• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Celebration Generation
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Life
  • Shop
  • Costuming
  • Spandex
  • Gluten-Free
  • Autism
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • About Us
  • Recipes
  • Life
  • Shop
  • Costuming
  • Gluten-Free
  • Autism
  • Contact Us
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Media
  • Join us on Social Media - Food

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • Join us on Social Media - Costuming, Etc

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Snacks and Appetizers

    Candy Popcorn

    Published: Jan 20, 2023

    Note: This site is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for the site to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.

    Sharing is caring!

    • Yummly
    • Reddit
    • Email
    • Tweet
    • Share
    • Tumblr
    Jump to Recipe -

    This Fruity Candy Popcorn recipe utilizes Jello powder for flavour and colour - which gives a lot of room for special events, sports themed combinations, and more!

    Originally Posted September 2008. Updated 1/20/2023

    A close up view of yellow and purple candy popcorn.

    Fruity Glazed popcorn was the first recipe I ever had published, back when I was a kid (The first time was in a community fundraising cook book, IIRC)!

    I used to make this gourmet popcorn for bake sales in my front yard, as gifts, and whatever. It was so much fun to make, and made the perfect gift as a little thank you or for small occasions.

    Lime Jello, Island Pineapple Jello, Grape Jello and Peach Jello (separate, or together!) were always my favourite flavours for Jello Popcorn, as a kid... though pineapple Jello can be more difficult to find in Canada, these days.

    Anyway, given the long history with this recipe, I guess it was only appropriate that this flavored popcorn was also the first recipe I posted on this blog, way back in September 2008!

    This is a ridiculously easy recipe to make, and only takes about 10 minutes per flavor.

    Unlike with making other sweet popcorn types - like caramel corn - no candy thermometer or double boiler needed!

    These tasty treats are as perfect for game day - you can make multiple candy coating flavors, and theme it around your team! - as they are for random Friday night movie night snacks.

    Actually, I’ve got more to say on that whole thing, LOL!

    A close up view of yellow and purple candy popcorn.

    Game Day Popcorn

    While a single batch of this popcorn candy is a ton of fun - and super tasty - on its own, doubling the batch of yummy treats while using 2 different colors?

    Awesome - and a fun way to bring your favourite team's colours into your menu, this football season.

    This would make a great snack food for any Grey Cup party or Super Bowl party - just customize your colours/flavours specific to your team.

    Between the flavors / colors of Jello available, & the huge variety of gel food colors available, you can totally customize the flavors and colors of this sweet treat to match any sports team out there.

    Special Occasion Themed Popcorn

    Sporting events is only one application for this great treat... but think of the possibilities!

    Baby Showers

    If your baby shower has a theme, you can pick the colors and flavors to go with it.

    Want to go traditional? You can make your popcorn in pink and blue colors - there’s even a way to make opaque, pastel popcorn (more on that in a bit!).

    You can even package the popcorn candy up in little plastic bags as favors for your guests!

    Bridal Showers... or Weddings

    Consider using your wedding colors for bridal shower favors, or as part of a sweets buffet at your wedding!

    Birthday Party Favors

    Pick whatever flavor - or flavors -you like, and serve it as a great treat at the party - or bag it up as party favors.

    Scatter some cake sprinkles over the sticky popcorn immediately after stirring, for a kind of “birthday cake” popcorn!

    Want to make unicorn popcorn? Do the same, but with edible glitter!

    Holiday Popcorn

    Selecting lime Jello - or dyeing another flavor of candy mixture green - makes for a fun St Patrick's Day treat.

    Serving a crowd? Make multiple batches in a rainbow variety of colors for either St Paddy’s Day or Pride month!

    Pastel colors = Easter Popcorn.

    Orange popcorn can be combined with ANY flavor - dyed black - for Halloween popcorn. Plain, Orange, and Yellow popcorn batches = candy corn theme!

    On that note, festive holiday popcorn could be made with cherry and lime Jello - the perfect combination of colors for Christmas popcorn, AND flavors that go well together!

    The possibilities are endless!

    A close up view of yellow and purple glazed popcorn.

    How to Make Different Colours of Popcorn

    For many of the colours you could want, obtaining those colours is pretty easy - just use the appropriate colour of jello.

    Sometimes, a colour isn’t available in Jello, or that particular flavour may not be in your area / easy to find. So, here’s a bit of guide on how to achieve various colours:

    Red Popcorn - Start with a red Jello - Cranberry Jello, Strawberry Jello, Cherry Jello, Black Cherry Jello, Raspberry Jello, or Strawberry Banana Jello - or use gel colour to overwhelm an Orange or Yellow Jello flavour.

