Popcorn is one of the most popular snacks on the planet — each American consumes 43 quarts of popcorn a year on average. But is popcorn keto friendly?
Unfortunately, that’s not an easy question to answer. Depending on which type of popcorn you want to eat, the carb counts (and overall calories) can vary a lot. On the keto diet — or if you’re looking to go on one — calculating the net carbs in this popular treat can change how you snack.
It might surprise you that microwave popcorn has a lower net carb count than air popped popcorn. But you have to watch how much popcorn you eat to stay below that carb ceiling.
So when you snag your ticket to the next Marvel movie, think twice about what size popcorn you order.
A Brief Background of Popcorn
Possibly prepared and eaten by Peruvians as long as 6,000 years ago, popcorn has gained popularity since the 1800s. In the 1890s, the popcorn maker was invented — around the same time movies were invented.
Popcorn is unique, but how it works is simple. Popcorn kernels contain water and oil. When heated, the kernels expand and explode. Voila, a delicious snack!
Though cob corn is considered to be a vegetable, popcorn is a whole grain, so there are bound to be some carbs involved. (To be overly picky, popcorn kernels are technically a grain and a fruit.)
Popular additives to popcorn include:
- Butter
- Salt
- Caramel
- Cheese
- Spices and herbs
- Oils
- Chocolate
How many total carbs are in popcorn?
KetoConnect verdict: We give popcorn a keto-friendly rating of ⭐⭐⭐(out of 5)
Let’s talk about popcorn nutrition. The total carbs in this snack food are important to understand. (Scroll to the next section for net carbs.)
Popcorn’s carb content depends on how the popcorn is prepared. It is best to divide popcorn into five types: microwavable, air-popped, oil-popped, kettle corn, and movie theatre popcorn.
Obviously, always check the nutrition facts on your popcorn purchase when you are watching your carb intake. But these are pretty good estimates as to how many total carbs you will find in different types of popcorn.
- Microwavable popcorn has a pretty low total carbohydrate count. One cup of popcorn fresh out of the microwave contains 5-10 grams of carbs. *Most microwavable popcorn comes in bags of between 12 and 15 cups of popped popcorn.
- Air-popped popcorn has the lowest calorie count, but the carbs are higher than microwavable popcorn. One cup of air popped popcorn usually contains between 7-20 grams of carbs.
- Oil-popped popcorn is similar to microwave popcorn in carb count. It typically hovers between 5-10 grams of carbs per cup of popped popcorn.
- Kettle corn often has a higher carb content. One cup of popped kettle corn contains 10-21 grams of carbohydrates. Kettle corn also has the highest calorie count, on average.
- Movie theatre popcorn is, by far, the popcorn with the most carbs if you eat it in its native “serving size”. A small tub, which is usually anywhere from 6-11 cups (individual servings) of popcorn includes no less than 40 total grams of carbs. Eating a large tub of movie popcorn can put you as high as 120 total carbs.
Net Carbs in One Cup of Popcorn
Whenever you are calculating “net carbs”, be sure to subtract dietary fiber from the carb count. Net carbs simply refers to the digestible carbohydrates in a food.
Popcorn contains some fiber. For the purposes of keto or other low-carb diets, subtract the fiber from the carbs to get the net carbs.
- Microwavable popcorn: 3-8 net carbs per cup
- Air-popped popcorn: 2-5 net carbs per cup
- Oil-popped popcorn: 3-8 grams of net carbs per cup
- Kettle corn: 8-11 net carbs per cup
- Movie theater popcorn: 3-6 net carbs per cup (if you can limit yourself to just a cup from a massive bucket)
How many carbs are in movie theater popcorn?
Can’t you just smell that sweet movie theater popcorn smell? Don’t get tempted just yet…
It can be difficult to estimate movie theatre popcorn’s nutrition facts when every theatre prepares its popcorn differently.
Honestly, movie theatre popcorn is going to have a similar number of carbs as your homemade air-popped popcorn (probably no more than 6 net grams).
There are two important things to consider, though.
