Fruity Candy Popcorn, AKA: Jell-O Popcorn is a fun twist on candied popcorn. Ironically, the first time I was introduced to candied popcorn made with Jell-O, was in Brazil. As you might guess, it’s not a traditional local food there! My friend Kim suggested we make this because we happened to have all of the ingredients in our very bare cupboard. I had never heard of such a thing, and I thought it was the strangest idea ever! We mixed up sugar and butter and Jell-O mix and in just a few minutes we had a rainbow of fruity smelling mixtures ready to be poured over fresh popped popcorn. It was delicious! We shared some with the locals and quickly the word spread that the American girls made crazy popcorn treats with Jell-O! That next week we were asked to make several hundred popcorn balls for a big church event and they were quite a hit.
It seems like I post some sort of popcorn concoction on every theme week we do so I thought this was appropriate! I love things like this because they’re so quick and easy and when you’re done you have a lot to share. You can experiment with different colors and flavors and see what you like. I have to say that strawberry is my family’s favorite, and it’s one of the most vibrant so it’s always a safe one to go with. Sometimes the lighter colors get little dark specks in them, but they still taste great! You could make an entire rainbow and layer it in a glass bowl for great party food, or this packs up perfectly for giveaway treats. This is definitely a kid-tested (and approved!) recipe.
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- Popped popcorn – Plain, air popped popcorn is all you need here, but if buttered is all you have, it will work in a pinch.
- Butter – Always use real butter if you can!
- Light corn syrup
- Granulated sugar
- Jell-O mix – You’ll need the small box of Jell-O (3-3.5 ounces). Do not use sugar-free, as the sugar is what creates that crunchy candy coating.
How to Make Fruity Candy Popcorn
- Preheat oven to 300°F. Line a jelly roll pan with foil or parchment. If using foil, spray lightly with non-stick spray and set aside. Place the popcorn in an extra large mixing bowl.
- Place butter and syrup in a sauce pan on medium heat. Stir until butter is melted. Add sugar and Jello and stir to combine.
- Increase heat and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat so it just simmers. Continue simmering for 5 minutes. You’ll start off with a mixture that’s sometimes thick (depending on the flavor, see note at end) and as it cooks the sugar will dissolve and it will become a little more liquidy.
- After the sugar mixture simmers for 5 minutes, immediately pour over popcorn in bowl. Be careful, it’s super hot!! Mix right away and keep stirring so everything gets well coated. Spread mixture onto prepared pan and spread out evenly.
- Pop in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes. I’ve noticed that some flavors of Jell-O have more mix than others. For example, the strawberry is usually much thicker than the lime. If you notice this, you might want to bake the mixture for a few minutes longer to make sure it gets cooked all the way.
- Remove the pan from the oven and let cool to room temp. Then break into pieces and enjoy! You can certainly eat this un-baked as well and it’s just soft and gooey, but definitely bake it if you’re going to pack it up for giving, or serve it as party food so it will be light and crunchy.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store finished Fruity Candy Popcorn in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoy within 3-5 days for best results.
- My favorite containers for goodies like this come from the dollar section at Target. Craft stores like Michael’s and Hobby Lobby usually have a great selection as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! This is a great treat to make a day or two ahead of when you need it, as long as you store it in an airtight container or package.
Yes, however I recommend doing it in batches simply because there’s so much popcorn to stir and coat.
Fruity Candy Popcorn {AKA Jell-O Popcorn}
Ingredients
- 8 cups popped popcorn
- ¼ cup butter that’s half a stick
- 3 tablespoons light corn syrup honey is a good substitute
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 small box Jell-O (3-3.5 ounces), any flavor not sugar-free
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F. Line a jelly roll pan with foil or parchment. If using foil, spray lightly with non-stick spray and set aside. Place popcorn in an extra large mixing bowl.
- Place butter and syrup in a sauce pan on medium heat. Stir until butter is melted. Add sugar and Jell-O and stir to combine.
- Increase heat and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat so it just simmers. Continue simmering for 5 minutes.
- After the sugar mixture simmers for 5 minutes, immediately pour over popcorn in bowl. Be careful, it’s super hot! Mix right away and keep stirring so everything gets well coated. Spread mixture onto prepared pan and spread out evenly.
- Pop in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and let cool to room temp. Then break into pieces and enjoy! You can certainly eat this un-baked as well and it’s just soft and gooey, but definitely bake it if you’re going to pack it up for giving, or serve it as party food so it will be light and crunchy.
Notes
- Store finished Fruity Candy Popcorn in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoy within 3-5 days for best results.
- My favorite containers for goodies like this come from the dollar section at Target. Craft stores like Michael’s and Hobby Lobby usually have a great selection as well.
Questions & Reviews
Is the Jello Brand better than a store brand?
what kind of popcorn? butter? or kettle or what?
Can u make these into balls as well then bake them???! Please help! ! Thank you!!!
You can make them into balls, but I probably wouldn’t bake them after. I’m guessing they would stay chewy in the centers.
How long will this keep? I’m giving a huge circus baby shower and would love to be able to package it up ahead of time…. Just how much ahead is safe enough to still hold it’s crunch? Thanks! Liz
That’s a tricky one because it depends. I’ve had it keep nice and crunchy for 2-3 days, but environmental factors, like humidity, will make a difference as well. You might want to test a batch just to see!
I can’t figure out if it’s the margarine or type of popcorn I’m using but anytime I pour anything on my Orville electric popped popcorn its shriveling up. Do I have to use butter instead of margarine? Or should I try a different type of popcorn? I’ve made this before with margarine so I can’t figure out what’s going on.
I made this in Grape for a Purple and gold graduation sweet table that i did and it was a big hit with the kids at the party. It was also a big hit in my house! as i made a large batch and almost had to make a second just for the party “wink”. Now its going to be the 4th of July and i am doing a sweet table for 60+ guests we are having over and decided to include blue raspberry, red cherry and will buy some kettle corn for white. I can’t wait to make it. this recipe is full proof, easy and sweet enough!
I made 2 batches of this, one strawberry and one lime (Christmas colors). I followed others’ recommendations for spraying everything w/ cooking spray, but the first batch (strawberry) turned out too clumpy and had lots of extra jello coating on the bottom of the pan. So I made a little extra popcorn for the lime batch (about 10 cups vs. 8), then I made sure to evenly coat all the popcorn and stir while pouring the jello mix in. Also, after taking it out of the oven, I stirred it while warm to break it up instead of waiting for it to cool first. Perfect! Thanks for this recipe – I’m trying the peppermint bark popcorn next. Keep the recipes coming!
I made these last night for a Halloween party. We are dairy free so i tried to use coconut oil didn’t work out so well. I wound up pouring off most of the coconut oil since it would stir in. Also the blue jello turn out green :-/ luckily it was for Halloween and it didnt matter the color. it probably was just the sugar caramelizing from the lack of water from the butter. I think next time i will try vegan “butter”
BUT it turned out great, tasted great. everyone loved it
and I loved how easy it was 🙂
Has anyone else had issues with Honey? I didn’t have any corn syrup, so I tried with honey, and it started boiling almost as soon as i put it in, then the whole thing burned.
I don’t even like lime jello or flavoring (sweet), but this ended up tasting great! I even featured it on our crafting blog, just to share some fun tastiness. Thanks for sharing your talent!