Festive Christmas Popcorn Balls made with sweet, crunchy popcorn and holiday colors. A fun and easy treat for parties and gifting.
Christmas Popcorn Balls are a fun, festive treat that bring color and crunch to your holiday celebrations. Made with simple ingredients and shaped into sweet, chewy balls, they’re perfect for parties, gifting, or enjoying during a cozy Christmas movie night.
These easy popcorn balls come together quickly and add a cheerful touch to any holiday dessert tray. This easy recipe will be a hit all around and it’s similar to classic Popcorn Balls. Another fun twist on a traditional treat is Jello Popcorn Balls that can easily be enjoyed all year long.
What's in this post: Christmas Popcorn Balls
Why We Love This Recipe
- Quick and Easy: Made with simple ingredients and ready in minutes.
- Festive and Colorful: Perfect for adding a bright holiday touch to any dessert table.
- Kid-Friendly: Fun for little hands to help mix, shape, and decorate.
- Sweet, Chewy, and Crunchy: The perfect combination of textures in every bite.
- Great for Gifting: Wrap them up for a cute and delicious homemade holiday treat.
Ingredients
- Popcorn, popped: Freshly popped popcorn forms the light, crunchy base of the popcorn balls.
- Granulated sugar: Adds sweetness and helps create the sticky coating that holds everything together.
- Light corn syrup: Helps bind the mixture and gives the popcorn balls their glossy, chewy texture.
- Red and green M&Ms: Add festive color and a pop of chocolate in every bite.
- Christmas sprinkles: Provide fun holiday color and crunch to finish off each popcorn ball.
Variations
- Food coloring. You can easily coat the popcorn in food coloring if you prefer.
- Toppings. The M&M’s are delicious but feel free to try other candy combinations. Crushed candy canes work great for topping. Other ideas include pretzel pieces, peanuts, chocolate chips, Reese’s Pieces and more. Drizzle white chocolate on top of popped popcorn.
- Seasonal. This treat can easily be made year round. Simply change the candy for other occasions. You can make these for Halloween, Easter and more.
- Mix-ins. Try adding miniature marshmallows, peanut butter or rice kripsies to the popcorn mixture.
Skip to the bottom and find the complete ingredient list.
Step By Step Instructions
- Step 1 – Preheat the oven. It should be set to 200 degrees F.
- Step 2 – Prepare the pan. Spray a large roasting pan or baking pan lightly with a nonstick cooking spray. Add popcorn and place in a 200ºF oven until warm. Make sure to remove any popcorn kernels.
Step 3. Mix together the sugar and corn syrup in a 2-quart saucepan or large pot and heat over medium heat. Stirring constantly, bring to boil over medium heat. Continue stirring and boil for 2 minutes.
Step 4. Remove from heat. Then stir in the vanilla extract.
Step 5. Coat the popcorn. Drizzle syrup mixture over warm popcorn stirring to coat well. Allow the mixture to cool slightly. Add the topping and combine.
Step 6. From the popcorn balls after the mixture cools. Spray your hands with cooking spray and shape the mixture into twelve popcorn balls. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and allow to set.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store in an airtight container or wrap each popcorn ball in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Stored properly, they will last up to 5 days. However, they are best served fresh as they will soften over time.
Popcorn balls are freezer friendly. They can be frozen up to 2 months.
Just make sure to cover them in plastic wrap. Then place them inside an airtight container.
Then thaw overnight before serving.
You can use microwave popcorn, stovetop popcorn or store bought.
Pro Tips
- Add candy at the right time: The syrup mixture can melt M&Ms and other candies if added too early. Let the mixture cool slightly before mixing them in, or simply press the candies onto the outside of the popcorn balls after shaping.
- Use plain popcorn: Stick with plain, unbuttered popcorn for the best texture and flavor. After popping, be sure to remove any unpopped kernels so they don’t end up in the treats.
- Shape firmly: Press the mixture together with steady pressure to help the popcorn balls hold their shape as they cool.
- Prevent sticking: Use lightly greased hands or wax paper to shape the balls. Both options help stop the mixture from sticking to your fingers.
- Keep the popcorn warm: Warm popcorn helps the syrup coat evenly and prevents the mixture from hardening too quickly.
- Decorating options: You can mix sprinkles into the popcorn, press them onto the outside, or do a combination of both. This gives you full control over how festive the treats look.
- Let them set: Allow the coated popcorn mixture to cool just enough before adding candy or shaping. If it’s too hot, the candy melts; if it’s too cool, the mixture becomes harder to work with.
- Work quickly: Once the syrup is added, the mixture begins to firm up. Shaping the balls right away makes the process easier.
More Christmas Desserts
- Christmas Lasagna Dessert Recipe
- Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes
- Christmas Pancakes Ideas
- Crock Pot Christmas Candy Recipe
- Christmas Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods
Give Christmas Popcorn Balls a try and add some festive fun to your holiday treats! If you make them, be sure to leave a comment below and tell us how they turned out or share your own decorating ideas!
Christmas Popcorn Balls
Ingredients
- 12 cups Popcorn Popped
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup Red and Green M&Ms
- 1/4 cup Christmas Sprinkles
See how we calculate recipe costs.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
- Spray a large roasting pan or baking pan lightly with a nonstick cooking spray. Add popcorn and place in a 200ºF oven until warm.
- Combine sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt in a 2-quart saucepan and heat over medium heat. Stirring constantly, bring to boil over medium heat. Continue stirring and boil for 2 minutes.
- Remove syrup mixture from heat. Then stir in the vanilla extract.
- Pour syrup mixture over warm popcorn stirring to coat well. Allow the mixture to cool slightly. Then gently add in the M&Ms and the sprinkles and mix to combine.
- Once the mixture has cooled slightly and is able to be touched, spray your hands with nonstick cooking spray. Working quickly, shape twelve 3-inch popcorn balls.
- Cool completely. Then the popcorn balls are ready to serve and enjoy!
