The internet has exploded lately over popcorn salad recipes so of course, we collected 16 variations worth sharing and trying for yourself!
If you haven’t heard of popcorn salad, Molly Yeh, a Food Network star, showcased how great mayonnaise and popcorn mix together.
Despite your thoughts on if popcorn belongs in a salad or not, you have to try this before passing judgment, and surely at least one of these will win you over!
Start off with a simple recipe like Homemade Hooplah’s Popcorn Salad.
Weight Watchers has a great recipe for a Kale Caesar Salad with Parmesan Popcorn Croutons.
A Fruit ‘N’ Nut Popcorn Mix is a great way to enjoy a popcorn salad without feeling like you are filling up on leafy greens and popcorn.
You need to try this viral trend for yourself and see why everyone is going crazy over this!
Once you get a taste of the popcorn tossed in creamy yet light mayonnaise, you will see exactly why this trend has been taking over both the Internet and the news!
Choose any popcorn salad recipe on this list to start with and get creative with what you add in!
This popcorn salad recipe essentially combines coleslaw with Mexican corn salad with the crucial ingredient of popcorn!
Try to use full-fat ingredients rather than low fat for the best flavor added in.
This is a summer-friendly dish that is best enjoyed right away.
The best salads give you a mixture of bright colors as well as a variety of textures and flavors.
This salad provides just that!
Popcorn brand sea salt popcorn gives you a light crunch comparable to croutons!
This popcorn fruit salad may seem like an unusual mixture of ingredients but the sweet and salty complement each other so well!
There is even a little bit of spice with the addition of chili powder, which you can adjust to make the mango salad hotter or milder.
Slice your mango strips and you can place them decoratively on your plate to frame your greens for an appealing appearance to match the great taste!
This recipe for popcorn salad features ingredients made with Skinnygirl popcorn and Italian dressing.
For this recipe, you will crush your popcorn before roasting it in the oven to give you smaller pieces to toss into your salad.
You get a nice balance of flavors with the addition of red onion, pepperoncini, olives, and cherry tomatoes.
Top everything off with some shaved parmesan and you are ready to enjoy your unique twist on traditional salads!
If you need something to serve at a party, this version of popcorn salad will surprise your guests but will definitely leave them satisfied.
This features common salad ingredients such as fresh vegetables, a creamy mayonnaise base, and some bacon and cheese.
Water chestnuts and popcorn add a nice texture and surprisingly fit in very well with the other ingredients of this salad!
Although this salad is best enjoyed right away, you will have no worries about having to store leftovers since your guests will help themselves to seconds!
Freshly popped popcorn is already a delicious addition to salads but when you add in a little bit of cheddar cheese seasoning, you can elevate it even further.
You have a lot of freedom with the vegetables you add in but shallots, carrots, snap peas, and celery chopped up into small pieces are great choices.
Make your special dressing, toss in your vegetables and popcorn, and top it all off with some spinach and celery leaves!
This five-minute “salad” leaves out the greens and substitutes in some pecans, raisins, and marshmallows for a snack perfect for your sweet cravings.
Sprinkle in some ground cinnamon and Splenda brown sugar for a sweet and salty taste added to your popcorn.
Unlike other popcorn salad recipes, this one does store well as long as it is in an airtight container so you can save it for all of your cravings!
The custom dressing made for this salad features lots of fresh ingredients mixed into creamy Greek yogurt and buttermilk.
Tricolored fusilli adds some rich colors to your salad.
And isn’t everything better with some pasta added in?
Giada De Laurentiis has a great parmesan popcorn that can be used called “Simply Seven”.
Toss everything together and you have a popcorn pasta salad that you will return to making time and time again!
You get two kinds of corn in this salad: both popping corn and corn on the cob!
Your popcorn gets a bit of chipotle Tabasco added for some smokey and spicy flavor tossed in.
There are also two types of cheese used here- both cheddar and blue for a more complex flavor profile.
Other choices for adding to your popcorn salad include avocado, feta cheese, or green grapes.
This easy recipe is perfect for both kids and adults!
You can easily convince your children to eat their greens when it is tossed with golden popcorn covered in a light layer of vinaigrette.
Consider the popcorn an alternative to croutons and it is much less of an unusual idea!
If you are following the Weight Watchers program, this salad features only three PersonalPoints per serving!
The popcorn is baked with some parmesan cheese for a crisp texture and tops off a kale Caesar salad.
This salad is vegetarian but if you want, a little bit of anchovy paste can amplify the flavors present.
This salad features an uncommon combination of ingredients but believe it or not, they all come together so great.
You get a bit of seafood flavor from the squid, some earthiness from the pumpkin, and fresh and tart bursts from the pomegranate seeds.
Your dressing can be adjusted to balance out the acidity with the sweetness to whatever you prefer.
You can toss the ingredients into your dressing but if you plate everything and drizzle the dressing on top, you can prevent your popcorn and pumpkin from getting soggy and falling apart.
The great part of this salad is that it cleverly combines common household ingredients that you likely already have at home, but might not have thought of putting together into one dish.
Carrots and red onions add some pops of color and freshness to go with the arugula and popped popcorn.
You also get some bacon and cheddar tossed in, which always makes a salad better!
You will see these popcorn croutons as a sweet candy rather than a topping for your salad because of all the flavors that it adds to every bite.
Both the dressing and the popcorn balance sweet and salty so nicely and can come together at home pretty easily.
A bit of crispy bacon adds a ton of deliciousness to this salad and tastes amazing with the sweet and salty dressing.
This salad with popcorn will win over anyone who claims they are not a fan of salads!
It features classic salad components like celery, onions, and bacon bits.
All of that is topped with fluffy popcorn and shredded cheddar cheese.
You will add in mayonnaise and vinegar which can break down the popcorn so be sure to finish this the day it’s made!
Just like many other popular popcorn salad dishes, this salad can be prepared ahead of time as long as the popcorn isn’t added in until it is ready to serve.
You can even make this the night before and leave it in the refrigerator until the day of to save some time with preparation.
Either way, it is already a quick and simple recipe.
Once everything is tossed together, the popcorn will start to absorb the creamy dressing made for this salad so it will take on all of the flavors present.
The bottom line
Maybe you are a midwesterner who loves popcorn salad, or you have only heard of this from the Internet and are in shock!
Either way, adding popcorn into your salad adds a nice light crunch to your bites and will absolutely change your mind about what types of foods belong in salads!
16 Easy Popcorn Salad Recipe
These 16 Popcorn Salad Recipes will change your mind about adding popcorn to your salads, giving it a lovely textured crunch!
Ingredients
- Crunchy Popcorn Salad With Snap Peas
- Raw And Roasted Pipcorn Salad
- Mango Salad With Popcorn
- Bethenny’s Skinygirl Italian Salad
- Homemade Hooplah’s Popcorn Salad
- Emmymade’s Popcorn Salad
- Fruit ‘N’ Nut Popcorn Mix
- Caesar’s Popcorn Pasta Salad
- Double Corn Salad
- Three Many Cook’s Popcorn Salad
- Kale Caesar Salad With Parmesan Popcorn Croutons
- Squid Pumpkin Popcorn Pomegranate Salad
- Momma Says’ Popcorn Salad
- Spring Salad With Sweet & Salty Peanut Butter Popcorn Croutons
- Butter My Kitchen’s Popcorn Salad
- You Eat Like That Every Day? Popcorn Salad
Instructions
- Choose your favorite recipe from our list of Popcorn Salad Recipes!
- Wave your magic wand to make it your own special recipe!
- Leave a comment on our Facebook page and share your new dish.