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We tested one more popcorn-making method—the Whirley-Pop—and added it as another pick. Additionally, we’ve updated this guide with our long-term test notes.
Popcorn is a timeless snack: Since it was first cultivated in the Americas, several thousand years ago, it’s been munched on by the Aztecs, Depression-era vendors, movie-theater patrons, and money-strapped students alike. Methods for making popcorn abound, and as a longtime connoisseur, I wanted to know which technique was the best.
Nearly all home-popping methods fit into one of three categories: hot air (using a small appliance, such as an air popper), stove top, or microwave. I say “nearly all” because technically you can get as creative as you want: A kernel set under a magnifying glass in the sun (video) could work, as could a kernel placed in a hair straightener (video). We just wouldn’t recommend these methods.
I spoke with other popcorn fanatics at Wirecutter—some who eat it daily and some who have it only once in a while; some with kids and some without; some living in small apartments and others who dwell in spacious houses. And I systematically tested every major method for popping popcorn (while subjecting my loved ones to near-endless bowls of the stuff).
In the end, I discovered that the crispiest, best-tasting popcorn is made on the stove. But that doesn’t mean the stove-top method is the best method for you. If you prioritize easy cleanup, kid-friendliness, or an option that doesn’t require oil, we have other suggestions, too.
This pot has only one purpose, but it makes the crunchiest corn. It has a stirring wire, to prevent burning, and a vented lid, which keeps kernels from getting damp with steam.
We’ve found that making popcorn on the stove delivers the tastiest results. And if you don’t mind investing in one more standalone product, the Whirley-Pop is incredibly easy to use, and it makes unbeatable popcorn.
A hand-cranked wire stirs the kernels to prevent them from burning, and a vented lid allows steam to escape so the popcorn avoids getting soggy. And the long handle keeps your fingers safely away from the heat.
It’s the absolute crunchiest. All stove-top methods will produce crunchier popcorn than the microwave or an air popper, but the Whirley-Pop takes popcorn to the next level. Since its lid is vented, steam doesn’t get trapped around the kernels, so there’s no softening (which can happen with other lidded pots).
But stove-top popping requires oil. Unlike making popcorn in an air popper or the microwave, when you make popcorn on the stove, you have to use at least a few tablespoons of oil, to prevent sticking and burning. And this likely helps boost the taste and texture, though when we used oil to make popcorn in our microwave-bowl pick, it didn’t deliver quite the same crunch.
Yet cleanup is still easy. Even though the instructions suggest using oil to make the popcorn, the Whirley-Pop doesn’t need to be washed out with soap and water after each use, according to the user manual. Just wipe it down with a paper towel, and place it on a shelf until its next use.
It has a great warranty. We haven’t encountered any issues with our Whirly-Pop, and we haven’t come across any common or repeated issues mentioned in buyer reviews, either. But if you do have an issue, the company has an eye-popping (pun intended) 25-year warranty.
Like a microwavable popcorn bowl or air popper, this popper is another standalone product that won’t find other use in your kitchen. If you’re short on space, consider sticking to the general pot-on-the-stove method.
Also, we’ve had a few experiences with hot oil escaping through the vented lid and landing on our hands. It’s too light a spray to cause actual burning, but it’s an unpleasant feeling. Reducing the quantity of oil seems to eliminate the problem, but it means this method might not be the best one for kids.
Chances are good you already have a stockpot (or something similar) in your cupboard. If you don’t, this deep, fully clad pot will evenly heat your kernels, and it has large, easy-to-grip-handles. But since it doesn’t have a stirring wire, this pot will require regular shaking.
If you don’t want to invest in yet another kitchen gadget, and you don’t mind monitoring your kernels, then just about any lidded pot will work to make popcorn.
But lighter is better in this case. That’s why if you’re in the market for a stockpot, we recommend the Tramontina stockpot from our cookware guide. It only weighs 5 pounds 12 ounces, so you can shake your popcorn with ease.
And thanks to its fully clad finish, this pot will distribute heat evenly to each kernel. And that also means there will be less burning and, ultimately, an easier cleanup.
Wirecutter staffers have also made their popcorn in heavier pots, such as a Dutch oven, which holds and distributes heat well but is much heavier to shake. And some others have used lighter-weight vessels, including a large metal bowl topped with aluminum foil, á la Alton Brown (video). But a bowl is hard to hold onto, and it’s thinner than cookware, so there’s a higher risk of scorching. A tri-ply stainless steel pot provides a happy medium.
