What do you do on Friday and Saturday nights when you’re home? We love to snuggle up and watch a movie. We make a big bowl of my best homemade bacon, bourbon & caramel popcorn recipe and just enjoy each other’s company.
Best Homemade Bacon Bourbon And Caramel Popcorn Recipe
I had my first taste of this deliciously different appetizer (or snack as you will) when my family visited The Polaris, a very cool rotating restaurant, located at the top of the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, Georgia.
Chef Rodney Ashley, who is hands down one of the best chefs in the world, had their Benton’s Bacon Popcorn on their menu and our entire table fell in love.
In my best homemade bacon, bourbon and caramel popcorn recipe, I did a pretty heavy pouring of the caramel as we all have a sweet tooth.
I knew the kids would enjoy the mix of sweet and salty and boy did they! Of course they quickly pointed out it was “Not like Chef Rodney’s mom!
Tweaking The Recipe
My family agreed my version of Chef Rodney’s recipe was pretty darn good! The recipe would be good with peanuts or cashews mixed in as well I am going to try that next time! And if you don’t want the alcohol, it is still very tasty without it!
Here is what you need to make your recipe:
Nonstick cooking spray
1/2 pound bacon, cooked and chopped
1 1/2 quarts popped popcorn
8 teaspoons butter
4 teaspoons bacon fat
5 ounces (10 tablespoons) brown sugar
1 tablespoon bourbon, bourbon flavoring or bourbon honey
1/4 cup caramel syrup
Salt to taste
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
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Here is how to make your recipe:
Step 1: Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Place popped popcorn in a very large bowl. Prepare 2 sheet pans with nonstick spray and line with aluminum foil or silicone baking sheet.
Step 2: Once the bacon has cooked, strain the bacon fat and reserve. Transfer the cooked bacon pieces to paper towels and continue to drain the excess fat.
Step 3: Add bacon to the popcorn. In the pan used to cook bacon, heat until the butter has fully melted. Add the brown sugar, caramel syrup, bourbon, and salt. Bring to a boil and stir constantly until sauce thickens.
Step 4: Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla. Add to popcorn bowl and toss to coat evenly. Divide the mixture evenly between sheet pans and bake, tossing every 15 minutes for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before breaking into pieces.
Enjoy these recipes from Kicking it with Kelly:
Instant Pot Asian Chicken Wings Recipe
Easy Sour Cream Pound Cake From Scratch Recipe
What is your favorite way to eat popcorn? Do you put toppings in/on it? I would love to hear!
Robin (Masshole Mommy) says
April 7, 2015 at 9:49 pmMmmm, bacon! Seriously, who wouldn’t love this? It sounds flippin’ amazing!
Shauna says
April 8, 2015 at 1:02 amRight? Anything with bacon sounds amazing, right? YUMMY
Jenna Wood says
April 7, 2015 at 9:57 pmUh, yes please, haha! Bacon and caramel (or rather brown sugar) go well with everything!
Lorane says
April 7, 2015 at 10:37 pmI literally did a “Double Scroll” to ensure the I read Bacon Caramel Popcorn right 🙂 This looks sooo yummy. I was actually looking for Popcorn Recipes for the Kids and this is a great alternative
Milena says
April 7, 2015 at 11:13 pmI swear I can smell the yumminess through the screen! Looks so good!
Christine Luken says
April 7, 2015 at 11:30 pmBacon and caramel! My hubby’s two favorite foods! I’ll have to whip up a batch of this for him. 🙂
Jennifer says
April 7, 2015 at 11:51 pmBest. Idea. EVER! I mean, really. What can top popcorn, bacon, and caramel? NOTHING! That’s what!
Laura (Another Cent Saved) says
April 7, 2015 at 11:58 pmWhat a savory snack. I love the flavor combination and admit I love making caramel corn and when I get the nerve I think I am going to try this. Thank you for sharing, It looks delicious.
Pam says
April 8, 2015 at 12:00 amOkay, I have to try this. I love popcorn!
Liz Mays says
April 8, 2015 at 12:21 amWhat a cool idea! That actually sounds great. My boyfriend would be happy with that on movie night.