1) How much popcorn is in a tub?
When the employees at your local Regal scoop in your popcorn, it’s hard to keep track of how many scoops they threw in.
An easy solution is to ask for an empty water cup that you can measure the popcorn with. Eight ounces is one cup’s worth.
Or… you could always sneak in your digital scale. (Too much?)
2) How much “butter” is automatically added?
In low-carb diets, butter is not necessarily the enemy. But in movie theatres, having any real dairy in the “butter” would lead to rapid spoiling, which is why most chains don’t use it.
The butter flavoring in movie theatres is typically vegetable oil, which have no place in a low-carb diet like keto. Don’t let the healthy-sounding word “vegetable” confuse you. Vegetable oils can lead to inflammation, oxidative stress, and a messed up metabolism.
Interestingly, two very popular chains (AMC and Regal) boast the use of coconut oil to pop their corn. Although that may sound more keto-friendly, their “butter” is still artificial butter flavoring.
The bottom line? Stay away from the popcorn at the theater in order to avoid the unsavory ingredients it likely contains.
Carbs in Popcorn with Butter
We all love to slather our popcorn in butter. That may be fine, as long as it isn’t butter flavor.
On a low carb diet like keto, butter is a high-quality fat that’s also low on carbohydrates. But there may be potential issues with all dairy products when it comes to keto. Many people discover they are lactose intolerant, which comes with its own side effects:
- Stomach pain
- Bloating
- Gas
- Diarrhea
Even if you do not have an allergy to dairy, you may want to avoid casein.
Casein is the main protein in milk and other dairy products. Casein naturally contains a molecular opioid that can increase hunger cravings. This means your keto weight loss goals can be undermined by dairy products if you aren’t careful.
Though butter is not a bad thing altogether, you want to be careful pouring it over your cup of popcorn. It can flare up an allergy or make you feel hungry faster.
Tips to Make Popcorn Better For You
If you’re craving popcorn, make it as healthy as possible.
Since you can’t control the carb count, control the other variables instead. By popping your own popcorn, you hold more control over the calories, added sugars, and unhealthy fats.
Either air-popped popcorn or oil-popped popcorn can be cooked over your own stovetop. If popping with oil, use non-vegetable oils, such as:
- Coconut oil
- Avocado Oil
- Peanut Oil
A keto friendly alternative to butter is ghee. When you have popped the kernels, pour a helping of melted ghee on top.
Avoid sugary additives like caramel, unless you’re using a keto-friendly caramel recipe. Eating popcorn is often measured by the handful, but try to eat one kernel at a time to make the snack last longer.
In the past, microwave popcorn earned a huge warning label from the health community. Its packaging and flavorings contained PFOAs (the same stuff that gives Teflon pans their bad reputation) and diacetyl (a chemical that can cause lung issues when inhaled).
Fortunately, all major manufacturers got rid of this after the CDC published its findings on these chemicals in microwave popcorn.
Even so, pre-bagged microwavable kernels are still filled with butter substitutes, inflammatory oils, preservatives, and other packaging chemicals that have a bad reputation. It’s more convenient, but at a significant cost.
Above all, stick to a strict portion size.
Can you eat popcorn on a low carb keto diet?
It’s unlikely that snacking on a few cups of popcorn will knock you out of ketosis. A serving of popcorn will not push you over your daily carb limit. (The typical serving size is three cups of popped popcorn.)
Popcorn can serve as a low-calorie snack, even with ghee, grass-fed butter, or coconut oil to add some healthy fat content. The dietary fiber in popcorn can also make you feel full longer.
Popcorn has negligible protein, vitamins, and minerals, which is why it’s not the best snack to rely on while on the ketogenic diet. But feel free to have a three-cup serving of air-popped popcorn every once in a while as a treat.
When on the ketogenic diet, high-quality fats are important to come by. By making sure your popcorn includes plenty of healthy fat content, you’ll keep your macros in check.
