Written By: Gloria Tsang, RD
Title: Founding Registered Dietitian
Alumni: University of British Columbia
Last Updated on:
Easy Microwave Popcorn In A Bag (Nutritional Facts)
What would a movie night in be without a big bowl of popcorn to munch on? Popcorn can be a really healthy snack due to its low calories and high fiber content – if you pop your own popcorn, you’re in control of what goes into it. If you resort to packaged bagged microwave popcorns, do you know what other food additives come along?
Microwave Popcorn Nutritional Facts: Commercial versus Homemade
Here’s what we found when we compared pre-packaged microwave popcorn to our homemade version:
| Orville Redenbacher’s Movie Theater Butter Microwave Popcorn 
|
Homemade 
| |
| Serving Size: | Each bag (5 Tbsp unpopped kernels) | 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp unpopped kernels) |
| Calories: | 320 | 291 |
| Protein: | 7.5 g | 5.3 g |
| Fat: | 25 g | 15.8 g |
| Saturated fat: | 15 g | 7.6 g |
| Carbohydrate: | 45 g | 37.7 g |
Fiber: | 7.5 g | 5.2 g |
| Net Carb: | 37.5 g | 32.5 g |
| Sodium: | 850 mg | 82 mg |
| Preparation time: | Total: Popping ~2 minutes | Preparation: 1 min Popping: 2 mins Total = ~3 mins |
| Ingredients: | Whole grain popping corn, palm oil, salt, less than 2% of: butter, color added, natural and artificial flavor, TBHQ and citric acid (for freshness). | Corn kernels, salted butter, vegetable oil. |
Nutritional Differences: Prepackaged vs Homemade
It was surprisingly easy to make our own microwaved, no-mess popcorn in a bag. All it took was a brown bag and some kernels, and we were good to go. The resulting popcorn was white, like it is supposed to look, and the melted butter drizzled on top gave the popcorn a real buttery flavor. On the other hand, the instant version yielded yellowy popcorn with a buttery flavor that is undeniably fake. Since the final yield between the two varied significantly (5 tbsp kernels vs 4 tbsp kernels in homemade), and the carbohydrate content of the homemade version was less (45 g vs. 37 g), as with fiber and protein.
The main nutritional differences between prepackaged and homemade popcorn, are fat and sodium content. We were fairly liberal with the butter drizzle, but the prepackaged version contains even more oils, rendering the final product with higher total fat. In addition, prepackaged bagged microwave also contains double the amount of saturated fat, primarily comes from commercial palm oil. Homemade popcorn, however, only has butter.
As with the sodium content, prepackaged microwave popcorn contains 10 times sodium, period.
Easy Microwave Popcorn In A Bag
For absolutely no difference in the amount of work and time it takes to pop your own kernels in the microwave, why not make your own homemade version? You will be in control of what you add to the popcorn, and skip those artificial additives.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Popping corn kernels
- ½ tsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp salted butter
Instructions
- Mix vegetable oil with corn kernels. Place them in a brown lunch bag.
- Fold twice and tape close.
- Microwave on high for about 1 minute 45 sec, or until popping subsides.
- Mix with melted butter immediately.
Nutritional information calculated based on data from the following:
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central: Foundation Foods. Version Current: April 2024. Internet:
https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/.
Alumni: University of British Columbia – Gloria Tsang is the author of 6 books and the founder of HealthCastle.com, the largest online nutrition network run by registered dietitians. Her work has appeared in major national publications, and she is a regularly featured nutrition expert for media outlets across the country. The Huffington Post named her one of its Top 20 Nutrition Experts on Twitter. Gloria’s articles have appeared on various media such as Reuters, NBC & ABC affiliates, The Chicago Sun-Times, Reader’s Digest Canada, iVillage and USA Today.
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