Cilantro-Lime Popcorn

If you ask me what my favorite snack is, I will most-likely tell you that it is popcorn.  I’ve even been known to call it a suitable meal.  Seriously, it is!  It’s a whole grain, at least.  (Just don’t tell anyone about the added butter & salt!)

This weekend I found myself with an abundance of fresh cilantro on hand.  Most people either love it or hate it, yes?  I fall into the “love” category.  Like, absolutely, always-on-hand, put-it-in-everything, l.o.v.e.  My first thought was to make some Chipotle-like cilantro-lime rice to blog about but found out that a lot of people have already done that.  Instead, I started brainstorming other ways to use this fun flavor combination.

One glance into my pantry and the decision was made – cilantro-lime popcorn. I loved it before I even tried it. I’m not sure why I hadn’t thought of it before – buttery popcorn with sweet, fresh cilantro and tangy, tart lime juice – snack (or dinner) perfection!

Now I am fixated on coming up with more fun popcorn flavors but we will start here.  While I do love enjoying a bowl with just butter and salt, I love mixing it up by adding in some fresh flavor every now and then.

What is your favorite snack?

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Cilantrop-Lime Popcorn

Yield: 2-4 servings

Total Time: 15 min (includes popping time)

Buttery, stove-top popped popcorn with a Tex-Mex twist of cilantro, lime and salt.

Ingredients:

4 cups popped popcorn (instructions below)
2 Tbs. butter, melted (I used Land O’ Lakes Sea Salt & Olive Oil)
1 Tbs. lime juice (1 lime)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tsp. kosher salt

Directions:

I pop my popcorn on the stove because because I prefer it that way. Pop your popcorn however you wish! Here are the instructions for stove-popping:
Heat one tablespoon of oil in a medium heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. (I use grapeseed, you can use canola, vegetable, etc. just not olive oil, it will be likely to burn)

Add a few popcorn kernels, cover the pan and let it heat up. When one kernel pops, add 1/3 cup of uncooked popcorn kernels and cover the pan. Shake the pan a little to spread the kernels in an even layer. Let the kernels pop for several minutes until the pan is full and the popping slows down, shake the pan often. Remove from heat and transfer popcorn to a large bowl.

While the popcorn pops, melt the butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Add the lime juice and cilantro and stir well. Remove from heat. Add the popcorn to a large bowl and pour on half of the butter/lime/cilantro mixture and shake to distribute. Repeat with the rest of the butter mixture. Add the salt and shake again until well mixed.