When I first heard about microwaving popcorn in a brown paper lunch bag I could not imagine that something so simple would 
really work. A blog reader actually shared this suggestion with me, and it took me a while to work up enough courage to try it out. I am so glad I finally did because approximately 3 minutes and 15 seconds later I had fresh, fluffy, whole-grain popcorn that hadn’t been touched by a drop of oil, salt, sugar, or any other additives (like diacetyl – an artificial butter flavoring!). And after lightly seasoning it myself with a tad of oil and salt it was delicious! I will never waste my money on those store-bought microwave bags ever again after giving this popcorn recipe a try.
The Popcorn Trick
You'll need a brown paper bag + kernels, and that's it!
Ingredients
- ¼ cup popcorn kernels, preferably organic
- butter, optional
- salt, optional
Instructions
- Pour the kernels into the brown paper bag.
- Tightly fold over the top three or four times. No tape or staples are necessary.
Put it in the microwave and start it on high heat for 3 minutes and 30 seconds.
- Listen for the popping to slow down to 3 or 4 seconds apart at which point you will take it out of the microwave. This usually happens for me around the 3 minute and 15 second mark.
- Pour popcorn into a bowl and drizzle with melted butter or spritz with olive oil (or coconut oil) and then sprinkle with salt. If you don’t use oil or butter the salt won’t stick.
Other topping ideas: cinnamon, cayenne pepper, freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Recipe Notes
IMPORTANT - Microwave ovens vary so you must be attentive and stop immediately when the popping slows down. Overcooking can cause a fire. Some readers have suggested using a Pyrex bowl with a plate on top as an alternative to using a bag to avoid this risk.
Better yet, just pop it on the stove. This is how we do it, and it’s delicious!
Well! I didn’t have any lunch bags so I used a take out food bag and it caught fire. Oops. So now the question is, do I buy paper lunch bags to try this, use Pyrex dish covered with a plate or give it up. Sigh!
Just to follow up on my first attempt at making popcorn in a lunch bag. I have done it several times (since I first tried it with a used bag) and it works great. It is my go to snack as I can control the butter and salt.
We used to do this when I was a kid before microwave popcorn was a thing. I forgot how well this works.
Instead of using oil or butter you can spritz with water to help the salt stick.