Vegan Caramel Popcorn

When I was a kid, I used to eat Cracker Jacks but mostly because I wanted the prize inside. I liked the roasted peanuts, but the popcorn was always way too sweet for me. So, I took this opportunity to make my own caramel popcorn where I could control the level of sweetness and the ingredients. Most caramel corn you buy isn’t vegan because it usually contains butter in the caramel. I used vegan butter in my recipe.

Vegan Caramel Popcorn [Gluten-Free]

Ingredients

• 8 cups popcorn
• ½ cup vegan butter
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tbs. agave nectar
• A pinch of salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp. baking soda
• Roasted nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips, etc. (optional)

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Put the popcorn on the baking sheets.
2. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Mix in the brown sugar and raise the heat to medium-high. Stir often and bring the mixture to a boil.
3. Add in the agave nectar. Let the mixture boil for 3 minutes and then reduce the heat. Simmer the mixture for 5 minutes, stirring often, and then remove from the heat.
4. Add the salt, vanilla and baking soda. The mixture will get very foamy. Keep stirring.
5. Pour the caramel over the popcorn while someone mixes the popcorn by flipping it with a spatula. Make sure all the popcorn is coated with caramel.
6. Smooth it out on the baking sheets and bake for 1 hour, flipping it every 15 minutes. Bake until it is as crispy as desired.
7. Let cool completely before serving. Mix in any extras like nuts or dried fruit.
8. Store in an airtight container.

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/vegan-caramel-popcorn/