Can You Make Microwave Popcorn From Scratch?

When it comes to snacking, Americans like their popcorn. According to AgHires, they like it so much, they eat 13 billion quarts of popcorn on an annual basis. Surprisingly, the favored place to do the crunching and munching of this food is at home. We're guessing that's for easy access to dental floss after the fact, but regardless, Americans eat a lot of popcorn in the privacy of their own kitchen, living rooms, and bedrooms. The American Heart Association even lauds popcorn for its high fiber content: It has more fiber than a serving of whole-wheat bread. But just how healthy popcorn is largely depends on how it is popped.

An air popper is probably the healthiest way to pop these kernels; However, if you are a fan of savory, buttery microwave popcorn, an air-popped version may not do it for you. According to Eat This, Not That!, while delicious to the taste buds, microwave popcorn often contains large amounts of salt, unhealthy oils, and chemicals — all reasons to skip buying a box to keep in your pantry. Still, if microwave popcorn is your Achilles heel, there is a way for you to still enjoy your own customized version of this snack food.

Serious Eats shares that homemade microwave popcorn is not further out of reach than a brown paper lunch bag, half a teaspoon of oil, and some salt for taste. Simply throw all the ingredients into your brown paper bag, fold the bag so it stays close, and place it in the microwave for about 2 minutes to pop. Serious Eats goes on to note that cook times will vary depending on your microwave and caution that you want to supervise the bag in the microwave because if you blink and let it go just a second too long, the bag could catch on fire.

If the thought of catching things on fire is intimidating, the blog Family Food on the Table says you can try a microwave safe glass bowl with a lid. Their go-to is one made by Pyrex. But they warn you should not try to make a large amount of popcorn at one time when using this method. Instead, the suggestion is to exercise a little patience and work in small batches.

Serious Eats notes another advantage to making your own microwave popcorn lies in the fact that you are able to add different flavors to your snack, creating sweet and savory flavors to enjoy.