    Orange Popcorn - Start with Orange Jello, Apricot Jello, Mango Jello, or Peach Jello ... or use orange food colouring to tint a Yellow Jello flavour.

    Yellow Popcorn - Start with a Yellow Jello flavour - Island Pineapple Jello or Lemon Jello - use yellow, red, or orange food colouring (VERY sparingly!) to achieve the type of yellow you’re looking for. (Eg: a small amount of orange or brown can bring you closer to “athletic gold” colour)

    Green Popcorn - Lime Jello. If that’s not available, start with a yellow flavour and add green food colouring.

    Note: You can get Green Apple flavored gelatin in other brands - I’ve only ever made this with Jello brand gelatin, though. I imagine others would work fine, though!

    Blue Popcorn - Start with Berry Blue Jello, use blue food colouring to adjust the colour to what you need, if necessary. If that blue raspberry flavor is not available, you can start with green and just overwhelm it with blue gel colouring.

    Purple Popcorn - Start with Grape Jello, use red or blue food colouring to obtain the type of purple you’re looking for, if necessary. If grape isn’t available, add blue colouring to a Red flavour of Jello

    Pink Popcorn - Watermelon Jello, or use a Red Jello flavour, and white food colouring to “pastel” it. You can adjust the type of pink by adding pink food colouring after it’s been suitably lightened.

    Black Popcorn - Start with any flavour of Jello, add black food colouring. It’s dark enough that it’ll blacken any colour of Jello you start with, if you use enough.

    Brown Popcorn - Start with an Orange or Yellow Jello flavour, add brown food colouring.

    A close up view of a bowl of candy popcorn. The game day popcorn is yellow and purple, themed around a sports team.

    Pastel or Opaque Glaze

    If you want your glaze to be opaque - that is, not a sheer, see-through candy - use a few drops of WHITE gel food colouring - I recommend Americolor White Gel Paste .

    You can add this white gel to any Jello flavour to make it opaque and pastel (depending on how much you use), or just creamy medium-tone opaque colours using this technique.

    A close up view of yellow and purple fruity candied popcorn.

    A Note on Food Colouring

    Whenever I’m using food colouring, I prefer to use a nice quality gel based colour, such as Americolor (what I used when I was in the USA), or ChefMaster (Which is the option more readily available here!).

    The liquid colors you can buy in grocery stores will work, but it’s not as concentrated, and not available in as many colours.

    When using food colouring in your popcorn glaze, tint it AFTER removing the Jello mixture from the heat, immediately before pouring it on your popcorn.

    A close up view of yellow and purple glazed popcorn.

    A Note on Colour Vibrance

    For this batch of fruity glazed candy popcorn, I used grape and lemon Jello flavors.

    While the lemon was vibrant enough on its own, I find that the darker colors need a little more “oomph”.

    I highly recommend adding a few drops of gel food coloring. To achieve this depth of color, I used a few drops of Americolor’s “Regal Purple”. Perfect!

    A close up view of a bowl of candy popcorn. The game day popcorn is yellow and purple, themed around a sports team.

    Looking for More Recipes for "The Big Game"?

    ... or other watching party, or just to up your snack food game for the hell of it? I've got you covered!

    40+ Fantastic Wing Recipes
    Bacon Roasted Potato Skins
    Baked Reuben Poppers
    Beer Pretzels with Jalapeno Jack Dip
    Dill Pickle Cream Cheese Dip
    Fat Elvis Cupcakes
    Ginger Wasabi Dip
    Hot Cheeseburger Dip
    How to Cook Perogies in an Air Fryer
    Jalapeno Artichoke "Backfire" Dip
    Jalapeno Beer Brittle
    Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Pretzels
    Perogy Pizza
    Porter House Guacamole
    Porter's Epic Popcorn
    Queso Dip from Scratch
    Sauerkraut Buns
    Smoked Bacon Jalapeno Poppers
    Smoked Cheese Balls
    Smoked French Fries

    A close up view of yellow and purple fruity candied popcorn.

    Share the Love!

    Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you Instagram it, be sure to tag me - @CelebrationGenerationCA - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!

    Also, be sure to subscribe to my free monthly email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of my nonsense. Well, the published nonsense, anyway!

    Finally, if you love this recipe, please consider leaving a star rating and/or a comment below, and maybe even sharing this post on social media!