Like the Whirly-Pop, this pot requires oil. But unlike the Whirly-Pop, this is a pot you’ll likely use for other tasks, so you'll need to wash it with soap and water between uses.
No matter what cooking vessel you choose, you need to stay by the stove and shake your pot (or Dutch oven or bowl) so that the kernels don’t burn as they pop. If your pot has short handles, you may find it easier and safer to wear oven mitts when shaking. Just be sure to keep the mitts well away from the flame if you have a gas stove.
Also, since most stock pots don’t have a vented lid (like our microwavable-bowl or Whirley-Pop picks do), you’ll want to pour the popcorn out of the pot and into a bowl quickly so it doesn’t sit in its own moisture and lose its crunch.
This is the best vessel for making a big quantity of popcorn fast, with minimal supervision or cleanup. But the popcorn’s texture is less crunchy, and the device takes up kitchen space.
There are dozens of air-popper models. But most look and work basically the same as the trusty Presto PopLite (which I and several of my colleagues have used for years): Hot air pops the kernels, and a fan blows the popcorn out of the machine and into your bowl.
The Presto PopLite is basically fool-proof. With this air popper, the popped kernels find their way into your bowl without any effort on your part. Stove-top methods, on the other hand, have you constantly shaking or stirring the kernels. And microwave methods require you to actively listen for the popping to slow down.
Of all the vessels I’ve tried, an air popper is the only one that never resulted in burnt popcorn, since the machine blows kernels out as soon as they’ve popped. This method also made it easier to ensure that every kernel of popcorn was popped.
It produces tons of popcorn, fast. The Presto PopLite is the best of our picks at making a large quantity of popcorn quickly. In just about 2½ minutes, this machine transforms half a cup of kernels into roughly 18 cups of popcorn. By comparison, the Whirley-Pop has roughly the same capacity but takes about 4 minutes, and the microwavable bowl has only a 9-cup capacity and takes about 4 minutes too.
Cleanup is minimal. Cleaning out the PopLite is an easy (or, rather, a nonexistent) task. Occasionally one errant kernel will escape the fan, and you’ll just need to remove it before returning your popper to the shelf. But even if you don’t, hopefully the kernel will just pop up next time.
Other than that, since the machine removes the popcorn itself and requires no oil, there’s nothing else for you to clean (unless you use its lid to melt butter, which we don’t recommend).
It’s got good longevity and great customer service. One of our staff testers has been using her Presto PopLite for three years and reports it still works perfectly. Her butter warmer did eventually warp (which some buyers have mentioned in reviews), but that hasn’t impeded its function.
Another staffer (who’s been popping for a family of four for two years) said when she thought she’d run into a motor issue, the Presto team was swift in its email communication and helped her resolve the issue (which turned out not to be a motor issue, but rather her overfilling the popper).
The Presto PopLite’s ½-cup lid is supposed to double as a butter melter, but we find that element messy and ineffective; since the machine runs only for about two minutes, the butter won’t melt properly if it’s too cold or cut into too-large pieces.
The lid on our PopLite also warped after a few uses, though it’s still effective at blocking any runaway kernels from escaping out the top, and it can still work as a kernel scooper.
The Presto PopLite, like most air poppers, produces a more fluffy, less crunchy kernel than stove-top methods. The machine is also rather loud. Sure, any popping method produces the noise of exploding kernels, but air poppers add the whirring sound of circulating air.
And, finally, though this machine is not huge—just about the size of a personal blender—it is a single-purpose appliance that takes up space.
This silicone bowl is incredibly simple to use and easy to clean, and it folds down for more-efficient storage. However, it can make only 9 cups of popcorn at a time. Also, its popcorn has a squeakier texture, and this bowl leaves the most kernels unpopped.
You’ve probably made popcorn in the microwave, using those prefab bags from the likes of Orville Redenbacher or Act II. It’s what I think of as starter popcorn. And it’s great, if you don’t mind someone else seasoning your popcorn (that’s not sarcasm—I sometimes like throwing the culinary reins to a faceless organization). But to conveniently zap your own kernels and be the captain of your own flavor ship, we recommend a dedicated microwavable bowl, like the W&P Collapsible Popcorn Bowl.
