A few years ago I discovered that if I wanted to quickly make homemade popcorn in the microwave, all I needed was a brown paper lunch bag and some popcorn kernels. There was no need to buy the store bought microwave popcorn bags that always feel so greasy to me.  I could just put some popcorn kernels in a bag and make my own microwave popcorn and then add any butter and salt in the amounts that feel good to me, or just eat the plain popcorn.

But believe it or not, sometimes even that felt like too much work. If we were sitting around watching TV at night and some popcorn sounded good, I often times wouldn’t want to find a lunch bag, and then measure my kernels to get things started. I know that sounds super lazy because it’s really not that much work but by the end of the day it’s easy to find excuses when you’re tired.

I decided I had to give myself some of the same convenience as the store bought microwave popcorn bags. I had to have things all ready to go so if I want a little popcorn snack at the end of the day I can just grab a packet and stick it in the microwave.

How To Make Your Own Microwave Popcorn Bags

So this past week I decided to make some homemade microwave popcorn bags ahead of time. I took six brown paper lunch bags and put ¼ cup of popcorn kernels in each bag.

Then I folded the top of each bag over twice with two small folds and taped it down with a small piece of tape.

Next I folded each bag into thirds to make it a nice “packet” size and put a rubber band around it to keep it folded together. (NOTE:  the rubber band has to be removed again before microwaving!)

Finally, I made some quick labels for my bags to help me remember the cooking time that works best in my microwave (heating for 2 minutes) and put the labels on each bag.

And now my homemade microwave popcorn bags were ready to go!

Using Your Homemade Microwave Popcorn Bags

When it comes time to use one of my homemade microwave popcorn bags, I just pull the rubber band off and lay the bag down flat in the microwave. I then heat my bag for 2 minutes which is a time I’ve found works well with my microwave when most of the kernels have popped but nothing has burned.

If you have never used the brown lunch bag method for popcorn in your microwave, you may want to watch carefully the first few times as burning can happen a little quicker than with the conventional store bought packets that have the greasy coatings on the bags.

The main downside to having burned popcorn in your microwave is that the smell can stay in the microwave for a long time. Yes, indeed – a long time.  I speak from experience on this one. So if you have any doubts, start with shorter times and work your way up from there.

Also, you don’t necessarily have to fold your bags into packets held together with a rubber band (or string would work too). You can just store your bags flat if you wish. However because these bags are being made ahead of time for the sake of convenience, it’s also convenient to have them folded into a smaller size for easy storage.

Once your popcorn is popped you can season it to your liking. I know it seems kind of contradictory that after I said I was too lazy to measure my popcorn at the end of the day, that then I still have the energy to get some butter and melt it. BUT, once the process is going, I find it easier to take the final steps. It’s overcoming the inertia of getting off the couch in the first place that can be the hard part for me. And having some packets ready to go is very helpful for that!

Also, I like the option of just being able to eat the popcorn plain if I want to, or I can get adventurous with some other popcorn seasonings. When you make your own you have much more control and much more variety too!

And although I have not done the math, I’m positive these are money savers as well which makes these homemade microwave popcorn bags not only healthier, but cheaper too.

Once again, making your own can be a perfect WIN-WIN solution. 🙂