Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Drizzle Holiday Popcorn
Here's a colorful, festive and most importantly, healthy Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Drizzle Holiday Popcorn snack perfect for the holiday season.
I had some leftover crushed pistachios and crushed goji berries from my Dark Chocolate Cups with Pistachio and Goji Berries recipe and was trying to think of what I could do with them (other than add them in a smoothie).
And my boys had just finished a snack of air-popped popcorn so I decided to make another batch of the popcorn and use the pistachios and goji berries to sprinkle over the top.
I normally use coconut oil on the popcorn when I want to get the seasonings to stick but that wouldn't have tasted well with the toppings.
So the only other choice, of course, was chocolate!
It took less than 5 minutes to make this and probably less before it was gone.
Here's the ingredient list for a store-bought, highly processed chocolate popcorn snack:
S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) Poppycock Chocolate Lovers Popcorn Ingredients: Milk Chocolate Confectioners Coating, Sugar, Vegetable Oil, Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Oil Partially Hydrogenated, Milk Non-Fat, Cocoa, Whole Milk, Vanilla, Flavors Natural and Artificial, Sorbitan Tristearate, Soy Lecithin Emulsifiers, Salt, Corn Syrup, Sugar, Nuts Milk, Almonds, Pecans, Butter, Cream, Salt, Brown Sugar, Popcorn, Soybean Oil, Salt, Soy Lecithin
It has the GMO ingredients: dairy (milk, butter, cream), soybean oil, soybean lecithin, soy lecithin emulsifiers, as well as refined sugars, salt and non-organic nuts that contain pesticides.
This healthier version uses only 6 healthy ingredients and it's vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and has no refined sugar.
Karielyn's Expert Tips + Ingredient Substitutions For Chocolate Drizzle Holiday Popcorn
Here are some of my expert tips to make this recipe perfectly:
Popcorn. Corn is one of the top GMO produced crops...please make sure you use organic, non-GMO popcorn 😉
Raw Chocolate Sauce. The Raw Chocolate Sauce link in the recipe card below will make approximately 1 ½ cups, but you will only need about 1-2 tablespoons for one batch of popcorn for this recipe. I would make HALF the recipe (¼ cacao powder, ¼ coconut oil, ¼ maple syrup) or even ¼ of the recipe (⅛ cacao powder, ⅛ coconut oil, ⅛ maple syrup) if you don't want a lot extra or have anything else to use it for. But if you're like me, I'm sure you can find something yummy to use it on!
Pistachios + Goji Berries. I use a coffee grinder to grind up my pistachios and goji berries into a "powder" consistency.
Making Popcorn. Microwave popcorn is bad, bad, bad. Try to use an air-popped popcorn maker or make it on the stovetop using the instructions below:
- Air-Popped Popcorn Maker: Add the kernels to the popcorn maker and follow the directions of your particular machine, since they vary.
- Stovetop Instructions: 2 tablespoons of organic, non-GMO popcorn kernels + 1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil, or just enough to cover the bottom of your pot. Cover the pot and use medium heat and do not leave unattended. After a few minutes when the coconut oil heats up, you will hear the kernels start to pop. Using an oven mitt, hold the handle of the pot and gently shake the pot. The kernels will continue to pop and just continue to shake the pot, keeping the lid on. Do this until all the kernels or popped. Don't leave it on the stove the entire time, the popcorn will burn...it's very important to keep shaking the pot and moving the hot kernels around. The popcorn/oil will be very hot so be careful removing it from the pot.
Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Drizzle Holiday Popcorn
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons organic non-GMO popcorn kernels (will make 4 cups popped popcorn)
For the add-ins:
- 2 tablespoons organic pistachios (ground)
- 2 tablespoons organic goji berries (ground)
For the cacao drizzle:
- 2 tablespoons Raw Chocolate Sauce
Instructions
- Prepare a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and set aside.
Prepare the popcorn:
- Prepare popcorn according to your machine or preferred method.
Prepare the add-ins:
- Add the add-ins separately to a coffee grinder and grind until they have a powder consistency. Set aside.
Prepare the raw chocolate sauce:
- Prepare the raw chocolate sauce per the recipe link above.
Assembly:
- Spread the popcorn onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Drizzle the raw chocolate sauce evenly over the popcorn.
- Sprinkle the ground pistachios and goji berries over the top.
- Transfer the pan to the refrigerator/freezer for about 5 minutes, or just long enough for the raw chocolate sauce to harden.
- Eat immediately or keep in an air-tight BPA-free container in the refrigerator because the raw chocolate sauce will begin to melt if let out a room temperature.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
Copyright Notice
The notes, instructions, and photographs for this recipe are copyrighted material and are protected under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA). They cannot be used legally without my written permission.
Want More Healthy Plant-Based Snack Recipes?
Check out these:
- Lemon Dill Kale Chips
- Superfood Fruit Nut and Seed Snack Mix
- Roasted Chickpeas with Chipotle and Lime
- or my CLEAN EATING Cookbook with 75+ plant-based vegan + gluten-free recipes made with clean, real food ingredients just like this one that you will love!
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