Matcha Popcorn - Oh, How Civilized (2024)

Add a green tea twist to your popcorn with this matcha stovetop popcorn recipe. If you’ve never made stovetop popcorn at home, you’re missing out!

Recipe Highlights

• This recipe shows you step-by-step, how to make freshly made popcorn that’s then coated with buttery matcha. It’s the perfect snack.
• It’s quick and easy to make at home, you’ll always want to make popcorn on the stovetop. Once you’ve had a taste of stovetop popcorn, you’ll have a hard time going back to store-bought bags.
• My secret to making the perfect buttery toppings for popcorn (that doesn’t get soggy) is to use clarified butter, or ghee, which is sold in most supermarkets. I get mine from Trader Joes.

Love matcha? Try making my Matcha Milkshake, Matcha Ice Cubes, Matchamisu (Matcha Tiramisu), and layered Iced Matcha Latte.

Ingredient Notes

• Matcha
  You want good quality but not the most expensive matcha. Get the brightest green in the $15-$30 range.
• Clarified butter (ghee)
  My secret ingredient to perfect popcorn. It has a high smoke point so you can cook on high heat without burning AND because there is no water content, it works amazingly well for popcorn toppings since it doesn’t make the popped kernels soggy.
• Popcorn kernels
  Get unpopped popcorn kernels.
• Sugar
  Just plain white granulated sugar is what you need.
• Sea salt
  Matcha popcorn tastes great when it’s a little sweet and salty. This sea salt is the absolute best.

Step-by-Step Instructions

For full ingredients and detailed instructions, please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

1. Combine clarified butter, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Sift in matcha and mix. Set aside.
   Sifting the matcha using a mesh strainer will prevent clumping and make it easier to mix all the ingredients together.
2. Put clarified butter and 3 kernels into a pot and close the lid. Turn heat to medium-high and wait for a kernel to pop.
3. Once you hear a kernel pop, add in the rest of the kernels and close the lid. Shake the pot every few seconds.
   Give the pot a shake and a swirl so the clarified butter can coat the kernels. (Don’t forget to use oven mitts since the handles will be hot!) When the popping sound slows down between pops, you can turn off the heat.
4. Coat the popcorn with the matcha butter topping and serve immediately.
   Pour popcorn a cup at a time into the large bowl with the matcha topping and coat popped kernels evenly.

Expert Tips

• Use a pot that can hold at least 2 quarts. A pot with a glass lid is even better since you can see the popcorn as it pops.
• Mixing the popcorn with the matcha topping can get VERY messy. I used my bare hands since it was hard to get it to mix using anything else. So just be prepared to get green, delicious buttery hands if you do the same.
• Don’t leave the popcorn on the heat unattended. It can burn quickly if you’re not moving the popcorn around in the pot.

Questions You May Have

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