Sriracha Peanut Kettle Corn

I’m no Shakespeare (duh). But if I was, I would wax poetic all day long about popcorn: specifically, this popcorn. It’s sweet and spicy and totally addictive and, well, should I compare it to a summer’s day? It is more lovely and more temperate — AND SCENE.

Truly, though, if your love of the popcorn is anything remotely near the level that mine is (that is to say, I eat a bowl of it at least every other day, true story), I implore you to mix things up for your next bowlful and make this sriracha peanut kettle corn. It might even make you bust out into sonnet, too.

I go through phases with my popcorn routine — sometimes, I’m all about the good old butter and salt combo. Other times, I’ll make it everything bagel popcorn, or I’ll drizzle peanut butter on top (or peanut butter mixed with melted chocolate chips then drizzled on top, SUH GOOD). I do love a good toss of candy in the mix, too, like M&Ms or Reese’s Pieces, but I also love tossing a bunch of it with coconut oil and sea salt or Old Bay seasoning. It’s so versatile, that popcorn.

That being said, I have a confession: Until very recently, I would always forgo stove-topped popcorn in favor of microwave popcorn, for the convenience. I KNOW, I know (hangs food blogger head in shame). But now that I’ve got a decent stash of Bob’s Red Mill white and yellow popcorn kernels on hand (thanks, Bob!), I’ve been stove-topping it all the live-long day and I like it. I like it a whole lot. ← I mean, if that’s not Shakespeare I don’t know what is.

I used white popcorn kernels for this recipe, but the yellow kernels will do just as nicely (or do a combo of both! So innovative). Basically, what you do is this: Heat some oil (coconut or vegetable both work splendidly!) and a few kernels in a very large covered pot on the stove. When those kernels pop, add in the remaining kernels along with some sugar and sriracha — I used about a tablespoon of sriracha for the recipe, which will give the end result just a hint of spiciness, so feel free to adjust according to your preference. Stir everything together, cover the pot again and shake-shake-shake the pot over the heat so the kernels pop evenly and avoid burning. This process happens pretty quickly, so be prepared!

And if you happen to be one of those oddballs who takes photos of her food (I don’t know anyone like this, ahem), also be prepared to not be able to take any photos of the popping process unless you’ve got a tripod/timer/third arm set up because a) both hands will be used to shake the pot on the stovetop and b) it all happens so quickly, you won’t be able to finagle a camera to save your life before all the kernels start popping. Not that I have any experience in this or anything.

Sprinkle the popcorn with some flaky sea salt, an extra drizzling of sriracha and a decent handful of dry-roasted peanuts, if you want, and once everything is cooled and set, you will have about 10 cups’ worth of sweet, spicy, popcorn-y goodness. Which is about one serving in this household. And it was DELICIOUS.

Sriracha Kettle Corn

By Stephanie Wise

This sweet an spicy sriracha kettle corn will soon be your new go-to snack or party appetizer!

Servings: 10 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 5 minutes mins

Total Time: 15 minutes mins

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Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, or coconut oil
• ▢ ½ cup yellow popcorn kernels, or white
• ▢ ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon sriracha, plus more for drizzling (optional)
• ▢ Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling
• ▢ dry-roasted peanuts, optional

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Instructions 

• In a covered large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat, heat oil and a few popcorn kernels. Once kernels pop, remove cover and quickly stir in remaining kernels, sugar and sriracha.
• Cover pot again and shake vigorously over heat until most kernels are popped and popping slows to every 2 to 3 seconds. Remove from heat; uncover and continue to shake until popping stops completely.
• Pour popcorn in an even layer on 2 rimmed baking sheets. Drizzle lightly with more sriracha, if desired. Sprinkle with sea salt and dry-roasted peanuts, if desired. Cool completely.

Notes

Yield: 8 to 10 cups

Nutrition

Calories: 86kcal, Carbohydrates: 11g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.03g, Sodium: 35mg, Potassium: 24mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 2IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 1mg, Iron: 0.3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Disclosure: I received compensation from Bob’s Red Mill for recipe development purposes. All opinions are my own.