Making popcorn in the Instant Pot pressure cooker is a quick and budget-friendly way to enjoy one of America’s favorite snacks. Fluffy popcorn can be made in just a few minutes with minimal effort.
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Popcorn is a great snack for movie nights, and it can also be used to make delicious recipes like caramel popcorn or cheesy popcorn. With the pressure cooker, you can have a bowl of freshly popped corn in no time!
-`♡´- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- For this recipe, all you need are a few simple ingredients.
- Making popcorn in Instant Pot costs less than those expensive microwavable packages.
- Not only is this a budget-friendly way to enjoy popcorn, but it’s a simple way to sneak more fiber into your diet. Popcorn is a “whole grain.”
Let’s take a look at how to make this classic American treat in a pressure cooker.
📝 Ingredients
- ½ Cup Popcorn Kernels
- 2 Tablespoons Oil
👩🏻🍳 Directions
- Set your pot on saute and immediately place the oil inside your Instant Pot.
2. Allow the oil to heat up for about 2 minutes, or until your Instant Pot displays the word “hot” before placing your popcorn kernels in a single layer in the pot.
3. Stir for about 1 minute before putting a glass lid on the top you can see through.
4. After about 2-3 minutes of heating while covered, you will start to hear the popcorn kernels popping.
5. Let it pop for about 5 minutes or until most of the kernels have popped. Serve and enjoy!
📌Tips
- You’ll want to be able to see your popcorn kernels to ensure they’re not burning after a couple of minutes of popping. If you don’t have an Instant Pot glass lid, you’ll want to check every once in a while, under the lid. (I used a glass lid from a stockpot.)
- If your popcorn kernels are older, they may not seem stale to you, but older kernels will not pop well, if at all, in the instant pot. Use fresh kernels.
- I used avocado oil, which resulted in some luscious popcorn. However, you can use any oil you have on hand.
- To get a more even pop, after every minute of popping, carefully stir the popcorn or shake your instant pot to move around the popcorn. Unpopped kernels like to sometimes rest on already popped popcorn, which results in them not getting enough heat to pop. Moving the popcorn around helps these unpopped kernels get better heat.
- If you want buttery popcorn, you can add 2 tablespoons of butter with the oil. Once it’s melted, you can add your popcorn kernels.
🤷🏻♀️ Instant Pot Popcorn Questions
The reason for this is that you could be using old popcorn kernels.
Old kernels mean that the hulls are weak and they won’t expand in the pressure cooker. You’ll want to use fresh kernels for this recipe so your popcorn will pop! Don’t forget to keep the Instant Pot temperature just right during the popping process.
Yes, you will need to use cooking oil with this recipe. However, the amount of oil needed varies depending on your preference. You can add a few teaspoons if you want a light coating or add more for a nice thick layer of flavor.
For sweet recipes, try using coconut oil instead of vegetable oil for a special treat. You can make your own homemade version of Lesser Evil’s Himalayan Sweetness by using coconut oil, Himalayan salt, and a sweetener like sugar or maple syrup.
🍿 Popcorn Toppings
Making Instant Pot Popcorn is a fun and easy way to enjoy a tasty snack. Once you’ve cooked your popcorn, why not give it a twist and dress it up with some tasty toppings? You can make it sweet or savory, but either way, popping your own corn is a delicious and healthy snack idea.
A few classics are melted butter, salt, grated cheese, chili flakes, curry powder, lemon zest, lime zest, or cinnamon. If you’re feeling creative, however, you could try adding nutmeg and sugar for a unique flavor.
Making popcorn in the pressure cooker is easy and cost-effective. It’s sure to be a hit with your friends or family, not to mention it’s much healthier than pre-packaged microwave popcorn! So why not give this budget-friendly snack a try?
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Popcorn
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- ½ Cup Popcorn Kernels
- 2 Tablespoons Oil
Instructions
- Set your pot on saute and immediately place the oil inside your instant pot.
- Allow the oil to heat up for about 2 minutes, or until your instant pot displays the word “hot” before placing your popcorn kernels in a single layer in the pot.
- Stir for about 1 minute before putting a lid on the top you can see through.
- After about 2-3 minutes of heating while covered, you will start to hear the popcorn kernels popping.
- Let it pop for about 5 minutes or until most of the kernels have popped. Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- You’ll want to be able to see your popcorn kernels to ensure they’re not burning after a couple of minutes of popping. If you don’t have an Instant Pot glass lid, you’ll want to check every once in a while, under the lid. (I used a glass lid from a stockpot.)
- If your popcorn kernels are older, they may not seem stale to you, but older kernels will not pop well, if at all, in the instant pot. Use fresh kernels.
- I used avocado oil, which resulted in some luscious popcorn. However, you can use any oil you have on hand.
- To get a more even pop, after every minute of popping, carefully stir the popcorn or shake your instant pot to move around the popcorn. Unpopped kernels like to sometimes rest on already popped popcorn, which results in them not getting enough heat to pop. Moving the popcorn around helps these unpopped kernels get better heat.
- If you want buttery popcorn, you can add 2 tablespoons of butter with the oil. Once it’s melted, you can add your popcorn kernels.
Nutrition
Be sure to come back and tell us how your popcorn turned out!
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