How To Make Colored Popcorn

If you've ever been attracted to those bags of pre-made popcorn in different festive colors, we're here to tell you it's easy to make at home. Also tastier, fresher and fully customizable. Why do it at all? Because it's fun! With colored popcorn you can instantly add creativity to a party as well as keep it within a theme.

Click on the photo to see our recipe for how to make pink popcorn.

Red popcorn for Valentine's Day, pink or light blue for baby showers, reds and greens for Christmas, orange, purple and green for Halloween, red, white and blue for the 4th of July, sporting team colors. You're limited only by your imagination. Here then are our best tips for getting great colored popcorn every time.

Click on the photo to see our recipe for how to make red popcorn.

How to Make Colored Popcorn (General Method)

Our favorite recipe is for a baked on sugar syrup that comes out delightfully crunchy.

You'll need:

• 3 Tablespoons canola oil
• ⅓ Cup Dell Cove extra large mushroom kernels
• ¼ Teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 Tablespoons water
• ½ Cup granulated sugar
• Gel food color
• Pinch of salt
• Baking sheet lined with parchment paper

We like using our biggest kernels for any recipe that gets baked because there is some shrinkage in the oven.

Instructions:

1. To make the popcorn, add the oil and 2 to 3 of the kernels to a large pot with a lid. Heat on high until the kernels pop. Add the remaining kernels and the salt. Cover, continue cooking on high, shaking the pot often, until the popping stops. Remove the popcorn to a large bowl.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. Add the granulated sugar, butter, water and salt to a large pot. Cook on low heat, stirring often, until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Stir in a few drops of the food color and check that you're happy with the shade. When using gel colors, we’ve found that 4 to 5 drops gives you a vibrant color.
4. Stir in the popped popcorn, making sure that all the kernels are coated. Spread out on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool thoroughly.
5. Serve immediately or store in air tight jars for up to 4 days at room temperature.

Click on the photo to see our recipe for how to make red, white and blue patriotic colored popcorn.

Although it's easy to grab the liquid food colors from the supermarket, we highly recommend getting a gel version. Any baking supply store or Amazon will have them and they last quite a while. Liquid colors often require a large quantity to achieve the correct shade and that can affect the consistency of a recipe as well as add an artificial flavor. Gel colors are more highly concentrated so that just a few drops result in a saturated color.

If you don't want your colored popcorn to be sweet and need an alternative to the sugar syrup, you can add the color before popping. Mix a few drops of the food color in with the canola or vegetable oil and then pop the corn as usual. Note that this method results in a very lightly colored popcorn, far less saturated than with a sugar syrup. You can also purchase colored popcorn oil instead of making your own although that does restrict you to one color per bottle of oil.

Click on the photo to see our recipe for how to make gold popcorn.

If you just want to add color accents, a spray on food-safe color is a great option. We especially like this method for adding a pop of gold or silver since those colors are harder to create with gel food colors.

Click on the photo to see our recipe for how to make blue popcorn.

For those people who prefer a natural food coloring such as freeze dried strawberries, beet, turmeric and matcha powders, we recommend popping the corn as usual, then tossing it with melted butter and stirring in the powdered color. This method will not give you as saturated a color and might also add an earthy taste.

Click on the photo to see our recipe for how to make Christmas colored popcorn.

Whichever method you choose, colored popcorn isn’t just fun to look at. It's delicious, a creative way to match themes and makes a great edible gift. Guaranteed to be a hit with kids and adults alike.