The Flaming Vegan

A Vegan and Vegetarian Blogging Extravaganza

Make Fluffy Popcorn with Only Water! (Yes, it Does Work!)
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Cook Time: 10 minutes

A few weeks ago a popular food blog I follow mentioned that they had tested popping popcorn kernels with oil and with water in a pot and they came to the conclusion that water didn't work, or had very little success. Their photos showed that most of the kernels never popped, and the few that did were tiny and semi-burnt. While making popcorn with water does require a bit more time and finessing, I will say that they were not really correct in saying that you can't make popcorn with water and no oil.

I do usually make my popcorn with a bit of coconut oil, but since I order mine online, when I run out I usually make my popcorn with water. I will say that the first couple of times I tried this didn't work incredibly well, but now I have no problem making fluffy popcorn with only water!

How I make fluffy popcorn with water:

  1. I get out a medium-sized pot and add in about 2-3 tbs of water. Then I heat it to medium-high just until it starts to sizzle and then I reduce the heat to medium-low.
  2. I add in 2-3 tbs of popcorn kernels and lightly shake the pot so they are all in a flat layer, place the lid on the pot and wait for a couple of minutes and then I shake the pot and add in 1/2 - 1 tbs more water and place the lid back on. It does take a few minutes for the kernels to start popping. If it is taking more time than that, increase the heat slightly until the first one pops and then reduce the heat again. Occasionally shake the pot so the popcorn doesn't burn.
  3. Once they start popping the hard part is usually over. Keep lightly wiggling/shaking the pot. When the popping becomes infrequent, remove the pot from heat but leave the lid on until all the popping has stopped.

Because the popcorn will be dry as opposed to when you cook with oil, you may want to lightly spray the popcorn with a bit of oil/coconut oil if you want salt/nutritional yeast etc to stick to the popcorn. Or you could sprinkle on some cinnamon or some vegan Worcestershire sauce!

If you can spare a few extra minutes, then using only water is definitely possible! 

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  1. Jessica Sierra
    Wow amazing - voted
    1. Clare
      Thanks Jessica! :) I'm eating some right now!
  2. Julie Sinclair
    Julie Sinclair
    Clare this is amazing and also wonderful at the same time. I love popcorn but do not like the oil to cook it in. I am going to try your method to pop me some this evening for the weekend movie night with the family. Thank you so much Clare for this wonderful idea. - voted
    1. Clare
      Thank you Julie! I find that sometimes the kernels will start to brown slightly, but that is ok - Just make sure to shake the pot so one side doesn't burn! I hope it works for you. :)


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