Can You Really Make Caramel Corn In Your Air Fryer?

The only thing better than buttery movie theater popcorn is sweet popcorn — caramel corn, to be specific. At once salty and sweet and brittle and fluffy, caramel corn is a timeless, brown-sugar-kissed treat that rivals the savory stuff. The only short side of caramel corn is that it can be tedious to make. Homemade caramel corn calls for popping kernels and baking them in a caramel sauce made by reducing sugar, salt, corn syrup, and butter. The obvious solution for simplifying recipes is almost always the air fryer. The appliance works twice as fast as a conventional oven while saving you money on your electric bill. Despite its convenience, though, air-frying caramel corn isn't the most practical way to prepare this treat.

Although some online recipes suggest that you can make the popcorn, caramel sauce, and final baked product in an air fryer, it won't yield the highest quality results and the process has the potential to damage your cookware. The high-speed circulating air inside the appliance can blow the lightweight popcorn kernels around, leading to an unevenly distributed caramel coating. That sticky caramel goodness can also drip through the air fryer basket, potentially burning and almost certainly leaving behind a mess that can jack up future air fryer creations and compromise the mechanisms of the appliance's functionality. While there are plenty of tips for cleaning air fryers, we have some to help you make air-fried caramel corn while reducing the time spent tidying up afterward.

Although it's not a pragmatic way to cook caramel corn, it's not impossible to use an air fryer to get the job done. If you're determined to make an air-fried version, keep these tips in mind to protect your cookware and maintain the quality of the sweet, crunchy snack.

Before getting started, line your appliance's basket with a liner, such as one of Seropy's reusable silicone air fryer liners or a perforated parchment liner, to prevent the caramel from dripping through and making a mess that's better suited for forensics cleaning than your average run-of-the-mill wipedown. Also, remember to never overload the air fryer and work in batches if necessary to achieve uniform cooking and coating. Stir frequently to prevent burning.

It's best to pop the kernels first before baking them with the caramel sauce. Start by preparing the caramel reduction on the stovetop, then pop the kernels using your preferred method. Once the popcorn is ready to be coated, combine them with the caramel and finish baking them in the air fryer for the best results. You'll know your caramel corn is ready when it reaches that gorgeous golden-brown color.