My Salted Caramel Popcorn is a delight. It only takes 5 ingredients and 15 minutes to whip up a batch of this sugar-free Trim Healthy Mama friendly treat.
Salted Caramel Popcorn - THM E, Sugar Free, Low Fat
This is a Trim Healthy Mama Energizing or E recipe. That means that it is low in fat and has a moderate amount of healthy carbs. The basis of THM is fuel cycling or splitting up meals into higher fat/low carb and low fat/healthy carb.
For my low carb and keto friends I'm sorry this probably has too many carbs for you. I think my method would also work on pork rinds. Come back and let me know if you try! Or try this Keto Popcorn recipe!
Sweetly candied popcorn is something I cannot have in the house. It is a food without brakes for me and I just grab a bite every once in a while until it's all gone. No sugar added sweet popcorn is one of the few products I have not seen commercially made.
The last time I made a batch of my cocoa krispies I thought to myself how well the syrup would work on popcorn. I was right! I spent a day last week playing around with different flavors.
I had my readers on Facebook and Instagram vote on which one I should share first. The flavors were salted caramel, cinnamon roll, and chocolate peanut butter. I think you can guess which one won.
My kids love popcorn too so a year or so ago we bought a silicone microwave popcorn popper. It's great. You just pour in some kernels, put the lid on, and microwave. They can do it themselves. That is a mom win in my book. We stock up on this organic white popcorn.
Make sure to try my Raspberry Lemonade Popcorn next! And if you want another snack for movie night Keto Cinnamon Pretzels are a great choice!
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Salted Caramel Popcorn
Ingredients
- 6 cups air popped popcorn
- â…“ cup Joy Filled Eats Sweetener (or see alternatives in recipe notes)
- 1 teaspoon caramel extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt (or more, to taste)
Instructions
- Put the popped popcorn in a large bowl.
- Melt the sweetener in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Remove from heat and add the extracts and salt.
- Pour the caramel syrup over the popcorn. Mix well. Spread on a waxed paper lined baking sheet to cool.
Notes
Nutrition
Brygida says
Could you use monk fruit for this one?
Taryn says
I think a monk fruit blend (not pure extract) would work but I haven't tried. Since lakanto is a blend with erythritol it should work.
Janine says
Delicious recipe! Here's how I modified it to use Pyure Stevia Blend. Melt the sweetener in the bottom of a large stock pot, use a knife to scrape the side and edges if needed. Turn heat to low and quickly add salt and extracts. Stire well. Turn heat up to low and add popped popcorn and mix. Once mixed, spread on the aluminum fol to coo. Keeping the melted sweetener over the heat prevents a lot of the hardening. Also, omit the caramel and you've got a good kettle corn. Thanks!
Margaret Griggs says
This was delicious but I would love to see a recipe for caramel popcorn with at least a few tablespoons of butter in it.
Taryn says
You can add butter but that would make it a crossover for Trim Healthy Mama. I wanted to keep this as an E.
Jennie says
I bet you could add a half a teaspoon of butter extract to get that flavor!
Taryn says
Good idea!
Kim Knaust says
How many cups can I eat and stay in an E? I noticed it shows 6 servings, but surely I can have more than 1 cup?! 🙂
Taryn says
Plain air-popped popcorn is 4-5 cups on THM. You can eat the same amount of this and technically still be on plan. I'd suggest sticking to 2-3 cups because eating that much sweetener in anything can cause tummy issues.
Heather says
So Yummy! Thank you so much for this recipe!! I just made it and it is delicious! I used my own homemade gentle sweet recipe and it worked perfectly. Doesn’t have the brownish color yours does in the pictures, but the flavor is spot on. Finally caramel popcorn is back in my life! Yay!
Taryn says
My caramel extract was dark brown. If you use one with a lighter color it will be lighter. Glad you liked it!
Andi Grabast says
I am using ground Puyre.... and having similar issues as Smita. The minute I put the extracts in, it turns hard. It happens so quickly... that I can’t get it poured on my popcorn. Also... your picture looks like you have so much more than just one batch of the caramel syrup... all of your popcorn is covered. I wanted this to work so badly... but I’m failing. 😔 What am I doing wrong?
