Smoky chipotle lime popcorn = flavor explosion! This tasty popcorn makes the perfect movie night snack. One bite and you’ll be hooked!
It’s National Popcorn Day! If you know me at all then you know why this is such a big deal. If you don’t know, popcorn is my absolute favorite food. Ever. I have eaten more popcorn in my life than I care to admit… heck, I can’t even fathom how much that is.
Popcorn is one snack I will NEVER get tired of and never refuse. Put a bowl in front of me and you better believe I’ll eat the entire thing. I have a few flavor options up my sleeve that I rotate between… cheesy pepper and herb butter. Plus the classic butter-and-salt combo. On occasion, I even eat my popcorn completely plain.
It’s safe to say popcorn is my obsession addiction.
In honor of National Popcorn Day I come to you with a new (and insanely delicious) flavor combo.
Smoky Chipotle Lime Popcorn ???
You get a bit of heat and smokiness from the chipotle powder, another dose of smoke from the smoked paprika, and a bit of freshness from lime zest. And you’ve got butter and salt, of course! We can’t have popcorn without butter, right?!
Well, actually we can, and I often do. But, the butter goes really well with the spicy/smoky flavors here, so I couldn’t leave it out!
Smoked paprika is one of my favorite spices. It just adds that extra bit of smokiness to a ton of different dishes. I use it in my blackening spice, sprinkled on fries, in soups, and now on popcorn!
Making your own popcorn is super easy… and you all probably know by now that I love using a Whirley Pop. If you don’t have one, you can very easily use a regular pot. If you’re using a pot and have a lid with a steam vent, that would work perfectly. If not, don’t worry, you can just gently lift the lid enough to let some steam escape while it’s popping. This isn’t entirely necessary, but the texture is better if you can let some steam out.
I typically pop all of my popcorn in coconut oil since it’s delicious and almost gives the popcorn a buttery flavor. But for this one, I used a garlic-infused olive oil. It’s incredibly easy to make and a nice oil to have around for finishing dishes or using in salad dressings. You can also usually find infused olive oils in the grocery store.
Ok, so to make this tasty popcorn, start with your chosen popping vessel and garlic-infused oil. Turn the heat on medium-low and add in the popcorn kernels, chipotle powder, and smoked paprika. Once you start hearing the popping, crank the Whirley Pop to keep things moving. If you’re using a classic pot, just shake it every few seconds.
Dump the popcorn into a big bowl and drizzle it with melted butter, sprinkle with salt, and zest your lime. Toss and try and refrain from eating the whole bowl. Or, eat the whole bowl. I certainly won’t judge.
You may notice I add the spices in right along with the popcorn kernels. This is so the spices can toast a bit and evenly coat the popcorn. I prefer doing it this way as opposed to just sprinkling it on because I don’t like the powdery texture it can have.
If you have an air popper and prefer enjoying your popcorn that way, just add the spices into the butter when you melt it. That way, you avoid that raw-powdery taste.
I can’t even begin to describe how flavorful this popcorn is… you’ve got a hint of garlic, heat, smoke, salt, and that punch of freshness from the lime zest. Go celebrate National Popcorn Day with this popcorn… I still have half of the bowl to eat ?.
- 2 Tablespoons Garlic-Infused Olive Oil*
- ½ Cup White Popcorn Kernels
- ½ Teaspoon Chipotle Pepper Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 2 Tablespoons Melted Butter, I recommend grass-fed butter – it’s SO good on popcorn!
- Salt, to taste
- 1 Lime
- In a Whirley-pop (or pot with a lid), heat the oil over medium-low heat and add in the popcorn, chipotle pepper, and smoked paprika. Crank the Whirley pop (or shake your pot) to mix everything together.
- Once you hear popping, crank the Whirley Pop (or shake your pot) until the popping subsides. Remove the popcorn from the heat and pour a third of it into a large bowl.
- Drizzle the popcorn with a third of the butter, sprinkle with salt, and using a microplane, zest a third of the lime over the popcorn. Toss this layer, and then repeat with this process twice with the remaining popcorn, butter, salt, and lime.
- Enjoy!
- *You can make garlic-infused olive oil by heating 2 tablespoons of olive oil over low heat and adding 1 garlic clove that has been thinly sliced. Cook it for a few minutes until the garlic just begins to turn golden. Remove the garlic and then use the oil for the popcorn. You can also make this in larger batches and store it, just use 1 garlic clove per 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Yummy.. definitely going to try this. #gourmetpopcorn