Bacon cheddar popcorn is better than nachos: prove me wrong.
This bacon cheddar popcorn recipe was created for the reddit 52 weeks of baking challenge, Week 16: Crispy Crunchy. I had been thinking about making bacon cheddar shortbread. But then Molly Yeh and her popcorn salad started some trouble. And I had a new inspiration.
Mr. uglyducklingbakery thought it would work better with powdered cheddar cheese. But I was hoping for that perfect combination of crispy bacon, crunchy popcorn, and oozy melted cheese that holds it all together. Plus this way you don’t get all that powdered cheese residue on your fingers.
Frequently asked questions about bacon cheddar popcorn
- That doesn’t look like enough cheese and bacon for me – can I add more? Mr. uglyducklingbakery would agree with you. Your future cardiologist might not. But I think you could probably double the amount of add ins without impacting the crunch of the popcorn.
- Can I use another cheese? Absolutely. The best cheese is the one you have on hand. But maybe try to keep it to cheese that melts easily.
- What should I drink with this? A cold beer, without a doubt.
- Can this be made ahead? The bacon can be cooked ahead of time, but you will want to be eating the rest of this right out of the oven.
- Can I make this without the bacon? You could, although I might consider subbing a non-meat bacon before you left it out completely. The MorningStar bacon was always my favorite, but it’s been a while since real bacon became my gateway back to eating meat. Please leave a comment if you have a fake bacon you love!
Bacon cheddar popcorn
Ingredients
- 2 strips bacon
- ⅓ cup popcorn kernels
- 3 oz cheddar cheese, grated
Instructions
- Preheat the broiler of your oven with a rack about 4-6" away.
- Cook the bacon in a cast iron pan on the stove or in the oven on a broiler pan until crisp. Blot with paper towels and then chop finely. Reserve the bacon fat in a jar.
- Use 2 tsp of bacon fat to pop the popcorn in a small saucepan on the stovetop or whatever way you prefer to pop popcorn.
- Mix the cooked popcorn, bacon, and half of the cheese in a bowl and then spread out in a thin layer in a broiler-safe oven dish (I used a 9"x13" pyrex). Top with the remaining cheese.
- Broil 2-3 minutes until the cheese has melted. Serve immediately.
What’s next?
If you make this bacon cheddar popcorn, please comment and/or share a pic!
Enjoy some other uglyducklingbakery appetizers and snacks.
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Previous challenges:
Week 1: New Year new recipe – blueberry galette
Week 2: seasonal – Smitten Kitchen’s grapefruit pound cake
Week 3: Great British Bake Off – Kate’s sticky toffee apple caramel cake
Week 4: Australia – sausage rolls
Week 5: bite sized – cookies
Week 6: Chinese New Year – mushroom bao
Week 7: new tool – baguette baker
Week 8: chocolate – chocolate peanut butter bonbons
Week 9: timed bake – under 1 hour! chocolate chip scones
Week 10: allergy/diet restriction – macarons
Week 11: quick breads – kale and cheese quick bread
Week 12: signature bake – purple cow bread
Week 13: enriched breads
Week 14: childhood favorite – chocolate cake
Week 15: decorating challenge – purple velvet cake
next week: p52 of your favorite cookbook
I absolutely love the idea of this popcorn. So fun!
Thanks, and so easy to make too!