I Asked 5 Chefs for the Best Microwave Popcorn, and Now I Have a New Favorite

As much as we look forward to a night out for those big blockbuster movies, TV marathons and movie nights at home are far more common—due to both our schedules and our budgets. By the time we invest in movie theater tickets for the entire family, plus sodas, popcorn, and candy, the tab easily tops $100. No wonder cookbook author MacKenzie Smith says that when she’s seeking out microwave popcorn, she’s looking for a product that “tricks my brain into thinking I’m at the movies without having to take out a second mortgage for snacks.”

But with row upon row of microwave popcorn boxes in the snack aisle, it can be challenging to know which brand is worth buying. So, to help us separate the flops from the favorites, we asked professional chefs to reveal their go-to choices and determine the best brand that gets as close as possible to that signature movie theater popcorn experience.

Our Panel of Popcorn-Loving Chefs

Qualities of the Best Microwave Popcorn

The chefs we spoke to agree that the most common issue with microwave popcorn formulas is that they taste too “fake.” Instead, what we’re looking for is a product that:

• Offers real butter flavor. Celebrity chef George Duran and sous chef MacKenzie Schultz admit that most labels that boast “movie theater butter” make their stomachs hurt. “It tastes more like a mash-up of a melted crayon and synthetic cheese than it tastes like actual butter,” Duran jokes. Ideally, the recipe actually calls for butter early on in the ingredient list.
• Includes kernels that actually pop. Certain microwave popcorns fall flat, Duran says, and you deserve better than a bag with half of the kernels sitting sad and seedy at the bottom of the bag. “If I’m popping popcorn in the microwave, I want it to actually pop, not just sit there heating until the bag begins to smoke,” Duran says.
• Transports you to a movie theater. Microwave popcorn should come across as fresh, light, and crunchy, rather than stale, says cooking school owner Mary Payne Moran. Smith echoes that sentiment, adding that she “steers clear of the sad, dry ones that taste like cardboard and missed opportunities. When it comes to microwave popcorn, I want that buttery, salty, crispy movie theater magic!”

The Best Microwave Popcorn, According to Chefs

With two votes each, the best microwave popcorn is a tie between AMC Theatres Extra Butter and Pop Secret Extra Butter.

Both Schultz and George Formaro, chef-partner of Orchestrate Hospitality restaurants, are sure glad AMC made the leap into the microwave popcorn market. With a top-tier crunch, “plenty of salt,” and “rich butter flavor,” Formaro says “the flavor and texture are better than most buckets of event popcorn you get at ballparks or concert venues.”

AMC offers bags of pre-popped popcorn (which Schultz loves to transfer to a heat-safe bowl to refresh in the microwave for 30 seconds for a snack that “tastes almost exactly like the real theater thing!”) as well as microwave popcorn. For “full-on movie theater flavor—the kind that leaves you coated in salt, butter, and joy—AMC Theatres Classic Butter is the clear winner,” Formaro tells Allrecipes.

It’s no secret that Pop Secret has dominated the microwave popcorn market for decades. Moran and Smith say this is well-deserved. With reliably “enjoyable flavor with every bag, the butter coats all of the popcorn evenly,” Moran says.

For buttery but not-too-greasy pieces that have that “perfect light and airy crunch factor,” Smith says Pop Secret’s Extra Butter popcorn is a common grocery list request from her kids (that also gets a snack stamp of approval from mom).

Honorable Mentions

With nominations from Duran and Formaro, these brands are also worthy of consideration—especially if you’re looking for something a little lighter:

• Orville Redenbacher’s SmartPop! Butter
• Farmers Best Premium White Popcorn
• SkinnyPop Microwave Popcorn

How To Enjoy Microwave Popcorn, Chef Style

Each of these chef-approved brands can stand on their own as an ideal snack—movie night or otherwise. That said, if you’d like to take your microwave popcorn to the next level, consider one of these chef-approved hacks: