How To Make Cheese Popcorn

Which Cheese Powder Is Best For Popcorn

To make cheddar cheese popcorn, you will need dehydrated cheese powder to sprinkle all over your popcorn. If its made from real cheese, it will have more natural flavor.

Cheese powder is great for flavoring other foods too, like macaroni & cheese, vegetables and casseroles.

You can also add it to pizza popcorn for a cheesy twist.

Here are a few types of cheese powder to try:

If youd like to try a bunch, here is a set of various cheesy popcorn sprinkles to try.

Iii Cheese Popcorn Facts

• Cheese popcorn can be traced back to the tail-end of the nineteenth century when flavored popcorns first started cropping up
• Back in 1989, white cheddar pre-popped popcorn was the most rapidly growing segment of the popcorn market
• Most cheese popcorn makes use of either white cheddar or yellow cheddar, but you can make any variety of cheese popcorn, as long as the cheese can be turned into powder
• Cheese powder is dehydrated This is made by melting fresh cheese and then spraying it through a super-hot dryer. The resultant powder is thick and velvety, absolutely ideal for making cheese popcorn
• The first white cheddar cheese popcorn brought to market was by Smartfood way back in 1985
• Even today, almost half of all popcorn sales involve cheese popcorn

What Is White Cheddar Popcorn

Popcorn is made from corn kernels that have been popped using heat. It can be found in many flavors, such as sweetened, spicy, savory, and salty.

A great way to improve the quality of your popcorn is by adding cheese. The best type for White Chedder Popcorn is white cheddar cheese powder.

White cheddar cheese powder is milder than regular cheddar cheese, and it adds a nice touch to any dish. When combined with the right seasonings, popcorn becomes an excellent snack.

Mild cheddar powder is what gives white cheddar popcorn the whiter color, rather than the bright yellow/orange cheese popcorn you see.

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Can You Make Cheese Popcorn At Home

If you have been tempted to give cheese popcorn a try from what you have read so far, it is likely that you are wondering if you can make it at home.

While there are lots of companies that sell popcorn kernels that are coated in cheese, you cant beat popcorn that you pop yourself at home.

There is simply nothing that can beat that fresh home-cooked flavor. So is this something that you can make yourself?

Well, you will be pleased to know that yes, you can make cheese popcorn yourself at home. In fact, this is something that people have been doing for a long time.

The great benefit of popcorn is that as long as you have the facilities to make the popcorn itself, you will always be able to make any flavor that you want. This is primarily because the flavoring is added to the popcorn after it is cooked.

So, if you want to try making your own cheese popcorn, this is absolutely something that you can do. With that in mind, lets take a look at how you make this delectable treat.

How To Make Cheese Powder:

The first step was to grate the cheese so it would dry more quickly and evenly. I didn’t want the cheese to fall through the cracks of my dehydrator, so I tried two methods: fruit leather tray inserts and small screen inserts.

Both definitely worked, but the next time I make dehydrated cheese powder, I’ll use all fruit leather trays. That’s because as the cheese is dehydrating, it releases not only water, but a lot of oil. A few times during the dehydrating process, I turned off the fan, checked on the cheese, and soaked up oil with a paper towel. That was a much easier process on the fruit leather trays than the small screen trays.

Using the dehydrator is insanely easy. Put the food on the trays, stack the trays, and push the power button. Drying time for your cheese will really depend on how thickly it’s grated, and the moisture content of the cheese. My first batch took about 12 hours, but the second was done in eight.

Once the cheese was nicely dehydrated, I set it on a paper towel to soak up any excess oil that was still left.

It was time to pulverize the cheese into delicious homemade cheese powder. I tried using a mortar and pestle, and while it would certainly work, holy cow, that was laborious. I quickly discarded that idea and pulled out my husband’s coffee grinder.

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The Best Cheese Powder For Popcorn

First things first, we need to cover this cheese powder situation before we get into the tips and tricks for the how-tos.

I tried really hard to figure out a way to make cheddar popcorn using real cheese. I dehydrated cheddar cheese in the microwave, then pulsed it in a spice grinder, which workedkind of. It wasnt great and it was still clumpy and it just wasnt working out as I wanted it to.

