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Bourbon Paprika Pecan Popcorn

I know you’re here for popcorn, but I have some big news: welcome to the new and improved Healthy Nibbles & Bits! I want to give a HUGE THANKS (and a virtual hug) to Lindsay from White Oak Creative for helping with...
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Bourbon Paprika Pecan Popcorn - a healthy caramel popcorn made with NO REFINED SUGAR and ready in 30 minutes! | healthynibblesandbits.com

I know you’re here for popcorn, but I have some big news: welcome to the new and improved Healthy Nibbles & Bits! I want to give a HUGE THANKS (and a virtual hug) to Lindsay from White Oak Creative for helping with the rebrand and redesign of HNB!!

For almost a year now, I have been thinking about giving the blog a facelift, to make it more . . . me. I tried tweaking the blog design myself. On one occasion, I got the white screen of death and absolutely freaked out. Thank goodness for website backups because it totally saved my behind. But it wasn’t long before I realized that I couldn’t do this by myself. I can read and do puzzles, but come on, web design?! Thus began my looong search for a designer. Nothing about blogging is ever easy.

At first, I paid a group of designers for work that I didn’t particularly like. Fail. It was around this time that I stumbled upon Lindsay’s work on Chard in Charge and fell in love with her clean, minimalist designs. I had to work with her. Lindsay has done an AMAZING job making my vision come to life. I can’t tell you how many e-mails I’ve sent her about things I want on my blog (like the beautiful slider on my home page!!), and she would always give me great feedback on what works and what doesn’t. Seriously, I can’t be more happy with the new site.

In addition to the new look, I have also added a few pages on the site, such as FAQs, Press, and Resources. I plan to keep expanding the Resources page over the next few months. I know that a lot of my readers are also fellow food bloggers and I thought it would be a great idea to share great blogging resources that I come across.

Bourbon Vanilla Paprika Pecan Popcorn - a healthy caramel popcorn made with NO REFINED SUGAR and ready in 30 minutes! | healthynibblesandbits.com

So now, onto the popcorn. I made this for a movie night with my friends last weekend, when we watched a documentary called 9-Man. The documentary chronicles street-style volleyball in Chinatowns across the U.S. and it was thoroughly enjoyable. It’s only 90 minutes long and worth watching if you’re looking for a movie! Of course, watching a movie just isn’t right without popcorn, so I brought these treats along.

The bourbon popcorn idea came from some freebies I got from a conference last month in Portland. The original version was made with corn syrup and was a touch too sweet for my taste, so I went looking for a healthier version. This recipe is loosely based on the healthy caramel corn on Lauren’s Latest with these tweaks: added bourbon, paprika, swapped maple syrup for brown rice syrup and added a TON of pecans.

Bourbon Vanilla Paprika Popcorn - a healthy caramel popcorn made with NO REFINED SUGAR and ready in 30 minutes! | healthynibblesandbits.com

Have you ever tried brown rice syrup before? I first heard about it from Pinch & Swirl and have been using it to make my chewy granola bars for a year now. Brown rice syrup is thick and sticky—a bit like honey—and is perfect for making a healthier caramel. You can usually find brown rice syrup in the same section section as honey, maple syrup, and other liquid sweeteners.

Bourbon Paprika Pecan Popcorn - a healthy caramel popcorn made with NO REFINED SUGAR and ready in 30 minutes! | healthynibblesandbits.comCOOKING NOTES:

  • Brown rice syrup hard to find? Don’t worry, you can make this with maple syrup too! The taste and texture of the final snack won’t be quite like your typical caramel corn, but it’s still delicious.
  • Don’t have vanilla bean paste? You can substitute the paste for 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract.
  • This popcorn is a bit sticky. I learned a great trick from Recipe Runner on how to make it less sticky though. Just bake the popcorn at 325 degrees F (160 degrees C) for 5 to 7 minutes.

This popcorn was a big hit during our movie night. One of my friends even suggested that I sell it. Yea, it’s that good!

Bourbon Paprika Pecan Popcorn - a healthy caramel popcorn made with NO REFINED SUGAR and ready in 30 minutes! | healthynibblesandbits.com

Be sure to tag me @heatlhynibs on Twitter or @healthynibblesandbits on Instagram if you make this popcorn!

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Bourbon Paprika Pecan Popcorn

Bourbon Paprika Pecan Popcorn - a healthy caramel popcorn made with NO REFINED SUGAR and ready in 30 minutes! | healthynibblesandbits.com

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

This sweet and savory popcorn has rich caramel flavor, a touch of bourbon, smoked paprika, and a generous handful of toasted pecans. It’s the perfect gluten-free and vegan snack! Serves 5 to 6.

