How To Make Your Own Microwave Popcorn {5 Ways}!

You may or may not already know this, but it's SUPER easy to make your own microwave popcorn! No fake butters, excessive amounts of salt or even sugar AND you can flavor it up a million ways. Also, a 21 Day Fix serving is 3 whole cups! Yep, you read that right.

This post is being brought to you just in time for fall TV premier season, and I don't know about you, but I'm most likely to fall off the wagon when I sit down to watch TV in the evening and feel the need for something to munch on. It adds to the experience. «That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

You probably don't know this about me, but I'm kind of a TV addict. It's true. What's your favorite TV show? Yep, I've watched that. Well, probably. I really love getting to check out all the new shows in the fall and picking new favorites with my husband. We eat, we watch, we bond, we eat some more... You can probably see how this doesn't always match up with our health and fitness goals (especially seeing as how sometimes we're eating jalapeno poppers from Arby's - Damn you, Arby's and your spectacularly terrible-awesome fried treats!).

However, there are plenty of delicious ways to snack with out breaking the calorie bank. Aside from the popcorn that we're about to talk about, here are some of my favorites to give you some variety.

• spinach and artichoke dip
• cocoa banana oat bars
• hummus or guac and pita chips
• ricotta topped with strawberries and honey
• pumpkin custard bars
• 21 Day Fix Ranch with veggies
• Quick pita pizza like this one or this one

Back to the task at hand: homemade popcorn. If you have a brown paper lunch bag and some popcorn kernels, you can have fresh, warm popcorn in only TWO minutes! It's fast, economical, healthy and just plain delightful. BTW, don't be fooled by the folks who tell you that you need to put oil in the bag. It just isn't true. I've tried it both ways with ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENCE. So let's just forget about it, shall we?

Above is a little tutorial on folding the bag. Silly, I know, but the first time I didn't fold those corners down and let's just say it didn't work out very well 🙂 Anyway, I had loads of fun coming up with flavor ideas for this post and I hope you love them as much as I do! I made: Rosemary-Pecorino popcorn, Sesame-Ginger popcorn, Curry popcorn, PUMPKIN SPICE popcorn (do not miss out on this one, it's extra AMAZING, plus September is Pumpkin Month, remember? Live it, love it!), and also Mexican Hot Cocoa popcorn. You are NOT going to get these out of a bag from the grocery store, people.

By the way, if you happen to drop by with a comment on either your favorite popcorn flavors or fall TV shows that you're looking forward to this season, you won't hear me complaining! I'd love to hear from you!

<3 Enjoy!

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📖 Recipe

How to make your own microwave popcorn {5 ways}!

Yield: 9 cups (3 servings)

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 2 minutes

Total Time: 7 minutes

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Ingredients

For the popcorn:

• ½ cup popcorn kernels (makes 9 cups popped)
• brown paper lunch bag
• microwave

Rosemary-Pecorino:

• 3 cups of popped popcorn
• 1 teaspoon rosemary-infused olive oil (you can usually buy this at the store, but I made my own by following these simple instructions)
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed a little in your hand
• ½ Tbs grated pecorino-romano (or your favorite hard cheese, such as parmesan)
• 1/16 teaspoon salt (about half of ⅛ of a tsp, a very small sprinkle)

Pumpkin Spice:

• 3 cups of popped popcorn
• ½ teaspoon pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon melted coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon raw sugar
• ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Sesame-Ginger:

• 3 cups of popped popcorn
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• ¼ teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
• ⅛ teaspoon chile garlic paste or sriracha (optional)
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/16 teaspoon salt

Curry Popcorn:

• 3 cups of popped popcorn
• 1 teaspoon melted coconut oil
• ½ teaspoon mild curry powder (or hot, if that's what you're into)
• ⅛ teaspoon salt

Mexican Hot Cocoa:

• 3 cups of popped popcorn
• 1 teaspoon melted coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon raw sugar
• ½ teaspoon cocoa powder
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/16 teaspoon ancho chile powder or cayenne (optional)

Instructions

To make the popcorn:

1. Put ½ cup popcorn kernels into a brown paper bag. Fold according to above photo so the bag won't open up. Microwave for 2 minutes (or less, listen closely to your microwave, yours might run hotter than mine. If the pops start slowing down early, pull out the bag. Nobody likes burnt popcorn. Nobody.) Now be careful! It's hot! Each of the below recipes is enough to cover 3 cups of popped popcorn.

Rosemary-Pecorino Popcorn:

1. Drizzle three cups plain popped popcorn with the rosemary oil. Sprinkle with the dried rosemary, cheese and salt. Toss well with your hands.

Pumpkin Spice Popcorn:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, raw sugar and coconut oil. This will seem a little strange. It will still be kind of thick, gloopy even. It's ok, it'll still mix well with your popcorn and you'll end up with little popcorn pockets full of pumpkin-y fantasticness. Trust me. Anyway, drizzle this mixture over your popcorn, sprinkle with the spice and toss well with your hands.

Sesame Ginger Popcorn:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the sesame oil, soy sauce and chile paste/sriracha if using. Drizzle over 3 cups of popcorn, sprinkle with the ginger and the salt. Toss well with your hands.

Curry Popcorn:

1. Drizzle popcorn with the coconut oil, sprinkle with the curry powder and salt. Toss well with your hands.

Mexican Hot Cocoa Popcorn:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut oil and raw sugar. Drizzle over popcorn, then sprinkle with the cocoa powder and spices. Toss well with your hands. Yum!

Notes

21 Day Fix Container Equivalents: 1 Yellow, 1 TSP

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 3 Serving Size: 3 cups popped popcorn
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 133Total Fat: 5.5g