Salted Honey Almond Caramel Corn
This Salted Honey Almond Caramel Corn is an addictive snack you can give as a gift or serve to a crowd. This caramel corn is made without corn-syrup and uses honey instead – it also has a sprinkle of sea salt! This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds.
T-2 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!
Uh, hold up – how did that happen so quickly? I swear, it was just Halloween. This holiday season as flown by, and of course I’m once again left with a long list of seasonal recipes that just didn’t get made in time before the season was up.
Thankfully for all of us, this Salted Honey Almond Caramel Corn got made just in time for me to share it with you all. This final pre-Christmas recipe isn’t necessarily Christmas-y at all, but you could definitely make it for Christmas.
This would be so perfect in a giant bowl located centrally for snacking on during your holiday celebrations, just don’t be surprised if it disappears quickly. Or, put it in a cute tin and gift it to your favorite people. They will be singing your praises all. day. long.
But don’t limit it to the holidays! While it would be so cute as a New Years Eve app or snack, it would also fit right in on game day or any other day you’re craving a sweet and salty snack. This caramel corn + your favorite people + a great movie = one fabulous night…and maybe throw some wine in there too.
This caramel corn starts off with making the gooey caramel coating for the popcorn. Most traditional caramel popcorn recipes use corn syrup for the caramel, but I’m not the biggest fan of the stuff so I subbed in honey! After the brown sugar caramel boils for a few minutes, it’s tossed with the popcorn and almonds.
I used two types of almonds for this recipe – Blue Diamond Honey Roasted Almonds and Lightly Salted Almonds. I used 1/2 cup of each, but if you prefer to use just one you can use all of one flavor. The almonds are such a scrumptious surprise when you’re chowing your way through a handful of this popcorn! I seriously can’t get enough of Blue Diamond Almonds on their own, and they’re even better in this caramel corn.
After your almonds and popcorn are good and coated, the mixture is baked low and slow for an hour. Make sure you stir every 15 minutes to make sure the popcorn is well coated and doesn’t burn! As soon as it’s done, give it a hearty sprinkle of flaky sea salt. My favorite to use is Maldon. Now, use all the willpower you can muster and try not to eat it all as it cools.
I, no lie, probably devoured half of this salted honey almond caramel corn before it even made it’s way off the pan. My friend Olivia was over when it was made and we stood in the kitchen for 10 minutes shoveling it in our faces while trying to decide where to go for dinner.
Needless to say, we were barely hungry after gorging on this – it’s that good. This is one you’ve got to try! Enjoy, and I hope you all have a happy holiday! :)
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PrintSalted Honey Almond Caramel Corn
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 70 minutes
- Yield: 12 cups 1x
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
- 10 cups freshly popped popcorn
- ½ cup Blue Diamond Honey Roasted Almonds (roughly chopped)
- ½ cup Blue Diamond Lightly Salted Almonds (roughly chopped)
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup honey
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt (I used Maldon)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Combine the popcorn and almonds in a large bowl and set aside while you prepare the caramel. I recommend using the largest bowl you have to make stirring the caramel in cleaner and easier!
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add the brown sugar, honey, and salt and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn the heat down to medium-low and let boil for 4 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda and vanilla extract. This will cause the mixture the bubble up so stir rapidly until you have a thick, smooth caramel sauce.
- Quickly pour over the popcorn and almonds, stirring as you pour to cover it all in the caramel mixture.
- Divide the mixture between the two prepared baking sheets and spread into a mostly even layer. Bake for 1 hour, stirring the popcorn every 15 minutes and rotating the sheets if they’re on different levels in your oven.
- Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with sea salt. Let cool completely before serving. Keep stored in an airtight container for up to a week.
I can’t believe it’s almost Christmas either! I feel like we just celebrated last Christmas haha! This caramel corn looks AMAZING! I love the almonds in here. Such a perfect snack! Hope you have a very Merry Christmas, friend!
So crazy, isn’t it?! Time flies! Merry Christmas to you, Gayle :)
I am the HUGEST sucker for caramel corn! Seriously, if you let me, I’ll eat it all with no shame. LOL. I totally love that you threw almonds into the mix! I’ll bet it pairs perfectly with the salty + honey flavors! LOVEE!
Haha me too!! Thanks so much Sarah.
Oh my gosh, this looks like the caramel corn to end all other caramel corn – truly amazing! I love those roasted, salted nuts you added to it!
I cannot avoid the nibbling! I love that you added almonds to your caramel corn!
Oh my…I’m imagining myself taking a swan dive, head first (is there any other way? haha!), into that beautiful bowl of popcorn! Such a special treat! Thanks for sharing, my dear!!
I have absolutely no idea how we got from Halloween to the day before Christmas Eve! I sure am glad you were able to get to this caramel corn part of your holiday baking! This will be a perfect snack for watching football!
This looks amazing and I love that you didn’t use corn syrup! I’m wondering if I could swap out the brown sugar and use coconut sugar instead….. any thoughts or suggestions? I removed all of those processed sugars from my kitchen ;)
Hi Barbie! I was just thinking I wanted to try making a fully refined sugar free version with coconut sugar. My guess is that it would work great, but I haven’t tried it so I can’t make any guarantees. Let me know how it turns out if you try it :)
I don’t know where time went… but if you find it, I hope you share it with me! ;) I LOVE this caramel corn, Rachel! I most definitely love that you used honey to sweeten this! This stuff looks like culinary crack and most definitely dangerously delicious! Cheers, girlfriend and warm wishes for a fabulous Christmas! xo
I feel kind of silly that I’ve never made my own caramel corn before. And I don’t know why. It looks so yummy and fun to do too. And I love the almonds and sea salt you have in there!
This salty sweet deliciousness is calling to me!
This would be a phenomenal gift to give IF I didn’t eat it all myself (and I probably would)! This looks like the perfect way to use those honey almonds, and this would be a great snack for New Year’s too!
I can’t believe how quickly Christmas came this year! Caramel corn is one of our favorite snacks around the holidays and this batch would not last a second at our house – it looks perfect! :) Love the almonds in here!! Hope you have a great holiday, Rachel!
Well Christmas is here, and this just looks so good. I know I’d devour an entire bowl full. I send my warmest wishes to you for a joyous Christmas and a sweet 2016!
Is the popcorn plain? Can you use buttered and salted popcorn?
I used plain and would recommend it for the best flavor, but buttered and salted would work. I would recommend tasting it before adding extra salt so you don’t make it too salty. Enjoy!
What an amazing looking caramel corn – looks better then those fancy popcorns from a gourmet shop! And it’s so great that you use honey instead of corn syrup – honey is so much healthier!
oh wow, this caramel corn sounds absolutely fantastic! Merry Christmas Rachel! :)
Caramel corn is one of my favorite indulgences—and yours looks totally sublime! I hope you had an amazing Christmas! xo
Caramel corn is dangerous around me. I usually end up eating handfuls and more handfuls until there is nothing left.
This popcorn looks amazing, Rachel. SO yummy! Merry (belated) Xmas to you, and happy (almost!) New Year! <3 xo
This popcorn looks delicious! Love the sweet and salty mix of flavours! So yummy – this looks like the perfect treat to snack on or serve at a NYE party! Hope you had a brilliant Christmas Rachel! :)
Addictive is right! Yum!