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Home > Instant Pot Recipes > Instant Pot Popcorn (+ 3 ways to flavor it up)
23 minutes

Instant Pot Popcorn (+ 3 ways to flavor it up)

Last updated September 15, 2020. Originally posted November 28, 2018 By Jyothi Rajesh 31 Comments

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popcorn made in instant pot and flavored three different flavors with text
instant pot popcorn with text overlay

Instant pot popcorn is quick and easy snack that you can whip up in no time using just 3 basic ingredients. Planning to go on Netflix binge or simply looking for quickest snack for your hungry kids returning from school, this simple homemade instant pot popcorn will come handy.

instant pot popcorn

Homemade popcorn doesn’t take much skill or ingredients and it’s so much healthier than the microwavable packages or store bought ones. Make it on stove top, microwave or using a pressure cooker (instant pot), choice is yours.

Using pressure cooker to pop a big tub of popcorn has always been our way of doing homemade popcorn. While one can argue that making popcorn in microwave is easiest, I always rely on pressure cooker to pop my pop corns. It just feels safer and i’m just too comfortable making popcorn in pressure cooker (normal pressure cooker).

Since I joined the instant pot band wagon, I have been using it to cook everything I can and I must admit I have been enjoying using my instant pot. For those who say –“It’s really stupid to use instant pot for cooking every dish, especially those dishes which can be easily made on stove top. I got one thing to say – ‘why not?!’ If I can cook it in instant pot and stove top, I choose to do it in my instant pot. What’s wrong with that!?”

instant pot popcorn

Netflix is like a black hole, once you’re in there’s no light at the end of the vortex. You get on Netflix to watch one episode of your favorite series, and it becomes impossible to watch just one episode or one movie in one sitting. You just go on from one to next and to next. While Netflix addiction is a real thing and most of us are addicted(no judgement there, we all are!).  I can’t help you out on the addiction part. But I can definitely help you on keeping you comfortable and entertained while you are on Netflix. You just want to get comfortable on your bed or couch, have a tub of homemade popcorn to share with family and get on Netflix binge!

If you like just good old plain popcorn or looking for something elaborate popcorn snacks this instant pot popcorn recipe will come handy.

And what’s even better other than this recipe being simple? It’s super fun to watch corn kernels popping. My kids couldn’t stay away from the instant pot in spite of me trying to keep them away. They jumped with joy watching popcorn. In case you notice reflections and shadows moving in this video recipe, you now know what the shadows are! LOL

instant pot popcorn with 4 ways to flavor

Healthy homemade instant pot popcorn

Homemade popcorn is that one snack your whole family will love. Sunday evening gather with a big tub of homemade popcorn for movie night. We are talking homemade instant pot popcorn (or even stove top popcorn) made from scratch. Make it in instant pot or stove top, honestly there is no much difference. Let’s be honest, instant pot popcorn method is really not going to save time. No magic there. But IT DOES WORK! Along with using instant pot so many quick, healthy recipes, you can even use it to pop your popcorn! There’s that!

Homemade popcorn are THE BEST, because –

It’s quick – you can make it at home without spending too much time.

3 basic ingredients – well 2 if you look at it, that’s popcorn kernels and clarified butter or ghee. Let’s not forget seasoning, SALT! It’s no good without seasoning.

Easy and healthy after school snack – popcorn are whole grains. It’s rich in fiber.

Endless way to flavor it up – you can add your own flavors that works for you.

instant pot popcorn with 4 flavors added to it

What you need for instant pot popcorn

For plain salted popcorn you’ll need –

½ cup popcorn kernels

2 tablespoon clarified butter (ghee) or coconut oil

2 teaspoon salt (or popcorn seasoning)

Add other seasoning as you wish once your popcorn is ready.

How to make instant pot popcorn

Turn on the instant pot and select SAUTE mode, then adjust to MORE indicator light.

Wait until instant pot indicates HOT. This is roughly take about 4 minutes.