Microwave popcorn has more fat content than other types of popcorn. But 75 percent of the fat content is saturated and trans fat (meaning the worst kind of fats). Only 25 percent of the fat are healthy fats — monounsaturated and polyunsaturated.
Air-popped popcorn has the lowest fat content of all the types of popcorn, but you can tweak the macros by adding oils or butter.
Alternative Snacks to Popcorn
Though it may sometimes seem a restrictive diet, keto and other low carb diets allow for some great healthy snack alternatives to popcorn.
Below are some great keto snack options to add to your keto meal plan. These are all low carb snacks but offer more nutritional value than popcorn (which leads to more health benefits).
- Beef jerky
- Pork rinds
- Pecans, almonds, pistachios, walnuts
- Cauliflower
- Olives
- Mushrooms
- Hard boiled eggs
If you’re looking for a little more adventure, there are hundreds of recipes for keto friendly snacks! My favorites are cinnamon keto granola and keto pigs in a blanket. The ideal popcorn substitutes should be high-fat and moderate in protein.
In Summary
- Popcorn is a massively popular snack, especially among Americans.
- Popcorn by itself is a good low carb snack. But butter substitutes, inflammatory oils, salt, and caramel can decrease the keto-related health benefits and push you over your daily carb limit.
- Movie theater popcorn is often slathered with butter flavoring, which is typically a type of inflammatory vegetable oil.
- To make eating popcorn as healthy as possible, cook your own popcorn at home. Avoid salt and sugary additives. Consider replacing the butter with ghee.
- Popcorn substitutes can be just as tasty. Alternative keto snacks include nuts, eggs, olives, pork rinds, and beef jerky.
Sources
- Grobman, A., Bonavia, D., Dillehay, T. D., Piperno, D. R., Iriarte, J., & Holst, I. (2012). Preceramic maize from Paredones and Huaca Prieta, Peru. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(5), 1755-1759. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3277113/
- Grabitske, H. A., & Slavin, J. L. (2008). Low-digestible carbohydrates in practice. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 108(10), 1677-1681. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18926133
- Schieberle, P. (1991). Primary odorants in popcorn. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry, 39(6), 1141-1144. Full text: https://pubag.nal.usda.gov/catalog/1359914
- Esmaillzadeh, A., & Azadbakht, L. (2008). Home use of vegetable oils, markers of systemic inflammation, and endothelial dysfunction among women. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 88(4), 913-921. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18842776
- Ng, C. Y., Leong, X. F., Masbah, N., Adam, S. K., Kamisah, Y., & Jaarin, K. (2014). Heated vegetable oils and cardiovascular disease risk factors. Vascular Pharmacology, 61(1), 1-9. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24632108
- Boroujeni, H. K., Sarrsfzadegan, N., Mohammadifard, N., Sajjadi, F., Asgary, S., Maghroon, M., … & Esmailzaded, A. (2012). The relation between dietary intake of vegetable oils and serum lipids and apolipoprotein levels in central Iran. ARYA atherosclerosis, 7(4), 168. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3413086/
- Deng, Y., Misselwitz, B., Dai, N., & Fox, M. (2015). Lactose intolerance in adults: biological mechanism and dietary management. Nutrients, 7(9), 8020-8035. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26393648
- Meisel, H., & Fitzgerald, R. J. (2000). Opioid peptides encrypted in intact milk protein sequences. British Journal of Nutrition, 84(S1), 27-31. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11242443
- Mazza, E., Fava, A., Ferro, Y., Rotundo, S., Romeo, S., Bosco, D., … & Montalcini, T. (2018). Effect of the replacement of dietary vegetable oils with a low dose of extravirgin olive oil in the Mediterranean Diet on cognitive functions in the elderly. Journal of translational medicine, 16(1), 10. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5775590/
- Sharma, H., Zhang, X., & Dwivedi, C. (2010). The effect of ghee (clarified butter) on serum lipid levels and microsomal lipid peroxidation. Ayu, 31(2), 134. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3215354/
- Dashti, H. M., Mathew, T. C., Hussein, T., Asfar, S. K., Behbahani, A., Khoursheed, M. A., … & Al-Zaid, N. S. (2004). Long-term effects of a ketogenic diet in obese patients. Experimental & Clinical Cardiology, 9(3), 200. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2716748/
Written by
Matt Gaedke
Matt is a former college basketball player turned computer engineer who discovered his passion for health and nutrition after cutting sugar from his diet in 2016. That year he founded KetoConnect with Megha in order to share their ketogenic lifestyle through recipes, videos, and educational content. Matt is always seeking to grow and try new things, a passion he shares with his wife and two amazing sons.