It has a very small footprint. The microwave popcorn bowls we’ve seen come with a vented lid, and they fold down for easy storing. The W&P bowl collapses to about 2 inches in height, making it the most compact of our recommended popcorn makers.
You don’t need oil, but you can add some if you’d like. Like the air popper we recommend, the W&P does not require oil to make popcorn. However, with the W&P bowl, you can add some oil to the unpopped kernels before microwaving, which you can’t do with the air popper. In our experience, you’ll get slightly better results when you add some oil; the corn will be a little crispier, and fewer pieces will burn. And, obviously, it will taste better.
Cleanup is simple. The W&P bowl is dishwasher-safe. And even if you choose to hand-wash this bowl, it’s small and pliable, so a quick rinse is easy.
The main downside of a microwavable popcorn bowl is that it yields less popcorn than stove-top or air-popper methods. Most bowls, including the W&P model, are large enough to make only about 9 cups of popcorn at a time (using about ⅓ cup of kernels). In comparison, a store-bought bag of microwave popcorn makes about 11 to 13 cups of popcorn, and an air popper can produce roughly 18 cups (using about ½ cup of kernels).
The W&P bowl is also prone to leaving behind more unpopped kernels than those other methods, since it’s hard to perfectly time when to remove the bowl before some popped kernels start to burn. Occasionally, the bowl will even burn a few pieces of popcorn while leaving others unpopped, likely because you can’t shake the vessel to redistribute unpopped kernels while cooking.
Also, removing the bowl after popping can be a bit tricky. For one thing, it’s hot. Some people may prefer using oven mitts or a dish towel. And since the silicone is pliable, the bowl can change shape, causing steam or popcorn to release as you pick it up. Finally (not that it bothered us), the silicone bowl tends to retain a slight aroma of popcorn, even after washing.
I haven’t met a popcorn topping I didn’t like. Salt and butter? Delicious. Pepper and olive oil? Fabulous. Day-Glo–yellow movie-theater “butter” squirted from a pump? Incredible. (Don’t even tell me what’s in there—it’s really none of my business.) With the help of Wirecutter’s kitchen team, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite popcorn toppings.
Senior staff writer Lesley Stockton recommends combining Fly by Jing’s Mala Spice Mix with ghee. And now that I’ve tried it, I can vouch for it too. The mala blend is a mix of 11 spices and herbs that hit all of the flavor notes you could want—a little sweet, a little umami, with a spicy tingle that makes it addictive.
Lesley also stands by “the GOAT”: Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning. Trader Joe’s has its own spin on this, and it’s pretty good, if a bit dill-forward.
Though nutritional yeast may still be best known among vegans, several of our omnivorous staffers love it sprinkled over their corn. Senior staff writer Michael Sullivan says “the nutty, cheesy flavor is always a crowd-pleaser” with his family. Most grocery stores stock nutritional yeast in the baking or health-food aisle.
On a recent trip to Michigan, I was introduced to Pop-kie’s, which sells 60 varieties of popcorn, all made on site. Luckily for those of us who live out of state, Pop-kie’s ships little bottles of some of its flavored powders (they’re all delicious, but my favorite is the mouth-puckering dill-pickle flavor).
Tajin—the chili-lime-salt blend from Mexico—is another favorite popcorn topper among our staffers. Senior editor Marguerite Preston also recommends Rancho Gordo’s Stardust Dipping Powder, a riff on Tajin that’s less tart, with a more prominent lime flavor and a bit of sweetness from brown sugar.
Marguerite also recommends tossing your popcorn with olive oil, salt, and one of New York Shuk’s dried harissa spice blends: Rosey, Herby, or Fiery.
This article was edited by Marguerite Preston and Marilyn Ong.
Dorie Chevlen
Dorie Chevlen is a staff writer from Youngstown, Ohio, now living in Los Angeles. She has worked as a copy editor, fact checker, and sandwich maker, but this is probably her favorite gig. Her writing has also been published in Science, Slate, and The Wall Street Journal, among others. She has been called—both flatteringly and not—“a lot.”
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Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York Times. Our journalists combine independent research with (occasionally) over-the-top testing so you can make quick and confident buying decisions. Whether it’s finding great products or discovering helpful advice, we’ll help you get it right (the first time).