An easy recipe for homemade Baked Caramel Popcorn – made from a simple brown sugar caramel, and then baked until perfectly crispy. This caramel corn is perfect for family movie night at home!
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar, corn syrup, and salt; stir to combine. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Once the mixture comes to a boil, let it boil for 5 minutes without stirring.
Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and the baking soda. Be careful - as the mixture will bubble up.
Gradually pour the caramel over the popped corn, mixing well. (I usually have the popcorn in 2 big bowls to give me enough room to stir to coat it with caramel.)
Turn the coated popcorn out onto 2 large, shallow baking sheets. I usually use half sheet baking sheets.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minute, or until fairly dry, stirring twice during baking time. Remove from the pan and break into pieces.
Store the caramel popcorn in an air-tight container.
Notes
**I used to cut the recipe down to 4 quarts of popcorn, but I have found that there is just too much caramel for 4 quarts, so I have gone back up to the original amount of 6 quarts.**This recipe is easily halved.Nutrition information provided as an estimate only. Various brands and products can change the counts. Any nutritional information should only be used as a general guideline.