Description
This vegan peanut butter popcorn is topped with a chocolate drizzle. Crispy, crunchy, sweet, chocolatey–it’s everything in one!
Ingredients
- 8 cups popped popcorn**
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar (can sub white or brown sugar)
- 1/3 cup agave or honey (use agave for vegan)
- 1/2 cup natural, creamy peanut butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch salt (optional)
To Drizzle:
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (dairy free, as needed)
Instructions
- Pop your popcorn and transfer to a large bowl (with plenty of room for stirring).
- Prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, heat coconut sugar and agave/honey over medium heat.
- Bring mixture to a boil and boil 2 minutes, stirring regularly.
- Remove from the heat and immediately add peanut butter and vanilla, stirring until it’s smooth. Mixture may look separated at first. Keep stirring. It’ll come together and be quite thick.
- Drizzle mixture over your popped popcorn and stir well with a spatula to coat the popcorn.
- Spread peanut butter coated popcorn onto your prepared baking sheet to cool. Try to spread it in a single layer. Don’t worry about separating clumps. (I prefer little clusters!)
- In a small saucepan, gently melt your chocolate chips over low heat. Drizzle melted chocolate over your peanut butter popcorn. To do this, you can transfer the chocolate into a zip-top bag and snip a corner to create a “piping bag” for even drizzling. Or, you can use a fork dipped into the melted chocolate for a more varied look.
- Allow popcorn to cool and set before eating for best results. (If you can’t wait, it’ll be a delicious, but gooey!). Popcorn will set in about 1-2 hours.
- To store, let the popcorn set completely, then transfer to an airtight bag or container and store at room temperature 2-3 days or in the refrigerator up to 4-5 days.
Notes
Pop Your Popcorn (Microwave Method): you can place 3-4 Tbsp of kernels in a plain paper bag. Fold down 2 times and place (fold side down) in the microwave. Microwave 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining kernels, until all your popcorn is popped. You can also sub in 1.5 bags plain microwaveable popcorn. (No butter, please!)
Pop Your Popcorn (Stovetop or Air Popper Method:) if you prefer cooking without a microwave, I recommend this method for stovetop popping, or you can use an air popper.
I Use & Recommend Natural Peanut Butter – I use natural creamy peanut butter (brand doesn’t matter) for this recipe. Crunchy also works. I classify “natural” peanut butter as a peanut butter without any added sugars, oils, or stabilizers. Ideally, the ingredient list should be just peanuts or peanuts and salt. If you’re using unsalted peanut butter, I recommend adding a tiny pinch of salt to the peanut butter mixture to help offset the sweetness and wake up the flavors.
Dairy Free Chocolate – Dairy free chocolate is getting easier and easier to find. Enjoy Life is a fairly widely available brand, and even a new Toll House variety is allergen friendly. If you don’t have an allergy, you can also use Guittard semi-sweet or extra dark chocolate chips (which have no dairy ingredients, but are produced on shared equipment with dairy-containing products).
Other Nut or Seed Butters? I do think this would work with other nut butters or seed butter. There isn’t anything important texturally about peanut butter that would prohibit subbing in cashew butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter. Use what you can! (Again, I’d stick with “natural” versions, wherever possible.)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dessert, Snack
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American