Honestly, Id given up. I didnt want to buy a giant bag of powder on Amazon because: A) where the heck am I going to store that?! and B) will I really make enough cheddar popcorn in my lifetime to use it all?!. I wasnt sure, I had all the reservations.

All that being said, thanks to an article in the Chicago Tribune, I realized that in those little boxes of macaroni and cheese lied a packet of cheddar cheese powder. And that, my friends, is the shortcut.

Use cheddar powder that comes in macaroni boxes for a quick and easy hack to make homemade cheddar cheese popcorn.

How To Make Popcorn In A Wok

Although it might sound strange, a wok is actually the perfect helper for making popcorn on the stove. It’s wide, sloped surface allows you to easily shake and toss the popcorn without worrying about burning anything. This method is so good, we’ve dedicated a whole article to. Read our guide on how to make popcorn in a wok.

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What Is Cheese Popcorn

First things first, lets take a look at what cheese popcorn is. As the name suggests, cheese popcorn is a type of savory popcorn that is designed so that it tastes like cheese.

It is one of the most popular flavors of savory popcorn, and it is easy to see why, because lets face it, cheese makes everything taste better.

If you havent tried cheese popcorn before, then you might have visions of this style of popcorn being very messy to eat.

That is likely because your mind might conjure up ideas of nacho cheese style sauce poured over a bowl of popcorn. But, that isnt what cheese popcorn is. Instead, cheese popcorn is regular popcorn that has cheese powder added to it.

On its own, cheese powder tastes pretty gross. But, when you add it to popcorn, you will quickly realize that it is actually pretty delicious. A lot of companies produce and sell cheese popcorn, so there are lots of options for you to choose from.

Alternatively, you could try making cheese popcorn yourself. But is this something that you can do at home? Lets find out.

How To Make Cheese Popcorn In Two Different Ways

Cheese popcorn: you either love it or hate it.

For some popcorn lovers, theres no substitute for a sweet taste sensation like chocolate popcorn, but not everyone has such a sweet tooth.

If youre a committed fan of savory popcorn and you also love lashings of butter with your favorite kernels, youre in for a treat today.

Some people insist on using real cheese while others prefer using powdered cheese. To cater for this, well be giving you two recipes for cheese popcorn today so you can make it just the way you prefer.

Whichever method you choose, you wont need much by the way of ingredients, and the popcorn will be ready in minutes flat, too.

We understand everyone is crunched for time these days, so we suggest making popcorn in the microwave.

If you prefer more of a hands-on experience, you could use a popcorn maker instead.

The choice is yours, then. Use a microwave, a stovetop popcorn maker, or an electric hot oil popcorn maker depending on your preferences.

You can also choose between using real grated cheddar cheese or the powdered cheese like that you find on Doritos tortilla chips. When youre using fresh cheese, adding some butter will help this stick more effectively to the popcorn.

Whenever youre making popcorn, youre starting with a blank canvas, so feel free to customize this canvas to suit.

Sounds tempting, right?

Well, its time for the main event now:

Contents

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How To Make Homemade Cheddar Cheese Popcorn

This recipe for cheddar cheese popcorn only needs 5 ingredients and takes 5 minutes to make. It is a great snack for all your movie nights.

5 minutes

• 6cupspopped popcorn,or popcorn kernels
• ½tspsalt

Cheddar Cheese Popcorn: Behind The Recipe

Today is FREAKY FRIDAY, yall! That may not mean a thing to you, but its pretty exciting for me. Freaky Friday is a fun blog collaboration project sponsored by Michaela from An Affair From the Heart.

Once a quarter a group of food bloggers secretly cook or bake a recipe from another blog they were assigned, then reveal the recipes at the same time on one Freaky Friday morning!

And now for the big Freaky Friday reveal meet Susannah, creator of Feast + West blog and todays delicious popcorn recipe!

I met Susannah a few years ago at a blogging conference and she is just the sweetest! A North Carolina girl, Susannah was a finalist in the Saveur Blog Awards for Best Entertaining Blog in 2019 thats a really big deal, friends and she definitely knows her stuff!

Not only is Susannah an extremely talented graphic designer, shes a creative home bar mixologist. Shes your gal for tips on everything from stocking your home bar to starting a cocktail-themed herb garden!

She can help you mix up easy, elegant cocktail recipes and bar snacks for any occasion. My affection for popcorn is a serious thing, so when I saw Susannahs Cheddar Cheese Popcorn recipe, I knew I had to try it!