    A close up view of a bowl of glazed popcorn. The game day popcorn is yellow and purple, themed around a sports team.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe Saved!
    5 from 2 votes

    Fruity Glazed Candy Popcorn

    This candy popcorn recipe utilizes Jello powder for flavour and colour - which gives a lot of room for combinations!
    Combine your favourite flavours, or choose by colour to honour your favourite schools, sports teams, etc!
    Prep Time15 mins
    Cook Time5 mins
    Total Time20 mins
    Course: Appetizer, Dessert, Snack
    Cuisine: American, potluck
    Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian
    Servings: 10 Cups of Popcorn
    Calories: 166kcal
    Author: Marie Porter

    Equipment

    Baking Sheet
    Parchment Paper

    Ingredients

    • ¼ Cup Unsalted Butter
    • ¼ Cup Light Corn Syrup
    • ¾ Cup Granulated Sugar
    • 1 Small Package Jello Any Flavour
    • 10 Cups Popped Popcorn

    Instructions

    • Make your Popcorn. I recommend air-popped popcorn (I use an air popper), and do NOT recommend microwave popcorn.
    • Remove popped popcorn from any remaining popcorn kernels, dispose the unpopped kernels. Place the popcorn in a large bowl - heatsafe, of course!
    • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
    • Melt butter and corn syrup together in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat.
    • Add sugar and Jello powder, bring sugar mixture to a boil, then turn heat down to low heat.
    • Let the syrup mixture boil for 5 minutes, remove from heat.
    • Carefully pour mixture over popcorn – Jello mixture is HOT NASTY LAVA, so it’ll burn you if you’re not careful.
    • Mix well, with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon.
    • Spread popcorn out on a the prepared cookie sheet, and allow to cool. (Some people like to bake popcorn for 10 minutes at 350F… personally, I like the slight gooeyness it keeps without being baked!).
    • Make a second batch in another flavor/color, and also allow to cool to room temperature / dry.
    • Break popcorn up into pieces, and either serve side by side in a bowl, or mix together.
    • If you’re not using the popcorn right away, store it in an airtight container, or package into baggies.

    Notes

    See post for mroe details on achieving different colors, color vibrance, and even making pastel colors.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 166kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 47mg | Potassium: 36mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 163IU | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 1mg

    More Popcorn Recipes!

    Looking for even more fun ways to jazz up your favourite snack? Look no further!

    Canadian Popcorn Seasonings
    Sweet Heat Salted Caramel Popcorn
    Bananas Foster Caramel Popcorn
    Moroccan Twist Salted Caramel Popcorn
    Apple Cinnamon Caramel Popcorn
    Maple Caramel Popcorn
    Maple White Cheddar Popcorn
    Hopped Popcorn - Hopcorn!
    Bacon Cheddar Popcorn

    Related posts:

    A bowl of real cheese dip, surrounded by tortilla chips. Queso Dip From Scratch 4 smoked cheese balls - with various coatings - are arranged on a plate. Smoked Cheese Balls Several Tropical White Chocolate Truffles are piled at the base of a cocktail glass. More truffles are contaied within the glass, and there is a coconut behind it. Tropical White Chocolate Truffles Recipe A large white square bowl of easy dill dip, on a larger plate surrounded by a variety of brightly coloured vegetable spears and slices. Dill Dip
    « 6 Inch Cheesecake
    Heart Shaped Bagels »

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Marie Porter


    Evil Cake Overlord, All -Around Kitchen Badass!

    More about me →


    Join us on Social Media - Food

    Facebook logo, a white F on a blue background. Instagram icon - a stylized white camera image on blue background. Pinterest Logo - White on red background.

    Join us on Social Media - Costuming, etc

    Facebook logo, a white F on a blue background. Instagram icon - a stylized white camera image on blue background. Twitter logo - a white stylized bird icon on an aqua background.

    More Than Poutine: A Uniquely Canadian Cookbook.
    Learn to sew with spandex

    Most Recent Posts

    • Crab Rangoon Pizza
    • Red Velvet Muffins
    • Hot Dog Sliders
    • Pretzel Buns

    We'd love to have you subscribe to our newsletter!


    META

    Site Admin

    Logout

    Entries Feed

    Comments Feed

    Footer

    About

    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Contact
    • Media

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up

      for emails and updates

    Our Other Blogs

    • Autism Rants
    • Beyond Flour
    • Low Carb Hoser
    • Spandex Simplified

    Note: This site is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for the site to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites. While I’ll only ever link to items that I, personally, wholeheartedly recommend, I do need to put that disclosure out there!

    Copyright © 2020 Foodie Pro on the Foodie Pro Theme