How to Colour Popcorn

Last Updated: October 29, 2021 Tested

You can make any occasion more fun and festive by adding colourful popcorn to the mix! Try a batch of red and green to celebrate Christmas, pastels for a baby shower or create a tasty Super Bowl snack in your favorite team's colours. Choose between standard buttery popcorn, sweet caramel corn or fruit-flavoured, candy-like popcorn in any colour of the rainbow.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Sweetened Colourful Popcorn

1
Gather your ingredients. If you want a classic caramel corn taste with a twist, this recipe is for you. It results in fresh-tasting, crunchy popcorn with a sweet and salty flavour combo that's always a hit. You can dye it any colour you want using liquid food colouring. Here's what you'll need:
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1/4 cup corn syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon liquid food colouring
- 1/3 cup of popcorn kernels
2
Melt the butter, oil, syrup and salt together. Place the butter, oil, syrup and salt in a large pot. Melt the ingredients together until they're completely combined. Stir occasionally to incorporate the ingredients.

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3
Add the food colouring. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon of liquid food colouring. If you want the popcorn to have a deeper colour, add more; for a pastel colour, add less. Use a spoon to mix the food colouring in thoroughly.
4
Pop the popcorn. Pour 1/3 cup of popcorn kernels into the pot and stir them around so they're coated in the syrup mixture. Put a tight-fitting lid on the pot and turn the heat to medium high. Shake the pot every few moments as the kernels heat up and begin to pop. When the popping begins to slow down, remove the pot from heat.
- If you want to use the microwave instead. pour the syrup mixture and popcorn kernels into a glass microwave-safe bowl with a lid. Pop the popcorn on high for three to four minutes, or until the popping slows to a stop. Do not use a plastic bowl, even if it's microwave safe, since the syrup will get very hot and could scorch the bowl. Be sure to use a glass one.
5
Spoon the popcorn onto a baking sheet to cool. You can oil the baking sheet or line it with parchment paper so the popcorn won't stick. Spread it into a thin, single layer and allow it to cool completely. The popcorn will get crispy as it cools. Enjoy immediately or store in an airtight container. ^{[1]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Fruity Colourful Popcorn

1
Gather your ingredients. Some genius discovered that you can use unsweetened drink mix or Jello mix to add flavour and colour to popcorn. The bright, fruity flavours and colours make this recipe perfect for parties. Here's what you'll need:
- 8 cups of popped popcorn (if you're not popping it from scratch, choose an unflavoured kind)
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup corn syrup
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3.5 oz flavoured, unsweetened gelatin mix or fruit drink mix
2
Preheat the oven to 300 °F (149 °C). Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper or spraying it with cooking oil, and set it aside.
3
Pour the popcorn into a large mixing bowl. Make sure it's big enough so that you'll be able to reach in and mix the popcorn with the flavouring.
4
Melt the butter, syrup, sugar and flavouring together. Put all of these ingredients into a small pot and heat them over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to allow it to simmer. Simmer the mixture for 5 minutes.
5
Pour the mixture over the popcorn and stir. Use a long-handled wooden spoon to stir the mixture in with the popcorn, and try to thoroughly incorporate it so every piece gets coated.
6
Spread the popcorn on the baking sheet. Use the spoon to spread it out in a single layer. Examine the popcorn for unpopped kernels and pick them out.
7
Bake the popcorn for 10 minutes. This hardens the flavouring so the popcorn becomes crunchy, rather than chewy. If you want it extra crunchy, bake for 15 minutes. If you like your popcorn chewy, take it out after 5 minutes.
8
Let the popcorn cool. Once it's cool enough to handle, enjoy the popcorn or store it in an airtight container for later.^{[2]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Buttery Colourful Popcorn

1
Gather your ingredients. This simple recipe is for classic buttery, salted popcorn, with one big difference: it's colourful. This buttery popcorn will turn out delicious and vibrantly coloured, but unlike the sweet caramel version, savoury colourful popcorn will dye your fingers and mouth with food colouring. If you don't mind having green, red or blue fingers and lips, try this recipe. If you do, make the sweet caramel or fruity kind. Here's what you'll need for simple buttered popcorn with a pop of colour:
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- 1/3 cup of popcorn kernels
- Liquid or gel food colouring
- Salt
2
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Place a tablespoon of butter either in a stockpot or a large bowl (the same one you want to use to pop the popcorn). If you're using a pot, melt the butter over a burner on the stove. If you're using a big plastic bowl, you can melt it in the microwave.
3
Stir in the food colouring. Since this colourful popcorn will stain your fingers and lips, you only want to use a few drops of food colouring. Pour in five to ten drops, enough to give your finished popcorn a burst of colour without making too much of a mess.
- If you're using red food colouring, check the label to make sure it says "unflavoured." Red food colouring often has a bitter flavour, but if it's labeled as unflavoured, it won't.
4
Pop the popcorn. Pour the 1/3 cup of kernels into the butter mixture, and stir them around so they're completely coated. Cook the popcorn either on the stove or in the microwave; both methods work equally well.
- If you're using a pot, cover it with a tight-fitting lid and place it on the stove over medium high heat. Shake the pot every few moments as the popcorn kernels heat up and begin to pop. When the popping slows down, remove the pot from heat.
- If you're using a bowl, cover it and place it in the microwave. Microwave the kernels on high for two to three minutes. When the popping slows down, remove the bowl from the microwave.
5
Pour the popcorn into a bowl, salt to taste, and enjoy. Your colourful popcorn will taste just like regular buttery popcorn. Be sure to wash your hands after enjoying your popcorn to remove the food colouring from your fingers.

Community Q&A

Question

How do I incorporate marshmallows with the popcorn?

Community Answer

I usually spread popcorn onto a pan and then pour white chocolate on it. I then sprinkle on mini marshmallows, mini chocolate chips and graham cracker chunks. That's my s'mores popcorn recipe.
Question

Can I use regular syrup?

Community Answer

Yes, but the taste will be strong.
Question

How far in advance can I make the sweetened colorful popcorn? I'm making it to give out as gifts and want it to taste very fresh, but I need to make a lot, so it's hard to do it last-minute.

Community Answer

It can be made up to 3 days before, but once it's in a sealed bag it will stay fresh for another week.