10 Popcorn Recipes to Have for a Snack—Or Even for Dinner

When you've got options like miso soup, Thai curry, and brown-butter maple pecan, it's easy to count popcorn as a meal!

When it comes to snacks, popcorn is the perfect blank canvas, unlimited in its potential for experimenting with flavors salty, sweet, spicy, umami, and more. Popped kernels are wondrous little things, possessing fluff that's eager to soak up fat of any kind, while plenty of nooks and crannies greedily welcome salt and other seasonings; really, popcorn is just nature's way of efficiently delivering flavor bombs to our mouths in rapid succession, and for that service it should be honored.

As a tribute to this great food, we've put together 10 popcorn recipes you'll definitely want for your next movie night, get-together, or any time you need some creative and crunchy comfort.

Matcha and White Chocolate Popcorn

Here we take vibrant matcha—a type of Japanese green tea—and whisk it into white chocolate to form a coating for freshly popped corn. Slightly herbal and not-too-sweet, it has a subtle flavor that'll keep you coming back for more.

Get Recipe: Matcha and White Chocolate Popcorn

Miso-Soup-Flavored Popcorn

The secret ingredients here? Instant miso soup mix with some pieces of crumbled seasoned nori snack sheets. So familiar, yet so new...and totally crave-worthy.

Get Recipe: Miso-Soup-Flavored Popcorn

Bagna Cauda (Anchovy-Garlic) Popcorn

Inspired by the flavors of bagna cauda—the famed Northern Italian vegetable dip made from melted butter, olive oil, garlic, and anchovies—this snack is like your classic buttered popcorn but with extra bold, grownup flavor.

Get Recipe: Bagna Cauda (Anchovy-Garlic) Popcorn

Crispy Chocolate Popcorn

With a handful of simple ingredients, you can turn plain popcorn into a crisp and crunchy chocolate candy.

Get Recipe: Crispy Chocolate Popcorn

Microwave Brown Bag Popcorn

Skip the store-bought stuff that comes pre-coated in flavors and instead make your own customizable microwave popcorn.

Get Recipe: Microwave Brown Bag Popcorn

Brown-Butter Maple Popcorn With Pecans

In this addictive recipe, rich brown butter and maple syrup are cooked into a quick caramel, which is then used to both candy the pecans and coat fresh popcorn. A generous pinch of salt makes all those sweet-savory flavors pop.

Get Recipe: Brown-Butter Maple Popcorn With Pecans

Za'atar (Thyme-, Sesame-, and Sumac-Spiced) Popcorn

Za'atar, a Middle Eastern spice mixture most often made with sumac, sesame seeds, thyme, and oregano, gets a new starring role as a flavor for homemade popcorn.

Related: Za'atar (Thyme-, Sesame-, and Sumac-Spiced) Popcorn

Chicken Dinner-Flavored Popcorn

Meant to evoke the comfort of a Sunday night meal, here we dress up popcorn with the savory flavors of a roast chicken dinner—garlic, lemons, thyme, and mushrooms.

Get Recipe: Chicken Dinner-Flavored Popcorn

Thai Red Coconut Curry Popcorn

Inspired by spicy red Thai coconut curry, this snack is flavored with a fragrant mix of coconut, chile powder, lemongrass, makrut lime leaves, garlic, and ginger. A little sugar rounds out their assertive flavors into a compelling little package.

Get Recipe: Thai Red Coconut Curry Popcorn

Buttered Popcorn Ice Cream

The perfect ice cream for movie night, redolent with flavors of well-buttered movie theater popcorn.

Get Recipe: Buttered Popcorn Ice Cream

Read the original article on Serious Eats.