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January 16, 2018 by Joy Kincaid 11 Comments

Easy 3 Ingredient Homemade Popcorn Balls

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These easy popcorn balls are the perfect no-stress cooking project for a winter afternoon! This recipe just has three ingredients, and no corn syrup!

These popcorn balls are super easy to make with your kids on a winter day!
If you’re looking for healthy popcorn balls without corn syrup, check out this recipe for Gluten-Free Honey Popcorn Balls.

Winter afternoons always seem perfect for cooking, baking, and crafting. Years ago, my children and I made these easy popcorn balls together, and I posted the recipe on my blog after a reader requested it.

Since the weather has been snowy and cold where we live, I was reminded of this recipe and decided to republish it.

We spent many happy winter days in the kitchen making this easy recipe. Now that my kids are older, they still love making and eating these!

Some links below are affiliate links. Read my full disclosure here.

 

The awesome thing about popcorn balls is that they easily resemble snowballs! They would go perfectly with a unit on snow, especially with this book (one of our favorite books about snow days).

Easy Popcorn Balls

 

This recipe for easy popcorn balls is super simple and only has 3 ingredients! As I mentioned above, it’s a great recipe to have your children help with.

In the photo below, my youngest daughter (who was around 5 at the time—she’s now 12!) is helping to stir the marshmallows. Be sure to use caution when you have little ones around a hot stove!

easy popcorn balls

If your children are too young to help around the stove, you could always have them help you measure out the ingredients. And then comes the fun part!

With popcorn balls, the most-anticipated job for little ones is helping to shape the popcorn into balls. Children love doing this! It’s a great sensory experience for them. Unless (like one of my children) they don’t like the feeling of getting their hands sticky. 🙂

easy popcorn balls

How to Make Them

As I mentioned above, this recipe uses just 3 ingredients!

Ingredients:

  • 2 sticks butter
  • 1 cup of popcorn kernels
  • 1 bag of regular-sized marshmallows (not the mini ones)

Instructions:

 1.  Melt the two sticks of butter in a large pot (I use my large stock-pot).

2.  Pop one cup of popcorn.  (We have an electric popcorn popper that we found at the thrift store for very cheap.  We buy popcorn in bulk from our food co-op.)

3.  When the butter is melted, pour the bag of marshmallows into the pot with it and stir until the marshmallows melt.

4.  Pour the popped corn into the melted butter and marshmallow mixture and stir until all the popcorn is coated.  Grease hands with butter (this is the part kids like to help with).

5.  When the popcorn is cool enough that you can hold it in your hands without getting burned, form it into balls.  Lay the balls on waxed paper to cool.

easy popcorn balls

easy popcorn balls
Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Easy Popcorn Balls

This is the perfect treat to make with your kids on a winter afternoon! With just 3 ingredients, they're simple and delicious!
Author: Joy Kincaid

Ingredients

  • 2 sticks butter
  • 1 cup popcorn kernels
  • 1 bag regular marshmallows (regular, not mini)

Instructions

  • Melt the two sticks of butter in a large pot (I use my large stock-pot).
  • Pop one cup of popcorn.  (We have an electric popcorn popper that we found at the thrift store for very cheap.  We buy popcorn in bulk from our food co-op.)
  • When the butter is melted, pour the bag of marshmallows into the pot with it and stir until the marshmallows melt.
  • Pour the popped corn into the melted butter and marshmallow mixture and stir until all the popcorn is coated.  Grease hands with butter (this is the part kids like to help with).
  • When the popcorn is cool enough that you can hold it in your hands without getting burned, form it into balls.  Lay the balls on waxed paper to cool.

That’s all there is to it! These are a great simple treat when you don’t have much time. And kids absolutely love them!

Related Posts:

Gluten-Free Honey Popcorn Balls

These gluten-free honey-sweetened popcorn balls are healthy and delicious!

 

This snowball peppermint playdough recipe is perfect for a snowy day or gift-giving!

Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links. Read my full disclosure here. Sharing here.

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Comments

  1. Sarah says

    March 21, 2020 at 1:33 pm

    Add some fun blue, white, and/or snowflake sprinkles, and you got yourself a great snack to go along with Frozen movie night! ❤❤

    Reply
    • Joy Kincaid says

      March 21, 2020 at 3:49 pm

      Great idea! Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
  2. April J Harris says

    January 29, 2018 at 7:05 am

    Oh my goodness, this is a much easier recipe than I remember for popcorn balls! It’s so nice not to have to make caramel!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe at The Hearth and Soul Link party, Joy. Have a lovely week ahead!

    Reply
    • Joy Kincaid says

      January 30, 2018 at 7:55 pm

      They are so easy! Thanks for stopping by, April, and I hope you have a great week also!

      Reply
  3. Char says

    January 24, 2018 at 4:45 am

    Popcorn balls are a family favorite! It’s great to find a simple recipe!

    Reply
  4. Char says

    January 24, 2018 at 4:42 am

    Popcorn balls are one our family’s special treats when our kids were little. I made them with the Karo syrup that almost burned my hands with each batch! How wonderful to have an easy recipe!

    Reply
    • Joy Kincaid says

      February 7, 2018 at 11:52 pm

      So glad it was helpful! This recipe is seriously so easy! 🙂

      Reply
  5. Emily @DomesticDeadline.com says

    January 23, 2018 at 6:36 am

    I haven’t made popcorn balls in years, I’ll have to make them soon! Thanks for linking up to #HomeMattersParty

    Reply
    • Joy Kincaid says

      January 23, 2018 at 5:48 pm

      Thanks for stopping by, Emily!

      Reply
  6. Misty Meadows Homestead says

    January 19, 2018 at 6:34 pm

    Looks like a lot of fun!

    Reply
    • Joy Kincaid says

      January 20, 2018 at 5:08 pm

      My kids think they’re amazingly fun! 🙂

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Joy. I'm so glad you're here! I believe creating a beautiful and nurturing home is an art worth cultivating. Read more here...

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