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Cant find cheddar cheese powder easily? You can find it in my or in a pinch, use the kind that comes in boxed macaroni and cheese! Ive also made this with the addition of sour cream powder to make Cheddar Cheese and Sour Cream Popcorn! Ive also use it on homemade chips . Want other flavors of popcorn? Drop me a note in the comments and Im happy to decode flavors you would like into recipes for you

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the upcoming cookbook: Dinner, then Dessert Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients which is being published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

How Much Cheese Powder To Use

I hate to say itbut Im gonna say it its up to your preference. I like to use 4 tablespoons of powder which gives the popcorn a nice cheddar flavor throughout without being overpowering.

A packet from a box of mac and cheese will be just shy of 1/3 cup, which is a little more than the 4 tablespoons. Often, Ill just toss in the entire packet for good measure .

For a little extra tang, add a teaspoon of ground mustard to the cheddar mix!

If you want it extra cheesy, I would recommend using 6 or 7 tablespoons of cheddar powder . Remember to toss it quickly while the butter is still wet, and to toss it well, so the cheddar sticks all over the popcorn.

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How To Store Popped Popcorn

The trick to keeping popcorn fresh is to keep it dry and to keep it in a sealed container. There are a few great options for storing popcorn.

If you want to store your popped popcorn for a long time you can freeze it. Make sure that the packaging is fully sealed. I recommend that you also do a final wrap of cling wrap before putting it in the freezer.

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• How to Make Carrot Fries in an Air Fryer

Cheddar Cheese Popcorn Recipe

Made with melted butter and a generous sprinkle of cheese, theres so much cheesiness in every single bite.

This crunchy, cheesy snack goes so wonderfully with both butter popcorn and caramel popcorn.

It is often the star of Christmas popcorn tins and it is a valiant sidekick to caramel in Chicago popcorn mix.

Its also simply delicious on its own, in a large bowl, with real cheese flavor sprinkled over every kernel.

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To Start You Need To Make Stovetop Popcorn

Get a heavy-bottomed stockpot or dutch oven and heat the oil, adding three kernels that will signal to you when the oil is hot. Add the remaining kernels, cover, and remove the pan from the heat for about 20 seconds. Place it back on the heat and wait as the kernels all pop.

Be sure to read my full stovetop popcorn post for all the details, tips, and tricks for making the best homemade popcorn!

If you use an air popper, be sure you shake it well with butter or lightly spritz with oil so the powder will stick.

Ingredients For Cheese Popcorn

Popcorn You can use whatever your favorite brand of popcorn you prefer. I tend to use whatever brand of microwave popcorn is on sale at the time.

However, do note to buy plain or buttery popcorn. With that said, if you want to get creative pick up a flavored popcorn and give it a try. I do recommend staying away from sweet flavors though as they wouldnt mix well with cheddar cheese.

Cheddar cheese powder This is a special item that most of us dont stock in your pantries. If you do, well you are friggin awesome and I like you. However, if you need to order some as I did, then give this brand a try.

Melted butter We recommend using unsalted butter in this recipe because we add salt to the recipe. That way we control the saltiness of the flavor.

However, if you only have salted butter on hand, just skip the salt in the recipe. You can always add extra to taste as desired but you cant remove it if it is overly salty.

Ground mustard This may sound like a strange ingredient but it really does enhance the flavor of the cheddar cheese.

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What Cheese Powder Is Best For Popcorn

If you want a plain cheddar cheese powder that you can jazz up with your own additional mix-ins, I like the Amish Country brand. This brand can be found in some grocery stores or online. Kernel Seasons also make some delicious options for cheese powder. They have a nacho cheddar popcorn seasoning that really jazzes up this recipe. If you use this brand, you wont need to add any additional cayenne pepper to give it a spicy kick. They also make a white cheddar cheese popcorn seasoning that is another great option.

How To Make Caramel Corn

Everybody loves gourmet caramel corn but it can be so expensive. Why not make your own homemade version to give as gifts or to simply enjoy yourself? This top-rated Caramel Popcorn recipe from BS4U2C has five stars and over 2,300 ratings. This recipe makes enough for 20, so feel free to scale down as needed.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• 5 quarts popped popcorn.

Instructions:

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