  • Author: Lisa Lin
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Category: snack, dessert, vegan, gluten free

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 1/4 cups (140g) pecan halves
  • 3 TBS coconut oil, divided
  • 1/2 cup (115g) popcorn kernels
  • 1/3 cup (80ml) brown rice syrup
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or 1 TBS vanilla extract (I used Singing Dog)
  • 1 TBS + 1 tsp bourbon whisky (I used Maker’s Mark)

Instructions

  1. TOAST PECANS: Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Spread the pecans on top and bake for 10 minutes. Once the pecans are done, increase the oven temperature to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C).
  2. POP POPCORN: Melt a tablespoon of coconut oil in a deep sauté pan over medium-high heat. Once the coconut oil has fully melted, add the popcorn kernels and cover the pan with a lid. Wait for the popcorn to start popping. Shake the pan every 20 seconds or so to prevent the kernels from burning. The popcorn is ready when there is about a 2-second gap between kernels popping. Turn off the heat but keep the lid on. A few kernels will continue to pop over the next minute.
  3. PREPARE THE SAUCE: In a saucepan over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of coconut oil with the brown rice syrup and salt until it boils. Turn off the heat and mix in the paprika, vanilla bean paste, and bourbon.
  4. MIX AND BAKE POPCORN: Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Set aside. Transfer the popcorn into a big mixing bowl with your hands. Don’t pour straight from the pan because unpopped kernels will inevitably fall through. Add the pecans and caramel sauce and stir. The caramel sauce is VERY sticky, so I used my hands to get all the popcorn covered in caramel sauce. Pour all the mixed popcorn onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 5 to 7 minutes. Let the popcorn cool and enjoy! Best served immediately. Store leftovers in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days.

Notes

1. Loosely adapted from the Healthy Caramel Corn recipe from Lauren’s Latest.[br][br]2. If you don’t have brown rice syrup, use maple syrup, honey, or agave. [br][br]3. If you don’t have vanilla bean paste, just use 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract.

 

Lisa Lin Head Shot

Hey, there! I’m Lisa Lin

Here, you’ll find well-tested Asian recipes, pantry guides, and recipes from my sassy mother, Mama Lin. Through my recipes and cooking videos, I hope to honor the food and traditions that surrounded my Chinese American upbringing.

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    • Lisa says

      Taylor, thank you SOO much! Also, I don’t think I’ve said this yet, but it was great to see you at Indulge!

      Bourbon in sweets is so awesome. I can USPS this stuff over to you!!

      Reply

  6. Cindy says

    It’s so hard to figure out exactly what you want, design-wise (maybe life-wise, too!) and implement it. I’m going through a crisis of design myself, right now. I totally get it. That said, the site looks great! It’s always so refreshing to have something new and clean. Congrats. Also, this popcorn looks amazing. I tore through my bag of the Poplandia pretty quickly. Love the addition of bourbon, here.

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      Thanks, Cindy! Redesigning the site was definitely a stressful process, even when i had someone else do all the work for me. I hope you sort out the design for your blog!

      Reply

    • Lisa says

      Thanks, Sarah! Just so you know, Chris got to the ice cream before I did. Thank goodness I had back-up snacks around the house!

      Reply

  14. genevieve @ gratitude & greens says

    Girl this new design is rockin’!!! I love the layout of Chard in Charge’s site, too. I first noticed it a few months back and loved all the colours and fonts! This bourbon paprika popcorn sounds insane- I don’t usually eat popcorn, but I would if someone handed me a bowl of this 😉

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      Thanks, Justine!!! And oh my gosh, I can totally chow down on that popcorn and wash it down with a nice cold beer right now!

      Reply

  18. Joanne says

    LOVE the new look! It is definitely SO clean and makes me feel so happy. Yay!! This popcorn is pretty easy to look at also. I just want to grab one of those boxes and pour it all into my mouth!

    Reply

  19. Traci | Vanilla And Bean says

    Helloooo New HNB!! Looking good I might say! So clean, and beautiful! And this popcorn!….Hey now.. it’s got all my faves! Coconut oil, pecans, bourbon, vanilla bean paste…. oh my! Looks like I just need to make it! Love that brown rice syrup too… an underutilized ingredient for sure! What a fantastic reduce stickiness idea, Lisa, bake that popcorn! Thank you for this, and congratulations!!

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      Thank you so much for your kind words, Traci! It’s so true, brown rice syrup is so under utilized in recipes. Looking to use it in more recipes now!

      Reply
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