Rainbow Popcorn is a colorful treat perfect for birthday parties, St. Patrick’s Day and other celebrations. This rainbow colored recipe is quick and easy.
Whether you need a rainbow snack for a party or just because, this recipe does not disappoint. It is pretty enough for special occasions but easy enough to toss together for family movie night. It’s one of the best Popcorn Recipes.
If you love flavored popcorn, you might also like our The Best Homemade Caramel Popcorn, Puppy Chow Popcorn, and Cinnamon Roll Popcorn recipes.
Table of contents
Why This Recipe Works
We love this recipe for Rainbow Popcorn because it is so fun and also tasty and frugal. Give this a try for a unicorn party or just to surprise your kids with a fun snack.
It’s really easy and looks so festive and fun with the rainbow colors. Also, try 31 Best Orange Desserts.
Ingredients
- Bags Popped Popcorn. You can use microwave popcorn, stove top, store bought or anything you prefer.
- Gel Food Coloring. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue and Purple. Try other colors for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, fourth of July and more.
Find the complete list of ingredients for Rainbow Popcorn at the bottom of the page.
How to Make Rainbow Popcorn
- Make the individual bags of food coloring. You will need 6 different zip lock bags.
- Add the sugar and food coloring. Place 3 Tbsp of Sugar in 6 different zip lock bags. You will put 3 Tbsp in each. Then add a small amount (1-2 drops) of each gel food coloring to each bag.
- Seal the bag tightly. Shake and knead thoroughly until the color is evenly distributed throughout the sugar. This is the fun part so you might want to let the kids help shake the bag.
- Heat the sugar mixture one color at a time. Then in a small saucepan, heat 1 color of the sugar with 1 tsp of the water over medium heat to melt the sugar. Do not stir and watch closely so that the sugar does not burn.
- Remove from heat and add the popcorn. Once you remove the pan from the heat, add in approximately 1 ½ cups of the popcorn and stir into the colored syrup. Continue to stir until the popcorn is well coated with the color.
- Place the popcorn on a baking sheet. Line the pan with foil or parchment paper and then put the popcorn on the pan. Then sprinkle about ¼ tsp of salt over the popcorn. Just a little goes a long way.
- Continue this process. Keep repeating these steps with the remaining colors of the sugar until all of the popcorn is coated.
- Allow to cool. Once the popcorn has had time to cool completely, it is ready to serve and enjoy. You can keep the different colors separated or combine popcorn in a large bowl. Either option is pretty and will look great at your party or event.
Serving Suggestions
- Cellophane bags or Ziplock bags. The popcorn is perfect to serve for a party in bags or to take home as favors.
- Bowls. Combine the popcorn and place inside a bowl. I like to use a clear plastic or glass bowl so you can see the pretty popcorn inside.
- Individual Bowls. If you do not want to combine the popcorn, use smaller bowls to separate the the colors.
Pro Tips
- Don’t leave any un-popped kernels in the popcorn mixture. You will need to pick these out before coloring the popcorn.
- Allow to cool before serving. The popcorn needs to cool completely before serving. The sugar mixture is hot and you do not want it to burn anyone.
- Store properly to keep fresh. The popcorn will go stale if not stored correctly. Make sure you use a container with a tight fitting lid or a ziplock bag.
- This recipe is best with gel food coloring. It is easier to obtain bright vibrant colors if you use gel food coloring. While other types will work, the colors will not turn out as pretty.
Storage
Any leftover popcorn will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Microwave popcorn is easiest to use in this recipe. Just make sure to remove any popcorn kernels from the popcorn.
I would not use any popcorn varieties such as extra butter or movie theater butter. The butter and grease will make this messy. It is best to use a plain popcorn.
If you have an air popper, you can feel free to use this. We just prefer to use the microwave because it is so easy.
Gel food coloring gives the popcorn the most vibrant colors. The key to successfully coloring popcorn is to make a sugar and water mixture on the stove top with the food coloring.
Then remove from the heat and and the popcorn. Stir this together until well coated.
You want to make sure the mixture is evenly distributed so that all of the popcorn is brightly colored.
More Flavored Popcorn Recipes
- The Best Popcorn Balls Recipe
- Cinnamon Roll Popcorn Recipe
- The Best Homemade Caramel Popcorn Recipe
- Unicorn Popcorn
More Rainbow Desserts
Make this Rainbow Recipe for a fun and special treat that will brings lots of smiles. Please leave a comment once you try it.
Rainbow Popcorn
Ingredients
Instructions
- Place 3 Tbsp of Sugar in 6 different zip lock bags (3 Tbsp each). Add a small amount (1-2 drops) of each gel food coloring to each bag. Seal the bag and shake and knead thoroughly until the color is evenly distributed throughout the sugar.
- Then in a small saucepan, heat 1 color of the sugar with 1 tsp of the water over medium high heat to melt the sugar. Do not stir and watch closely so that the sugar does not burn.
- Then remove the pan from the heat and stir in approximately 1 ½ cups of the popcorn into the colored syrup. Stir until the popcorn is well coated with the color. Then place the popcorn on a baking sheet lined with foil to cool. Sprinkle approximately ¼ tsp of salt over the popcorn.
- Continue this process with the remaining colors of the sugar until all the popcorn is coated.
- Once the popcorn has fully cooled, it is ready to serve and enjoy!
Made the rainbow popcorn for my grandkids birthday party. The theme of their party was art. The popcorn was colored and put in small individual silver paint buckets. So they were individual and easy for self serving. Thank you, for this great idea.
So happy you liked it!