Are you looking for a way to make movie popcorn at home? Our Ninja Foodi Popcorn Recipe is a super simple way to make homemade popcorn in any electric pressure cooker, including instant pot. I have vowed never again to make microwave popcorn. This recipe is just as easy, less likely to burn and tastes SO MUCH better!
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How to Make Popcorn in an Electric Pressure Cooker
Cris here. One of my favorite treats is Movie Theater Popcorn. I stick to a pretty solid low carb lifestyle with two exceptions. The occasional pizzeria pizza and popcorn when we go to the movie theater.
Now that my family is doing a lot of movie nights at home, I got to thinking about how to make movie popcorn for our family to enjoy as a treat and I remembered that Mikey’s dad once told me that the key to amazing homemade popcorn is lard. So I started testing making homemade popcorn in my Ninja Foodi and Instant Pot and I was FLAT OUT SHOCKED how easy it was. I have vowed never again to make microwave popcorn. This recipe is just as easy, less likely to burn and tastes SO MUCH better!
Ninja Foodi Movie Popcorn Notes
- You can use any electric pressure cooker on the saute feature to make this recipe. I prefer to use my Ninja Foodi because the bottom of the pot is larger than my others (including my instant pot). The larger surface area causes the popcorn to pop more kernels because they can spread out nicely.
- We use lard as our oil in this recipe, we have not tested alternatives. You can try your oil or fat of choice.
- Our favorite movie popcorn seasoning can be bought online, however there are a lot of alternatives at your local grocery store in the spice aisle.
General Notes
- We’ve tested this recipe in a 6 quart Instant Pot and 6.5 quart Ninja Foodi.
- Looking for more recipes? Our Recipe Finder can help you find exactly what you need.
- Check out all our favorite recommendations for cookbooks, slow cookers and low carb essentials in our Amazon Influencer Shop.
- As with any of our recipes, carb counts, calorie counts and nutritional information varies greatly. As a result, your nutritional content depends on which products you choose to use when cooking this dish. The auto-calculation is just an automated estimate and should NOT be used for specific dietary needs.
- Finally, all electric pressure cookers cook differently, so cooking times are always a basic guideline. Recipes should always be tested first in your own electric pressure cooker and time adjusted as needed.
Ninja Foodi Popcorn (Instant Pot)
Are you looking for a way to make movie popcorn at home? Our Ninja Foodi Popcorn Recipe is a super simple way to make homemade popcorn in any electric pressure cooker, including instant pot. I have vowed never again to make microwave popcorn. This recipe is just as easy, less likely to burn and tastes SO MUCH better!
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Servings: 4
Calories: 140kcal
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons lard
- 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
- popcorn seasoning to taste
Instructions
- Place lard in a 6.5 to 6 quart electric pressure cooker and turn the saute feature on high.
- Once the lard melts, add kernels and stir them into lard to coat.
- Spread kernels out as much as possible on the bottom of the pot and listen for them to start to sizzle.
- Place a pot lid over the pot (or aluminum foil if you do not have a lid that fits) and set a timer for 4 minutes.
- Turn the saute feature off at 4 minutes but keep the lid on until popping stops.
- Immediately remove lid and carefully remove pot from the unit.
- Toss popcorn in seasoning and serve.
- Store leftovers in an air tight container or baggie.
Video
Notes
- You can use any electric pressure cooker on the saute feature to make this recipe. I prefer to use my Ninja Foodi because the bottom of the pot is larger than my others (including my instant pot). The larger surface area causes the popcorn to pop more kernels because they can spread out nicely.
- We use lard as our oil in this recipe, we have not tested alternatives. You can try your oil or fat of choice.
- Our favorite movie popcorn seasoning can be bought online, however there are a lot of alternatives at your local grocery store in the spice aisle.
- Looking for more recipes? Our Recipe Finder can help you find exactly what you need.
- Check out all our favorite recommendations for cookbooks, slow cookers and low carb essentials in our Amazon Influencer Shop.
- As with any of our recipes, carb counts, calorie counts and nutritional information varies greatly. As a result, your nutritional content depends on which products you choose to use when cooking this dish. The auto-calculation is just an automated estimate and should NOT be used for specific dietary needs.
- Finally, all electric pressure cookers cook differently, so cooking times are always a basic guideline. Recipes should always be tested first in your own electric pressure cooker and time adjusted as needed.