Add clarified butter (or coconut oil) and wait till it melts. Add salt and swirl the pot to spread oil an salt across the pot.

Add a few kernel to test the readiness. Once kernel heat up, they will begin to pop.

Now dump all the popcorn kernels, give a good swirl to coat all the kernels in clarified butter and spread evenly in the pot.

Cover the instant pot with glass lid.

Wait for popcorn kernel to begin popping. Pick the steel pan using kitchen towel for hold and shake rigorously for every 30 seconds.

Pro-Tip: DO NOT lift the entire pot to shake, you will end up scratching the bottom of the pot.

Once you hear popping stop, remove the insert pan from the pot.

Transfer to large bowl immediately.

Add salt and shake well. Or add other flavors that we recommend below.

instant pot popcorn with salted flavor

Flavor options for instant pot popcorn

While the gold old salted popcorn is the best go-to choice of popcorn any day for me, there are times when family calls it ‘boring’. For days when you get bored of salted popcorn, oomph up your popcorn with some flavors.

Certain flavor combinations are simply amazing. Like golden yellow intensely buttery movie popcorn or dark golden brown colored caramel popcorn.

Options to flavor popcorn’s don’t stop there.

We have some more unique and interesting flavors for you guys to try.

  • Chili and lime – chili powder (or cayenne powder) along with fresh grated lime zest adds to popcorn a hint of heat and the zing from the zest.

instant pot popcorn with chili lime flavor ingredients instant pot popcorn with chili lime flavorinstant pot popcorn with chili lime flavor

  • Sriracha and butter – Melted butter drizzled over popcorn along with sriracha sauce gives you spicy, sticky popcorn. My personal favorite.

instant pot popcorn with sriracha butter flavor instant pot popcorn with sriracha butter flavor

instant pot popcorn with sriracha butter flavor

  • Cinnamon and honey – Imagine a lighter version of caramel popcorn. No this doesn’t resemble anything to caramel popcorn. But the sweetness of the honey and the cinnamon powder for warm and cozy feel reminded me of caramel popcorn for some reason.

instant pot popcorn with cinnamon honey flavor instant pot popcorn with cinnamon honey flavor

instant pot popcorn with cinnamon honey flavor

Other flavor combinations that you can try are

Garlic Herb – Melted butter, minced garlic, finely chopped fresh rosemary, sage and thyme. Cook them in melted butter and drizzle over popcorn.

Three cheese – 2 portions of cheddar, 1 portion of Parmesan, ½ portion of pecorino. Grate all 2 cheese sprinkle over popcorn spread over baking tray. Bake at 350 F until cheese melts.

Macha dark chocolate – Melt dark chocolate with little coconut oil. Sprinkle macha powder over popcorn, stir well. Drizzle melted chocolate and sprinkle flaky sea salt.

instant pot popcorn with 4 ways to flavor

How about trying super festive and addictive Santa crunch Christmas popcorn as well?

Santa munch Christmas popcorn snack mix is super crunch and addictive Christmas snack mix

You must also try our other favorite Instant Pot recipes –

INSTANT POT CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

PRESSURE COOKER WHOLE CHICKEN

INSTANT POT APPLE CIDER

EASY-TO-PEEL INSTANT POT HARD BOILED EGGS

INSTANT POT SWEET POTATOES

INSTANT POT GENERAL TSO CHICKEN

HOW TO BOIL PEANUTS IN INSTANT POT

INSTANT POT CHICKEN PARMESAN MEATBALLS

INSTANT POT BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

INSTANT POT CHICKEN STEW

SPICY CAJUN INSTANT POT CHICKEN AND RICE

CREAMY INSTANT POT CHICKEN MARSALA

INSTANT POT ROASTED POTATOES

INSTANT POT SPINACH AND CHICKEN CURRY

CREAMY INSTANT POT MAC N CHEESE

INSTANT POT BUTTER CHICKEN

HOW TO COOK RICE IN INSTANT POT

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instant pot popcorn
5 from 8 votes

