Chocolate Drizzled Gourmet Popcorn

A perfect balance of sweet, salty, and endlessly munchable, this Chocolate Drizzled Gourmet Popcorn is the ultimate TV-watching snack. Made with just dark chocolate, popcorn kernels, and neutral oil, this 4-ingredient recipe is far more than the sum of its parts.

Jump to:

• About This Recipe
• Ingredients & Substitutions
• Equipment
• How To Make Chocolate Drizzled Gourmet Popcorn
• Optional Variations
• Expert Tips
• Frequently Asked Questions
• More Tasty, No-Oven Snack Recipes
• Chocolate Drizzled Gourmet Popcorn

About This Recipe

When it comes to snacks, I’m always torn between salty and sweet. Luckily, my chocolate drizzled popcorn recipe has ample amounts of both! Perfectly fluffy pan-popped popcorn kernels are tossed with dark chocolate until well coated, resulting in a messy bowl of goodness that is too good to resist. 

Granted, I love my “Better Than Movie Theater Popcorn” that is made with just brown butter and salt, but sometimes I need a little chocolate in the mix, ya know? I mean, “stressed” spelled backward is “desserts.” Coincidence? I think not.

This tasty recipe has all the hallmarks of a great salty-sweet baked dessert like my chocolate chip butterscotch toffee cookies, but there’s one key difference: you don’t have to turn the oven on to make popcorn! 

While the temperatures are soaring to ever higher heights this summer, keeping my house cool is a top priority. That’s a big part of why I love this snackable chocolate popcorn. But this isn’t just a summer recipe; we eat it all year long. 

If you have 25 minutes to spare and 4 basic pantry ingredients, you’re about to have a serious party in your mouth. If you don’t, bookmark this page for later — you’re definitely going to want to revisit this simple recipe in the future. This sweet and salty snack is perfect for your next movie night!

Ingredients & Substitutions

As promised, you only need 4 simple ingredients to make chocolate-covered popcorn. Here’s what to grab:

• Popcorn Kernels - Any color of popcorn kernels will work here; they all look the same in the end!
• Neutral Oil - I prefer using refined coconut oil (not unrefined, which has too low of a smoke point). That said, feel free to use grapeseed, avocado, canola, vegetable, corn, or peanut oil instead.
• Dark Chocolate - Since this is such a simple recipe, it’s important to use high-quality ingredients. If your grocery store doesn’t have nice chocolate chips (e.g. Guittard), check out the fancy chocolate bars in the candy section. I personally am a fan of deep dark chocolate, so I like to reach for anything over 70%. Feel free to swap in white, milk, semisweet, or even flavored chocolate if you prefer.
• Salt (Optional) - If you, like me, love salty sweets, consider adding a pinch or two of salt to the finished product to really pep the flavors up. 

Equipment

You don’t need much to make delicious chocolate drizzle popcorn. Here’s your equipment list:

• Heavy-Bottomed Saucepan - Every kitchen needs a saucepan. A heavy bottom will prevent scorching and warping, which in turn will prevent you from stressing out and/or having to replace your equipment. PRO TIP: If you’re making browned butter popcorn the day you’re making your gourmet popcorn, don’t bother washing the pot between browning and popping. 
• Flexible Spatula - You’re going to want to toss the popcorn with the browned butter and chocolate until it’s well coated. A flexible silicone spatula makes the job a lot easier. 
• Napkins - Eventually, the chocolate will solidify on the popcorn as it cools. If you have that kind of willpower, good on you. For the rest of us, make sure there are plenty of napkins nearby.

How To Make Chocolate Drizzled Gourmet Popcorn

Gourmet popcorn shops have nothing on this chocolate popcorn. Here’s how to make it:

Step 1: Heat Oil. Heat a large, heavy-bottom pot over medium heat and add the coconut oil.

Step 2: Test A Kernel. Once the oil is hot, add one test kernel to the pot and cover. As soon as the test kernel has popped, place the rest of the popcorn seeds into the oil and cover.

Step 3: Shake. Once the kernels begin popping, shake every 10 seconds or so until you hear the popping slow down then remove from heat.

Step 4: Add The Goods. Add your dark chocolate bits on top of the popped popcorn and cover with the saucepan lid. The residual heat from the popcorn will help to easily melt the chocolate. Transfer the popcorn and chocolate into a large bowl and fold with a spatula to make sure every kernel is covered with salty, nutty, chocolatey goodness, then top with salt as needed. Portion into cups so there’s no fighting (trust me), then dig in! Keep your napkins at the ready, it's a beautiful mess of a snack!

Optional Variations

My gourmet chocolate-covered popcorn is pretty stellar on its own, but there is always room for customization. Here are a few of my favorite variations:

• Add Crunch. Peanuts (or any toasted nuts), M&Ms, toffee bits, sweetened cereal, freeze-dried fruits, or pretzels are all excellent additions. 
• Use Different Chocolate. Make white chocolate popcorn, milk chocolate popcorn, zebra popcorn (by using dark and white chocolate) chili-chocolate popcorn, espresso-chocolate popcorn… you get the idea. 
• Make It Vegan. Use cultured dairy-free butter to make vegan browned butter and opt for a vegan-friendly chocolate brand.

Expert Tips

• Chop chocolate into tiny bits. The smaller the pieces, the faster they’ll melt.
• Leftovers make great popcorn balls. Call me old-fashioned, but I hate wasting food. These popcorn balls are a great way to use up your leftovers!
• Test kernels take the guesswork out of making popcorn on the stove. Add a single kernel to the pot to see when your oil is hot enough.
• Place your covered chocolate popcorn in the fridge within a sealed plastic bag so that the chocolate solidifies and you have a cool, crunchy snack to enjoy as desired!

Frequently Asked Questions

More Tasty, No-Oven Snack Recipes

As always, I love seeing your creations and hearing from you! If you try the recipe for this Chocolate Drizzled Gourmet Popcorn, please share your creation with me on social media! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest - for more delicious recipes sent straight to your inbox, sign up for my newsletter!