Best Microwave Popcorn

Few snacks are as satisfying as microwave popcorn. It’s a treat that only takes a few minutes in the microwave and yet is capable of delivering to the consumer a wide variety of different flavors. These snack products are available in cheese, movie theater butter, kettle corn, and even organic flavors. And because these products aren’t packed with preservatives and are full of fiber, they’re a healthy choice for just about anyone. And that’s why they deserve to be featured in our guide. A guide that will enable all of our readers to buy the best microwave popcorn brands for their homes.

List of the Best Microwave Popcorn

Best Overall: Angie’s Boomchickapop Sea Salt Popcorn

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Sometimes it’s extremely easy to tell when something is made with simple ingredients, and that’s true of this great microwave popcorn. This product has a fresh smell and taste that can’t be replicated in a lab and is only obtained by using quality ingredients. This popcorn uses the best non-GMO popcorn kernels and quality sea salt to create a snack perfect for movie night, game night or simply for sitting on the couch and watching TV. Of course, we’re sure that once people try this healthy snack, they will want to eat it during just about any occassion and enjoy it as much as possible.

And because each bag of popcorn is easy to pop, consumers can enjoy it anytime they want a healthy snack. Speaking of healthy snacks, this product contains zero grams of trans-fat per serving and is only 35-calories a cup. Another thing to appreciate about this popcorn is that it’s gluten-free, so it can be enjoyed even by people with digestive sensitivities to gluten. It’s a real microwave popcorn that’s free of preservatives and will keep the consumer’s taste buds entertained with each bite.

What we liked about it

• Has great butter flavor.
• Always tastes fresh.

Best Organic Popcorn: Quinn Snacks Organic Non-GMO Popcorn

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Every New Year, millions upon millions of people pledge to change their eating habits and to buy more natural foods, and now thanks to this microwave popcorn, more people can. This high-quality popcorn is designed to be not only non-GMO but also organic, so consumers can trust in its naturalness every single time they eat a handful of it. This product is made with real non-GMO corn, real butter, and real salt. And that’s all that’s in it. It’s an indulgent high-quality popcorn that delivers a real butter flavor but does it without using butter flavoring or preservatives.

This product is so natural, they’ve even placed into a bag that isn’t made with any chemical coatings. That means that its bags don’t have any artificial coatings, including ones that are heat-concentrating or made of plastic. They even claim that they have the first microwave popcorn bag that’s completely free of chemicals and plastics. And to top it off, their bags are even compostable. So let’s bring this home and recap everything great about this product. It’s an organic popcorn free of artificial flavorings, colorings, preservatives or harmful chemicals. That sounds like a winner to us.

What we liked about it

• Packaged in compostable bags.
• Completely organic microwave popcorn.

Best Movie Theater Popcorn: Pop Secret Movie Theater Popcorn

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If there’s one thing that’s going to put movie theaters out of business, it’s this microwave popcorn. Although we say that with our tongue firmly in our cheek, what we mean is quite valid. This popcorn is as good, or maybe even better, then the popcorn that can be found in movie theaters all over the world. And they’re able to deliver that great taste without having to resort to using Flavocal, the ingredient that movie theaters use to get that great popcorn taste. This microwave popcorn is also able to deliver this flavor without using genetically-modified corn, and by using corn that’s Kosher certified.

This is a 100% whole grain product that consumers are going to love to snack on. It’s seasoned perfectly and delivers that butter flavor that consumers love. Every time a bag of Pop Secret popcorn is microwaved, it delivers the promise of a great, fresh-tasting snack. That makes it a great snack for movie night, family night, game night or for just about any other occasion imaginable. Anyone looking for the best movie theater popcorn needs to look no further than this fantastic brand. It might not close down the local movie theater, but it will give their concessions stand a run for their money.

What we liked about it

• Delivers great movie theater flavor.
• Is a 100% whole grain product.

Best Cheese Popcorn: Jolly Time The Big Cheez Gourmet Cheddar Popcorn

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Some people have claimed that this cheesy microwave popcorn is a cross between a popular cheesy snack food and popcorn, and we can certainly see how people could believe that. It has a finger-licking, cheesy flavor that people just won’t be able to put down. This is a snack food that’s sure to replace just about anyone’s regular snacks. It has a savory gourmet cheddar flavor that’s quite different from most buttered microwave popcorn products and is a whole lot better than plain potato chips. And it’s a product that’s manufactured by Jolly Time, a company that’s been operating for over 100-years and is located right in the middle of popcorn country, Iowa.

This product is a 100% whole grain product that’s gluten-free, high in fiber, and is made using non-GMO corn kernels. The only thing that prevents this product from becoming a healthy snack is that it’s a little high in sodium and is especially high in saturated fats. Each cup provides 28% of a person’s daily saturated fats allowance, and the typical bag is 3-cups. Having said that, this product does deliver on flavor, and every single bag we’ve tested popped up well and with very few unpopped kernels. That makes this product an alternative to anyone looking for something different than ordinary microwave popcorn.

