Let’s talk about the ultimate Halloween treat that checks all the boxes!
This Monster Munch (Halloween Popcorn Mix) is salty, sweet, crunchy, colorful, and just a little bit spooky. Monster Munch is the kind of snack that’s almost too fun to eat…almost! We’re talking fluffy popcorn, pretzels, candy corn, festive sprinkles, and chocolate candies, all coated in a sweet, creamy vanilla candy coating. It’s the perfect mix for parties, movie nights, or packaging up in cute little bags for neighbors and friends. One batch makes a big bowlful, but it won’t last long! It’s addictive in the best way.
Ingredients Needed
- Almond Bark – If you’ve never bought almond bark before, you can find it in most normal grocery stores in the baking aisle. It’s usually by the chocolate chips on either the very top or very bottom shelves (why? I know not). It comes in a 1 pound brick, scored into squares and it melts really easily in the microwave or stove top. It tastes like white chocolate, but is much easier to work with.
- Popcorn – either air popped corn or buttered microwave popcorn work great here. If you use air popped corn, just add a little sprinkle of salt at the end when you mix everything up.
- Your favorite fall candy mix-ins – here, I used candy corn, dry roasted peanuts, and Reese’s Pieces, but feel free to make it your own!
How to Make Monster Munch
- Pop popcorn and place in a very large bowl; much larger than you think you need. In fact, just use the largest one you have! I love my trusty 20 quart mixing bowl for things like this. It makes mixing a lot easier!
- Pour peanuts, candy corn, and Reese’s Pieces on top.
- Take a large knife and break up the almond bark. Melt according to package directions. I just chop it up a little and microwave it in intervals until smooth and melted. Pour over popcorn mixture.
- Stir until everything is well coated and then spread out onto waxed paper, parchment, or foil. Let sit until completely dry and then break up into clumps.
- This makes a big batch so it’s great for packing up into cute bags and sharing!
Storage & Other Tips
- Storage: Keep this stored in an airtight container and eat within 1-2 days for best results.
- Consistency: You can stretch this pretty far if you don’t like your popcorn quite so covered in the almond bark/candy coating. I like to have a little extra popcorn on hand and as I start stirring it together, I can add more popcorn if needed to get it to the consistency I like.
- Humidity Warning: If it’s humid where you live, the candy coating might get a little soft over time. Keeping it in an airtight container really helps.
- Freezing: Technically, you can freeze it in airtight containers for up to a month, but the texture of the popcorn might suffer a bit. We recommend just making it fresh—it’s quick!
- Make Ahead: You can easily make Monster Munch a day or two ahead of time for parties or treat bags.
- Customization: Feel free to swap in your favorite candies—mini peanut butter cups, gummy worms, or seasonal M&Ms are super fun. Want it extra festive? Add Halloween-colored sprinkles or edible eyes.
- Gift It: Package it in cellophane bags tied with ribbon or in cute paper cups for party favors, teacher gifts, or trick-or-treat handouts.
Frequently Asked Questions
The beautiful thing about popcorn mixes is that you can put whatever your heart desires in there! Try mini peanut butter cups, gummy worms, seasonal M&Ms, Halloween-colored sprinkles, edible eyes, other nuts (like cashews or almonds), chocolate chips, or pretzels!
You can substitute with white candy melts or white chocolate wafers—they both melt easily and coat the mix beautifully.
Both work! If using air-popped, the recipe suggests adding a sprinkle of salt at the end. With microwave popcorn, choose a lightly buttered or “natural” flavor to avoid an overly greasy mix.
Chop it into small pieces and melt in short bursts (30 seconds in the microwave), stirring until completely smooth—this helps prevent burning or seizing.
Yes! The recipe scales well—just use equal ratios of coating and mix-ins per cup of popcorn. Want a smaller batch? Halve the ingredients; need more? Double or triple them. Just make sure your bowl is huge, or plan to mix it in batches.
Monster Munch {Halloween Popcorn Mix}
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound Almond Bark
- 12-14 cups popcorn, popped about ½ cup kernels, or 2 bags microwave neutral-flavored popcorn
- 1 cup candy corn
- 1 cup dry roasted salted peanuts
- ½ cup Reese’s Pieces more if desired!
- other mix-ins as desired see FAQs for great ideas!
Instructions
- Pop popcorn and place into the largest mixing bowl you have. Pour peanuts, candy corn, and Reese's Pieces on top.
- Take a large knife and break up almond bark. Melt according to package directions. (I recommend chopping it up a little, and microwaving it in intervals until smooth and melted.)
- Pour over popcorn mixture.
- Stir until everything is well coated and then spread out onto waxed paper, parchment, or foil.
- Let sit until completely dry and then break up into clumps.
Notes
- If using air popped corn, add a sprinkle of salt as you’re mixing everything up at the end to bring out all of the flavors.
Questions & Reviews
For Shara who has to leave out the nuts. You would need to substiute the almond bark as well if you are leaving out nuts. Maybe white chocolate???
Added M&M’s with pretzels. Sent them to my daughter in college as part of her Halloween package. It was a huge hit. In fact my daughter said she decided not to share all fo the popcorn baggies cause she wants save some for herself. She wants another type for her Thanksgiving box so I’ll be checking out more of your receipes. This one has been added to my cookbok! Thanks for the great recipes.
Made this with peanut m&ms instead of reeces. So good! It was a hit with the soccer team!
Kara
Actually Almond bark may taste like white chocolate to some, however there is nothing that resembles chocolate in the ingredients. When looking for true white chocolate it MUST have cocoa butter to be ‘white chocolate’. Chocolate FLAVORED also is a clue that it is not in the true chocolate family either. I knew about ‘flavored’, however it has been through a few hours of research over the last couple of weeks I was able to determine the difference between almond bark, white baking chips, and white chocolate.
Sarah- I used my air popper. Have had mine forever and the only time of the year I pull it out is for homemade caramel corn. I make my popcorn on the stove, not a fan of all the “stuff” added to microwave. I don’t know how blogs work, but I did not read through all the comments before making mine…so I had no idea you had used microwave which of course has salt added or that you recommended adding salt. Mine did have a little salt taste from the peanuts. I used a combo of M & M candies, plain, pnut and pnut butter in place of the Reece’s pieces. I made a batch coated in almond bark and a batch with chocolate flavored bark.
Yum yum YUM!!!!!!!! How many bags of microwave popcorn would you need for this recipe?
i think i love you!! LOL anything with popcorn, plus…easy quick and cheap! thank you!!
Will this keep for awhile? I want to make it and give as gifts a few days later….
I would make it as close to the day as possible. It will keep for a few days, but it’s definitely better fresh before the popcorn starts getting that stale texture to it.
This was great! I did substitute, just because I forgot the candy corn. Used 1 cup of Reese’s Pieces and 1 cup of Planter’s mixed nuts (what I had on hand). This is addicting. Took it to a tailgating party, and it was gone in a heartbeat. Thanks for sharing. Will make this again and again.
Thank you for the recipe! It looks so good!