Shauna says
April 8, 2015 at 12:33 amNO WAY??? Bacon??? I love, love, love this. It sounds amazing and I totally would love to check it out. Sounds amazing. YUMMY…
Ashley @irishred02 says
April 8, 2015 at 1:03 amBacon popcorn sounds delicious. Seriously anything with bacon is amazing!
Vera Sweeney says
April 8, 2015 at 1:16 amThis sounds like it would be delicious!! Bacon really does make everything tasty!
Tess says
April 8, 2015 at 1:43 amI love flavored popcorn. Those holders are so cute.
Sunny says
April 8, 2015 at 1:59 amI’m actually not a huge fan of bacon, but we love popcorn at our house. My husband would still say to go for the bacon flavor though! 🙂
AJ @ NutriFitMama says
April 7, 2015 at 10:14 pmOh wow, bacon and caramel sound perfect together.
becca says
April 7, 2015 at 10:25 pmSeriously son loves all things bacon. He would flip for this.
Aubrey says
April 8, 2015 at 2:33 amWho doesn’t like bacon, caramel and popcorn. What a great idea to put them all together. I bet this tastes wonderful.
Melissa Vera says
April 8, 2015 at 2:46 amoh my you had me at Bacon. This sounds absolutely yummy. Can’t wait to try it.
Mama to 5 BLessings says
April 8, 2015 at 2:58 amOh yum! Sweet and salty! Everything goes great with bacon!
Wendy @ ABCs and Garden Peas says
April 8, 2015 at 3:09 amYeah….bacon. You pretty much had me there. Add caramel and I don’t stand a chance,
Christi says
April 8, 2015 at 3:32 amOh my WORD this sounds absolutely delicious. We’ll definitely be making it soon!
Christina says
April 8, 2015 at 3:35 amCome to mama! This looks absolutely fantastic (and decadent, and amazing and…) Yum! Thanks for sharing!
Shelley Zurek says
April 8, 2015 at 3:45 amFantastic recipe. Never even thought of bacon in popcorn, now I can think of little else. The restaurant sounds like the bomb.
Elizabeth @ BeingMVP says
April 8, 2015 at 3:48 amYes can you package this up for me? Who can resist the bacon & caramel combo?
Allie D. says
April 8, 2015 at 4:16 amMy hubby is a total bacon lover. He wants me to make this for him. It has all his favorite foods: bacon, caramel, and popcorn. Can’t go wrong with those three ingredients put together.
Meagan says
April 8, 2015 at 4:36 amYUM! Could there be anything better than bacon and caramel? Love the idea of having it with popcorn!
Stacey- Travel Blogger says
April 8, 2015 at 4:37 amHow interesting! I’ll have to make this for my hubby.
Dawn says
April 8, 2015 at 4:37 amI have never tried bacon with popcorn! That sounds super tasty!
Autumn @Mamachallenge says
April 8, 2015 at 5:19 amThat looks so yummy! I will have to make this on our next Family Movie Night!
Pam says
April 8, 2015 at 7:39 amThis is different from anyway I have ever eaten popcorn and I am a huge fan of popcorn. BUT…I love this. I will have to try it. I bet the bacon, caramel and popcorn really are a great combination.
Lisa says
April 8, 2015 at 4:15 amYou had me at bacon! This would be great for family movie night!
maria @ closetohome says
April 8, 2015 at 10:47 amWhat a unique combination, I would never think to add bacon but why not. Love the serving vessels too
Victoria says
April 8, 2015 at 2:08 pmI love popcorn. I may have to give it a try. Thanks for the idea.
Cathy @ Our Mini Family says
April 8, 2015 at 2:12 pmMy favorite way to eat popcorn is straight out of the microwave bag! I really love the movie theater style popcorn!
Melissa says
April 8, 2015 at 2:49 pmI started drooling at just the name of the recipe before I got to the pics. YUM! I definitely need this in my life.
Rosey says
April 8, 2015 at 6:31 pmI had to read again to make sure that said bacon, lol. Oh how my daughter would LOVE this one!
Krystal says
April 8, 2015 at 10:37 pmI love adding fun toppings to my popcorn. It makes it so much fun!
Ann Bacciaglia says
April 9, 2015 at 2:01 amThis sounds so delicious. My son loves bacon. I will have to make this for our next movie night.
Censie says
April 9, 2015 at 2:43 amOh my gosh! What a fantastic idea! Looks amazing!
