Sweet, fun, and just the right amount of spooky—Halloween Popcorn Balls are a festive favorite for parties, trick-or-treaters, or movie night snacks. Packed with crunchy popcorn, gooey marshmallow, and fun Halloween mix-ins, these nostalgic treats are easy to make and even easier to customize.
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Why This Recipe Works
Make-Ahead: Stays fresh for days when stored properly
Simple: Uses just a few pantry staples and comes together quickly
Fun: A hands-on treat kids love to help shape and decorate
Festive: Perfect base for Halloween sprinkles, candy eyes, or colored drizzle
Portable: Individually portioned and easy to wrap for parties or gifts
Customizable: Add in candy corn, mini chocolate chips, or crushed cookies
Popcorn has been my favorite treat since I was a kid! Make sure to check out my Buffalo Wing Popcorn and, Chocolate Drizzled Popcorn, and Christmas Popcorn too!
What You Need for This Recipe
- Popcorn- This recipe uses 2 bags of buttered microwave popcorn! So easy!
- Marshmallows- I like using miniture marshmallow because they melt faster and more evenly. Large/regular marshmallows will work fine too if that's what you have.
- Butter- Just like my delicious Rice Krispies treat recipe, butter is a key component to the taste and structure of these balls. You can use salted or unsalted.
- Food Gel Coloring- For these popcorn balls, I used Neon Green Food Gel, but you can use any color you like (or no color!).
- Candies and Sprinkles- I used Halloween colored M&Ms and sprinkles, but use any combo of your favorite mix-ins!
Substitutions and Variations
Popcorn- Use kernels cooked in an air popper or pop the kernels in a pot with some oil on the stove. You want about 18-20 cups of popped popcorn in the end, which is equivalent to ~½ cup of kernels.
Color- I love using the neon green food gel coloring, but it's fun to divide the marshmallow mixture and color it purple, orange, or any other fun Halloween colors!
Mix-Ins- Use any combination of sprinkles, candies, cereal, nuts, or pretzels to make the popcorn balls exactly to your liking.
How to Make Halloween Popcorn Balls:
- Step 1: Pop popcorn and remove kernels. I like to sift the unpropped kernels out by placing the popcorn on a wire rack so they fall through the holes.
- Step 2: Melt butter and marshmallows over low heat then stir in food coloring.
- Step 3: Stir popcorn and marshmallows together.
- Step 4: Stir in M&Ms and sprinkles.
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- Step 5: Roll into balls, then press more sprinkles and candies onto the outside of the ball.
- Step 6: Let cool and enjoy!
Best Popcorn Ball Tips
Removing Unpopped Kernels: If you place a cooling rack on a rimmed baking sheet, then pour the popcorn over it, the kernels will fall through the cooling rack, leaving you with just the popcorn. It’s that easy!
Shaping Into Balls: I like to shape a few popcorn balls, then go back and repress the first few I made. Sometimes I have to repress the popcorn balls several times- until the marshmallow is set up enough.
Frequently Asked Questions
I recommend the gel food coloring. You can find this at most grocery stores in the cake decorating aisle or on Amazon.
Gel food coloring tends to mix better into things and is much more vibrant.
That depends on how big you make the balls. If you make small mandarin-sized popcorn balls, you can get 20 or more.
I like to make medium-sized popcorn balls, which result in 12-15 balls.
Keep popcorn balls in an airtight container. You don't need to refrigerate. Eat within a week of making for the freshest popcorn taste.
More Fun Halloween Recipes
For more fun and easy Halloween recipes, don't miss my Cauldron Cocktail, Spider Cookies, these fun Spooky Shots (make fun non-alcoholic versions for the kids!), Witches Fingers, Black Cat Cookies, Spider Web Brownies, and these Monster Rice Krispies Treats!
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Halloween Popcorn Balls
Ingredients
- 2 envelopes of microwave popcorn popped, ~18 cups popped popcorn
- 8 cups miniature marshmallows
- ½ cup butter
- Neon Green Food Coloring Gel
- 1½ cups M&M’s – Halloween colors
- Halloween Sprinkles
Instructions
- Pop popcorn, then remove any unpopped kernels. I like to pour the popcorn over a cooling rack, which lets the kernels fall through. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.2 envelopes of microwave popcorn
- Spray an extra-large mixing bowl with nonstick cooking spray, and add popcorn.
- In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, melt marshmallows and butter, stirring constantly until melted.8 cups miniature marshmallows, ½ cup butter
- When melted, add in 2-3 drops of neon green food coloring and stir thoroughly. Add more coloring if needed.Neon Green Food Coloring Gel
- Pour over popcorn and stir with a rubber spatula until popcorn is completely coated.
- Add M&M’s and sprinkles, stir to distribute evenly. Spray hands with cooking spray and shape into balls- as big or little as you want them to be. If your hands start to get sticky, just respray them.1½ cups M&M’s – Halloween colors, Halloween Sprinkles
- Once formed, roll in more sprinkles. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets until cool and set up. You may need to go back and reshape them every few minutes until they set up completely.
Notes
- Removing Unpopped Kernels: If you place a cooling rack on a rimmed baking sheet, then pour the popcorn over it, the kernels will fall through the cooling rack, leaving you with just the popcorn. It’s that easy!
- Shaping Into Balls: I like to shape a few popcorn balls, then go back and repress the first few I made. Sometimes I have to repress the popcorn balls several times, until the marshmallow is set up enough.
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