Sriracha Kettle Corn

This Sriracha Kettle Corn popcorn is sweet, spicy, smokey, salty, and crunchy all in one bite! You won’t be able to stop shoveling it into your face! 

It feels so good to be back in the swing of things and bringing you a new recipe this morning! You can see last week’s post for an update about where I’ve been the past month. Today’s recipe is one I’m super excited about – Sriracha Kettle Corn! 

A friend and I were joking about how Sriracha has quickly taken the U.S. by storm and how popular it is to Sriracha All. The. Things. So of course we had to start brainstorming about what recipes could use a little Sriracha upgrade.  If you’re not familiar with its deliciousness yet, Sriracha (pronounces see-rach-ahh) is a hot sauce/chili sauce made from chili peppers, vinegar, salt, and garlic. People who love spice seem to enjoy putting it on EVERYTHING much like us “regular” folk might use ketchup. I’m not THAT obsessed, but I do think that it is pretty yummy as far as hot sauces go. 

One of the recipe ideas that came out of this brainstorming is this Sriracha Kettle Corn. Since I’m obsessed with remixing my kettle corn recipe as many ways as possible, it was a pretty natural conclusion that sweet salty kettle corn would go really well with spicy sriracha. (Further Sriracha recipe ideas are still undergoing testing.)

The idea was solid, but the process took a bit of work. When I dumped it all in at the beginning like I do for my regular kettle corn, my whirley pop (affiliate link) started smoking up a storm – apparently the “smoke point” for Sriracha is much lower than it is for Coconut oil. (Whoops!) The smoke filling my kitchen was made worse by the fact that spicy chilies were now vaporized and getting in my eyes. So, learn from my mistake and DON’T DO THAT! Ironically, this is the second time in my life that I have tried making chili popcorn only to wind up with eyeballs full of chili smoke. The first time was in a dorm kitchen and I essentially pepper sprayed the entire first 3 floors and almost lost my kitchen privileges. You would think I would have learned the first time right?

So, what is the right way to do it you ask? Well, you’ll need to heat up the oil to the point where kernels are starting to pop and then carefully add in your Sriracha. It’s a bit more work, but I promise the smoky, sweet, spicy, salty popcorn will be totally worth it when you’re done. My “beta” testers told me it was the kind of thing that should be enjoyed as a bar snack with a cold beer and it reminded them of the spicy chex mix. They liked the sweet taste that finished with the heat of the Sriracha. And it really lasted less than 15 minutes in the bowl. I hope you enjoy it too! 

If you had to put a “Sriracha Upgrade” on a favorite recipe, what would you make? 

This post contains affiliate links. Sustaining the Powers is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. When you use these links to make purchases, I earn a portion of the sales at no extra cost to you. Thanks for helping to keep our pantry stocked! <3

Sriracha Kettle Corn

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews

• Author: Stephanie Powers
• Total Time: 10

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• Ingredients
• 1/4 Cup Coconut oil (recommended) or Canola Oil
• 1/2 Cup Yellow Popcorn Kernels
• 1/3 Cup White Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
• 1–2 Tablespoons Sriracha Chili Sauce (added as kernels begin to pop)
• 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt (added after popping)

Other Supplies

• A large, 6-8 quart pot with handles and a tight-fitting lid or Whirley Pop popper
• Apron
• 2 oven mitts

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. Gather all other materials and ingredients.
2. Put on the apron to prevent oil splatters on clothing. (trust me)
3. Measure out popcorn kernels, sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt into a small bowl or cup.
4. Measure out Sriracha and set aside.

If using a stove-top pot

1. Measure out coconut oil and heat in the pot over medium-high heat along with 3 “tester” kernels. Cover with a lid.
2. Put on oven mitts. When tester kernels have popped, remove lid, dump in the sugar, un-popped kernels, and salt from the bowl and give it a quick stir. Cover with lid.
3. Using thumbs to secure the lid, occasionally swirl pot over heat to keep sugar from burning.
4. As popcorn begins popping, quickly add Sriracha then pick the pot up and give it a quick shake every few seconds until popping begins to slow. About 3-4 minutes.
5. Once popping has slowed to 1 second between pops, remove from heat and dump it quickly into a large bowl. (A partner to remove and hold the lid helps a lot for this step.)
6. Add remaining 1/4 tsp salt over the top.

If using a Whirley Pop

1. Add the coconut oil, sugar, unpopped kernels, and salt to the whirley pop.
2. Put on oven mitts.
3. Heat over medium high heat while cranking the handle slowly until popcorn starts to sizzle and pop.
4. Once popping has begun, carefully add in Sriracha and continue to crank as the popcorn pops.
5. Once popping has slowed to 1 second between pops, remove from heat and dump it quickly into a large bowl.
6. Add remaining 1/4 tsp salt over the top.
7. Serve immediately.
8. Makes 6 cups (but that’s probably just 1 serving.)

---

Notes

• Gluten-free: This is gluten-free!
• Vegetarian/Vegan: This is vegan!

 Pin This Sriracha Kettle Corn Recipe for Later!