I’ve always loved popcorn balls but sometimes the old fashioned ones made with caramel just stick in my teeth, so I end up not wanting to eat more than a bite or two. These marshmallow popcorn balls are a completely different ball game because they use a marshmallow mixture instead of caramel to keep the popcorn together. That’s why they’re called marshmallow popcorn balls – get it? They’re more like a rice krispie treat with the marshmallows creating an ooey gooey texture to the balls while still being super tasty. I’ll honestly never make popcorn balls another way again. These are one of my new favorite holiday treats (and only one of a ton of new Christmas treats I’ll be sharing over the next few weeks). They make a great addition to any Christmas treat tray, are good for a nut-free classroom Christmas party snack, or just a delicious treat for your own family. Oh and of course, they work well for Christmas parties! Or if you have a smaller family like I do, make a big batch of this Christmas popcorn balls recipe, bag them up, add one of these Christmas gift tags, and give them away as neighbor gifts or treats for friends!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easy – these easy Christmas popcorn balls literally only take three ingredients and a few minutes to make! Plus, they come together quickly so you can eat them within like 10-15 minutes of starting the recipe! Ooey gooey – if you’ve ever had rice krispie treats, these are very similar in their texture except instead of popcorn, they use rice krispies! Versatile – I’m using these for my holiday parties with Christmas sprinkles, but you could make these all year long with any kind of sprinkles (or omit the sprinkles altogether). They’re a fun treat for birthdays, parties, and party faovors!
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
There are only three key ingredients in this recipe plus one optional one, so they’re all important!
Popcorn – I recommend just doing regular bags of microwave popcorn. Anything works other than I’d avoid butter flavor simply because these already have quite a bit of butter in the recipe.Butter – make sure it’s unsalted butter or you’ll end up with treats that are a bit saltier than you intended. Mini marshmallows – I recommend using the miniature marshmallows compared to the regular size ones because they melt into the butter better, and the melted marshmallows combine with the marshmallow a bit better. If you are in a pinch and want to use regular size marshmallows, I recommend cutting them up into fourths and using 3 cups of the 1/4 marshmallows so it’s like using mini marshmallows. Sprinkles – the sprinkles are totally optional in these marshmallow popcorn treats, but they do make them Christmas themed for the holiday season! If it’s not Christmas, you can use any other kind of sprinkles or just omit the sprinkles altogether. Oh, and I recommend using the little balls (nonpareils) so that they’re easy to eat in these homemade popcorn balls!
How to make marshmallow Popcorn Balls
These are super easy to make but there are some key tips to making it so that they’re not only edible but also delicious. If you miss the tips, they can be not nearly as enjoyable to eat. Start by popping two bags of microwave popcorn. As I mentioned before, any kind works as long as you’re not doing butter flavored or kettle corn. Just any regular bags of microwave popcorn.
1 – Pop the Popcorn
Once the popcorn is popped, open the bottom of the bag just barely and shake them over the trash can to get rid of any unpopped kernels (learned this trick on TikTok, ha!). You don’t want to have a bunch of unpopped kernels in your popcorn balls getting into people’s teeth.
2 – Make the Marshmallow Mixture
Next, melt 1/2 cup butter in a large pot over low heat. Make sure it’s low so you don’t brown (or burn) the butter. Add in the marshmallows and turn the heat up to medium low and heat until the marshmallows are completely smooth and melted into the butter. You don’t have to stir constantly but stir frequently so you don’t end up with burnt marshmallows on the bottom of the pan (also why you just do low-medium heat). Remove the melted marshmallow mixture from the heat and add the popped popcorn. Gently stir the popcorn into the melted marshmallow, folding it in gently so it mixes into the popcorn but doesn’t completely crush the popcorn into pieces!
3 – Make the Popcorn Balls
Spray your hands with nonstick spray (to prevent the marshmallow popcorn balls from sticking to your hands), grab a scoop of popcorn (typically about a cup of the popcorn mixture), and form a popcorn ball in your hand. After you form a ball from the marshmallow popcorn, place them onto a piece of parchment paper then sprinkle the popcorn balls with your a little bit of your favorite Christmas sprinkles before they are fully set. If you wait too long and the marshmallow sets, the sprinkles will just bounce off. Repeat with the remaining mixture, forming balls, and adding sprinkles until you have a cookie sheet full of popcorn balls! Once the popcorn balls are fully set (typically 10-15 minutes), move to a plate and serve immediately. You can either just serve them as regular balls or if you want to make them a bit more festive, add them into cupcake liners with a holiday theme. Kind of like a Christmas cupcake but a popcorn ball instead! This is my favorite way to serve because they just look like so much fun in one individual package! If you’re gifting these to friends, I like to wait a bit longer and then bag them up in plastic treat bags with a ribbon and Christmas gift tag. I’ve yet to find anyone who didn’t like getting these as a gift! I mean who doesn’t like this??
Expert Tips & storage Information
Keep spraying your hands with a non-stick spray as they start sticking to the popcorn again. You may have to spray them a couple of times as you get the full batch out of the pot. Wash the pot immediately after you get all of the popcorn balls put together to make for easy cleanup. If you let it sit out for a while, it’s a pain to clean, similar to these slow cooker candied nuts. Turn these into popcorn ball pops by adding forming your ball around a lollipop stick or a fun and festive paper straw. I found that it’s hard to add it after the balls are formed but if you do it beforehand, they form pretty well and become popcorn ball treats on a stick! Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days. They should stay ooey gooey, as long as they’re in a sealed container until at least then and honestly, they won’t last that long anyway. Or if you want to store them individually to give to people, you can wrap each airtight in plastic wrap and give away for an extra special treat! Make sure you get all of the unpopped kernels out of the popcorn before you start making these. No one wants to bite into hard kernels when they want a popcorn treat.
More Easy Snack Recipes
If you like these easy popcorn balls, you’ll love these other yummy snack recipes!
Butterbeer popcorn – this is one of our favorite popcorn recipes that combines the flavors of Harry Potter’s butterbeer recipe with popcorn! Chex mix recipe – this is the ultimate snack food and the homemade version is so much better! This easy recipe is a holiday time staple! Reindeer chow – if you want something that’s a little sweet and a little salty, this fun Christmas snack mix might be just the thing! Soft pretzel bites – homemade pretzels that can be either salty or sweet, these are addicting! Cheesy pigs in a blanket – everyone’s favorite pigs in a blanket made even better with a little cheese!
