This easy Chocolate Popcorn is made with just 4 ingredients and takes only 5 minutes to prepare. Freshly popped popcorn coated in melted dark chocolate and a little sea salt makes the perfect sweet and salty snack for movie nights, parties and homemade Christmas gifts.
We make popcorn a lot in our house, especially for family film nights, but covering it in chocolate makes it feel like a proper treat. I love how something so simple can feel a little special, particularly at Christmas when we are looking for easy snacks to share.
You can keep this chocolate covered popcorn simple, or add your favourite sweets, sprinkles and festive extras. It's also a lovely homemade gift once the chocolate has set.
Recipe update: This recipe was originally published on 8 December 2022 and was fully retested in October 2026 to check the cooking time and ingredient quantities. The original recipe still worked well, but I've expanded the instructions, tips and FAQs.
If you love popcorn, try our festive Christmas popcorn or our spooky Halloween popcorn mix too.
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Why You Will Love It
- Quick and easy - Just 5 minutes of preparation, plus time for the chocolate to set.
- Only 4 ingredients - Nothing complicated, and it's cheaper than buying fancy chocolate popcorn.
- Perfect for sharing - Great for movie nights, parties, Christmas Eve treats and homemade gifts.
- Easy to customise - Change the chocolate, add different toppings or make a festive popcorn mix.
Recipe Overview
- Method: Pop the corn in a lidded saucepan, spread it on a baking tray, then coat with melted dark chocolate and sea salt.
- Setting time: Allow 30-60 minutes for the chocolate to firm up. No baking or sugar syrup needed.
- Texture: Crisp popcorn with a chocolate coating, rather than a hard caramel-style shell.
Ingredients and Substitutions
A full ingredients list, along with US Customary and Metric measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Popcorn kernels - We use 80g of popping corn, which is inexpensive, especially when bought in bulk. You can use plain ready-popped popcorn to make this even quicker.
- Vegetable oil - This is what we use to cook the popcorn. Another neutral-flavoured oil suitable for stovetop popping would work.
- Sea salt - Just a couple of pinches balances the sweetness of the chocolate. You can adjust this to taste.
- Chocolate - We use 100g of good-quality dark chocolate, around 60% cocoa. It gives a rich chocolate flavour without being too bitter. Milk chocolate makes a sweeter version, and white chocolate is great for festive variations.
More ways to adapt this recipe can be found in the Variations section below.
How to Make Chocolate Popcorn
- Add the popcorn kernels and vegetable oil to a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir to coat the kernels in oil.
- Cover with a lid and cook over a medium heat. Once the corn starts popping, gently shake the saucepan occasionally to prevent burning. When the popping slows to a few seconds between pops, remove from the heat.
- Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt it in the microwave in short bursts, stirring between each one. Alternatively, melt it in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water.
- Carefully transfer the popcorn to a large baking tray lined with baking paper. Remove any unpopped kernels and spread the popcorn out, allowing the steam to escape.
- Drizzle the melted chocolate over the popcorn, sprinkle with sea salt and gently mix until coated.
- Spread it back into an even layer. Leave for at least 30 minutes, or until the chocolate is completely set - this can take up to an hour in a warm kitchen. You can refrigerate it briefly if you want it to firm up faster.
💡 Prefer chocolate drizzled popcorn? Rather than mixing everything together, spread the popcorn out on the tray and drizzle the chocolate back and forth over the top. You get the same delicious sweet and salty flavour with a lighter coating.
Chocolate Popcorn Variations
This recipe is really easy to adapt, and we often add different toppings depending on what we have in the cupboard.
Christmas Chocolate Popcorn - Add red and green M&Ms, dried cranberries, mini marshmallows and festive sprinkles. Crushed candy canes add a peppermint flavour, or you can stand whole candy canes in the serving bowl for decoration.
White Chocolate Popcorn - Swap the dark chocolate for white chocolate and add Christmas sprinkles while it's still melted. You could also use a mixture of dark and white chocolate for contrasting drizzles.
Spiced Chocolate Popcorn - Stir a little cinnamon or ground ginger into the melted chocolate for a warming flavour. A tiny pinch of cayenne pepper is lovely if you enjoy chocolate with a bit of heat.
Chocolate and Nut Popcorn - Add chopped pecans or almonds for extra crunch. Mini marshmallows, coconut flakes and colourful sweets work well too.
For a colourful coating, use oil-based food colouring specifically suitable for chocolate, as ordinary water-based colouring can cause the chocolate to seize.
What to Serve with Chocolate Popcorn
We have a little Christmas Eve tradition of watching festive films in the afternoon with Christmas snowman hot chocolates, a big bowl of this chocolate popcorn and some gingerbread cupcakes.
Later, we all make our own Christmas tree pizzas before getting into our new Christmas pyjamas and settling down for more films and Christmas Eve boxes. It's one of my favourite parts of Christmas.
This also works really well alongside our merry mix Christmas snack mix or Christmas chocolate bark for a party buffet.
You could even add little bowls of it to our Christmas movie snack board.
We have left chocolate popcorn out for Santa before too. I am sure he appreciates a change from cookies and mince pies occasionally!
Storage and Make Ahead
Store: Once the chocolate has completely set, transfer the popcorn to an airtight container. Keep it somewhere cool and dry at room temperature for up to 5 days. We have kept ours for this long and it was still delicious, although it is at its crunchiest when freshly made.
Make ahead: Chocolate popcorn is a great snack to prepare the day before a party. Just make sure the chocolate is fully set before storing it so the pieces don't stick together.
