9 Best Vegan Popcorn Brands To Try

Nothing is better than sitting down to enjoy a movie and stuffing your face full of popcorn, but when you follow a vegan diet, sometimes it can be unclear whether the popcorn in your bowl is vegan or not.

While popcorn itself is just corn and is inherently vegan, many of the flavorings and toppings commonly associated with popcorn are not, making it a bit tricky to look out for added ingredients made by animal products. 

Since butter is often the status-quo when it comes to popcorn flavors — with cheese in a close second — ensuring the popcorn you choose is vegan can seem like a difficult task. 

The great news is popcorn doesn’t have to have butter, cheese, or any other animal-containing ingredients to be delicious and there are plenty of vegan varieties available for your snacking pleasure. 

We’ve curated a list of the 9 best vegan popcorn brands to try and how to select the best option for you, your movie night, and beyond. 

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How to choose vegan popcorn

Next time you’re looking for vegan popcorn options, here are some things to consider:

• Sodium content. Since popcorn is a salty snack, there’s no surprise that certain popcorns are the culprit of extremely high sodium contents. Consuming too much salt can cause high blood pressure and other health complications. The US Dietary Guidelines recommend limiting your daily sodium intake to less than 2,300 milligrams per day for a healthy diet (1).
• Fiber. Fiber is an incredibly important daily nutrient and popcorn is full of it. Popcorn is a 100% whole grain that contributes high amounts of fiber to your diet, leaving you feeling fuller longer. A USDA analysis found that popcorn was one of the five most cost-effective sources of whole grains, along with oatmeal, brown rice, yeast-based bread, and cooked grains/whole-grain pasta (2, 3). 
• Oil content/type of oil. Many popcorn brands make their popcorn with oil, especially when they’re vegan. While some popcorn is simply cooked in oil, vegan popcorn brands often use oil to replicate the taste of butter. While certain vegetable oils may be considered a source of healthy fats, in general, it’s best to consume less of it. Air-popped popcorn is the best way to monitor oil intake, but if you want to indulge, measured amounts of heart-healthy oils in moderation such as canola, olive oil, or sunflower oil can still be healthy (4). 
• Artificial additives/flavorings. Popcorn is known as a healthy snack to many for its relatively low-calorie count and its high fiber content, but whether it’s pre-popped popcorn or microwave popcorn, popcorn can contain unwanted flavorings and additives. Opting to customize your popcorn flavors yourself may assist you in avoiding any potentially harmful chemicals or other excessive seasonings like salt.

GreenChoice Top Picks

1. Sea Salt Popcorn Good & Gather

Good & Gather Sea Salt Popcorn is made with sunflower oil and Himalayan pink salt. Aside from being vegan, this savory popcorn is certified organic and a good source of fiber. It contains 4g of fiber – 14% of DV – per serving.

Allergen info: Processed in a facility that also handles egg, milk, and tree nut ingredients.

2. Smartfood Delight Sea Salt Popcorn

This vegan popcorn is air-poped and free from artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. It’s made with a vegetable oil blend that consists of corn, canola, and/or sunflower oil. Plus, it provides 3g of fiber – 12% of DV – per serving.

Allergen info: Gluten-free

3. Skinnypop Popcorn

SkinnyPop popcorn is a ga good source of fiber with its 3g of fiber content and provides 11% of the daily value of fiber. Also, this vegan popcorn is low in sodium and saturated fat.

Allergen info: Certified Gluten-free and Vegan.

4. Boom Chicka Pop Sweet & Salty Kettle Corn

Boom Chica Pop Kettle Corn combines sweet and salty flavors together. It’s great for those times you can’t decide which one to choose. This vegan popcorn is made with sunflower oil, cane sugar, and sea salt, so it’s free from high fructose corn syrup.

Allergen info: Certified gluten-free. No animal products.

5. Angie’s Boomchickapop Rose

This unique vegan popcorn is made with natural rose flavor and colored with beet juice. It’s actually alcohol-free but still great for parties and picnics. It includes 2g of fiber – 7% of DV -, and 6g of added sugars – 12% of DV – per serving.

Allergen info: This product does not contain any of the eight common food allergens. Certified gluten-free. No animal products.

