Easy Popcorn Balls

This easy popcorn balls recipe totally reminds me of fall festivals at school growing up.

Although you can easily customize these with sprinkles, small candies, or breakfast cereal to fit any holiday, I’ve added Lucky Charms here so they feel St. Patrick’s Day appropriate.

Popcorn balls are SO easy, taking only about 30 minutes to make. And this popcorn ball recipe is great to wrap up and give to friends, to have ready at a party, or just to devour by yourself while watching a cozy movie. 

Related: 30+ Easy No-Bake Desserts and Cocoa Puffs Popcorn Balls

Popcorn balls may look intimidating to make if you’ve never tried before, but this recipe is foolproof! Anyone can make these simple popcorn balls.

That being said, if you want to be a Pinterest mom and take these to the next level, try decorating them for an event—like these Olympic Medal Popcorn Balls.

Popcorn Ball Ingredients:

• Butter – I use unsalted but salted will work fine too
• Granulated white sugar
• Marshmallows – mini/regular size (like the kind you’d use in hot cocoa)
• Popcorn – microwave, air pop, or whatever you like
• Add ins like: breakfast cereal, sprinkles, or mini M&Ms (optional)

How to Make Popcorn Balls:

• Melt the butter in a large pan over medium/low heat.
• Add in the marshmallows and sugar and stir until just melted.
• If your pan or pot is large enough, add the popped popcorn to the pan. If not, pour the melted mixture over the popped popcorn in a large mixing bowl.
• Once the mixture has cooled just enough to handle, butter your hands and quickly form balls from the batter.
• Place the popcorn balls on parchment paper and allow to fully cool.

If you Love This Popcorn Ball Recipe, Try These Next:

• Homemade Flavored Popcorn
• Cocoa Puffs Popcorn Balls
• Birthday Cake Popcorn
• Rocky Road Caramel Popcorn

Go on—make some popcorn balls! These are one of those nostalgic childhood treats that I just love to make now and again. xo. Emma

Get our FREE recipe guide with our most popular recipes of all time!

Get the Guide

Free Popular Recipe Guide

Our top 25 recipes of all time!

Name *

Email *

GDPR Agreement *

• I consent to receive emails from this site. *

Sign Up

5 from 3 votes

Print

Get the Recipe

foolproof method to make popcorn balls

Yield 24 balls

Prep 5 minutes mins

Cook 5 minutes mins

Total 10 minutes mins

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• ▢ 3 tablespoons butter
• ▢ ¼ cup granulated white sugar
• ▢ 10 ½ ounces mini marshmallows (one bag)
• ▢ 9 cups popped popcorn (2 microwave bags)
• ▢ 2 cups breakfast cereal (optional)

US CustomaryMetric

Instructions

• First, melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat.
• Next, add in the marshmallows and sugar. Stir until everything melts together.
• Pour the mixture over the popcorn and cereal if using and mix well with a large spoon. You can do this directly in a pan/pot if it's large enough.
• Once the mixture has cooled just enough to handle, butter your hands and quickly form balls from the batter.
• Place onto parchment paper and allow to fully cool.

Notes

• You can use any breakfast cereal or omit it for this easy popcorn ball recipe. You could also choose to add a cup of sprinkles or mini M&Ms instead. 

© Author Emma Chapman

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keywords popcorn, popcorn balls

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Easy Popcorn Balls

Amount per Serving

Calories

302

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

4

g

6

%

Saturated Fat

 

1

g

6

%

Trans Fat

 

0.1

g

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

2

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

1

g

Cholesterol

 

4

mg

1

%

Sodium

 

45

mg

2

%

Potassium

 

176

mg

5

%

Carbohydrates

 

60

g

20

%

Fiber

 

8

g

33

%

Sugar

 

11

g

12

%

Protein

 

7

g

14

%

Vitamin A

 

128

IU

3

%

Vitamin C

 

1

mg

1

%

Calcium

 

17

mg

2

%

Iron

 

3

mg

17

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.