3 Ways to Colour Popcorn - wikiHow (2024)

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1Sweetened Colourful Popcorn

2Fruity Colourful Popcorn

3Buttery Colourful Popcorn

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Last Updated: October 29, 2021Tested

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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. 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. 3 Ways to Colour Popcorn - wikiHow (4)

    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. 3 Ways to Colour Popcorn - wikiHow (5)

    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. 3 Ways to Colour Popcorn - wikiHow (6)

    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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 3 Ways to Colour Popcorn - wikiHow (11)

    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. 3 Ways to Colour Popcorn - wikiHow (12)

    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. 3 Ways to Colour Popcorn - wikiHow (13)

    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. 3 Ways to Colour Popcorn - wikiHow (14)

    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. 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. 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. 3 Ways to Colour Popcorn - wikiHow (17)

    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. 3 Ways to Colour Popcorn - wikiHow (18)

    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. 3 Ways to Colour Popcorn - wikiHow (19)

    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. 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.

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  • Question

    How do I incorporate marshmallows with the popcorn?

    3 Ways to Colour Popcorn - wikiHow (21)

    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.

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  • Question

    Can I use regular syrup?

    3 Ways to Colour Popcorn - wikiHow (22)

    Community Answer

    Yes, but the taste will be strong.

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  • 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.

    3 Ways to Colour Popcorn - wikiHow (23)

    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.

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      Tips

      • Try making different colored batches and then mixing the separate batches together for more colour. Go red, white and blue for Independence Day or all the colours of the rainbow for a gay pride or other colourful event.

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      • Don't use too much butter; it's not very healthy for you.

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      3 Ways to Colour Popcorn - wikiHow (24)

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      Warnings

      • Beware of hot butter that might burn.

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      About This Article

      Tested by:

      wikiHow Test Kitchen

      wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 30 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 259,064 times.

      5 votes - 100%

      Co-authors: 30

      Updated: October 29, 2021

      Views:259,064

      Article SummaryX

      To color popcorn, heat the butter, oil, corn syrup, and salt together in a large pot. Next, stir in 1/4 teaspoon of liquid food coloring in the hue of your choice. You can add more for a deeper color or less if you want pastel popcorn. Then, pour 1/3 cup of kernels into the pot and stir them until they're coated in the syrup mixture. Put a tight-fitting lid on the pot, turn the heat to medium high to pop the kernels, and spoon the finished popcorn onto a baking sheet to cool. For tips on using a microwave to pop your colourful kernels, read on!

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      3 Ways to Colour Popcorn - wikiHow (2024)

      FAQs

      What can I use to Colour popcorn? ›

      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.

      Can you dye popcorn green? ›

      To make green popcorn, start by mixing together butter, oil, corn syrup, and green food coloring in a bowl. Next, microwave your mixture until the butter melts and stir again. Then, pour your popcorn kernels into a bowl and use a spoon to drizzle your green mixture evenly on top of the kernels.

      Can you color dye popcorn? ›

      This is an easy way to make delicious, sweet colored popcorn. Just add your choice of food coloring to make it any color in the rainbow. This is a fun snack to make in holiday, team or school colors.

      How do I color popcorn kernels? ›

      To a jar, add the popcorn kernels, vinegar, water, and gel food coloring. Stir or screw on the lid and shake to combine color and vinegar mixture. Let sit overnight. In the sink over the drain hole, pour ONE COLOR AT A TIME into the strainer and rinse until color no longer is present in the sink.

      How do you paint popcorn kernels? ›

      Take an hour to let the popcorn kernels soak in the vinegar and food coloring. Grab the strainer and take a moment to carefully drain the liquid from each of the bowls. This step may require gloves so that the dye does not have a chance to stain anyone's hands. Be sure to rinse the strainer off after each usage.

      How to dye popcorn kernels with vinegar? ›

      Colored Popcorn Kernels:

      Combine the water, vinegar, salt and food coloring in a small bowl; repeat for each color of kernel you want to make, using a separate container for each color. Add as many popcorn kernels as you want, as long as there is still water covering all the kernels. Stir gently with a spoon.

      How to color popcorn blue? ›

      If you want to add color to your popcorn, it's best to do it after popping. Once the popcorn is popped, you can melt some butter or coconut oil, add food coloring to it, and then drizzle it over the popped popcorn.

      Can you dye popcorn blue? ›

      Add the food coloring and give the sugar mixture a thorough stirring to make sure the color is evenly blend. Now quickly drizzle this blue colored candy coating over your popped popcorn in the bowl.

      What is butterfly popcorn? ›

      Butterfly popcorn has a very irregular shape with large bumps. It has a light crispy texture but can break easily. The mushroom-shaped popcorn is round with a rough surface. This shape makes it sturdy enough to stir and as you add tasty flavorings such as powdered cheese or sugar for sweet-tasting kettle corn.

      What is the orange stuff on popcorn? ›

      You've likely never heard of Flavacol because, really, only movie theaters use it. Essentially, it's butter-flavored salt. It's a really fine, bright orange powder that adds that buttery flavor you crave and the signature yellow color.

      What is flavacol? ›

      FLAVACOL is a very fine seasoned salt that sticks to the popcorn, whereas a ground salt will tend to fall off. Adding it to the oil as you pop improves the coverage without any fear of burning.

      How do you add color to popcorn? ›

      Put sugar and water in a small pan and boil to 238* on a candy thermometer (or until it forms a medium ball in cold water), adding the food coloring toward the last of the cooking. Pour over the popcorn & stir evenly, then sprinkle at once with the icing sugar.

      Can you add food coloring to popped popcorn? ›

      If you want to add color to your popcorn, it's best to do it after popping. Once the popcorn is popped, you can melt some butter or coconut oil, add food coloring to it, and then drizzle it over the popped popcorn. Toss the popcorn gently to ensure the color is evenly distributed.

      How do you dye popcorn for crafts? ›

      In a small bowl or Ziplock bag, mix a few drops of food coloring with a tablespoon of vinegar. The vinegar helps the color adhere to the popcorn without making it too soggy. You can adjust the amount of food coloring depending on how vibrant you want the color to be. Add a handful of popcorn to your dye solution.

      Can you dye popcorn kernels with food coloring? ›

      To a jar, add the popcorn kernels, vinegar, water, and gel food coloring. Stir or screw on the lid and shake to combine color and vinegar mixture. Let sit overnight. In the sink over the drain hole, pour ONE COLOR AT A TIME into the strainer and rinse until color no longer is present in the sink.

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