You won’t believe how well this hack for making Paper Bag Microwave Popcorn works! All you need is popcorn kernels, a brown bag, and a microwave and you have yourself a delicious snack in under 3 minutes!
This post may contain Affiliate Links.

Brown Bag Popcorn
I feel like I shouldn’t even call this one a recipe, it is more of a ‘hack’. A wonderful hack to get popcorn into your mouth when you need it like right away.
Now I am a total sucker for Stovetop Popcorn but sometimes it just takes too long, that’s where this brown bag popcorn comes into play.
My kids adore popcorn but as they get home from school starving they rarely want to wait 10 minutes for popcorn, they settle for the 2 minutes and 5 seconds it takes to make it in the microwave oven instead.
Heck this is really so easy that they can do it all themselves.
The best part is that there is no oil needed. It is really just one ingredient (until you want to add toppings anyways).
Ingredients
- Popcorn Kernels – That is it, no oil needed! There are different varieties of popcorn kernels, this will work for all of them. There are two main colors, either yellow or white. Yellow popcorn will yield larger popcorn while white popcorn will result in smaller pieces of popcorn but often time even though it is smaller it is more tender. If you don’t see the popcorn kernels labeled as yellow or white I have usually found them to be the yellow variety. You will also see blue or even red popcorn occasionally, this kind of popcorn usually pops like white popcorn.
- Brown Paper Bag – So this isn’t really an ingredient, more of equipment but it is one you need.
Instructions
Add the popcorn kernels to the paper bag.
Roll over the top of the bag 3 to 4 times.
Transfer the bag to the microwave and cook for 1 ½ to 3 minutes. You will want to stop the microwave when there is about 1 full second between pops.
All microwaves will very in cooking times, it might take you a few times to achieve the best time for your microwave, personally for my microwave 2 minutes 5 seconds seems to be the perfect amount.
Be carefull when opening the bag as hot steam will escape!
tips, tricks and questions
Add salt, melted butter, or other seasonings after cooking!
Make sure that if the time between pops is starting to become longer than 1 second you are going to want to stop the microwave otherwise you risk burning the popcorn.
If you like this Paper Bag Microwave Popcorn Recipe you might also like:
- How to make Popcorn on the Stovetop
- Healthy Apple Nachos
- Homemade Peanut Butter Granola
- Flourless Banana Muffins
- Peanut Butter Fruit Dip
what to serve with this
Paper Bag Popcorn
Yes it is really this easy to cook popcorn in the microwave, all you need is popcorn kernels and a brown paper bag!
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup popcorn kernels
- brown paper bag
Instructions
- Add the popcorn kernels to the paper bag.
- Roll over the top of the bag 3 to 4 times.
- Transfer the bag to the microwave and cook for 1 ½ to 3 minutes. You will want to stop the microwave when there is about 1 full second between pops. (All microwaves will very in cooking times, it might take you a few times to achieve the best time for your microwave, personally for my microwave 2 minutes 5 seconds seems to be the perfect amount.)
- Be carefull when opening the bag as hot steam will escape!
Notes
Add salt, melted butter, or other seasonings after cooking!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
1Serving Size:
1 bag of popcornAmount Per Serving: Calories: 15Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 20mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g
Nutritional data is automated and might not be 100% accurate, final nutritional information will depend on ingredients used and any changes made.
Leave a Reply