Stovetop Vital Farms Ghee Popcorn: If you ever buy microwave popcorn again, you’re dead to me

https://youtu.be/aSHGKN8pWGY

Popcorn is one snack we pretty much always include in the boys’ lunches. They love it, it’s not highly processed like other chip-aisle finds tend to be, and it’s relatively easy to procure a bag that’s not filled with junk. BUT, when I found out how easy (and how much cheaper) it is to make your own popcorn at home, it was on like Donkey Kong. Not only is it cheaper, but I can customize it to be ANY FLAVOR I want. I was personally inspired to try my hand at these three homemade popcorn versions: Ghee + Sea Salt (because I wouldn’t be opposed to just drinking salted ghee by the glass), Parmesan + Rosemary (because I’m trying to replicate the popcorn at my favorite local restaurant), and Churro (because duh).

And the best part:
I use pasture-raised ghee instead of some freaky vegetable oil, making this homemade version even better. Ghee has a higher smoke-point than most oils, which means it won’t degrade and produce harmful chemicals, and it tastes just like butter – the benefits of which I don’t even need to point out. I was probably a little more enthused than I should’ve been when I found out that my fave egg + butter brand, Vital Farms, is now making pasture-raised ghee, so obviously that’s what I used here.

All three flaves being shoved directly into my eager piehole.

What is ghee?
Good question. Ghee is butter that has been cooked down and strained of its milk solids. This removes all the lactose and casein, which means that dairy-free peeps can enjoy it ’til the pasture-grazing cows come home. Think of it as “butter oil”. Vital Farms is legitimately the best tasting ghee I’ve ever had in my life; it tastes exactly like homemade, which I’ve never even come close to finding in any other brand I’ve ever tried. Makes sense since they use the same creamy, cult-fave Vital Farms pasture-raised butter to make it. Honestly, after making popcorn with ghee, I’ll never go back to using any other oil for this. It’s that good.

Mmmmk, I’m done gettin’ all up on ghee’s jock. For now.
I know how much I loathe having to scroll through ten million paragraphs of fluff just to find the dang recipe, sooooo, I’ll end it here. Try all three flavors, and then make sure you pop back in (get it??) to let me know what you think!

Print Recipe

Stovetop Ghee Popcorn

This popcorn is so quick, easy and delicious, you'll never buy microwave popcorn again. You can customize the flavors according to your taste. Here, I give you three versions to try: Ghee + Sea Salt, Parmesan + Rosemary, and Churro. All are made with Vital Farms ghee (THE best tasting ghee on the planet, outside of homemade), because it has a higher smoke-point than butter or most oils, it's lactose-free and like I said, it tastes amazing.

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp Vital Farms pasture-raised ghee
• 1/2 cup sprouted popcorn kernels
• 1/4 cup Vital Farms pasture-raised ghee melted
• sea salt to taste

Instructions

• Melt the 3 tbsp ghee in a large pot over medium heat, then when it’s hot, add a couple tester popcorn kernels into the pot. When they pop, remove them + add the rest of the popcorn, shaking the pot to coat all the kernels with ghee. Cover with lid + let the popping begin, shaking the pot every so often to prevent burning.
• When the pops have slowed to once every two seconds or so, remove from the heat + vent the lid to let the steam escape for a minute or so.
• Drizzle 1/4 cup of melted ghee over the popcorn + toss to coat, then season to taste with sea salt.
• For Parmesan + Rosemary popcorn: Follow directions above to pop popcorn. Saute 2 tsp minced fresh rosemary + 1 tsp fennel seed (coarsely chopped) in the 1/4 cup of ghee for a couple minutes, then drizzle over popcorn + toss to coat. Add grated parmesan to taste + toss to coat again.
• For Churro popcorn: Follow directions above to pop popcorn, then drizzle with the 1/4 cup melted ghee, tossing to coat. Mix 2 tbsp cane sugar + 1 tsp cinnamon + sprinkle as much as you want over top of popcorn, then toss to coat again.