Vegan popcorn, a delicious treat. They're gluten-free, made with oil instead of butter, and ready in 10 minutes with 5 ingredients.
This vegan popcorn is extremely easy to make. It contains oil instead of butter but is as flavorful as the original recipe. Besides, it just takes 10 minutes!
I love that you can season it with your favorite spices, such as black pepper or paprika, although I used garlic powder as well as nutritional yeast. Truly the best popcorn recipe out there!
How to make vegan popcorn
- Heat the oil in a large pot and cook over medium-high heat.
- When it heats up, add 3-4 individual kernels to the pot and cover.
- Once the kernels pop, incorporate all the remaining kernels and cover again.
- When the popping dies down, remove from the heat, add all the remaining ingredients, and give the pot a good shake to combine.
- Serve your vegan popcorn immediately.
Vegan popcorn ingredients and tips
- Olive oil: I’m Spanish, so I use extra virgin olive oil to cook most of my dishes. However, any type of oil will probably work, such as sunflower oil or canola oil. I always use extra virgin oils when possible because they’re healthier.
- Popcorn kernels.
- Nutritional yeast: it gives this popcorn recipe a wonderful cheesy flavor, but you can omit it if you want. If you can’t find it, feel free to use brewer’s yeast instead. However, nutritional yeast is the best choice. You could even sprinkle some vegan Parmesan cheese on top.
- Garlic powder: this ingredient is optional, but it will make your vegan popcorn taste amazing.
- Salt: I used ionized salt, but any type of salt will do, such as sea salt. I've never tried making them sweet, but I guess you could do so by incorporating some cane sugar or liquid sweeteners like maple syrup. If you do, please share your results in the comments!
- Feel free to eat it as a vegan-friendly snack or even better - to have it while watching a movie! If you'd like something to drink too, I highly recommend you make an easy vegan milkshake, some lemon ginger tea, or even some fruit-infused water.
Is popcorn vegan?
Popcorn is made with kernels, and kernels are vegan. What causes popcorn to be non-vegan are the ingredients (such as dairy like butter) that we use to prepare this snack.
So by simply switching from regular butter to olive oil, you'll easily be able to enjoy this wonderful vegan snack!
Another option would be to do some research on vegan popcorn brands, but since vegan microwave popcorn isn't as healthy, I do suggest you try our simple recipe.
Looking for more vegan snacks?
Did you make this recipe?
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Vegan Popcorn
Ingredients
- 2-4 tablespoon oil, I used extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup popcorn kernels
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1-2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot and cook over medium-high heat. I used 2 tbsp, but if you add more, your popcorn will taste even better and the other ingredients will stick easier.
- When the oil is heated up, add 3-4 individual kernels to the pot and cover. Once they pop, incorporate all the remaining kernels and cover again. Give the pot a shake once in a while to prevent burning.
- When the popping dies down, remove from the heat, add all the remaining ingredients, and give the pot a good shake to combine.
- Transfer your vegan popcorn to a large bowl and serve immediately with a vegan milkshake, some lemon ginger tea, or even some fruit-infused water for movie night.
- Best when fresh, keep the leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 to 7 days.
Notes
- I also tried to make vegan popcorn with no oil and it worked. I just cooked the kernels over medium-high heat with no oil in a large pot, giving the pot a shake once in a while to prevent burning. I then added salt, but if you're going to use nutritional yeast and garlic powder too, you should probably pour a tiny amount of water in the pot before adding the nutritional yeast and garlic powder so they stick to the popcorn.
- Nutritional yeast gives this vegan popcorn recipe a wonderful cheesy flavor, but you can omit it if you want. If you can’t find it, feel free to use brewer’s yeast instead. However, nutritional yeast is the best choice. You could even sprinkle some vegan Parmesan cheese on top.
- Feel free to use any type of oil.
- Nutritional yeast and garlic powder are optional ingredients.
- Nutritional info has been calculated by using 2 tablespoons of oil and 1 teaspoon of salt.
Nutrition
Update Notes: This post was originally published in October of 2018, but was republished with new photos, step-by-step instructions, and tips in April of 2022.
Mitzy says
You can make it sweet by adding adding sweetener when you add the kernels.
Iosune Robles says
Hi Mitzy! Sounds so good 🙂
SLG says
Hi Iosune,
Is there a sweet version of this popcorn recipe? Thanks
Iosune Robles says
Hi! We don't have any sweet version of them, sorry 🙁 Have a nice day!
Barbara says
I pop it in the microwave in a brown paper lunch bag.
Iosune says
Hi Barbara! Thanks a lot for your comment 🙂
Kate says
What a nice idea to give us a healthy popcorn recipe. Thank you! I also like to just add some sea salt and a little agave nectar for a sweet and salty flavor.
Iosune says
Hi Kate! You're so welcome 🙂 Sounds great!
Donna says
I don't use oil, I bought a hot air popcorn maker and it works terrific and there is no oil. The problem is the nutritional yeast doesn't stick but we each have our own little containers of nutritional yeast and we lick the popcorn and then dip them in the yeast and it works great. We get way fewer calories this way. If I absolutely have to use oil, which is hardly ever, I only use grapeseed oil as it is the safest because it has a higher boiling point and doesn't become toxic when heated.
Iosune says
Hi Donna! Thanks a lot for your valuable comment 🙂 Sounds great!