What we liked about it

• Pops up extremely well.
• Has a great cheesy flavor.

Best Kettle Corn Popcorn: Jolly Time Kettle Mania Kettle Corn

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Jolly Time is a company that spans 4-generations and has been in operation in Iowa for over 100-years, and there’s a good reason why they’ve been successful. They’ve been so successful because they create tasty products that people love to snack on. It’s also because they make a variety of different products that include everything from movie butter popcorn, cheddar popcorn, and even this great kettle corn product. For anyone who doesn’t know what kettle corn is, it’s a salty-sweet product that originated at fairs and carnivals and continues to be a popular snack food to this day.

Each bag of this product delivers a snack that’s made from 100% whole grains, is gluten-free and is made from non-GMO kernels. It’s also a product that’s free from cholesterol and has a low amount of saturated fat. Unfortunately, there is one thing that prevents this product from being a healthier snack and that is its high-calorie count. Sure, the front of the product’s box says its only 45-calories per cup, which is true, but what most people don’t realize is that each bag has 9-cups of popcorn in it. That means that each bag has a whopping 405 calories! That doesn’t mean this isn’t a good product, however. It just means that consumers should buy it for its great taste and not because they think it’s healthy.

What we liked about it

• Every bag pops up well.
• This product tastes so good.

A Guide To Making The Best Microwave Popcorn

Buying a great microwave popcorn is only the first step to enjoying a hot, salty and buttery snack that can be enjoyed at any time of the day or night. The next step is to cook that bag of popcorn in a way that will ensure that all of the kernels get popped and do it without burning it. And believe us when we tell you that burning a bag of microwave popcorn is an absolute nightmare. The resulting product is not only inedible, but it also makes the whole house smell like burned charcoal. So it’s probably best to make sure that you cook the popcorn correctly.

At this point in this guide, we’re sure quite a few people are shaking their heads and wondering how difficult it is to make a bag of popcorn. These people are probably thinking that you just follow the directions and then let the microwave do its business. However, we’re here to say that there is a scientific method to popping a bag of popcorn, and this method isn’t shown on any microwave popcorn’s label. We’re going to show our readers how to make the best microwave popcorn they ever tasted and avoid undercooking or overcooking otherwise great popcorn products.

Step One: Make Sure The Popcorn Is Fresh

The first step towards the perfect bag of microwave popcorn is to start with some great kernels. And we don’t mean just buying the best brand either. No, what we mean is making sure that the popcorn hasn’t reached its expiration date yet. That’s because old kernels are dry kernels, and they just don’t pop up as well as fresh ones. The longer that bag of microwave popcorn sits around, the harder it will be to pop. Therefore, it’s best to avoid trying to turn that bag of popcorn that’s been sitting in your pantry for a year and a half into a decent snack. It’s not going to happen.

Step Two: Make Sure The Microwave Is Clean

This step might sound ridiculous, but trust us that it makes a big difference. Dirt in a microwave may end up absorbing some of the microwaves that are supposed to be picked up the bag of popcorn and this results in a few popped kernels. So if you want your microwave to pop as much of your popcorn as possible, make sure that it’s clean.

Step Three: Increase Humidity In The Microwave

The next step to popping a great bag of microwave popcorn is to raise the humidity inside the microwave oven. Why does this make a difference? It makes a difference because a humid environment will ensure that more kernels pop than a low humidity environment. To achieve that effect, place a cup of water in the microwave and cook it for approximately 60 to 90-seconds. After microwaving the cup of water, immediately remove it and then put the bag of popcorn in the oven and cook it. This will result in more kernels being popped.

Step Four: Make Sure Popcorn Is The Right Side Up

It’s also very important that the consumer microwaves the bag of popcorn facing the right way. On the package, it will say “microwave this side up,” and it’s very important to follow those directions. If you microwave it the other side up nothing bad is going to happen, not unless you consider that popping a lower amount of kernels is a bad thing. Trust us, and do yourself a favor. Microwave the popcorn facing the right side up and you’ll end up with more of the kernels popping.

Step Five: Cook According To Sound

The last step to achieving a great bag of microwave popcorn is to cook it according to sound. What we mean when we say that is that your hearing is the best tool for making sure the popcorn is perfectly done. We’ve seen a lot of people set a time on their microwave and then walk away to do other things. And this is the wrong thing to do. That’s because each bag of popcorn will cook slightly differently, so a better indicator of whether a bag of popcorn is done is to listen to it. When the popping has just about stopped popping, it’s time to retrieve the bag from the microwave.

Some Final Microwave Popcorn Tips

The above steps are the best way to achieve the perfect bag of microwave popcorn, but they aren’t the only things to consider. Before we conclude this article, we would like to give our readers a few additional tips that will ensure they get a more flavorful bag of popcorn every single time they pop a bag.