The Snackable Recipe Contest and Free Snackable Recipe Book got me thinking about my favorite snack, popcorn. I usually enjoy it simple and savory, but this glazed popcorn recipe is a worthy treat. It is spiked with healthy little poppy seeds and a double dose of natural lemon goodness.
This glazed popcorn has a bright, fresh, summery appeal, but is also perfect for packing in lunch boxes as we head into fall, and can also be savored when citrus is at its prime, in winter! And though the recipe calls for plain old sugar, you can use organic sugar or sub in you favorite unrefined granulated sweetener – but you may want to run coconut sugar or evaporated cane juice through a grinder to powder before using, since they don’t always dissolve as readily.
The recipe and photos here were shared with us by Popcorn.org – I swear I should be on their payroll just to help support my popcorn habit! They use a common natural glazing technique with whipped egg white (yes, eggs are dairy-free!), but I’ve included a simple “kettle-style” option for vegan and egg-free popcorn-lovers, too.
Special Diet Notes: Lemon Poppy Seed Glazed Popcorn
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, gluten-free, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, and vegetarian.
For egg-free and vegan lemon poppy seed popcorn, you can substitute 3 tablespoons of coconut oil for the egg white. It will be less of a glazed popcorn (and the mixture won’t be foamy), but more of a kettle corn.
- 4 quarts air-popped non-GMO popcorn
- 1 egg white (see post above for egg-free / vegan option)
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pure lemon extract
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
- Heat your oven to 300°F and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, a silicone baking mat or greased foil.
- Spread the popcorn onto the prepared baking sheet.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg white, sugar, salt and lemon extract until foamy. Mix in the lemon zest and poppy seeds. Pour over the popcorn and toss to coat evenly.
- Bake 20 minutes, stirring once midway through the baking time. Cool completely before storing in airtight container.
14 Comments
I was so excited to make this. I make all kinds of flavored popcorns all the time. I was disappointed, however, with this one. I was nervous about the egg white “melting” the air popcorn but decided to give it a go anyway. Sure enough, it coated nicely but while it was in the oven , the liquid settled and when I went to go stir it, I saw that many puffs were shriveled and soggy. I baked it the full amount anyway to see if it could be salvaged. The flavor was good, sweet, salty, lemony, bu the texture was bad. I will not make this again but I will look to see how I can incorporate these flavors into a less liquidy coating.
I’m sorry that didn’t work out for you. That’s very odd as this is a common technique. Feel free to use the vegan option I have listed, which uses oil instead of egg whites.
Pinned so I don’t forget to make this. The flavor combination is genius – and I”ll add black pepper as a friend suggested. Wow!
Awesome! And I love that suggestion.
As an absolute popcorn fanatic, I am loving this unique recipe! The egg white wash is genius to get the coating to stick! LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!
Popcorn is a staple snack for me, so I’m always looking for/thinking about new ways to make it interesting. This definitely makes the list!
This is such a unique snack!!! How creative! Love popcorn and I have a weird love for poppy seeds too! So cute!
Honestly, I have never tried a citrus-flavored popcorn so this truly intrigues me. Since I do love anything with citrus, I am sure I will enjoy this for snacking – I can just imagine that fresh zing from the lemons!
So I had this idea that I was going to make filled lemon poppy seed muffins…they were a total failure and now I have the rest of the jar of poppy seeds waiting to be used. I’m totally making this popcorn!
I hope you enjoy it Sara!
This looks amazing! I have never actually had any sort of glazed popcorn, but i love the idea of it, and with the lemon! You’re right… in the winter this will be a perfectly light pick me up in flavour in comparison to the heavy stews, chillis and other meals! My girls will love it on their lunches! Thanks 🙂
wow, INTERESTING with the egg white – I had no idea that was a thing. I may have to try something like that with a faux whipped egg…
Yes, they do it with glazed nuts, too. Just learned about that myself last year.
This is brilliant. First, the flavors sound incredible. I love the health aspect of this one and the added protein!