10 Best Microwave Popcorn Brands For Your Next Movie Night

There's no denying it: Popcorn is an elite snack. It checks so many of the boxes: quick, easy, and affordable. Plus, since it's a relatively neutral snack on its own, you can add whatever flavors you want to use to enhance it. Although it's not difficult to make popcorn from scratch, making the microwave version is even easier. All you need to do is put a bag in the microwave for two to three minutes, and you'll have hot popcorn waiting for your movie night or lunchbox snack.

There are a ton of different microwave popcorn brands out there, but not all of them are as delicious as they may advertise. Therefore, we've done some taste-testing to deliver you with a list of microwave popcorns that are sure to deliver on the flavor front every time. Luckily, most of these are widely available, so they should be easy to snag the next time you're in the snack aisle of your local grocery store. Check these different varieties out, and microwave popcorn may become your latest snack obsession.

Whole Foods may not have a wide variety of different popcorns to choose from (depending on the Whole Foods location you frequent), but they should have 365, the store's own brand, in stock. That's good news for you if you shop there often because the brand offers perhaps the most basic, bare-bones popcorn option of them all. It's the 365 organic no salt or oil added microwave popcorn, and it's one of our absolute favorites to have on hand.

This popcorn is ideal because it's a completely blank slate. Most other microwave popcorns you'll find have at least some seasonings or fat added to them. That's great when you want the specific flavor other brands are selling, but it's not perfect when you want to season your popcorn on your own (or just want a plainer version of the snack). This still allows you to get as creative as you want to be or just gives you an opportunity to taste the unadorned deliciousness of plain popcorn. Give it a try the next time you make a Whole Foods run.

One reason popcorn can be such an appealing snack is the fact that it's usually not that expensive. Therefore, you can get a lot of bang for your buck when you decide to snack on popcorn instead of chips, pretzels, or another similar snack. But if money is tight and you're trying to save even more money, it makes sense to opt for store brands instead of the name brand products that line store shelves. One such product that you're not likely to be disappointed with is Signature Select's movie theater butter popcorn. This stuff stands up to all the best brands, and it's available at a variety of grocery stores for a bargain.

This brand isn't trying to reinvent the wheel here. Rather, it's just making good quality buttered popcorn. We love this stuff because it has that bright yellow that you expect from movie theater butter popcorn. Plus, it has a good level of saltiness to it, which means you don't have to add anything to a bag of this popcorn for it to taste delicious. Snacking has never been so easy.

Don't get us wrong: We loved buttered popcorn. But sometimes, you want something that tastes a bit lighter. That's when you need to snag yourself some Jolly Time simply popped sea salt microwave popcorn. As the name suggests, this snack is all about the salt. This brand really doesn't skimp on the salt, either, which makes this popcorn as craveable as your favorite potato chips. And just because there's not any butter in the mix doesn't mean this popcorn doesn't have that slight fattiness to it that makes it so appealing: There's oil in this recipe, so you'll get that fatty depth of flavor in a lighter form.

Most microwave popcorn brands out there only have a few flavors, and they tend to fall into a few common categories, like movie theater butter and kettle corn. Therefore, we love it when a brand like Jolly Time decides to do something different. For all those who are craving salty popcorn but want to pass on the butter, this is the microwave popcorn for you.

But what should you do if you want that salty flavor profile but want to keep things even lighter? When you're trying to avoid any oiliness altogether, you can always opt for Skinny Pop's sea salt microwave popcorn. It walks a thin line between seasoned and unseasoned popcorn. You can get the plain stuff, and you can find buttered or oiled varieties that already come with plenty of flavor. When you want to avoid the extra fat, though, this option from Skinny Pop is an excellent choice.

Since salt is really the only ingredient here that's lending the popcorn any flavor, it seems like the brand tried to keep it from being too overwhelming. While some popcorn brands might pack too much salt, that's not what you're going to get from a bag of this stuff. The flavor is quite tame, with just a touch of salt that keeps things interesting. Whether you plan on eating your popcorn with that extra salt alone or you want to add other ingredients once you've taken the bag out of the microwave, Skinny Pop has you covered.

