Festive Christmas Popcorn Santa Munch drizzled with white chocolate is beyond easy to make! It's an irresistible holiday treat that's ready for snacking in under 10 minutes. Perfect for gifting too!
When the holidays roll around, vibrant and festive Christmas Popcorn is always our number-one snack! It's salty, sweet and sticky! This easy treat is so addictive, and your family and friends will be begging for the recipe. It's Santa's favorite too!
When I said this recipe is easy to make, I wasn't kidding! This Christmas Popcorn Santa Munch is a mixture of popcorn, colorful M&M's, mini pretzels, and green and red sprinkles, that's drizzled with melted white chocolate. Of course, you can add whatever else you want in here, like peanuts, or mini marshmallows.
In This Article:
Ingredients you'll need for this recipe
[*See recipe card for exact quantities.]
There are just six ingredients in this recipe. I told you it was easy! Here's what you'll need:
- Popcorn (popped)
- Red and green M&M's
- Mini pretzels
- White chocolate candy melts (or bark)
- Red sprinkles
- Green sprinkles
How to make christmas popcorn
[*See recipe card for detailed instructions.]
1. On a baking tray (or shallow pan), lay out the popcorn.
2. Break up half of the pretzels and toss in the broken pieces and whole pretzels.
3. Add in the red and green M&M's, and half of the red and green sprinkles, and mix well.
4. Drizzle the melted white chocolate all over the mixture. Sprinkle with the top with the reserved sprinkles.
This popcorn treat was inspired by my Asian Spiced Pecans recipe. It's also sweet, salty, crunchy, a touch spicy, and totally addictive!
Sticky, sweet white chocolate is so good drizzled on top of the Christmas Popcorn Santa Munch. For this step, melt the white chocolate in the microwave. Or, you can use a double boiler on the stove. I used Wilton Candy Melts because they're the highest quality.
TOP TIP: Place the white chocolate candy melts in a glass bowl and microwave them in 30-second increments, stirring each time. This is quick, efficient way to melt the chocolate!
How to make the perfect stove-top popcorn
No need to buy bags of pre-made popcorn when you can easily make this on your stove-top! No fancy gadgets required!
- Use a ½ cup of yellow popcorn. (I used Orville Redenbacher's.)
- Pour vegetable or canola oil to cover the bottom of a 4-quart pot (with a lid).
- Heat the pot on medium-high. Test two popcorn kernels and heat uncovered until they pop. Then you'll know it's ready!
- Pour in the rest of the popcorn kernels and cover with the lid.
- Once you hear popping, shake the pot frequently while it's cooking so the kernels don't burn!
- Once the popping slows down, remove from the heat and keep shaking until you no longer hear it popping.
- Carefully open the lid and pour the popcorn into a large bowl. Immediately add in some Kosher salt and melted butter (optional). Mix well and serve!
This Christmas popcorn makes a ton to feed a crowd! But don't be fooled by that. You probably won't have any leftovers!
Variations
This recipe is so adaptable! You can add or remove ingredients to your liking. Here are some ideas:
- White chocolate bark - You don't have to use white chocolate candy melts in this recipe. You can also use white chocolate bark, using the same melting method.
- Candied nuts - For a nuttier crunch, candied peanuts, pecans, or walnuts would taste great in this Christmas mix!
- Pretzel sticks - I've seen this recipe with mini pretzel sticks as well.
- Peppermint candy cane melts - Nothing's more festive than the flavor of candy cane!
- Christmas Sprinkles - Jazz up this popcorn even more with a mix of Christmas sprinkles. So, so pretty!
Storage and shelf life
Unfortunately, these ingredients don't stand up well to freezing. It's best served fresh, but you can store this Christmas Popcorn in an airtight container, or ziplock bag, for up to 4 to 5 days. For a longer shelf life, store it in a tightly sealed popcorn tin, which should last you up to 2 weeks.
Want more holiday recipes?
If you liked this Christmas Popcorn Santa Munch recipe, you're going to want these holiday recipes too!
- 10 Festive Holiday Cookie Recipes
- Easy Peppermint Miso Brownies
- Matcha Holiday Bark
- Gluten-Free Holiday Sugar Cookies
Recipe notes
- No need to buy bags of pre-made popcorn when you can easily make this on your stove-top! No fancy gadgets required!
- If you don't want to melt the white chocolate candy melts in the microwave, simply use the double-boiler method on your stove top.
- This Christmas Popcorn makes a great gift for the holidays! Get some clear holiday bags (or small holiday boxes), stuff them, put a ribbon around them, and share with your favorite people!
- You can make this popcorn treat any time of year! Just swap out the M&M’s and sprinkles with other colors to reflect the holiday or season, drizzle with your favorite melted chocolate, and there you go!
Christmas Popcorn Santa Munch
This festive Christmas Popcorn Santa Munch drizzled with white chocolate is beyond easy to make! It's an irresistible holiday treat that's ready for snacking in under 10 minutes. Makes a big batch to feed a crowd!
- Total Time: 7 min
- Yield: 6.5 cups 1x
Ingredients
- 6 cups salted yellow popcorn (popped)
- 1.5 ounces mini pretzels
- ¼ cup red and green (holiday) M&M's
- ½ teaspoon red sprinkles
- ½ teaspoon green sprinkles
- 16 ounces white chocolate candy melts (or bark)
Instructions
- On a large baking tray, lay out the popcorn.
- Break up half of the pretzels and mix both the broken and whole pieces of pretzels with the popcorn.
- Mix in the red and green M&M's.
- Add half of the red and green sprinkles, reserving the other half.
- Put the white chocolate candy melts in a glass, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in increments of 30 seconds, stirring well in between, until fully melted.
- Drizzle the melted white chocolate all over the popcorn mixture, and top with the reserved sprinkles. Transfer to a bowl for serving.
Notes
- No need to buy bags of pre-made popcorn when you can easily make this on your stove-top! No fancy gadgets required!
- If you don't want to melt the white chocolate candy melts in the microwave, simply use the double-boiler method on your stove top.
- This Christmas Popcorn makes a great gift for the holidays! Get some clear holiday bags (or small holiday boxes), stuff them, put a ribbon around them, and share with your favorite people!
- You can make this popcorn treat any time of year! Just swap out the M&M’s and sprinkles with other colors to reflect the holiday or season, drizzle with your favorite melted chocolate, and there you go!
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 2 min
- Category: Snacks
- Method: Microwave
- Cuisine: Holiday
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 329
- Sugar: 30.6 g
- Sodium: 181.2 mg
- Fat: 17.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 40.6 g
- Protein: 4.1 g
- Cholesterol: 9.8 mg
Nancy Dapner says
I can’t stop eating this delicious popcorn! It’s like Christmas crack! 😂 Next year I’m going to give bags of these as gifts. So good and easy too!
Asian Caucasian says
I agree, Nancy! It's like Christmas crack! [LOL] So glad you enjoyed it. My family goes crazy over this popcorn snack. Can't go wrong with this easy recipe.