Homemade Gifts: Popcorn Seasoning

I hope you’ve enjoyed the homemade gift ideas I’ve shared in the last couple of weeks that are non-sugar ideas for gifts from the kitchen.  We’ve looked at a Southwestern Dip Mix spice blend that’s perfect in a cute jar for gift giving, and these delicious Spicy Pecans that can be stirred up quickly. This week’s non-sugar kitchen gift idea is for homemade popcorn seasonings that make a great last-minute solution for that hostess gift or teacher gift that might still be on your list.  Make up one, two, or all three of these seasoning blends and package them in a gift bag with a jar of popcorn kernels.

This first popcorn seasoning recipe is from one of my fellow West Michigan Bloggers (Adrienne at Whole New Mom) who calls this her “surprisingly good” popcorn seasoning.  This recipe is actually for her homemade vegetable broth mix, which she grabbed by accident one day thinking it was her usual homemade popcorn seasoning.  It was a happy accident because it turned out they loved it on popcorn and when she brings it to gatherings she is always asked for the recipe. We taste tested it and liked it too!  (I decided it was the celery salt that makes it yummy). Her recipe makes a BIG batch and I have adapted the original recipe to make a smaller batch and to adjust for one of the spices that was hard for me to find. You may also find it helpful to grind up the parsley flakes a  bit more in a Spice or Coffee Grinder or use a Spice Mortar and Pestle. Or you can improvise like me and call a bowl and and the back of your mellon-baller your “make your own mortar and pestle”. {heehee}.  Crushing the parlsey flakes a bit helps them mix into the popcorn seasoning blend a little better.

Popcorn Seasoning #1 – Surprisingly Good

Adapted from:  Whole New Mom

• 6 teaspoons celery salt

• 5 teaspoons parsley flakes

• 3 teaspoons garlic powder

• 3 teaspoons salt

• 1-1/2 teaspoons thyme

• 1 teaspoon marjoram

• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric

• 1/2 teaspoon sage

Combine all ingredients and put in a small shaker jar.  Sprinkle over popped popcorn.  We found it stuck a little better on buttered popcorn.

This second popcorn seasoning has a base of parmesan cheese which we found to be tasty too (although we noted that the dill was very subtle.  We were kind of hoping for a little more dill flavor).  The cheese and spices mixed together well and made an attractive seasoning blend.

Popcorn Seasoning #2 – Parmesan Dill

Recipe from:  TipNut

• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese

• 1-1/2 tablespoons dill weed

• 1 teaspoon garlic salt

Combine all ingredients and put in a small jar .  Sprinkle over popped popcorn.  Again, we found it stuck a little better on buttered popcorn.   This final popcorn seasoning recipe also has a base of parmesan cheese but adds southwestern spices for some nacho flavor.  The recipe below is a doubled version of the original recipe from the TipNut website.

Popcorn Seasoning #3 – Parmesan Nacho

Recipe from:  TipNut

• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese

• 2 teaspoons paprika

• 2 teaspoons chili powder

• 1 teaspoon cumin

• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Combine all ingredients and put in a small jar .  Sprinkle over popped popcorn.  We didn’t have a chance to taste test this recipe, but it sounded yummy and I wanted to include it!

Ideally, it’s nice to put these popcorn seasoning blends in some type of jar that has a top that let’s you sprinkle the contents.  In the picture above, one of my spice jars was a bargain from the dollar store, and the other is a recycled spice container.