanut butter caramel popcorn like?

While looking for recipes that combine our love for peanut butter and popcorn, I found variations that involve just drizzling warm peanut butter over popcorn. I also found sticky versions of peanut butter popcorn.

But neither of those are very practical if you want to take it along with you. Or if you are needing to keep your hands clean while you eat it!

This popcorn is more like a peanut butter version of Cracker Jacks. In fact, you could add peanuts and make it just that.

The peanut butter mixture is baked onto the popcorn to help it form a crisp crust of sweet peanut butter goodness on the kernels. Once it is cooled you can bag it up.

That makes it perfect for taking with you to game night. It also makes it fun to pass out as a party favor or edible gift.

Tips and Tricks

You can pop your own popcorn for this recipe or use two bags of microwave popcorn. It will be delicious either way.

Be sure to use a large saucepan when making the caramel. It foams and expands when you stir in the baking soda.

If you don’t want to use corn syrup, substitute in maple syrup or honey instead. Or check out my collection of substitutes for corn syrup.

Don’t overcook the caramel mixture once it comes to a boil. It will become to thick and hard to work with.

Make sure to spread over wax paper while it is still warm otherwise it will harden into one big sheet of popcorn and may stick to the pan.

Cool completely before storing to optimal crunchiness and longest shelf life.

Want an extra decadent treat? Drizzle with melted chocolate!

Or add candy corn and peanuts to make a hillbilly hash popcorn snack mix.