Instant Pot Popcorn (+ 3 ways to flavor it up)

Jyothi Rajesh
Instant pot popcorn is quick and easy snack that you can whip up in no time using just 3 basic ingredients. Planning to go on Netflix binge or simply looking for quickest snack for your hungry kids returning from school, this simple homemade instant pot popcorn will come handy.
Prevent your screen from going dark
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 18 mins
Total Time 23 mins
Course Snacks
Cuisine American
Servings 4 people
Calories 213

Ingredients
  

  • 3 tablespoon clarified butter ghee or coconut oil
  • ¾ cup popcorn kernels
  • 2 teaspoon salt

Instructions
 

  • Get all the ingredient placed near the pot. Have your glass lid and wooden spatula next to the pot.
  • Select SAUTE button and adjust until light is on MORE. Wait till the display indicates HOT.
  • Add clarified butter or coconut oil and leave it to melt completely. You want to wait until you see oil sizzle.
  • Add salt. Using 2 kitchen towels to prevent your hand from burning, lift up the inner pot and swirl it around making sure to spread and coat the base with oil and salt.
  • Start by adding a few popcorn kernels inside the pot and wait until it pops (cover glass lid on top). This might take a few seconds. Popcorn kernels will heat up and then pop.
  • When you see couple of them pop, add rest of popcorn kernels. Place the glass lid on top leaving slightly ajar for steam to escape.
  • Lift the inner pot and shake briefly once after 30 seconds or so.
  • Popcorn will start popping after 3 to 4 minutes. The popping will continue.
  • Once the popping slows down, when you can count 3 between pops, remove the inner pot from the cooker and let it sit for 1 or 2 minutes. Un-popped kernels will pop. You want to have ‘almost’ all popcorn kernels to pop.
  • Swirl the pop once again. Transfer to serving popcorn tubs and serve immediately as it is as flavor it up as mentioned above.

Video

Notes

You can easily double or triple the recipe. Cooking time will vary. I recommend you do in multiple smaller batches if you want a big batch. 
For flavor options - 
Chili lime - 
1 cup popcorn
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or chili powder)
Salt to taste
Zest of 1 lime
Place hot popcorn in a separate bowl. Sprinkle chili powder, salt and grate a zest of lime on top. Cover the bowl with a lid and shake the bowl rigorously until well coated. Serve!
 
Sriracha Butter -
1 cup popcorn
1 ½ tablespoon butter
1 ½ teaspoon sriracha sauce
Salt if needed
Place hot popcorn in a separate bowl. Add sriracha, melted butter and salt if needed over popcorn. Cover the bowl with a lid and shake the bowl rigorously until well coated. Serve!
 
Cinnamon Honey -
1 cup popcorn
1 ½ tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
Salt if needed
Place hot popcorn in a separate bowl. Add honey, cinnamon powder and salt if needed over popcorn. Cover the bowl with a lid and shake the bowl rigorously until well coated. Serve!
 

Nutrition

Calories: 213kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 3gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 1165mgPotassium: 84mgFiber: 3gSugar: 0gIron: 0.9mg
Did you make this recipe?Follow @CurryTrail and tag #CurryTrail to share your creation!

instant pot popcorn with text overlay
instant pot popcorn with text overlay
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    Comments & Reviews

  1. John Smickles says

    June 13, 2020 at 7:44 am

    Who knows if it works? Between the ads and backstory I gave up and found another recipe.

    Reply
    • Jyothi Rajesh says

      June 14, 2020 at 11:08 am

      Did you notice “RECIPE” “PRINT” tabs right on top of the post? Which takes you directly to recipe card with just one click!

      Reply
  2. Tara M. says

    September 22, 2019 at 9:47 am

    I made it twice and barely 1/4 of my kernels popped!!

