If you love s’mores, but want it in a snack-able form–put it together with popcorn! You’re favorites: marshmallows, chocolate and graham, but made into something you can munch on all day long! Naturally gluten & dairy free, with egg, soy and nut free alternatives in the post below!
This post is sponsored by Enjoy Life. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.
As a present to celebrate Allergy Awareness Month and the start of summer I want to give you a fantastic allergy-friendly treat!
I find we do a lot of snacking in the summer. There’s often an occasion for a sweet treat, and with food allergies, we usually need to plan ahead and pack our own.
I love to bring popcorn to events like parades, fireworks and potlucks, because who can resist popcorn? But, not just any popcorn! It’s fun to spice up popcorn a bit and do a mashup with another beloved summer treat: s’mores.
It’s easy to make s’mores popcorn, and even easier to make it allergy-friendly if you know what substitutions to use. If the dessert is allergy-friendly, then even more can enjoy it!
Let me show you which ingredients to use if you want to make this for those with food allergies or dietary restrictions:
Allergy-friendly ingredients for Gluten & Dairy Free S’mores Popcorn:
- Allergy-friendly popcorn: popcorn is naturally allergy-friendly. I like to buy plain kernels, to make sure there is no coating or topping on top. (So no buying pre-buttered, or kettle corn versions since we’ll be adding our own toppings.)
- Allergy-friendly chocolate chips: This is a no brainer! The chocolate chips that have had my back for 7 years (no exaggeration!) are Enjoy Life. You’d never know that they’re not “regular” chocolate chips because the taste, shape and texture are the classic chocolate taste you’d want. I used their dark morsels, but you could certainly use their mega chunks or their minis as well!
- Allergy-friendly graham crackers: Enjoy Life has our back again. They have crunchy cookies called Vanilla Honey Graham that taste and snap just like graham crackers. And the best part–they’re top 8 free. I’ve never found any kind of graham cracker that is top 8 free! They really have your back when it comes to allergy-friendly products made in a dedicated facility. (Which is why I’m obsessed with their company!)
- Allergy-friendly marshmallows: Marshmallows are typically free of the top-8-allergens, like big box brands like Kraft. The only problem you may run into is that regular brand marshmallows do contain gelatin, which won’t work for vegan diets. There are specialty vegan marshmallows like Dandies. The only issue you run into is that all of the vegan marshmallows I’ve found contain soy–so you won’t be able to do a vegan AND top-8-free version. If you ever find a vegan & soy-free marshmallow, be sure to let me know! Click here to see which marshmallows are dairy free (and to see an ingredient comparison chart of all the major brands)
- Allergy-friendly shortening: For the oil in this recipe, you can use either a vegan butter that works for your diet or shortening. We can do soy, so we used vegetable shortening. If you need a soy-free shortening you can use Spectrum. You’ll use the same amount no matter the oil type. Or, if you can do dairy–you can use regular butter.
The great thing about this allergy-friendly S’mores Popcorn is that it’s completely customizable! If you’re a chocolate lover–feel free to add more chocolate chips. If you cant’ get enough Vanilla Honey Grahams then use extra cookies. You really can make this according to feel and taste.
Just be sure to keep the popcorn in an air tight container when you’re not munching down. But beware, you’ll be sneaking bits here and there and before you know it–you’ll have eaten a lot more than you thought you did…or so some people tell me. Not that I’d ever do that…ha!
If you’re looking for other allergy-friendly snacks or other s’mores renditions, here are a few of our favorites:
- A list of allergy-friendly, store-bought snacks we frequently pack with us!
- Gluten, Dairy & Oat-free Energy Balls
- Allergy-friendly Dessert Tropical Trail Mix
- No Nut Happy Trails Mix
- S’mores Brownie Bars
- S’mores Cookies
- S’mores Popcorn
- S’mores Parfaits
Gluten & Dairy Free S'mores Popcorn
If you love s'mores, but want it in a snack-able form--put it together with popcorn! You're favorites: marshmallows, chocolate and graham, but made into something you can munch on all day long! Naturally gluten & dairy free, with egg, soy and nut free alternatives in the post details!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Pop 10 cups of popcorn and discard all unpopped kernels. Place the popped popcorn in a large bowl.
- Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil or a silicone mat.
- Break up the entire box of cookies. Pour them over the popcorn and stir to combine.
- Melt the shortening over medium-low in a tall sauce pan. Once it's melted, add the marshmallows. Stir until they're melted and then kill the heat.
- Slowly pour 3/4 of the melted marshmallow mixture over the popcorn and broken graham cookies. Gently fold everything together.
- Pour the marshmallow, popcorn and graham mixture onto a sheet pan covered with aluminum foil or silicone mat. Flatten with greased hands.
- Drizzle the remaining marshmallow mixture over the popcorn on the cookie sheet for extra pockets of gooey-ness.
- Pour the measured Enjoy Life morsels over the mixture, press to combine with greased hands.
- Add additional marshmallows, chocolate chips or cookies to the extra gooey spots, if so desired.
- Allow the popcorn to cool. Serve, and when not eating keep in an air-tight container.
Notes
Feel free to add more or less or the chocolate and cookie pieces to your liking. You may also want to add a pinch of salt to the marshmallow mixture if you'd prefer a sweet and salty combo.
Adapted from: Two Sister's Crafting S'mores Popcorn
DON’T FORGET TO PIN IT, SO YOU DON’T LOSE IT! BE SURE TO ALSO CHECK OUT MY OTHER ALLERGY-FRIENDLY PINTEREST BOARDS!
Hi! I’m Megan, a mom to four kids, two with multiple food allergies & one with EOE. I’m a published cookbook author that constantly tweaks recipes to make them allergy friendly–it’s an addiction. I share every recipe & tip with the hope that they help you as you manage your food allergies & dietary restrictions. You can still be awesome, even with food allergies!
Heart
I can only find large size Dandies, not minis, how many bags of the large should I use for this recipe? Or how many cups of the large marshmallows work for this recipe, instead of mini. Thank you! https://dandies.com/dandies-marshmallows
Megan Lavin
Hi! Here is a link to their mini marshmallows: https://dandies.com/dandies-mini-marshmallows. In the recipe, I say 6 cups of marshmallows, so I’d stick to that even if using large marshmallows. If it seems dry, you can always add more. Good luck and enjoy!
Liz
Has anyone tried using coconut oil for the shortening? I’m wondering if the consistency would transfer well.
Megan Lavin
I’ve tried it with coconut oil and it was thinner, runnier and greasier. I try to use coconut oil in recipes when I can because it’s cheaper and easier to find, but sometimes a combination of oils (like in vegan butter) blend better.