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Microwave popcorn might seem like the ultimate convenient snack, but I’m gonna hold your hand while I say this: You’re wrong.
Not only is air-popped popcorn tastier and healthier, but it’s also cheaper in the long run. You can customize it to your liking, it’s just as fast and easy to make, and it’s not full of nonsense ingredients. If you’re a microwave popcorn enthusiast, allow me to change your life for the better—with an expert to back me up.
Why Microwave Popcorn Is Bad
Let’s start with the most obvious and glaring offense: Microwave popcorn has historically been packed with forever chemicals. (It might not be anymore—more on that in a second.) Specifically, the bags the popcorn comes in were lined with a grease- and water-resistant coating containing PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). This chemical breaks down very slowly and has been linked to numerous adverse health effects, ranging from reproductive problems to cancer.
One study showed that the more microwave popcorn someone consumed, the higher their PFAS levels were in their blood, with some participants who consumed microwave popcorn every day having levels 63 percent higher than average. The good news is that in early 2024, the FDA ended the use of PFAS in food packaging, requiring manufacturers to exhaust existing packaging containing PFAS by June 2025. However, despite increased scrutiny of food packaging, there are ongoing lawsuits alleging that some brands still contain PFAS in their packaging. And I, for one, don’t have equipment at home to test the lining of my food packaging to verify whether or not its contents are safe. At the bare minimum, look for PFAS-free claims on the label or website of your chosen microwave popcorn brand.
Regardless of potential packaging offenses, microwave popcorn is also bad for you in general. Or, perhaps, it could be much better for you.
“The popcorn itself in microwave popcorn is still a nutritious food, but it’s the additives that make the difference,” says Avery Zenker, registered dietitian at My Crohns and Colitis Team. “Microwave popcorn often includes oils (like palm oil, corn oil, or others), butter, salt, artificial and natural flavorings, preservatives, and colors.” And while those ingredients aren’t necessarily harmful, chances are that you wouldn’t be adding palm oil and buckets of butter to the popcorn you make at home. “A bag of popped microwave popcorn can contain over 35 percent of daily saturated fat recommendations,” she says.
Diets high in saturated fats have been linked to high cholesterol, heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and other conditions. Zenker also says that a bag of microwave popcorn can contain “over half of the daily recommended sodium intake for most adults.” And let’s be real—it is all too easy to eat an entire bag of microwave popcorn.
Additionally, Zenker points out that microwave popcorn is often considered an ultra-processed, hyperpalatable food. “Ultra-processed foods tend to be high in calories, sugar, and sodium, while being low in protein, fiber, and essential vitamins and minerals,” she says. And because it’s so tasty, it’s easy to unintentionally eat excessive amounts of it.
“Ultra-processed foods are linked to numerous adverse health outcomes, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and even certain cancers,” says Zenker. Again—if you still choose to go with microwaved popcorn, you should be checking out those nutrition labels to make sure you aren’t accidentally consuming way more of an ingredient than you want to be.
Why Air-Popped Popcorn Is Good
If microwaved popcorn is full of potential unknowns that you can’t really control or customize to your liking, air-popped popcorn is the opposite. The only ingredient is corn—until you decide to add something else.
Zenker says that popcorn is a nutrient-dense source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. And it’s lower in calories than other crunchy snacks, such as chips, while higher in fiber and protein than many of the processed foods we typically reach for—so popcorn keeps you fuller for longer.
When you air-pop popcorn, you can customize it exactly how you’d like to. Add salt, seasonings, spices, olive oil, nutritional yeast, cinnamon and sugar, fresh herbs like dill, or even—as Zenker suggested and I will no doubt be soon incorporating—pickle juice. I prefer to top my popcorn with melted butter and a dash of seasoned salt, but the beauty of air-popped means that my family members can make theirs taste completely different using the same batch fresh from the popper.
You can still make it taste like the stuff from the movie theater if you’re OK with using copious amounts of butter and salt. Air poppers expand the kernels using just hot air and time. They’re very simple and fast to use—dump in your kernels, turn the machine on, and add butter to the top reservoir if you want the hot air to melt that too. Place a bowl down to collect your popped corn and you’ll have a snack ready for movie night in no time. Best of all, it won’t contain anything that you don’t want it to. And if you consume microwave popcorn on a regular basis, an air popper will eventually pay for itself. Plain popcorn kernels are cheap, and they go a long way.
Air Poppers We’ve Tested and Liked
Courtesy of Beautiful by Drew Barrymore
Beautiful by Drew Barrymore
Hot Air Popcorn Popper
The Beautiful by Drew Barrymore Hot Air Popper puts a contemporary twist on the old air poppers of yore with its matte finish and gold accents, and it comes in a few different colors, like black, light blue, and sage green (though the fancier ones go in and out of stock). It can make up to 16 cups of popcorn at a time, and the nesting measuring cup on the top doubles as a place to melt your butter. I also like that there’s a place to wrap the cord, and that the chute directs the popped corn straight into your awaiting bowl.
Photograph: Brenda Stolyar
This little popcorn maker comes from Dash, maker of many small countertop appliances we recommend. It’s similar to other makers on the market in that you can melt butter in the measuring cup on top, and there’s a chute that’ll help direct the popped kernels into a bowl. This maker comes in different colors like red and lavender, and limited-edition designs like Disney or Peanuts, and it won’t take up much space on your counters or in your cabinets. Like the option above, it also has a 16-cup capacity.
Meet the Expert
- Avery Zenker, registered dietitian at My Crohns and Colitis Team
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