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Nov 06, 2024

9 Healthy Microwave Popcorn Brands, According to Dietitians

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Microwave popcorn is the perfect low-calorie snack that's crunchy, salty, and sometimes sweet, making it a perfect movie night treat. While popcorn on its own is a healthy, whole-grain, low-calorie, high-fiber snack, not all microwave popcorn is created equal. The ingredients, oils, and seasonings added by some brands can turn this nutritious snack into something far less healthy, leading many to wonder if microwave popcorn is bad for you.

When choosing the healthiest microwave popcorn, pay attention to ingredients and nutrition labels to avoid excessive oils, sodium, and saturated fat. Luckily, you don't have to figure it out alone. We asked dietitians for their top tips on selecting healthy microwave popcorn, and we've compiled a list of the best and worst options on the market.

Read on for dietitian-recommended picks for the healthiest microwave popcorn brands and which ones to avoid. And for more, check out 23 High-Protein Snacks To Stay Full & Energized All Day.

From key nutritional standards to potential red flags, we consulted the following experts to break down the criteria for choosing healthy microwave popcorn brands:

Choosing the healthiest microwave popcorn that you also enjoy boils down to a few key factors.

A Note On Diacetyl: Gans tells us that "most ingredients that one should be wary of are actually ingredients that are mostly no longer used in microwave popcorn. Specifically, [manufacturers stopped using] a butter flavoring, diacetyl, that had been associated with an increase in lung damage."

"This popcorn is made with non-GMO popcorn kernels, sea salt, and sunflower oil," says Best. "It has only 35 milligrams of sodium and 1.5 grams of saturated fat per serving. It also contains no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives."

"This is my top pick for healthiest microwave popcorn because it only contains popcorn and/or sea salt!" says Fox. "With minimal ingredients and nothing crazy processed, 365 by Whole Foods Market, Organic No Oil or Salt Microwave Popcorn is a great low-sodium popcorn treat. [Popcorn] doesn't have to be flavorless to be healthy! Get creative and dress up your popcorn by adding some toppings like extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil, your favorite seasonings, etc!"

"Newman's Own Touch of Butter has half the total AND saturated fat content than most leading microwave popcorn brands and no artificial flavors," says Martin.

"If you can't deal with 'no salt', definitely try Black Jewell No Salt No Oil Microwave Hulless Popcorn as it has some sodium, but not enough to be of any health concerns," says registered dietitian Jonathan Valdez, RDN, CDN, owner of Genki Nutrition and spokesperson for New York State Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

SkinnyPop Microwave Sea Salt Popcorn contains just four ingredients: popcorn, sunflower oil, palm oil, and sea salt, earing this option a place on our list of healthy microwave popcorns. It's low in sodium, fat, and saturated fat, and is entirely non-GMO and gluten free.

"For butter lovers, 365 Everyday Value Organic Popcorn, Light Butter should hit the spot with its natural butter flavor. And it has less than 200 mg of sodium," says Gans.

"Angie's BoomChickaPop Real Butter Microwave Popcorn has just 4 simple ingredients and is one of the few brands that has actual butter in it, instead of butter flavor," says Charlotte Martin, MS, RDN, CSOWM, CPT, owner of Shaped By Charlotte.

If you need a low-calorie popcorn, opt for Healthy Heart Market Popcorn No Salt. "This popcorn has zero grams of saturated fat and is very low in calories," says Valdez.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

"Although this option has the normal 5 grams of saturated fat you see with a lot of other brands, I wanted to include this as a top option for kettle corn fanatics, as it is a great alternative option for sweet & salty flavor," says Fox. "It contains minimal ingredients, and the main benefit is that it doesn't use artificial sweeteners as a source of sugar. Although it does have a little bit of sugar, it's very minimal at 1 gram per serving."

"Jolly Time The Big Cheez contains a long list of ingredients that don't seem necessary given that there are plenty of microwaveable popcorn options with just a few simple ingredients," says Martin. "I also try to stay away from artificial flavors when possible, and many microwaveable popcorn options are free of them."

"Pop-Secret Sweet 'N Crunchy Caramel Popcorn is low in protein and fiber, and high in saturated fat," says Valdez.

"This popcorn is the lowest I found in both fiber and protein, at 0 grams each," says Valdez.

"Jolly Time, Blast O Butter Ultimate Theatre Style Butter has a whopping 5 grams of saturated fat in one serving," says Fox. "In addition, it contains processed oils/ingredients, natural flavors (which can mean a wide variety of things that are not actually natural), as well as artificial flavors, and preservatives."

"Jolly Time KettleMania is filled with additives, including modified food starch, dextrin, and more," says Fox. "It also contains sugar as well as artificial sweeteners, preservatives, and more."

"Pop Secret Kettle Corn might seem like a better alternative compared to Jolly Time's (which I would technically agree that it is), but I also wanted to include it on this list to point out the 'not so great' ingredients that it does have," says Fox. "Although it has a lot less processed ingredients, it does use artificial sugar for its sweet taste and, like many other brands, uses processed oils. It also has almost 5g of saturated fat, which can add up when consumed in excess."

"With Act II 94% Fat-Free Butter, in particular, I really want to highlight that just because something is marketing as a 'health' or 'weight loss' item, doesn't mean it's the healthiest option. Yes, this flavor does contain less saturated fat, and I think that's awesome, but I often find that many people only focus on the numbers and not the ingredients," says Fox. "When you compare this to many other popcorn brands (some of which I've already named), it has the same unhealthy ingredients, just less of them."

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This story has been updated to include additional entries, fact-checking, and copy-editing.

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