Expert Fact Checker
Kathryn Bubeck
Kathryn (Katy) Bubeck, RD, LDN is a Registered Dietitian with bachelor’s degrees in nutrition (University of Alabama) and health behavior management (University of Delaware). Originally from the Philadelphia suburbs, Katy has moved up and down the east coast for the past 20 years, and recently relocated to Baltimore, where she plans to eat ALL the seafood!
Mari Ann says
Not gonna lie… we eat it sometimes. We have a Whirly pop popcorn maker. We make it using olive oil and Redmond salt. And… it’s a splurge – we never just eat 1 cup. More like 5-6 cups.
Dave says
Here’s what I do:
Tools-
-Microwave popcorn bowl from Nordic ware.
-Orville Redenbacher Popcorn white corn jar … non gmo.
-2 tablespoons of melted Kerrygold butter.
One serving: Pop 1/4 cup popcorn in Nordic bowl in Microwave with No oil. It works well.
Add melted Kerrygold to top when all popped.
Done
Enjoy
Judith says
I would NEVER eat any kind of starchy popcorn garbage.
LeAnna says
I have started microwaving my own popcorn instead of buying microwave popcorn. I mix 1/4 cup of popcorn kernels with 1 tsp. of oil, (I add some kosher salt right to the kernels) and then I put them into a large paper lunch bag and fold down the top twice. When you put it in the microwave I fold a paper towel and put it under the bag (it absorbs the oil and I believe it prevents the turntable from breaking #don’tquoteme). It stops popping just under 2 min in my microwave.
Anne says
I use a recipe for Movie style popcorn from an Australian site. It is delicious. The website is
https://www.recipetineats.com/homemade-movie-popcorn/
Enjoy XX
Christine Olson says
Um isn’t it still corn??? Where is the world is corn Keto??
Bob says
I’m not sure if you’re retarded or not, so I’ll try not to be too mean.
First you say “It might surprise you that microwave popcorn has a lower net carb count than air popped popcorn.”
Then you say:
Microwavable popcorn: 3-8 net carbs per cup
Air-popped popcorn: 2-5 net carbs per cup
I know math hard on brain, but come on. Can’t tell if 2 is bigger than 3? Maybe you should google it.
Wendy says
Make your own “microwave” popcorn without all those chemicals and trans fats. 1/3 c kernels in a brown paper “lunch” bag, folded over when lying flat at least 4 times (thin folds). Nuke 2-3 minutes or on popcorn setting – as soon as pops slow down to 2 per second, stop! Add melted “choose your fat” as you wish. Been doing this for years!
barbogold says
Why don’t you just give us a recipe for a couple cups of home
make stove top popcorn. We can then eat and share with loved one.
David says
Why does everyone measure popcorn AFTER it’s popped? Raw corn should contain the same net carbs as popped corn, shouldn’t it? It seems that it should be measured in its raw form. For instance, one cup of raw Corn Pops to be about a bucket of popcorn. So, that bucket would contain the SAME next carbs as the raw corn kernels. Am I missing something?
Judith says
The problem is there is a LOT of STARCH in popcorn and starch doesn’t follow the net carb roadmap so your nutritional information is NOT correct. STARCH is turned to blood sugar in the mouth and therefore, there’s no such thing as low carb popcorn. Example: air-popped popcorn 100 grams has 77.90 carb grams and 14.5 fiber but the STARCH in the popcorn is converted to blood sugar in the mouth as soon as the popcorn hits the amylase enzyme in our saliva and in 100 grams of popcorn, that is 55 grams of STARCH. And in 1 cup popcorn air-popped, it has 6.23 carbs and 4.35 g of starch. And as a comparison of the calories in air-popped popcorn, the starch represents 56% of the calories in 1 cup and the same % would apply to the 100 grams, 2 cups, etc.
