Caramel Popcorn Balls Dairy-Free

With food allergies,

I'm always trying to come up with safe, fun ways to do Halloween close to home.

So one year I thought it would be fun to try progressive fire pits with a few neighbors.

One house hosted hot dog roasting,

one house had dairy-free smores,

and our house served up hot apple cider and popcorn.

I planned to make simple bags of yummy stove top popcorn,

but somehow ended up with amazing caramel popcorn balls, instead!

This creation came about when I started playing around with a possible caramel sauce to coat the popcorn in.

Once I tossed the popcorn in the sauce and after a few minutes of cooling,

I realized the consistency was perfect for popcorn balls.

If you don't want to mess with making popcorn balls,

just leave the popcorn loose and simply toss in the delicious caramel sauce.

This recipe calls for no corn syrup AND no candy thermometer.

Easy peasy and perfect!

BAGGED POPCORN FOR POPCORN BALLS

Ok, folks, if you want the ultimate short-cut for this already easy recipes...

use your favorite bag of store-bought dairy-free popcorn! 

I buy bags of popcorn at Aldi and use Skinny Pop plain popcorn. 

They work great for making popcorn balls even faster and easier. 

Plus, you'll know the popcorn will be nice and fluffy and perfectly popped. 

If you opt for bagged popcorn, use 10 cups. 

POPCORN BALLS WITH AGAVE

Well, my kids really wanted these popcorn balls for Halloween. 

But I didn't have a lot of honey on hand. 

So I decided why not try agave, it's sticky, right? 

And what do you know, agave syrup worked just as well!

The kids are still gobbling these down, with no questions asked. 

I also pick up agave at Aldi, with all my other favorite Aldi staples. 

You may like this option better than honey! Both are better than corn syrup. 

Makes about 6-8 softball size popcorn balls.

sea salt (don't forget the salt!)

Mix brown sugar and honey in a small sauce pan. Heat over medium heat, stirring often.

While caramel mixture is heating, make a batch of our stove top popcorn. Or use 10 cups of bagged dairy-free popcorn as a shortcut. 

Once caramel mixture is thin and boils 2-3 minutes, take off heat and add vanilla.

When popcorn is done popping, take off heat.

Move the popped popcorn to a large bowl, leaving out any un-popped kernels.

Pour caramel mixture over the popped popcorn and toss until all popcorn is coated. Be sure to get all the caramel at the bottom of the bowl.

Sprinkle sea salt over caramel popcorn, tossing and salting it all.

If not making popcorn balls, let cool enough to eat.

If making popcorn balls, let cool enough for you to handle.

Work rather quickly as you form the popcorn into balls while still warm.

Use wax paper to pick up a handful of popcorn and form into a ball.  

The popcorn will not stick together as well after it’s cooled so keep moving quickly to form the popcorn balls.

Once cooled, store each popcorn ball in a baggy or wrap in plastic wrap and tie shut with twine.

Hope you enjoy these dairy-free caramel popcorn balls as much as we do! 

You can save these popcorn balls on Pinterest.

And you may also like our dairy-free caramel dip recipe! 

DAIRY-FREE FALL RECIPES

See more favorite fall recipes below:

• apple bread
• apple cider donuts
• pumpkin bars
• pumpkin pancakes
• pumpkin chocolate chip muffins
• pumpkin dump cake