Taryn says
I'm sorry but pyure just won't work in this recipe. You need a different sweetener.
Smita says
I have recently commented on the Facebook group as I am having trouble melting gentle sweet. Could this be because I am using the xylitol free? I tried the cereal recipe three times last week and each time the sweetener melted and then turned hard as a rock before I could pour it on. Now today I tried this and had the same result. I have tried being very gentle when heating so as not to burn but I am slowly throwing away all my gentle sweet and I about cry every time! This kills me. I would love to try again but am not sure what I would do differently.
Taryn says
It might be because of the xylitol free gentle sweet. I've only tried the original version. I'm so sorry this is happening! I have melted generic erythritol before. Maybe that would be better to try? It's a lot cheaper too.
Smita says
Thanks Taryn! Do you recommend a certain generic erythritol? This HAS to be the reason why because your recipes are always fabulous!
Taryn says
I've used many different brands of erythritol. I don't notice much difference.
Staci says
I use the same gentle sweet as you and was able to melt it today. It’s melting temp is much lower than that of sugar I stirred the whole time. First it turns to what looks like chunks. This is the pieces adhering to each other as the outsides start to melt. Just keep going and eventually they totally melt down.
Wendy says
Do you need to boil the syrup to a soft ball stage or just till it melts and is blended?
Taryn says
Just until it melts for this recipe. The caramel flavor comes from the extract.
Amanda says
I don’t have a popcorn popper, but I would like to try this. Can I use Skinny Pop for this?
Taryn says
Yup! Any plain popped popcorn will work.
Kim Knaust says
My recipe is a 1/3 c popcorn to 3 tbsp oil (I use coconut), would that still be an E? I think I get about 6 cups when I double but need to measure this out to confirm.
Taryn says
No, that would be too much fat for an E. You would have to cut it back to 1-2 tsp coconut oil.
Donna says
Any thing I can sub for the imitation caramel flavor that is healthier? My grandkids aren't allowed to have artificial flavors or colors. Their mom buys mostly organic foods for them.
Taryn says
Here is an organic caramel extract: https://amzn.to/2GuUyPM Or you could leave it out and use another flavor instead.
Renita says
Thank you, thank you, thank you! My kids are caramel freaks and beg for caramel corn. But mean Mom wouldn't let them have it because I didn't know how to make it on plan. You are a genius and my kids' hero. And now thanks to you, I am too! First batch will be gone before it cools.
Mary Elizabeth says
You stated in your post that this is the same sweetener that you used in your Cocoa Crispies. Can you please share that recipe, too? Thanks!
Taryn says
Of course 😀 those words should be a clickable link. But I'll add the link here too. Joyfilledeats.com/copycat-cocoa-krispies
Jonathan Lau says
Hi, does the popcorn need to be eaten once it’s made, or does this store well without making the popcorn soggy? Thanks!
Taryn says
If you let it cool and harden before putting in a air tight container it can last a week or so. I haven't had any last longer then that in my house to test.
Beth says
This is wonderful! Mine did not get as caramel colored as the picture above, and I found that the melted sweetener actually covered about 8 cups of popcorn. I was in such a rush to try it, I almost burned my fingers. Such a great idea - satisfies that sweet-salty craving!
Taryn says
I think the color depends on the caramel extract used. Some are darker. Glad you liked it 🙂
Allison says
Is this a personal choice or is it on plan? I didn’t know you could eat popcorn on plan. Thanks! 🙂
Taryn says
You can have up to 4 cups as an E!
Lisa says
this is genius! I have not had caramel corn in years because of the sugar, Now I can have it and it tastes awesome! Thanks
Cindy B says
We had this last night for an after church snack - YUM!!!!
Lenita Campbell says
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. I have really missed this treat and I can't wait to try it. I have no doubt that it will be good, I love all your recipes. Thanks for sharing.
Elsa says
So good and so easy. Thanks for the recipe!
Kim R Yates says
Can I just say THANK YOU!!!
Taryn says
I would try it before you thank me 😉 haha. Come back and let me know what you think!
patricia says
Can I sub granular Swerve for the sweetener? Don't know if Swerve will melt?
Taryn says
Google says swerve will melt but I haven't tried it myself. It should, in my opinion, since erythritol melts and that is the main ingredient.