28 Popcorn Seasonings, Ranked Worst To Best

The popcorn industry sure has come a long way since gaining popularity at the end of the 1800s, as street vendors sold piping hot bags of freshly popped kernels to patrons walking past. Its appeal grew further during the Great Depression, when movie theaters introduced the snack as an affordable refreshment to enjoy during a film. Since then, movies and popcorn have been synonymous. 

The invention of microwave popcorn changed our experience with the snack, making popping at home or the office much more effortless. Today, dozens of ready-to-eat brands with names like Nearly Naked and Live Love Pop line the snack aisle of any local grocery store. 

The 2023 Global Market Size of popcorn is almost $8 billion, with predictions that it could grow to $13 billion by 2028 (via Mordor Intelligence). It's easy to understand why the sector is growing. WebMD reports that when it is air-popped, popcorn is a tasty, heart-healthy, whole grain with high fiber, low calories, antioxidants, and a low glycemic index. 

It's also popular because popcorn's flavor is like a blank canvas. It is the perfect setting for flavor — be it the old standbys butter and salt, or a coating of well-seasoned paint to elevate the taste. In a sea of possible seasonings, which is the tastiest option? We've taste-tested 28 brands to find the best.

Since 1946, Kinder's has been packaging sauces, seasoning, and salt blends inspired by founder John Kinder's work as a butcher in San Pablo, California. Kinder built his reputation on quality, focusing on premium ingredients. Today, the company's products supports the legacy of its founder. 

Upon opening a bottle of Kinder's buttery garlic salt blend, an herbaceous, earthy aroma arouses the senses. The seasoning has a pungent, robust garlic and salt flavor. 

However, its texture (from the inclusion of flakey sea salt) does not adhere well to popcorn. The sodium is high (240 mg per quarter teaspoon), and the product settling during storage results in a new, unopened bottle appearing to be only three-fourths full.

A combination of chili powder and citrus would add a spicy zing to anything it is sprinkled on, from steaks and chicken to tropical fruits, vegetables, and of course, popcorn. Valentina's seasoning brings that spiced pepper taste to the nutty delights of popcorn. 

It's great as a garnish on snapper crudo and crab ceviche, or a topping on chilled avocado and cucumber soup. Valentina's sodium level is on the higher side of the options, however, placing it lower on these rankings.

Trader Joe's aims to ensure everything is well seasoned. It seems like they have to sprinkle on any food, including tastes of sriracha, pickle, everything bagel, elote, and cheesy seasoning blend. 

This includes a cheddar cheese base with garlic, onion, oregano, and rosemary, making the condiment as much of an herb flavoring as a cheesy one. TJ's fans have a big problem with the cheesy blend. It is a deeply herbal flavor, with a somewhat inauthentic cheese taste. Still, if you enjoy the freshness that adding herbs brings to a dish, this blend may be for you.

Dash is the ideal option for those watching their sodium intake. Healthline reports salt consumption is necessary for good health, fighting dehydration and hypotension. However, the average American consumes double the daily recommended amount of salt via foods like bread, cold cuts, chips, condiments, soups, and sauces. Too much salt in a diet can lead to high blood pressure and heart disease. 

Dash original seasoning blends basil, parsley, garlic, onion, pepper, and lemon into a calorie-free seasoning with zero salt, fat, or sugar. Though this is one of the healthiest options out there, some degree of salt is needed to awaken popcorn's flavor.

Shaker-style grated parmesan cheese is a tasty flavor enhancer for everything from pasta to popcorn. Americans have been shaking the cheese from a jar since Kraft introduced the product in the green container in the 1940s. It's an American favorite, even if bottled grated parmesan can't approach the depth of flavor found in real Parmigiano-Reggiano from Italy. 

Nonetheless, domestic grated parmesan is a great option for enhancing the taste of popcorn. It is low in calories and sodium, delivers a few grams of protein, and includes a bit of calcium. The ingredient list is also concise and understandable — unlike so many other popcorn seasoning options.

Nutritional yeast should be a pantry staple. This inactive yeast has a texture similar to Japanese panko breadcrumbs, but brings something else to the table.

Healthline reports that nutritional yeast contains nutrients that include high-quality plant protein, B vitamin, fiber, folate, potassium, and zinc. It is low in calories, has zero fat, and is extremely low in sodium, with only 10 milligrams per tablespoon. 

Aside from the health reasons to use nutritional yeast, it tastes delicious, like aged parmesan cheese giving anything it touches a savory boost. It is the healthy, vegan alternative to cheese, providing delightful flavor to popcorn.

