A colorful way to sweeten up your popcorn that will make any 4th of July festivity extra special. With only three ingredients and no baking required, this Patriotic Popcorn will be a favorite holiday snack. It’s also allergy-friendly, so you can feed just about any crowd. It’s free of: gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanut & tree nuts. It’s top-8-free!
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We are huge popcorn fans at our house. As soon as my son passed/was approved to eat corn, we’ve been popping popcorn ever since. We use it as a snack or a treat. We often just have it plain–mostly due to my laziness. Or, we’ll enjoy it with some coconut oil and salt.
However–if you haven’t been following my social media–I just had my baby! Thank you for all the well wishes. We are so happy and we’re all doing well. (Sorry–gotta do my proud momma thing! I mean, if I’m excited to share food I made, I’m super excited to show this cute baby I made!)
As you know with pregnancies–you spend a ton of time going to doctor appointments. I love to grab either the gossip magazines (guilty pleasure!) or any magazine that has recipes in it. I saw the idea for this popcorn in one magazine (I’m sorry I don’t remember to give it attribution!) and knew I had to try something similar when I got home.
The original recipe used butter of course, so I swapped that out for my dairy-free, soy-free shortening. It also called for additional sugar, which I omitted. I feel like the jello packets themselves have enough flavor and sweetness, so I didn’t want to add any more. It was a fun surprise because jello is quite sweet when you make it the regular way–just by adding water, but by having it more concentrated in this recipe it’s more of a tangy sweet that I think is more interesting.
I think this would be the perfect snack to eat while watching a 4th of July parade go by, or when enjoying some fireworks go off. It’s festive and not too sweet, so the tang and the crunch make it a unique addition to your typical array of 4th of July treats.
My kids flipped over the different colors. I mean–who doesn’t love Red, White & Blue??! It was seriously all I could do to keep their hands away while I took pictures of it. Hence, why I have my son holding a bowl in this picture. I figured if you can’t beat em–keep them busy so mom can get some work done!
Enjoy this Patriotic Popcorn as you enjoy time with family and friends on this special holiday. I am so grateful to live in the United States, where I have the ability to choose my own religion, and where my opportunities are endless. God bless America.
PS–If you’re looking for an easy BBQ meal idea for the holiday, here is my go-to summer cook-off meal that is allergy-friendly and top-8-free:
The Best Grilled Lemon Chicken (*plan ahead to marinate!)
Corn on the Cob
German Potato Salad (or if in a rush, Lays potato chips)
Watermelon
Allergy-friendly Chocolate Sheet Cake
BOOM. Done.
- 12 cups of popped plain popcorn
- ½ cup cup dairy-free, soy-free shortening, split into two ¼ cups
- 3 oz. package of red jello[/i] (any red colored flavor will do, we prefer raspberry)
- 3 oz. package of [i]blue raspberry jello
- Sheet pan, with parchment paper or aluminum foil
- Divide the popped popcorn into three equal sections. Leave the plain/white popcorn in your serving bowl or platter.
- Take the other two thirds and place it on a sheet pan, covered in either aluminum foil or parchment paper.
- In two small sauce pans, place ¼ cup of the dairy-free, soy-free shortening and warm over medium-low heat.
- In each pan pour one packet of the jello (one for the red, one for the blue). Warm and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
- Pour the red mixture over ⅓ of the popcorn. Pour the blue mixture over ⅓ of the mixture. Using forks or tongs, toss each section to evenly coat.
- Allow the popcorn to cool, and serve.
DON’T FORGET TO PIN IT, SO YOU DON’T LOSE IT! ALSO, CHECK OUT MY OTHER ALLERGY-FRIENDLY PINTEREST BOARDS.
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Cool idea. An interesting twist on kettle corn 🙂 sure the kids will love it!
Thanks! Yes, anything related to kettle corn is sure to be a win for kiddos!
My family loves their popcorn! This is so fun, I can’t wait to try it! Thanks for linking to your shortening as well, I’ve been having trouble finding one in the store that is allergy friendly.
yes, I’ve only found that shortening at Sprouts, a whole foods store…so sometimes you have to Amazon Prime it.
We eat popcorn nearly every night and it would be so fun to surprise my husband with a bowl of this! He loves Jell-O, but we never buy it – could be a fun treat!
Glad to meet a fellow family that eats a lot of popcorn!
This would be a perfect treat for this 4th of July weekend. Fun & festive indeed 🙂
Thanks! Yes–perfect for last weekend, and I know my kids would gladly eat it all year round.
She is so beautiful – congratulations! And the popcorn looks amazing – so festive!
Thank you so much!