No film night would be complete without a good serving of fresh, warm popcorn. And if savoury is your thing, there’s no better snack than this moreish homemade smoky popcorn.

It’s the ultimate comfort food, conjuring up childhood memories with each crispy, fluffy handful. It’s also a great party snack or works well for just munching on as an afternoon nibble for a filling but low-calorie snack to keep you going until dinner.

And making them with rapeseed oil instead of butter is a great way to cut the saturated fat right down and is also a great source of essential omega-3 fatty acids.

Homemade popcorn is so much cheaper and healthier than the shop-bought or microwave stuff too, plus it means you can get experimental with the flavours! Try simply salted, curry, BBQ or even wasabi. Or for a sweet snack, cinnamon, chocolate, peanut butter or vanilla flavours all work really well!

Easy homemade smoky popcorn recipe (vegan)

Ingredients (serves 4):

1 cup popcorn kernels
4 Tbsp cold-pressed rapeseed oil
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cider vinegar

Method:

In a large pan with a lid, heat up 2 Tbsp of the oil over a medium heat.

Add the popcorn kernels and stir so that each kernel is coated. After a couple of minutes the kernels will begin to pop. No need to stir as the popping will create plenty of movement in the pan.

Top tip - keep the lid slightly ajar to allow steam to escape - it’ll keep the popcorn drier and crispier!

When the popping slows to around 2-3 seconds between each pop, take the pan off the heat (better to leave a few un-popped kernels than have burnt popcorn!)

Meanwhile, measure out the paprika, sugar, garlic, cumin and salt into a small bowl or a cup. Add the remaining 2 Tbsp of rapeseed oil and the vinegar, and stir to combine.

Slowly drizzle the smoky dressing over the popcorn, tossing to combine to get every piece flavoured. Best eaten while still warm, but will last for a few days in an airtight container.