This truffle popcorn recipe is rich, buttery, and packed with real truffle flavor from actual truffle butter with visible truffle pieces. It takes about ten minutes to make and will have you coming back to the bowl over and over. Consider yourself warned that regular popcorn may be ruined forever after this.
Quick Look
- 📋 Recipe: Truffle Butter Popcorn with Parmesan
- ⏲️ Ready In: 10 minutes
- 👪 Servings: 4
- 🔪 Difficulty: Easy
- 💭 Top Tip: Use real truffle butter rather than truffle oil for a richer, more authentic truffle flavor and a gorgeous buttery finish that coats every kernel.
Why You'll Love This Recipe:
- Real truffle butter with visible truffle pieces delivers rich, buttery flavor that truffle oil, or truffle salt simply can't match.
- Air-popped popcorn means a lighter base that lets the truffle butter really shine.
- Ready in about ten minutes with minimal cleanup.
- Just a handful of ingredients, but the combination of butter, Parmesan, sea salt, and a pinch of pepper tastes genuinely elevated.
- Seriously moreish. You have been warned.
Jump to:
If you love truffles, this truffle butter popcorn is about to become your new favorite snack. It's rich, deeply savory, and genuinely buttery in a way that recipes that use truffle oil or truffle salt just can't match, and it comes together in about ten minutes.
With real truffle butter you can actually see tiny pieces of truffle in the popcorn, and that earthy richness melts into every kernel. Add freshly grated Parmesan, a good sea salt, and just a pinch of fresh cracked pepper, and the result tastes far more elevated than the effort involved. Every ingredient is doing real work here.
I served this as part of the cocktail hour at my circus dinner party, and the truffle lovers in the room were very into it. If that's you, I think you're going to love this one.
This truffle popcorn would make a great addition to this chip charcuterie snack board. You might also like our cheese straws recipe, or these homemade flatbread crackers.
Ingredients:
Full ingredient list with measurments in the recipe card below.
- Truffle Butter:This is the star of the show. Look for it at a specialty grocery store or a good cheese shop. You want a butter that has visible truffle pieces in it, not just truffle flavoring. That's where the real depth comes from. Any leftovers can be frozen until you make this recipe again.
- Parmesan: Freshly grated from a block adds a nutty, savory finish that melts beautifully into the warm popcorn. A microplane or the fine side of a box grater works perfectly. Skip the pre-grated stuff that comes in a can for this recipe.
- Sea salt: A good flaky sea salt is worth it here. The pops of saltiness between bites make everything taste brighter.
- Fresh cracked pepper: Just a pinch. It adds a subtle warmth without competing with the truffle.
Expert Tip: You might be tempted to add fresh herbs like rosemary or thyme. A lot of truffle popcorn recipes suggest it. I'd encourage you to resist. Strong herbs compete with the delicate earthiness of real truffle butter and the flavor you're working so hard to showcase gets lost. Salt, Parmesan, and a pinch of pepper is all this recipe needs. Trust the truffle.
Equipment:
- Airpopper Popcorn Maker: We used an airpopper to make our popcorn. This works really well, because it gives you a light, oil-free base that lets the truffle butter really shine, but stovetop or microwave work just fine too.
How To Make Truffle Butter Popcorn
- Step 1: Pop your popcorn. Using your preferred method, pop your popcorn and transfer it to a large bowl. An air popper gives you a light, neutral base that lets the truffle butter really do its thing, but stovetop or microwave both work well too.
- Step 2: Melt the truffle butter. Gently melt your truffle butter in a small saucepan over low heat or in the microwave in short bursts. You want it just melted, not bubbling. Pour the melted butter over your popcorn, and toss to coat.
- Step 3: Add the Parmesan, and salt. Grate a generous amount of fresh Parmesan directly over the bowl, add your sea salt to taste and toss.
- Step 4: Add freshly cracked pepper. A little pepper is a great addition to this dish, but don't overdo it. You don't want to over power the truffle, so just a little pepper. And serve immediately while still hot.
Serving Truffle Butter Popcorn for a Gathering
Truffle butter popcorn makes a wonderful cocktail hour snack, and it's one of those things that feels impressive without requiring much effort from the host. A few things worth knowing if you're serving it at a party:
- Make it as close to serving time as possible. It really is best warm and fresh, and since it only takes ten minutes you can easily time it around your guests arriving.
- For quantities, plan on roughly one large bowl for every four to six guests as part of a broader spread. If it's the only snack on the table, you may want to double the recipe.
- Serve it in a beautiful bowl and let it be a conversation starter. When guests ask what's in it, the answer "real truffle butter" tends to get a reaction. 😉
Frequently Asked Questions
Look for it at a specialty grocery store, a good cheese shop. You can also find it online. What you're looking for is a butter that has visible truffle pieces in it, not just truffle flavoring or truffle oil blended in. That's the version that makes this recipe really sing.
You can, but the result will be quite different. Many truffle oils - particularly budget-friendly ones - are made with synthetic truffle flavoring rather than real truffle, which gives a sharper, less rounded flavor. If you do use truffle oil, look for a premium version that contains real truffle pieces.
Truffle salt is another popular way to add truffle flavor to popcorn, and some recipes rely on it as the primary seasoning. It does contain real truffle pieces and can add a nice hit of truffle flavor. If truffle salt is all you can find, it's worth trying.
Yes, but a word of warning. Strong herbs tend to overpower the delicate earthiness of real truffle butter, and you'd lose the flavor you went to the trouble of sourcing. Keep it simple and let the truffle lead.
Truffle popcorn is best served hot and fresh. If you do have leftovers, store it in an airtight container or ziplock bag at room temperature for up to two days. Avoid the refrigerator as it will make the popcorn soft and chewy.
Truffle butter popcorn is best made fresh and served warm. The good news is it only takes about ten minutes, so it's easy to make right before serving.
More Appetizer Recipe Inspiration
If you try this truffle butter popcorn or any other recipes on my blog, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I'd especially love to hear from my fellow truffle lovers! Thanks for visiting today!
Recipe
Truffle Popcorn
Equipment
- air popper popcorn maker Or use your prefered method to make popcorn
Ingredients
- ¼ cup popcorn kernels
- ¼ cup truffle butter
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- sea salt to taste
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste, just a pinch
Instructions
- Using your preferred method, pop your popcorn and transfer it to a large bowl. An air popper gives you a light, neutral base that lets the truffle butter really do its thing, but stovetop or microwave both work well too.¼ cup popcorn kernels
- Gently melt your truffle butter in a small saucepan over low heat or in the microwave in short bursts. You want it just melted, not bubbling. Pour over your popcorn and toss to coat.¼ cup truffle butter
- Grate a generous amount of fresh Parmesan directly over the bowl, add your sea salt to taste and toss.¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, sea salt
- Add freshly cracked black pepper. A little pepper is a great addition to this dish, but don't overdo it. You don't want to overpower the truffle, so just a little pepper. Serve immediately while still hot.freshly cracked black pepper
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