When you're looking for microwave popcorn that's a step above most other brands out there, it may be time to turn to Newman's Own organic butter microwave popcorn. Of course, if you care about eating organic, then this might just be the way to go. But even if you don't purposefully seek out organic products, this snack is one you're sure to love. Most of the other buttered popcorns we tried had quite a bit of butter on them. That's great if you really want to enjoy that intense, rich, buttery flavor, but if you're looking for a snack that's on the lighter side, those buttery bombs may be too much after a couple of handfuls. Newman's Own buttered popcorn, though, goes much lighter on the butter. It's there, of course, but its flavor isn't as pronounced as it is in some other brands.

The salt level on this popcorn is just right too. Just like with the butter, you can definitely taste the salt, but there's not so much added that you feel like you're going to shrivel up after a few bites. If you can get your hands on this microwave popcorn, it's definitely worth a try.

This is another great option for those who prefer to keep their diet as organic as possible. O Organics simply salted is both organic and affordable, which is a win for those who are watching their health just as closely as their wallets. This is another simple recipe that we love for those times when we're craving a lighter snack. The quality of the popcorn itself is high — it doesn't have that weird staleness that you sometimes get from microwave popcorn.

This brand tastes saltier than some of the other salt-only microwave popcorn we've tried in the past, but that's not a bad thing if you're craving a truly salty snack. At the same time, you won't get that fattiness that you might expect from other plain, salted popcorns. Whether you're trying to stock more organic foods in your pantry or you just want to dig into a bag of nicely salted popcorn, this brand has exactly what you need.

Most of the buttered microwave popcorn you'll see in stores is "movie theater butter." This stuff is recognizable by its bright yellow color — in fact, the color is probably more iconic than the flavor itself. But if you've ever buttered your own from-scratch popcorn at home, you've probably noticed that it doesn't take on that same brightly colored hue. If you prefer the latter, then you're going to love Pop Secret's homestyle butter microwave popcorn. It has that buttery flavor you love but without that iconic neon-yellow appearance.

The flavor is different from other buttered popcorn we've tried, too. Although this stuff definitely tastes buttery, that butter flavor isn't quite as strong as it usually is with movie theater butter options. It's just a bit lighter, while still boasting the same heartiness you want from a buttered popcorn. When you're looking for a microwave popcorn that tastes like homemade stuff, this is the box you should be seeking out.

A lot of popcorn lovers are looking for that special buttery flavor when they make a bag of microwave popcorn. Even if you love buttery popcorn, though, you don't always want the kind that feels like it's absolutely dripping in butter. When you're in the mood for something lighter but still buttery enough, Skinny Pop's butter microwave popcorn is worth checking out. Does it taste like butter? Absolutely. But it doesn't feel or taste overly oily, leaving that film of fat in your mouth that popcorn is sometimes responsible for. There's also just a hint of salt to enhance the flavor of the snack.

Skinny Pop is known for its lighter popcorn options, and its butter flavor is no exception. It's perfect for a light snack, whether you eat it on its own or combine it with other ingredients in a bowl. Try it out when a normal bag of buttered popcorn just feels a bit too heavy.

Orville Redenbacher may just be the biggest name in popcorn, depending on who you ask, so of course, this brand is going to be included on our list. Our absolute favorite from the brand is a classic: the movie theater butter. It's a movie night staple, thanks to its intense butteriness. But unlike other movie theater butter popcorns out there, this one stands out because of how the butter is distributed in the bag. Some kernels come out gleaming and gold, while others remain untouched by the liquified butter. We're not sure how Orville Redenbacher's makes it happen, but we're happy it does.

This is probably the closest you can get to actual movie theater popcorn (although it can never truly compare, if we're being honest). Make sure you stock up on the stuff before your next movie night for the most delicious results — your family will thank you for it.

When you're looking for the most intensely buttery microwave popcorn on store shelves, look to none other than Act II Xtreme Butter. This product feels like a blast from the past with its retro movie theater design. And the name isn't lying — this popcorn does feel extreme in some ways. Once you pop it and open the bag, you'll notice that the popcorn inside is so brightly colored that it's almost neon orange — that's how you know you're getting the good stuff.

Take a bite, and you'll taste the difference between this product and other microwave popcorn you've had in the past. The buttery flavor is intense, with a saltiness that's more akin to chips than popcorn. It's probably even butterier than actual movie theater popcorn, but that's what keeps us coming back to this product. When you want your simple bag of popcorn to feel like indulgent junk food (in the best possible way), Act II's Xtreme Butter popcorn is the way to go.