Halloween Popcorn Balls
Halloween Popcorn Balls are the perfect fun treat and EASY to make, made with marshmallows, plain popcorn, candy, sprinkles, and food coloring, ready in under 30 minutes!
If you love this recipe, also check out this Worms in Dirt dessert! For fall, you may also love this Breakfast Pumpkin Pie Smoothie!
Halloween Popcorn Balls are perfect to make for Halloween, and a great activity to get everyone into the holiday spirit! It takes very little prep time, especially if you buy the popcorn pre-popped. You can also make these popcorn treats ahead of time, and just let the kids decorate them as a fun activity!
This popcorn balls recipe is perfect because it’s really fast and easy, and doesn’t require a candy thermometer. These work great for a Halloween party, or a scary movie night!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Marshmallows. You can use regular mini marshmallows for this recipe because they’ll melt quickly. Just make sure the brand that you’re using is gluten free.
Butter. I like to use unsalted butter, to prevent the popcorn balls from becoming too salty. But you can use it if you like the flavor.
Popcorn. You need about 12 cups of popcorn for this recipe. If you want to pop it yourself, choose a plain unflavored microwave popcorn, or use an air popper. If you have an oil popper, go light on the oil.
Decoration. To decorate my popcorn balls I used M&Ms, food coloring, and orange sprinkles, along with orange sticks to help keep people’s hands from getting sticky when serving. You can also use paper straws for this part. I also used candy eyeballs, but make sure the brand you use is gluten free if you use these.
I had some Halloween decorations that I used around the tray like spiders and bat toothpicks to make the presentation more festive.
Food Coloring. Use whatever food coloring you’d like! I used about 4 drops of black food coloring. This recipe also works well with purple or green food coloring. Add it in smaller amounts first, then add more as-needed.
Oil. A few tablespoons of oil or nonstick cooking spray on your hands helps to make the process of forming the popcorn balls a lot easier!
How to Make Popcorn Balls for Halloween
- In a medium saucepan, melt a whole stick of butter over medium-low heat. Once the butter is mostly melted, add marshmallows, stirring constantly.
- When the marshmallows are melted, add 3-4 drops of food coloring, stirring until completely mixed in. Pop popcorn now if needed.
- Place half of the popcorn on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Pour half of the marshmallow mixture on top, moving up and down the pan to distribute it as evenly as possible. Add half of the M&Ms and sprinkles. Repeat with the remaining popcorn and ingredients in another layer. Grease your hands with oil or non-stick spray, and mix all of the ingredients together, spreading the marshmallow mixture as much as possible. You can also use a rubber spatula and mix everything together in a large mixing bowl.
- Form the popcorn mixture into balls, pressing with your hands. Add the sticks into the middle of the balls, pressing firmly so they stay in place. Finish decorating with additional candies and sprinkles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Popcorn balls can fall apart for a few reasons. First, make sure you have enough of the marshmallow mixture for the amount of popcorn you’re using. The other reason is to make sure you’re pressing the popcorn balls firmly enough to keep them together, and don’t over-grease your hands.
More Sweet Recipes
- Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream
- Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes
- Cinnamon Baked Apple Slices
- Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake
Storage
Refrigerate popcorn balls for Halloween for 3-4 days in an airtight container.
Freeze Halloween popcorn balls in an airtight freezer-safe container for 1-2 months. Wrap the container in an extra layer of plastic wrap to help prevent freezer burn.
Recipe Variations
- Try making these with your favorite candies added!
- Use different food colorings to make these festive for any holiday!
- Add a small amount of cocoa powder and dark chocolate chips to the mix to make dark chocolate popcorn balls! You can also use white chocolate chips for white chocolate popcorn balls. Any type of chocolate chips would work here!
- Try adding different colored sprinkles, gluten free pretzels, or a bit of flakey salt on top.
- For a stronger flavor, try adding a teaspoon vanilla extract to the melted marshmallow.
Cooking Tips
- Place each ball on a sheet pan lined with a piece of parchment paper or a sheet of wax paper, to make cleanup easier later!
- Marshmallows are a lot of sugar, so you can use some warm to hot water to make cleanup easier.
- If you buy microwave popcorn, avoid extra butter popcorn. We want to build our own flavors here. If you pop popcorn from scratch, use an air popper, or very little oil in an oil popper.
- Be sure to mix the marshmallow as it cooks, to avoid any caramelized sugar in the mixture.
- When you form the popcorn into balls, press gently with your hands to get every thing to stick together really well. Do this around the sticks, too.
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Halloween Popcorn Balls
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 10 ounces mini marshmallows, gluten free
- 12 cups popcorn, plain
- 4 drops food coloring of choice, (we used black in the photos)
- 1 cup M&Ms, orange and chocolate
- 2 tablespoons orange sprinkles
Equipment
- 1 Sheet pan
- 1 Saucepan
- 8 sticks or paper straws
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, melt a whole stick of butter over medium-low heat. When the butter is mostly melted, add marshmallows, stirring constantly.
- Once the marshmallows are completely melted, about 5 minutes, add a few drops of food coloring, stirring until completely mixed in.
- Place half of the popcorn on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Pour half of the marshmallow mixture on top, moving up and down the pan to distribute as evenly as possible. Add half of the M&Ms and sprinkles on top. Repeat with the remaining popcorn and ingredients in another layer.
- Grease your hands with oil and mix all of the ingredients together, spreading the marshmallow mixture as much as possible. Form the popcorn mixture into balls, pressing gently with your hands.
- Add the sticks into the middle of the balls, pressing firmly so they stay in place. Finish decorating with additional candies and sprinkles.
Notes
- If you buy microwave popcorn, avoid extra butter popcorn. We want to build our own flavors here. If you pop popcorn from scratch, use an air popper, or very little oil in an oil popper.
- Be sure to mix the marshmallow as it cooks, to avoid any caramelized sugar in the mixture.
- When you form the popcorn into balls, press gently with your hands to get every thing to stick together really well. Do this around the sticks, too.
Nutrition
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