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Christmas Popcorn is a joyfully easy 5 min recipe! Sweet white chocolate covered popcorn with salty pretzels topped with holiday sprinkles and candy. Great for Christmas mornings, movie nights, and for gifting!
Decadent White Chocolate Christmas Popcorn
- Irresistible salty & sweet combo – Velvety white chocolate covers salty popcorn and pretzels, tossed with candy and sprinkles. YUM.
- Recipe Speed-ups – We’ll use already popped, store-bought popcorn to make this recipe easier & faster, in just 5 minutes.
- Festive Christmas Recipe – Bright red and green toppings and candy make this colorful treat holiday-ready, like Christmas chow and Grinch Oreo balls.
Christmas Popcorn Recipe
Way back when Erik and I were living in San Diego, we’d get these cravings during Christmas for white chocolate popcorn. We’d melt chocolate, add candies, and wait. But the results were never really that great… So all these years later, I’m sharing a tried and true, easy and delicious recipe for white chocolate Christmas popcorn!
White chocolate covered popcorn is one of my favorite things in the whole world. See: white chocolate oreo balls! It’s sweet, salty, crunchy, and a little soft when the chocolate melts in your mouth. Buttery, salted popcorn is mixed with crunchy pretzels and candy-coated chocolate pieces all drizzled in decadent white chocolate and topped with festive Christmas sprinkles. Yep, it’s as good as it looks!
White Chocolate Popcorn: Christmas Ingredients
This white chocolate popcorn recipe, aka Christmas crack popcorn or Christmas popcorn crack, is made with just a few ingredients you might already have in your pantry.
- Popcorn: you can pop your own at home, or use buttery or salted store-bought popcorn to make Christmas crunch
- White chocolate chips or candy melts: if using candy melts, you can definitely skip the coconut oil
- Coconut Oil: optional, but makes the white chocolate chips melt more smoothly and evenly, while keeping it melted for longer
- Mini pretzels: I love using twists, but you can use rods, snaps (like I use in Rolo pretzels), whatever you’d like
- Red and green M&M’s: so colorfully festive and pretty in recipes like Christmas crack, you can sub these with your fave red and green candies
- Christmas sprinkles: with tiny Christmas trees and red and green jimmies, these are essential for amping the holiday vibes in this recipe
How to Make Christmas Popcorn
- Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper and pour popcorn, pretzels and M&M’s onto them.
- Melt white chocolate and drizzle over Christmas crunch popcorn mix. Sprinkle reserved pretzels, M&M’s, and Christmas sprinkles over white chocolate covered popcorn.
- Allow white chocolate to set and break apart Christmas popcorn crack. Serve with candy cane hearts and muddy buddies. Give out in holiday treat bags. Enjoy!
Tip: sprinkle a little red and green sanding sugar over the melted white chocolate covered popcorn. It’ll add sweet texture and stick to the chocolate while it sets.
Christmas Crunch Variations
- Use dark or milk chocolate: or both to add rich, deep chocolate flavor
- Spice things up by sprinkling Tajín or Cajun seasoning over the melted white chocolate
- Make it savory by adding bacon bits or cheddar crackers before drizzling with chocolate
- Serve with drinks like delicious sugar cookie martini or peppermint milkshake
- Add in your favorite candy such as peanut butter cups, gummy worms or chopped up peppermint bark or crunch bars
Storing White Chocolate Popcorn
Refrigerate or Room Temperature: Store Christmas white chocolate popcorn in an airtight container in the fridge at room temp for up to 1-2 days. However, it’s best to enjoy immediately or freeze.
Freezing: To store for a longer period, place Christmas popcorn crack in a freezer-friendly bag for 1-3 months. So good straight out of the freezer, but beware of hardened candy like M&M’s and larger sprinkles.
Can I Use Homemade Popcorn?
Yes, you can add in your own popped popcorn. Simply pop about 1/2 cup popcorn kernels following the instructions on the bag. Add in a little salt and use as normal in this Christmas popcorn recipe.
Tools You Need
- Half Sheets – these large baking sheets are my go-to for making big batches of Christmas treats.
- Double Boiler for smoothly and evenly melting chocolate, but you can use the microwave as well.
- Resealable Treat Bags – super cute holiday treat bags for gifting your homemade Christmas popcorn (and keeping it fresh)!
For more tasty ideas like this white chocolate popcorn recipe, follow us on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. If you’ve tried this recipe, take a pic and tag us on Instagram using #beamingbaker. We can’t wait to see it! Sending you all my love and maybe even a dove, xo Demeter ❤️
More Christmas & White Chocolate Recipes
You’ll love our homemade chocolate treats: chocolate coconut candy, haystack cookies, and Halloween puppy chow, along with…
Christmas
Grinch Oreo Balls
Christmas
Christmas Puppy Chow
Christmas
Christmas Crack Recipe with Saltines
White Chocolate Christmas Popcorn Recipe
Ingredients
White Chocolate Popcorn
- 8-10 cups popcorn, butter flavored and salted are tasty*
- 1 cup mini pretzels, reserve a handful for topping
- 1 10-ounce bag red and green M&M’s, reserve 1/3 cup for topping
- 12 ounces white chocolate candy melts, or white chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil, optional, good for melting chocolate and keeping it smooth
Christmas Topping
- ¼ cup Christmas sprinkles, and/or red and green sanding sugar
Instructions
- Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Pour popcorn, mini pretzels, and M&M’s evenly onto baking sheets.
- Melt white chocolate and coconut oil using a double boiler or heat in 15-second increments in the microwave, stirring throughout, until smooth.
- Drizzle melted chocolate over popcorn mixture. Using gloved hands, stir and mix to combine. Mix until fully coated in chocolate.
- Sprinkle reserved mini pretzels, M&M’s, and Christmas sprinkles over popcorn, it’ll stick to the melted white chocolate. Allow to set until chocolate is firm. Enjoy Christmas popcorn!
- ★ Last Step: If you made this recipe, leave a comment and review. It truly helps our small business keep running and it helps readers like you!
Notes
- *You can also pop your own popcorn at home using ½ cup popcorn kernels. Follow instructions on the bag.
- Storing Instructions: Christmas popcorn is best if enjoyed immediately, or store in an airtight container for 1-2 days. Also great frozen.
- Freezing Instructions: Store white chocolate popcorn in a freezer-friendly container in the freezer for 1-3 months. Watch out for hardened M&M’s when eating straight out of the freezer.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