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      September 22, 2019 at 1:15 pm

      I don’t think it’s the issue with the recipe, it’s probably the popcorn kernels used and the hotness of the pot along with oil used to pop. I have many readers tried this recipe and had success

      Reply
  3. Alissa says

    August 17, 2019 at 6:14 am

    I dont have a glass lid, but I do have a 6 quart stick pot lid. Would that work?

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      August 17, 2019 at 11:27 pm

      A glass lid with a little vent lets steam out preventing popped corns from becoming soggy and helps you see the popping corns and watch it from burning. Use any lid that can serve the above purpose.

      Reply
  4. Veena Azmanov says

    November 30, 2018 at 2:01 am

    5 stars
    I’ve always made my popcorn in the microwave. Never ever thought to use an instant pot. So cool Jyoti. Now I know. Looks so good.

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      November 30, 2018 at 8:21 am

      Thank you Veena

      Reply
  5. April says

    November 29, 2018 at 10:48 pm

    5 stars
    I bet popcorn was created for Instant Pot! And your images are a great proof of this. I love how easy it is to make popcorn using Instant Pot – just what I need to entertain!

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      November 30, 2018 at 8:22 am

      Thank you April

      Reply
  6. Jen says

    November 29, 2018 at 7:39 pm

    5 stars
    I love a healthy snack idea for my netflix nights. You are right- black hole! Trying to decide between the cinnamon and the siracha butter for my first attempt. I guess I have to make both!

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      November 29, 2018 at 9:15 pm

      haha both the flavors were amazing. You’ll love it Jen

      Reply
  7. Catalina says

    November 29, 2018 at 12:32 pm

    5 stars
    I’ ve never made popcorn in the Instant Pot before. It sounds easy and delicious. The flavors you can add are limitless – love it!

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      November 29, 2018 at 4:27 pm

      Thank you Catalina

      Reply
  8. Tracy says

    November 29, 2018 at 10:00 am

    First off, you don’t need that kind of Instant Pot negativity in your life! It’s a GOD SEND. I have to say, I hadn’t thought about popcorn in it, but it sounds great! Especially that sriracha butter… omg. Love all of your flavor combos. Popcorn is totally my weakness… I could live without chocolate but I could NOT live without salty buttery popcorn!

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      November 29, 2018 at 4:27 pm

      Thank you Tracy. I do hear it from few who say making every dish in instant pot is ridiculous. 😀 I guess, if you can easily cook a dish in instant pot, then why shouldn’t it. And I know I can make the same dish on stove top as well. What’s wrong making in instant pot!

      Reply
  9. Cheese Curd In Paradise says

    November 29, 2018 at 3:35 am

    5 stars
    The chili lime sounds so good to me! I love my UP, but have not used it to make popcorn, but I want to give it a try after reading your post!

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      November 29, 2018 at 8:49 am

      Thank you, that is my favorite as well

      Reply
  10. Claudia Lamascolo says

    November 29, 2018 at 1:40 am

    I never saw popcorn done in this pot. That looks amazing and my family would love it!

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      November 29, 2018 at 8:49 am

      Thank you Claudia

      Reply
  11. Dan Zehr says

    November 29, 2018 at 12:30 am

    5 stars
    Wow, watch an interesting movie with my family and eat this amazing popcorn sounds perfect for me. A cool snack for the whole family.

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      November 29, 2018 at 8:47 am

      That’s our favorite way to watch movies Dan, thank you

      Reply
  12. Mahy Elamin says

    November 29, 2018 at 12:26 am

    5 stars
    My children LOVE LOVE LOVE popcorn! I’m sure they will be delighted with this. Good idea!

    Reply
    • jyothirajesh says

      November 29, 2018 at 8:47 am

      Thank you Mahy

      Reply

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Jyothi - Author of Curry Trail.

Welcome, I'm Jyothi

My food philosophy is simple, fresh and full of flavors! I love ‘spicy’ food. In fact so much so that I can skip dessert for extra spicy savory food!

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