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How to create the ultimate popcorn bar

How to Make the Ultimate Popcorn Bar in 10 Easy Steps

We firmly believe that any fun event is more fun with popcorn. It's universally loved, can be sweet, savory, salty or a combination of those. It's the ultimate party snack, no matter the type of party. So we've come up with some easy steps and ideas for making the ultimate popcorn bar for your gatherings.

Step One: Pick Your Popcorn Type

Serve a variety of popcorn types. Dell Cove offers several styles of popcorn including Movie Night, Mushroom, Midnight Blue, Ruby Red, Baby White and Rainbow kernels.

Packs of popcorn for a popcorn bar

Step Two: Pop Fresh!

Whenever possible, make sure the popcorn is freshly popped instead of packaged or pre-popped when it can get stale.

Place a small crock pot on the table and melt butter in it so that people can pour on as much or as little as they want. And note that butter helps seasonings stick better to the popcorn. 

Step Three: Grab Fun Bowls

Choose fun and themed serving dishes. Old time apothecary jars, tall flower vases, baskets, buckets, mason jars and cardboard boxes make for interesting displays.

Popped popcorn in a rustic basket

Step Four: Create Popcorn Cones

Buy colorful paper or print out themed images and roll them into cones so people can walk around and eat their popcorn.

Colorful popcorn cone tutorial

Step Five: Napkins For All!

Make sure to have plenty of napkins as well as plastic or cardboard plates for people to serve themselves. Add scoops to the popcorn containers so that people don't have to put their hands in the bowls or jars.

Step Six: Seasoning Time

Offer a variety of seasonings for people to top their popcorn. At Dell Cove we make 10 different flavors from sweet, savory, salty and spicy. We also sell shaker jars to make it easy for everyone to dress their popcorn. You can also make seasoning combo suggestions like buttery garlic paired with white cheddar. We love the taste explosion of mixing and matching.

Popcorn seasoning glass jar - part of a popcorn bar tutorial

Step Seven: Decor? Yes, Please!

Decorate the table with themed décor. You can pick up a ton of party favors for different occasions at party supply stores or, of course, on Amazon.

Step Eight: Add Other Treats

Offer other popcorn related treats. We love topping frosted cupcakes with popcorn for an added crunch.

Popcorn topped cupcakes - part of a popcorn bar tutorial

Step Nine: Candied Popcorn

Along with the plain popcorn, make some of our fun popcorn recipes such as our Cracker Jack inspired caramel coated popcorn.

DIY cracker jacks - for a popcorn bar tutorial

Step Ten: Pick a Pairing Beverage

Boozy or not, don't forget popcorn themed drinks such as our popcorn chocolate martini.

Chocolate martini with chocolate dripping down the sides

 

Here are some gatherings we think are perfect for hosting a popcorn bar:

Halloween Themed Baby Shower

Halloween themed baby shower popcorn bar

Graduation Trunk Party

How to create a graduation popcorn bar for a trunk party

Bachelorette Party

How to create a popcorn bar for a bachelorette party

Wedding Reception

Wedding Reception popcorn bar
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Comments

David @ Dell Cove Spices & More Co. - February 26, 2022

Hello Eileen! Great question. At popcorn bars we’ve helped run, we have used everything from a soup spoon (to slowly pour), to a basting brush. Recently, though, we used the Dash Electric Butter Sprayer with clarified butter and it worked well, though I would have liked it to hold a charge longer.

Eilleen Weinsteiger - February 26, 2022

How do you suggest drizzling the warm butter?

David @ Dell Cove Spice Co. - February 29, 2016

Hi Cheryl,

Thank you for your comment – and great question. You can serve the popcorn at room temperature, or it can be served warm – if you have a popcorn popping machine or air-popper on site and are popping the popcorn fresh at your event.

If you’re using pre-popped popcorn, one suggestion that is easy to do and can help warm up your guests’ popcorn: Have a small butter warmer on your popcorn bar, so that guests can drizzle melted butter over their popcorn before they add their toppings.

This trick helps the seasonings and toppings stick to the popcorn, and … well … buttery popcorn is delicious. (Who doesn’t love it?)

If you have guests that are lactose-intolerant, you can have a small bowl of olive oil to use instead of the butter.

Cheryl - February 28, 2016

When setting up a popcorn bar for a party, is the popcorn always served at room temp.?

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