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Who Makes the Best Bagged Popcorn?
Craving popcorn but not the hassle of pulling out the popper? We get it! And we also know there are bagged popcorn brands out there that hit the spot. But in a snack aisle packed full of all kinds, which options are really the best? Our Test Kitchen sampled nine options to find the tastiest brands.
How We Sampled Popcorn
We love a snack food taste test here at Taste of Home. For this snack buffet, our team sampled nine brands of bagged popcorn—all in the salted variety. These options ranged from health-conscious brands to bags you’d find in any snack aisle. Each popcorn was judged according to these categories (and we didn’t reveal the brands’ true identities until the test was completed):
Appearance: The look of the popcorn is key! It’s what makes you want to dive in for fistful after fistful. A top-rated popcorn should have large, full kernels without a lot of broken pieces.
Texture: Popcorn should be light and crunchy and never stale. Our team also wanted to find popcorn without too many sharp hulls.
Flavor: For irresistible snacking, you want popcorn that has just the right amount of salt—not too much and not too little.
So which brands popped to the top? Here’s a quick preview (but check out our full reviews below!):
Best Old-Fashioned: O-Ke-Doke
Best Low-Cal: Popcornopolis
Best Alternative: LesserEvil
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Best Old-Fashioned Popcorn
O-Ke-Doke Popcorn
Want popcorn that tastes like it came right out of your own kitchen—but without the hassle? Pick up a bag of classic O-Ke-Doke Popcorn.
“If you’re looking for popcorn that tastes like it was made on the stovetop, this is it,” says Content Director Ellie Martin Cliffe.
This popcorn is wonderfully salty and crispy. It even has some underlying buttery notes. This is the bagged popcorn to pick up for your next movie night on the sofa.
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Best Low-Cal Popcorn
Popcornopolis Nearly Naked
When you skip the melted butter or caramel coating, popcorn is a pretty healthy snack. There are plenty of low-calorie bagged popcorn options out there, but our experts’ favorite is Popcornopolis Nearly Naked Popcorn.
This lightly salted popcorn has just 35 calories per cup, but the calorie count isn’t what really had our testers’ mouths watering. It’s just a darn good popcorn. “I want to eat this by the handful!” says Ellie. “The kernels are super crunchy and light.”
And if you want to add more flavor to this popcorn without adding fat or many calories, try a sprinkling of homemade popcorn seasoning.
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Best Alternative Popcorn
LesserEvil Himalayan Pink Salt Popcorn
Most bagged popcorn options are popped in vegetable or sunflower oil, both of which have a pretty neutral flavor. LesserEvil takes an entirely different approach. The brand is popped in coconut oil!
This alternative oil gives the popcorn a very subtle coconut flavor. “That surprised me,” says Senior Editor Emily Racette Parulski, “but also delighted me!”
You’ll get hints of coconut as you chow down on the large and crispy kernels. The texture is another reason our team ranked this LesserEvil popcorn so highly; it has an irresistible crunch!
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Taste of Home
Check Out More Test Kitchen-Preferred Products
Our Test Kitchen is constantly testing food, kitchen gadgets and cleaning gear looking for brands that deserve the right to be called Test Kitchen-Preferred.
If you want to fill your pantry and fridge with the best products, check out these tests:
Potato chips
Chip dip
Pretzels
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Originally Published: October 24, 2023
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