This recipe makes the perfect crunchy, buttery caramel corn. Popcorn and peanuts are coated in a simple brown sugar caramel and baked until crispy. It is perfect for movie night, game night, and more.
If you like Cracker Jacks, you are going to love this baked caramel corn recipe. It gives you the same sweet crunch, they only thing it’s missing is the prize!
It comes together quickly and then bakes to the perfect finish. It is a must make for movie night, parties and game day!
When we decided to throw a baseball themed baby shower for my little sister, we knew we had to have all of the bases covered. (Ha! See what I did there?!)
We needed to have peanuts, hot dogs and nachos. We wanted plenty of pennants and of course we needed caramel corn.
After all, you can’t have a day at the ballpark without something along the lines of Cracker Jacks, can you? I was immediately volunteered for the role of caramel corn maker.
I have been making my husband’s grandma’s recipe for the last few years and it is always a hit.
I knew I had all of the ingredients on hand, so I didn’t worry too much about it. That is until I went to make it!
You see her recipe for microwave caramel corn requires putting everything in a brown paper grocery sack. You give it a few shakes and finish it off in the microwave.
So I went to the cabinet where we keep the paper bags and it was bare! We almost always bring cloth bags to the grocery store, but I try to remember to get paper bags every so often.
I do like to use them to keep track of the paper for the recycling bin and of course to make an occasional batch of caramel corn. But it looked like the recycle bin had been the lucky recipient of the last bag… and I needed to make caramel corn!!
So I went back to the classic way to make crispy caramel popcorn, the oven. And while I was at it, I figured I would share the recipe with you.
Email Me The Link
I'll email this post to you, so you can easily find it later. Plus you’ll get new recipes from me every week!
Because maybe you need caramel corn and don’t have a paper bag too. We need to be prepared for any situation!
Carlee’s Tips For Making Caramel Corn
Use a bigger pot than you think you need to make the caramel. It bubbles up quite a bit when you add the baking soda, and you don’t want a mess.
You can use any popcorn you would like as the base. Two or three bags of microwave popcorn will work, or you can pop some corn on the stove or in an air popper.
Make sure you remove any unpopped popcorn kernels from the popcorn before you coat it. I find it easiest to do this by just transferring the popcorn from one bowl to another with my hands.
The kernels will drop to the bottom of the first bowl, so they are easy to leave behind. This keeps you from accidentally biting into any tooth breaking surprises.
I like to bake the caramel corn on two large rimmed baking dishes. That gives it plenty of room to heat evenly and get nice and crunchy.
Why do you add baking soda to caramel popcorn?
The alkaline baking soda reacts with the acid from the brown sugar and corn syrup in the caramel to make lots of little carbon dioxide bubbles. That is why the mixture foams up so much.
Those bubbles also allow the caramel to have a nice crisp texture without being tooth-breakingly hard.
Storage
You can make caramel corn ahead of time if you are wanting it for a party. Just keep it sealed in an airtight container away from heat and humidity, and it will hold for a week or two.
Or so I’ve heard. I’ve never actually managed to keep it around that long. But, I know it does keep for at least 5 days.
The key is to make sure it is completely cooled before you transfer it to your storage containers. Putting it away hot can result in it losing some of its crispy texture.
So go ahead and make a batch, or maybe go ahead and make two. You might as well!
Baked Caramel Corn
Ingredients
- 5 quarts popped popcorn
- 2 cups peanuts or as desired
- 2 cups light brown sugar packed
- 1 cup butter
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250°F and grease a couple of rimmed baking sheets.
- Put 5 quarts popped popcorn and 2 cups peanuts in a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan, cook 1 cup butter, 2 cups light brown sugar, ½ cup light corn syrup and ¼ teaspoon salt until it begins to boil.
- Boil for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and carefully stir in ½ teaspoon baking soda.
- Pour hot caramel over popped popcorn and peanuts to coat. Spread over the greased baking sheets.
- Bake for 45 minutes at 250°F, stirring every 15 minutes.
- Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
Email Me The Link
I’ll email this post to you, so you can easily find it later. Plus you’ll get new recipes from me every week!
Did you try this recipe?
Don’t forget to leave a rating below and make sure to follow on Pinterest and Instagram for more!
More Popular Popcorn Recipes
Check out my collection of popcorn recipes for even more inspiration. Or let me know about your favorite popcorn recipes in the comments below.
Get social!
Recipes in your inbox
Oh the good old days of Cracker Jacks. That brings back some pretty good memories. This recipe sounds delicious. I'm impressed that you thought to finish up the popcorn in the oven. What did people do before microwaves!?! We are kind of spoiled, aren't we? Thanks for sharing this recipe.
We are spoiled! I didn't know you could do it in a microwave until my husband came along. Luckily both versions come out delicious!
I love it! It's delicous!
Thank you!
What fun favors and what a great idea!! 🙂 Love me some Caramel Corn (more than I should admit!)
Me too. It's a little embarrassing how much of this stuff I could eat!
Carlee you have just bought childhood memories back of Cracker Jacks. I used to devour that stuff. Your version is the healthy gourmet venison.
I should have hidden a little prize in each bag to make it just like those boxes from childhood. I wish I would have thought of that before just now! Thanks, Mary!
Those are addictive! I prefer sweet version over any other popcorn, so this is right up my alley 🙂
It is so hard to stop once you eat that first piece!
Oh em gee. I LOOOOOVE caramel corn so freaking much. Why does it have to be 10,000 degrees outside here? I'll have to make the microwave version today and wait till it cools down–or until my will gives out–before I make the baked version. This sounds awesome, Carlee!
I'll trade you some caramel corn for a slice of your caramel machiatto cheesecake. Ok?! Let's meet half way!
Oh my Carlee! You have exceeded yourself here. Caramel coated popcorn isn't a thing here so we make our own as you said, by pouring a caramel sauce over popped corn. It's nice but lacks crunch. I will most certainly be trying this recipe, I'm sure my daughter will love it as much as me. I bet your sister loved it!
xx
You definitely have to give it a go! It is so good and it does keep much better since it is crunchy and not sticky. I am anxiously awaiting your review!
Yum! And what a fun food to include at the baseball themed shower.
Thank you! It was definitely a hit!
This delicious recipe sounds a lot like my mama's. Oh how I love me some caramel corn!!! I wish I had a bag of it to take to work!! Happy Monday pretty lady!
Isn't it the best?! I have to say I am glad this disappeared so quickly at the shower though, or I would have eaten way too much of it myself!
It's was fun to watch the other guests at the shower enjoying your caramel corn. Most were grabbing a handful and talking about how they need to be done eating it only to grab more a few seconds later. "This stuff is addicting. "
It really is hard to stop once you get started! I was glad they were enjoying it!