Spicy ‘Cheddar’ Popcorn
Before you read any further, I must warn you now, this is the most addicting snack ever! So, when you finish off a batch watching Mad Men and subconsciously start liking the bowl for every last morsel of salty goodness, don’t come back complaining to me. You’ve been warned! Ok, but in all honesty, what beats popcorn? And what beats making popcorn at home, when you can top it off with your favorite sweet or savory toppings? Popping your own popcorn at home is incredibly easy, healthy, and affordable, especially compared to the alternative of bagged microwave popcorn. The more and more I learn about microwaved popcorn, the more disturbed I become! Microwave popcorn is full of chemicals and artificial colors and flavors. Check out here, here, and here for more information on the health risks of microwave popcorn.
We are huge fans of nutritional yeast in this house. Why? Well it offers us vegans a tasty ‘cheesy’ flavor without the cheese! Nutritional yeast flakes are an excellent source of protein, amino acids, B-complex vitamins, phosphorus, and folic acids. We add it into burritos, pasta, and of course, popcorn!
If you have never made popcorn at home on the stove top, please don’t be intimidated! One of the best things about popping your own corn, is that the kernels are so cheap. So, if you burn your first batch, do not fret! Learn from your mistakes and try again. Here is a super easy recipe that takes less than 5 minutes to make!
5 tablespoons corn kernels
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes (more or less to taste)
1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
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In a deep pot with lid, pour in the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and shake the pot until the oil is evenly spread. Sprinkle in the corn kernels and spread evenly into the oil. Sprinkle the salt over the kernels (you can always add more salt after the corn is popped, but adding the salt now assures even distribution).
Cover the pot with the lid and heat on high heat. Now, the popping will start quickly. Once the kernels start popping vigorously, carefully shake the pot to prevent burning. Be careful! Your pot may be very hot. The popping process is very fast and once you notice the popping slowing, remove pot from heat and keep covered until popping is completely finished. Sprinkle on the nutritional yeast and red pepper flakes, stirring gently to make sure all of the popcorn is covered, add more to taste. Enjoy!
HI there ! We were so impressed with your tasty snack that we will be featuring it in our weekly recipe round-up. The post will go live on our website, http://www.chicvegan.com, tomorrow 6.9.12 and will be a link directly to your site, NOT a re-typing of the recipe. The recipe will also be featured in our weekly newsletter on Sunday which gets e-mailed out to over 2400 subscribers.
Congratulations! Keep up the good work.
Peace and health,
Gretchen
Wow, thank you so much! What an honor. Thank you for including me!
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OMG! Made something really similar a few nights ago. We ran out of olive oil, so we used coconut oil. (We bought a huge thing of it at Costco but have been hesitant to use it, unsure of the impact of the different flavor.) Coconut oil turned out to be the best idea ever… yum! In my bowl I added nutritional yeast flakes and Lawry’s Garlic Powder with Parsley seasoning. Lemme just say, anything with nutritional yeast is MAJORLY addicting. But after reading this blog entry I want to try it with dried red pepper flakes.