Old Bay originated in the early 1940s, when Jewish spice merchant Gustav Brunn developed a topping for Maryland's Chesapeake Bay seafood. Brunn named the product Old Bay after the sailing company that went from Maryland to Virginia in the early 1900s. Though initially, the product's intention was to season seafood, today Old Bay is in everything from vodka, beer, and bloody Mary mix to Goldfish crackers, peanuts, chocolate bars, and sunflower seeds. 

The 18 ingredients that go into every batch of Old Bay are proprietary, a secret beyond known elements like celery salt, paprika, and red and black pepper. However, it likely includes spices like mustard seed, bay leaf, nutmeg, mace, and cardamom. Sprinkling this combo on popcorn blesses the snack with herbal, vegetal, seasoned salt flavors.

The recipe for Frank's RedHot Louisiana-style hot sauce has stayed the same for over 100 years. Since 1920, the sauce has been spicing up the flavors of everything from raw oysters to scrambled eggs to bloody mary cocktails. 

In 1964 a Buffalo, New York bar mixed it with oil before tossing it with chicken, inventing buffalo wings. In March 2023, Instacart named it the most popular hot sauce sold on its site. It's easy to love, as Frank's is spicy but not too hot, with just the right amount of vinegary tanginess and saltiness. 

Frank's RedHot original seasoning has all the sauce's buttery, spicy zestiness in powdered form. It is perfect for popcorn, as it provides the flavor you love without any sogginess.

The flavor of salty-sweet kettle corn conjures up a sense of nostalgia, transporting someone back to childhood fun and frivolity. The old-fashioned treat, typically popped over an open flame in a caldron-like kettle, is served fresh and hot at carnivals nationwide.

Kernel Season's evokes such associations with its kettle corn seasoning. The powdered mixture includes brown sugar, cane sugar, natural flavors, and salt. It provides just the right amount of sweetness, with a hint of saltiness that stovetop popcorn loves. Dashing the seasoning over hot buttered popcorn will give it a butterscotch, salted caramel flavor that is delicious.

Blackstone provides a similar sweet and spicy flavor in its pineapple sriracha seasoning as Cuisinart's sriracha honey option. However, Blackstone's product has zero added salt, allowing the user to better control their sodium intake. 

Its intense flavor comes from the combination of chili peppers, garlic, vinegar powder, sugar, and natural pineapple. The pineapple gives a fruity tropical note to the sweet heat of the flavorsome earthy, herbaceous, garlicky spice mix.

Americans are wild about the flavor of pickles. Tangy, salty, umami-rich pickle brine is finding its way into recipes for fried chicken, bloody mary cocktails, pickle juice vinaigrette, and popcorn. The salty, vinegary, herbal dill pickle flavors give the earthy, nutty snack a punch of liveliness. 

However, dousing fresh popcorn with pickle brine would result in a soggy mess. Instead, opt for a jar of Trader Joe's pickle seasoning. The flavoring provides an authentic, zesty, savory taste in a powdered form.

A grilled Mexican street corn, elote is now a crave-able snack seasoning mimicking the taste of cooked corn on the cob slathered in crema or mayonnaise, cotija cheese, and chili powder, finishing with a spritz of lime. This flavor combination works as well on popcorn as it does on corn on the cob, since the two are essentially the same. 

Olde Thompson delivers this flavor combination in a shakable seasoning with sweet, spicy, cheesy flavors. Each jar's ingredients include chili pepper and chipotle, parmesan cheese, cumin, and cilantro, resulting in an authentic taste of Mexico. Cane sugar and sea salt enhance the combination, producing a well-rounded flavoring.

Turn your movie night popcorn into a luxurious snack experience by adding Sabatino Tartufi truffle zest. It has authentic flavors of black summer truffles that are ground into a fine powder, perfect for sprinkling. 

Sabatino Tartufi fuels its highly aromatic flavoring with a powerful earthy aroma of wild mushrooms and freshly shaved truffle. Truffles and popcorn work well together since both have an earthy, nutty flavor. This product is so rich and flavorful that it's among the best ways to use truffles. Truffle fanatic? Intensify the taste by adding truffle butter to popcorn before sprinkling on the seasoning.

Watkins white cheddar popcorn seasoning is robust and lively with layers of sharp cheddar, fresh cream, herbs, and spices. It finishes with a subtle hint of sweetness from adding powdered sugar to the rich, savory flavoring. 

Watkins popcorn seasonings are 100% U.S.D.A. certified organic, meaning production occurs in a manner good for both you and the environment. This combination of great taste and environmental consciousness makes Watkins white cheddar the best popcorn seasoning blend.

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