Amanda Love says
April 9, 2015 at 10:26 pmI love caramel popcorn but might just pass on the bacon. I’m sure it tastes good but I prefer to have my bacon with breakfast. 🙂
Jeanette says
August 14, 2015 at 3:32 pmBacon carmel popcorn! Ok that is a mix I would have never thought of! I wonder if we would like it! I might have to try it for for the sake of trying it.
Dawn says
August 14, 2015 at 3:36 pmOMG, yes! You had me at bacon! Bacon on anything is boss!
Daisy says
August 14, 2015 at 5:08 pmThis is a fantastic recipe! I also love how cute you set up the holders for the popcorn. The way that you set everything up is so pretty!
Sunny says
August 14, 2015 at 5:09 pmI bet this is yummy! Plus, bacon is one of those “all the rage” foods right now and people are loving it on everything. 🙂
Amber Edwards says
August 14, 2015 at 8:15 pmI have a huge weak spot for caramel popcorn. But i never would have thought to add bacon into it. But this pregnant mommy is thinking that sounds amazing! I want to try some right now!
Dawn says
August 14, 2015 at 11:04 pmBacon and caramel sounds tasty together!
dawn says
August 15, 2015 at 1:14 amoh my they took it to another level with the bacon. wow i would sooo love this.
Aimee Smith says
August 15, 2015 at 2:18 amI would not have put this together myself. What a great flavor combo!
Scarlet says
August 15, 2015 at 1:42 pmThis sounds like a recipe my son would love! Bacon AND caramel- count him in. I will have to try this for snack time.
Tammy Roy says
August 15, 2015 at 5:55 pmThis looks so delicious. I am definitely going to make this for movie night. I am sure it will be a big hit.
gingermommyrants says
August 15, 2015 at 5:56 pmI have to make this for my family tonight. It looks so delicious. I have never tried bacon with popcorn before.
Lena says
August 18, 2015 at 9:58 pmYou got me intrigued – this sounds delicious as I love food experiments. Very tempted to try
mycraftingworld says
January 11, 2017 at 7:22 amThis is great. It will be such a special treat. Thank you for the recipe.
Stacie @ Divine Lifestyle says
August 25, 2017 at 5:56 pmWait… So what you’re telling me right now is that I can have popcorn AND bacon at the same time? What sorcery is this? I must have it in my life!
Donna B says
August 25, 2017 at 6:33 pmYou had me at bacon! I’ve tried so many types of caramel-ish popcorn, but never with the bacon. I need to make this at our next movie night!
Chavonne Harvey says
August 26, 2017 at 2:39 amNow this is a snack my whole family will enjoy. I like the idea of adding nuts to it. When I have popcorn I usually just have it with butter and salt however I do love chocolate drizzled on it too.
Angela says
August 26, 2017 at 5:11 pmBacon? Caramel? AND POPCORN!? All in one recipe!? Sign me up!! I think I need a whole bowl of this allllll to myself!! Great idea, lovely!!
Rachel Catherine says
August 26, 2017 at 8:51 pmOh my gosh this sounds so amazing! I need to try this. What a great and easy idea!
Cat says
August 27, 2017 at 10:27 amGiiiirl, you had me at bacon! This popcorn looks and sounds devilishly delicious!
Ayana Pitterson says
August 27, 2017 at 10:45 amPopcorn is my absolute favorite snacks and yet have never though of just making at home when the feeling is there. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Pinning!
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Jean says
August 27, 2017 at 4:37 pmI would have never have thought of combining bacon and caramel but this popcorn looks great! I love a bit of popcorn so am eager to try this.
Yona Williams says
August 28, 2017 at 1:45 amI’m a huge fan of caramel corn and haven’t had a flavor combination with bacon before. When reading the ingredients list, I wouldn’t have thought that bacon fat would come into the equation – sounds interesting.
Carol Cassara says
August 28, 2017 at 2:29 amThat’s one savory popcorn! It looks so good too! It would be nice to make it for the family especially when the kids come over to spend some time with us!
Our Family World says
August 28, 2017 at 7:32 amOh yum! Bacon, caramel and popcorn, all together in one mouthful! That would be heaven to my taste buds! Saving the recipe and making this on the weekend for our family movie night.