Judith says
And regular corn has 80% of its calories as STARCH so there’s MORE starch in regular corn than in popped corn.
TJ says
I think starch is included in the carb count, just like sugar is. Starch is a carbohydrate. I’m pretty sure starch is already counted in the carb count. PRETTY sure, not completely sure.
Hender says
I was thinking it was referring to prebagged microwave popcorn and plain air popped pop corn, is that the difference?? We make our own microwave bagged popcorn out of paper lunch bags, so easy, 1/4 cup kernels fold the top down on your paper bag with the plain kernels inside place ONE staple to seal. Microwave for about 2 1/2 minutes (depending on your microwave) and butter if you want and salt. Yummy!! Cheap and easy.
Mary says
Seriously? Limit to ONE Cup of popcorn? That’s like eating ONE potato chip. I’m better off just avoiding it all together. Yep, the air popped “nutrition” doesn’t sound correct.
Julia says
same here… one cup of popcorn would only make my cravings worse. and this applies to anything which I could only eat in “moderate” amounts (=means tiny amounts). However, thank God I never craved popcorn that much. However, I’m not American 😀
Tara says
OMG! I can’t believe nutritional yeast is not on the list of toppings!!!! You haven’t lived till you have air popped corn with butter salt and nutritional yeast! *I’m also confused about the microwave pop corn being lower in carbs than air popped and then later it says air popped is lower. ? should have the same carb count with nothing added, the only way I can imagine it would differ is if you are counting a cup of popped corn against a cup of un-popped corn…. That or they are rounding down on the microwave bags. If 40g 3 Tbls unpopped oreville kernels has 29 carbs and 6 g fiber but pops to = “about 7 cups that’s 23 g net carbs total for 7 cups 23÷7= 3.28 net carbs per cup. When they say about 7 cups I think “ok it makes 6 3/4 cups” (because I’ve seen this so many times with food labels) but that’s still 3.40g net carbs per cup air popped corn without anything added and now I wish I had some…
Sam says
I’ve been on Keto since January (2019). I tried to give up my Saturday night bowl of air-popped popcorn but couldn’t do it. So I have decided to allow myself that one bowl (½ cup unpopped kernels) covered with a quarter stick of real melted butter and Redmond’s Seasoned Salt per week on Saturday night (movie night). I’m still losing up to a pound or so each week. I dropped the rum & coke that used to go with it and replaced it with several dashes of Angostura Bitters (0 carbs) over ice topped off with club soda (carbonated water). At 57½ mg of carbs for the bowlful of popcorn, and zero carbs for the drink – per week – I’m finding that it has not affected my weight loss program very much at all. Kettle corn, however, is out of the question.
Pete Key says
Started the same time as you. Before Keto I’d eat a huge bowl of air popped popcorn several nights a week. Man I still miss that. Now I just have a kernel or two when my kids pop some and then say, “To Hell with Keto!” on Avengers Release Day. I scarf down two large bags of movie theater, fake butter and extra salted ridiculousness.
Niki says
A bag of microwave popcorn yields 12-15 cups?? Where are you buying your microwave popcorn?? A feed store? ??
This was a great post though. Good breakdowns!!
Danielle says
I was hoping for an explanation of WHY air-popped popcorn has more carbs. Like Ozbloke, I’m also confused why air-popped’s range is lower than oil and microwave popped.
Are different kinds of popcorn more fibrous? I’ve bought different kinds at a farmer’s market- blue, red, etc. They all looked the same afterwards (just smaller)?
Ozbloke says
Why does it state microwave popcorn has less carbs then following that it says air popped has less? Following that the pictures display that same thing again…. so which one is correct?