6. Lesser Evil Organic No Cheese Cheesiness Popcorn

Lesser Evil Organic No Cheese Cheesiness Popcorn is popped with coconut oil and it’s flavored with non-dairy yeast extract and other spices to give you cheeseless cheese flavor. This vegan popcorn is a good source of fiber, certified organic, and gluten-free. It offers 4g of fiber which equals 15% of the daily value of fiber.

Allergen info: Contains Coconut. Produced in a facility that also uses dairy and egg ingredients.

More vegan popcorn

7. Quinn Snacks Microwave Popcorn Just Sea Salt & Organic Popcorn

This sea salt popcorn is great if you love your popcorn warm; it will be ready in minutes. Also, Quinn uses no chemical or plastic coating on their pop bags. Aside from being vegan, it is organic and offers 0g of saturated fat, 3g of fiber – 10% of DV – and 2g of protein per serving.

Allergen info: Q: Are any of your products vegan? A: Yes! Our Just Sea Salt microwave popcorn, Maple Kettle microwave popcorn, Pop at Home Kernels, Deli Rye Style Rods, Classic Sea Salt Twists, Classic Sea Salt Sticks, Grain-Free Pretzel Chips, Peanut Butter filled Nuggets, Maple Almond Butter Nuggets and Dark Chocolate Peanut filled Nuggets are all vegan. 

8. Quinn Maple Popcorn Microwave Popcorn

This sweet and salty vegan snack combines salty popcorns with sweet Vermont maple sugar. This bag comes with oil poaches and seasoning packets to achieve your ideal kettle corn flavor. It offers 3g of fiber – 10% of DV – and only 2g of added sugars – 5% of DV – per serving.

Allergen info: Q: Are any of your products vegan? A: Yes! Our Just Sea Salt microwave popcorn, Maple Kettle microwave popcorn, Pop at Home Kernels, Deli Rye Style Rods, Classic Sea Salt Twists, Classic Sea Salt Sticks, Grain-Free Pretzel Chips, Peanut Butter filled Nuggets, Maple Almond Butter Nuggets and Dark Chocolate Peanut filled Nuggets are all vegan. 

9. Latejuly Organic Popcorn

Latejuly Organic Kettle Popcorn is made with only four organic ingredients: popcorn, can sugar, sunflower and/or safflower oil, and sea salt. This vegan kettle corn offers 2g of fiber – 7% of DV – and only 0.5g of saturated fat – 3% of DV – per serving. Plus, it’s certified organic, vegan, and gluten-free.

Key takeaways for vegan popcorn

Popcorn is an easy any-time snack food that shouldn’t cause any stress, but when you or someone in your life is vegan, it’s easy to be skeptical of possibly animal-containing foods. 

Luckily enough, popcorn kernels themselves are vegan, and with a little extra attention and information on how to shop, there are plenty of vegan popcorn options for you to enjoy.

When choosing vegan popcorn, pay attention to the sodium content. Some types of popcorn can contain an unexpected amount of salt, so read the nutritional information of your next prospective popcorn and try to consume no more than 2,300 milligrams per day.

Popcorn, especially vegan varieties, can contain extra amounts of oil to make up for their lack of butter. If you’re looking to limit or monitor your oil intake, keep in mind that vegetable oil options are often the most heart-healthy and consume in moderation.

Vegan popcorn can also contain artificial flavors or additives. Check the ingredient label to see if a popcorn option contains animal by-products in its ingredients and to avoid other unwanted artificial flavorings, chemicals, and other additives. 

We hope our list of the 9 best vegan popcorn options to try and our tips on how to find them will help you on your popcorn quest.

There are 1,000s of food products that won’t be right for you

Let GreenChoice find the ones that are

Tell us your dietary needs & values and we’ll show you foods that match!

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GreenChoice, PBC has evaluated and rated more than 340,000 food & beverage products across hundreds of attributes related to diet, health, and sustainability. Easily find the best products for you, the planet, & your budget. Sign up to access the GreenChoice marketplace, the first carbon-neutral online grocery marketplace for healthy, climate-friendly shopping.

Katherine

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Merve

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Sydney W

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