This easy 5 Ingredient Popcorn Granola is a mashup of two favorite by-the-handful snacks into one sweet, salty, offbeat treat!
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Just popping in spontaneously on a Saturday with a fun recipe for you!
Okay, the popcorn puns stop there, I promise.
I don’t usually post on Saturdays. But when one of my favorite childhood snacks finds it’s way into one of my other favorite topping/cereal/by the handful snacks, I can’t don’t want to wait until next week to share. And perhaps a little sweet-salty snacking is exactly what your weekend needs right now.
It’s tricky to think up a flavor concept that hasn’t already been granola-ed. Type “granola + {insert any fruit/flavor/spice/nut/sweetener here}” into google and you will probably find something. Probably more than one something even. Which is understandable, because granola is a perfect form for just about any flavor–salty, sweet, or (best of all) salty & sweet.
So instead of coming up with some sort of crazy novel flavor to add to the oil-free crunchy granola collection, I looked to the actual base ingredients instead. I love adding different textural variants to my granola to mix things up–rice crispies, popped quinoa, seeds, puffed cereals, coconut shreds, etc. And now I can add a new-found favorite to that list: popcorn! The popped, puffy “cereal” before puffed cereals were even cool.
Still crazy? Maybe.
But texturally fun and uniquely tasty? Definitely!
To let the popcorn be the star of this offbeat granola party, I kept the rest of the ingredients simple and minimal. Oats so the granola police don’t come after me. Maple syrup for sweetness and cluster-filled crunch. Salt, popcorn’s BFF. And cinnamon for a little spice. You could scale this popcorn granola back even further and leave out the cinnamon if you like, the salty sweetness is delicious without too.
Quick note. I do not recommend eating this granola as a cereal with milk. Popcorn is not a big fan of milk, or any liquids for that matter. Let’s just say soggy would be an understatement and you would be left holding a bowl of mushy cinnamon sadness. Save it for snacking and topping instead.
Happy salty, sweet, kettlecorn-reminiscent snacking!
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5 Ingredient Popcorn Granola
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
Description
This easy 5 Ingredient Popcorn Granola is a mashup of two of the best by-the-handful snacks into one sweet-salty offbeat treat!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 2 cups air popped popcorn ((see video for an easy DIY microwave method))
- 2/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon ((optional))
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Combine the oats, popcorn, salt, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Toss to combine.
- Add the maple syrup and mix until everything is evenly coated.
- Transfer onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper, spreading into one thin layer. Firmly press the mixture together to form a solid rectangle, this makes for larger clusters after baking.
- Bake for 10 minutes at 375F.
- Let it cool for at least 30 minutes before breaking apart into chunks.
- Store in an airtight container. It will last for 1-2 weeks.
Just call me Feasting on Finger Food…
-Sweet and salty and CHOCOLATE snack sticks
–Chewy cake chunks that will draw all the bunnies out of there winter hiding spots
-Trust me, these little bites are 100% worth the sticky messy fingers
-A smoothie bowl + this on top = best breakfast of your entire week
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Feelin this on so many levels!! I’ve actually been wanting to put popcorn in granola for a while now – more proof we are always on the same wavelength!! Love the combination of flavours in this crunchy goodness. I’ve been craving granola lately, so this so needs to happen.
Haha, really!?! Well when a somewhat crazy idea like this comes to both of us we know we think/snack alike. And that it has to happen! Well please do still, maybe in some sort of amazing chocolate-inclusive flavor like those cookies. Idk, you are very good with the flavor combining so I’ll just let you handle that 🙂
OBSESSED with this concept. I am a total popcorn addict, and adding it to already wonderful crunchy, sweet granola is SO genius!! Totally worthy of an out of the ordinary Saturday post! 🙂
Me too! Well was more than am, but I seriously used to eat popcorn daily. Yes it’s fun to mix up the schedule sometimes 🙂 Hope you are having a wonderful weekend Sara!
As soon as I post this, I’m going to go into the kitchen and mix up a batch of these! They sound like great snacks. On a totally different topic, but in the fruit world, have you heard of the new company Barnana? For some reason, when I see new banana products, I think of Feasting On Fruit! Barnana just added a new product “Banana Brittle” that made me think you’d want to know(and perhaps come up with versions of your own????).
Just for fun here’s a link to a bit more about them.
http://mobile.foodnavigator-usa.com/Manufacturers/Barnana-unveils-its-latest-innovation-banana-brittle
Haha I’m going to take the banana product -> FOF connection as a compliment 😀 I love those little Barnana bites, haven’t thought about them in forever, but this brittle sounds even more intriguing! I just found the ingredient list on their site, and they use oil but I’m going to play with the idea and see if I can skip that bit. All the flavors sound really good too. I will definitely work on it, because the concept is delicious! Thank you so much for letting me know Heidi 🙂
And this is recipe is just another reason why you are one of our fave bloggers!!!!! So creative and crunchyyyyyy! Pinning!
Crazy, crispy, crunchy, cinnamon-y–all the C words! Thanks Rachel <3
I have thought of putting popcorn inside rice crispy treats before but this looks entirely better and WAY easier! I honestly could eat the entire batch in one sitting! I LOVE popcorn and love granola so combining the 2 would be pure magical salty/sweet goodness! I really want some right now. I know Olivia would die over this. Need to make some, like, today! To me, cinnamon is my favorite flavor of granola and it gives so much flavor and the smell when baking is divine. I can only imagine the smell of both popcorn and granola at the same time! What a delicious idea!
After I finished shooting this I had the strong desire to grab a large, discreet bag and head to the movies with it lol. It’s the perfect movie snack though! I love love love salty sweet stuff too, kettle corn has always been my favorite so I was pretty thrilled that it tasted so similar. But with cinnamon! Which I think kettle corn has been missing all this time 😀 Also PLEASE bring that popcorn rice crispy treat idea to life because while I like granola I LOVEEEEEE rice crispy treats <3
Why haven’t I thought of this before? NEED to try this!!
Don’t know what took me so long either 😀
The oat police 🙂 Hahahaha so awesome! I’m loving adding popcorn to random sweet recipes and this granola is calling my name! Great post my love!
xo
Ashley
Popcorn is one of those snacks I forget about and then have the joy of rediscovering every so often, but it’s so versatile as an ingredient too! Thank you Ashley 🙂
please share link for DIY video air popped corn
Sure! Right here: http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-popcorn-in-the-microwave-227332
I really can’t wait to try this! This looks so delicious! My favorites all in one! Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
It’s such a yummy mashup of snacks, I hope you love it🤗