Here’s the best healthy snack that’s perfect for a movie date night at home – rosemary olive oil popcorn! This is an easy and fun recipe for popcorn that will make your date night truly special.
Popcorn is one of those snacks that I can just keep eating, and the good news is that it’s a whole grain, so it’s full of fiber which makes for a great snack.
I love making popcorn on the stovetop — this is one of my favorite skills that I’m so glad I learned from my dad before he passed away. I remember calling him up one day asking how he made popcorn on the stovetop, and he walked me through it step by step. I’ll always remember being tucked into my bed as a little girl and hearing (and smelling!) the popcorn he was making for he and my mom after us kids went to bed. I think most nights I got out of bed to ask for a bite or two before heading back to my room (haha!).
This summer, while on our family vacation at the beach, we stopped in a local popcorn shop to sample the flavors they had, and one really caught my attention. It was a parmesan herb popcorn which I knew I had to recreate a version of at home.
A few weeks later Dave and I were enjoying a movie and herb popcorn at Alamo Drafthouse (seriously, their popcorn is so good!), which reminded me I needed to get on this “at home” version of a tasty popcorn snack.
To make this herb popcorn, I turned to fresh rosemary from our garden and nutritional yeast to give it a nice savory flavor without adding cheese (and the extra saturated fat that comes along with it).
I begin by popping popcorn on the stovetop. If you’ve never made popcorn this way, it’s definitely easier than you think! I also think the flavor comes out much better and less chemical-y tasting than microwave popcorn.
For this recipe you can pop plain popcorn however you like — stovetop, air pop, microwave — but I’ll run through the stovetop method here for you too.
How to Make Popcorn on the Stovetop
- Start with a large, heavy bottomed saucepan (with a lid) or a medium to large wok (with a lid).
- Add a small amount of oil along with a kernel or two of unpopped popcorn to the pan, cover, and heat over medium-high heat.
- Once the kernels pop, remove the lid and add the remaining kernels to the pan.
- Continue heating until the popcorn pops, shaking occasionally. Listen for the number of pops to slow down to only a few every 5-10 seconds.
- Remove the pan from the heat and transfer to a large bowl.
- Add your toppings and enjoy!
One other tip when making popcorn on the stovetop is to use an oil with a high smoke point, like peanut oil to help avoid a burned flavor from the oil.
This recipe is simple and easy to put together, but the flavor takes things to another level which makes it perfect for a special date night in — fancy without the fuss. Is there anything better?
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Rosemary Olive Oil Popcorn
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: about 10 cups, popped popcorn 1x
- Category: snacks
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: snack
Description
Here’s the best healthy snack that’s perfect for a movie date night at home – rosemary olive oil popcorn! This is an easy and fun recipe for popcorn that will make your date night truly special.
Ingredients
1 Tbsp peanut oil, or canola oil, or other oil with medium to high smoke point
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 Tbsp fresh chopped rosemary
1 Tbsp olive oil
Equipment needed:
Large heavy bottomed pan with lid or wok with lid
Instructions
- Add oil and 1-2 popcorn kernels to your large heavy bottomed pan. Place lid on pan and heat over medium high heat, shaking occasionally until the kernels pop.
- Remove lid and add 1/2 cup popcorn kernels. Replace lid on pan, and continue heating, shaking occasionally.
- Within a few minutes the popcorn kernels will begin to pop. keep the lid in place and continue shaking occasionally until the number of pops you hear slows down to about 1-2 pops in 5-10 seconds.
- Remove pan from heat and carefully remove the lid (in my experience another kernel or so will pop when you remove the lid so be prepared! Don’t jump and spill the popcorn everywhere like I usually do!)
- Move popcorn to a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt, nutritional yeast, and rosemary, stirring to combine.
- Drizzle with olive oil, mixing gently.
- Serve.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 cups popped
- Calories: 134
- Sodium: 235 mg
- Fat: 8.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 12.7 g
- Fiber: 2.6 g
- Protein: 2.3 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: popcorn, herb popcorn, rosemary popcorn, healthy snack, healthy popcorn, date night, healthy recipes, easy snack ideas, vegan snack ideas
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