Nutrition
Calories: 140kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 12mg | Potassium: 56mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @RecipesthatCrock or tag #RecipesthatCrock!
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Whether you've been told you can't cook your whole life or you have the knife skills of an Iron Chef, Cris loves to connect you to just the right recipe.
Her site Recipes That Crock is dedicated to helping everyone find delicious recipes to serve their families every month.
Her site Recipes That Crock is dedicated to helping everyone find delicious recipes to serve their families every month.
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I tried this recipe in my ninja foodi w/ veggie oil and it worked perfect!
Wonderful! We’re so glad this worked perfectly for you! Thank you for taking the time to let us know. We love hearing when a reader enjoys one of our recipes. It really makes our day!
Your article talks about adding an extra half cup of water if using the 8 quart!
I’m pretty sure we don’t use water to make popcorn, so I’m guessing you copy/pasted from another recipe and that got missed?
Just a heads up. I’m going to give this a try (without the water! 🙂 ) but I’m not sure how this is better than a pot on the stove. Thoughts?
Hey Keith-
I prefer making it in our Foodi over stove top but that may just be a personal preference. It makes less mess and cooks very evenly for me.
As for the water, good catch. Our general notes on the pressure cooker units all comment on pressure cooking basic tips to help folks be successful, but since this recipe isn’t using that feature, I can see how that standard note could possibly confuse someone. So, we removed it. Hope you enjoy your popcorn!
I do this all the time using coconut oil. Works great. Much easier cleanup. Never tried without shaking pot.
Can you put sugar in with the popcorn before adding to the lard to make kettle corn?
Hi Terri!
We haven’t tried making kettle corn with this recipe, but I did a little research. From what I have found, you add the sugar with the kernels. If you give it a try, let us know how it goes!
Aunt Lou
Love popcorn. Got my love of the stuff from working in my dad’s movie theater way back in the day and I used the popcorn machine to pop for all the customers. So I have been using a heavy pan to pop on top of my stove and of course there is always a mess. My Foodi is the answer. Thank you so much for a great recipe.
Love your site
Those sounds like some wonderful memories, Karyn! I’m so glad you enjoy this recipe, and thank you for your kinds words. It means so much to us when our readers speak life to us!
Hi – I’ve tried this, but the only problem is I can’t get the kernels to really pop. I put the pressure cooker / instant pot on sauté, let it melt & heat up, put the kernels in which will start to sizzle. Then put on the glass lid, leave in sauté high. Each time it’ll pop a few in the first few minutes, but then even after 10+ minutes, only about 1/3 are popped. I tried a few pieces that did pop and they taste great, but I must be doing something really wrong when putting on the setting on the instant pot. I can’t figure it out, any suggestions? Also I’ve used the same ingredients above.
Hmmmm…I’m not sure. It sounds like your Instant Pot isn’t getting hot enough, or you might have a bad batch of corn. Have you tried using the popcorn from this bag with a different cooking method? If it pops just fine with other cooking methods, then it sounds like it could be your Instant Pot not heating up enough.
Have you ever tried using bacon grease?
Yes! It is very yummy! Enjoy!
Thanks so much for your help. It turned out great !
So glad you enjoyed it Terri!
Hello, I have exactly the same machine and I tried making them a couple of times but they come out pretty hard. They do pop, but they aren’t ‘soft’ if that makes sense. Tried with different timings too but still the same issue.. any ideas please??
Hi Sophie!
We’ve never had that issue before, and we make it several times a month. Maybe a bad batch of corn? If it was me, I’d try a different brand to see if the corn is the culprit. Hope this helps!
Aunt Lou
When you say lard, do u mean crisco? This sounds wonderful…we love popcorn at our house!
Hi Linda!
Lard is a fat like Crisco, however, it is different. You can find it in the aisle with the Crisco or in the aisle with refried beans and salsa.
Could you use ghee in place of lard for the Electric Pressure Cooker popcorn?
Hi Ronald!
I haven’t tried it, so I don’t know. I don’t have experience cooking with ghee.Sorry I can’t be of more help.
Yes. You should be able to use ghee as it has a higher smoke point (482°F) and can actually be used for deep frying.
Thanks for another way to use the Foodi!!
Our pleasure!