How to Make Popcorn Salt

DIY Popcorn Salt is easy to do and is so much better than buying it in the grocery store. We also teach you a trick on how to keep your homemade popcorn salt from clumping.

Some things are easy to make, but most people don't think about it.

I make my own brown sugar all the time instead of buying it in the store. I can make it as light or as dark as I want it.

Something even easier than that, the only requires one ingredient and a food processor is making your own popcorn salt.

Why Bother Making Popcorn Salt

Why should you bother making your own popcorn salt. Doesn't any old salt work on popcorn?

Here is the issue with popcorn. It has a lot of little nooks and crannies. Your standard salt is not fine enough to make it into those nooks and crannies. When you salt the popcorn a lot of the salt won't stick and will end up in the bottom of the bowl.

Popcorn salt is very fine. So you get more salt on the kernels. Kosher salt which is great sticking to meat, is too coarse to stick to popcorn.

Making your own popcorn salt also gives you the chance to use any salt you, which can also save you money. You can pick the cheapest salt at the store, thought I would avoid regular table salt, which I find having an off flavor, almost bitter flavor at times.

Any salt that you see in the store can work. I like Himalayan Pink Salt for it's flavor, it's added health benefits (trace minerals not found in table salt), and it's fun color.

How to Make Your Own Popcorn Salt

A food processor or even a well cleaned coffee grinder (I use them for spices) can quickly turn any salt into popcorn salt.

The more coarse the salt is the longer it will take. But even the most coarse salt should be broken down in about a minute or so. I recommend using the pulse button in bursts in order to help break the salt granulates down more effectively.

Be careful when you open the top of the food processor, there is sure to be some salt floating into the air.

When I am done making the salt and I place it into a spice jar that comes with a shaker top (plastic insert with holes) to make the salt easy to dispense. Look for the top to have the size holds that you want, so that right amount of salt comes out. These types of jars are easy to find in most well stocked kitchen sections and should be sold for no more than a buck a piece.

If you have a Mason or Ball jar, try these shaker lids that easily attach to

How to Prevent Popcorn Salt From Clumping

You may find that your salt ends up clumping up. Some salts use anti-caking agents like calcium silicate. The salts I recommend to make popcorn salt out of usually don't contain these anti-caking agents.

It only takes a little shaking to loosen the salt particles up, so I don't worry about it. But you could do what Alton Brown recommended in a Good Eats episode and place a few popcorn kernels into the container. The kernel provides physical agitation which will help out with the clumping problem.

Popcorn Salt Recipe

Here is my recipe (if you can call it that, it's so simple) for how to make popcorn salt.

This post includes affiliate links. This means that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. These are products and services I recommend because I use or trust them. Cookies will be used to track the affiliate links you click.