Christmas gifts: Once set, break the popcorn into pieces and divide between food-safe cellophane bags or airtight gift containers. Tie with festive ribbon and add a label. Keep the bags away from heat so the chocolate doesn't melt.
Freeze: I wouldn't recommend freezing chocolate popcorn, as condensation during thawing can affect the texture and make it less crunchy.
Dannii's Top Tips
- Don't overheat the chocolate. Microwave in 20-30 second bursts, stirring each time. Stop when almost melted and let the residual heat finish melting it. Overheating can make chocolate thick and grainy.
- Use a little oil if needed. A teaspoon of vegetable oil can help make melted chocolate smoother and easier to drizzle, although it may make the finished coating slightly softer.
- Use a large enough saucepan. Popcorn expands significantly, so make sure there is enough room for it to pop without overflowing.
- Don't crush the popcorn. Gently turn it through the melted chocolate to keep as many pieces whole as possible.
- Add toppings before the chocolate sets. Sprinkles, sweets and chopped nuts will stick much better while the chocolate is still melted.
Troubleshooting Guide
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Popcorn is burning | Heat too high or pan left on the hob too long | Use medium heat, shake the pan occasionally and remove when popping slows. |
| Lots of unpopped kernels | Uneven heating or old popcorn kernels | Use fresh kernels, keep the lid on while popping and discard any unpopped ones. |
| Popcorn is chewy | Steam was trapped in the popcorn | Spread it out on a tray to release steam before adding the chocolate. |
| Chocolate is thick or grainy | Chocolate overheated or came into contact with water | Melt in short bursts, stir regularly and keep the bowl completely dry. |
| Chocolate won't set | Kitchen too warm or too much oil added | Move to a cooler place or refrigerate briefly. Avoid adding extra oil next time. |
| Popcorn sticks together | Chocolate wasn't fully set before storing | Spread in a single layer and leave to set completely before packing away. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Plain or lightly salted ready-popped popcorn is a great shortcut. You can also use plain microwave popcorn or air-popped popcorn. Avoid heavily buttered or strongly flavoured varieties, as these can overpower the chocolate.
Melted chocolate can take 30-60 minutes to become firm at room temperature, depending on how warm your kitchen is. If it remains soft, refrigerate it briefly. Adding oil to the chocolate can also make the finished coating softer, so use it sparingly if you want firm pieces for gifting.
You can combine popcorn with melted marshmallows to make a version of Rice Krispie-style treats, but melted chocolate on its own won't hold the popcorn together in the same way. You would need a marshmallow mixture to bind everything before pressing it into a lined tin and leaving it to set.
More Chocolate Recipes
If you make this chocolate popcorn, I'd love to hear how you got on and what toppings you added. Leave a comment and rating below!
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy and use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Easy Chocolate Popcorn
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 80 g (½ cup) of Corn kernels
- 3 tablespoons of Vegetable oil
- ¼ teaspoon of Fine sea salt
- 100 g (3 ½ oz) of Dark chocolate - around 60%
Instructions
- Add 80 g of Corn kernels and 3 tablespoons of Vegetable oil to a large, heavy bottomed pan. Mix well to coat the kernels in oil.
- Cover with a lid and cook over a medium heat. Once the corn starts popping, gently shake the saucepan occasionally to prevent burning. When the popping slows to a few seconds between pops, remove from the heat.
- Break 100 g of Dark chocolate into small pieces and melt it in the microwave in short bursts, stirring between each one. Alternatively, melt it in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water.
- Carefully transfer the popcorn to a large baking tray lined with baking paper. Remove any unpopped kernels and spread the popcorn out, allowing the steam to escape.
- Drizzle the melted chocolate over the popcorn.Add ¼ teaspoon of Fine sea salt, then mix everything together to coat all the popcorn in chocolate.
- Spread it back into an even layer and leave for approximately 30-60 minutes, or until the chocolate has set. You can refrigerate it briefly if you want it to firm up faster.
Recipe Notes
- Don't overheat the chocolate. Microwave in 20-30 second bursts, stirring each time. Stop when almost melted and let the residual heat finish melting it. Overheating can make chocolate thick and grainy.
- Use a little oil if needed. A teaspoon of vegetable oil can help make melted chocolate smoother and easier to drizzle, although it may make the finished coating slightly softer.
- Use a large enough saucepan. Popcorn expands significantly, so make sure there is enough room for it to pop without overflowing.
- Remove unpopped kernels. Check the popcorn before adding chocolate so nobody bites down on a hard kernel.
- Don't crush the popcorn. Gently turn it through the melted chocolate to keep as many pieces whole as possible.
- Add toppings before the chocolate sets. Sprinkles, sweets and chopped nuts will stick much better while the chocolate is still melted.
- Allow it to set completely before packing. Otherwise the popcorn can clump together and lose some of its crunch.
- No microwave? Melt the chocolate in a bowl over barely simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn't touch the water and no water gets into the chocolate.
Nutritional Information
Where nutritional information is provided, it is approximate and calculated using online tools. Values can vary depending on the ingredients and brands used, but we endeavour to be as accurate as possible.
All timings are a guide and may vary depending on the ingredients, equipment and, where relevant, the appliance used. Changing the serving size may also affect the time needed.
Rosemary Morton Jack says
You say :
.5 cups of corn and .50 cups of chocolate! There’s no difference.
What do you actually mean?!
Dannii Martin says
There is no difference, it's half a cup. It's just the way the programme automatically changed each ingredient. I have changed the chocolate amount to ounces now for better accuracy.
Loretta Spradlin says
can this popcorn be mixed with marshmallows and made into treat squares like rice krispie treats?