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May 20, 2023

People Can't Stop Talking About This Lemony Sea Salt Popcorn

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When the craving for a salty, crunchy snack strikes, popcorn always satisfies. Endlessly customizable, popcorn can be sweet and salty, spicy and salty, or even acidic and salty, depending on the seasonings you use. Whatever your tastes, there's a flavored popcorn recipe for you!

This week, TikToker Leah (@leels_) introduced us to another slightly sour, super savory popcorn blend to try: lemon sea salt popcorn. So far, her tutorial on lemon popcorn has received over 20 million views and 3 million likes. Here's how she makes lemon popcorn, plus our tips on add-ins to elevate the snack even further.

In Leah's video below, she starts by explaining the inspiration behind her "new obsession snack": "Yesterday, somebody gave me a lemony piece of popcorn, and I have not stopped thinking about it!" To begin, she says that you need "buttery popcorn, sea salt, lemon [juice], and lemon zest." (As a side note, the lack of sweet ingredients here differentiates the recipe from Lemon Cloud Popcorn.)

The first step is to zest the lemon. Leah admits she doesn't have a zester, so she uses what looks like a tiny pastry wheel. She then adds pink sea salt to the bowl of lemon zest.

To compose the snack, she dumps a hot bag of microwaved popcorn into a large bowl, then tosses it with the lemon zest-sea salt mixture. Finally, she squeezes the juice of half a lemon over the popcorn and gives it one last toss.

At the end of the video she explains, "It might have been easier to just use lemon salt, but this is so good," then gleefully tosses another piece in her mouth.

To take lemon sea salt popcorn to the next level, try adding in a heavy grind of fresh black pepper. Alternatively, you can always use a lemon-pepper seasoning instead of lemon zest and juice as a shortcut.

Another delicious add-in is rosemary. Try a sprinkle of dried rosemary in the lemon popcorn, or purchase a lemon-herb seasoning blend to shake on anytime. You can also make your own herb blends with our recipes for Rosemary-Lemon Sea Salt and Savory Popcorn Seasoning.