You don’t have to go to a quaint fall festival or apple orchard to get the best caramel corn. That’s great news for me, since I no longer live in the Northeast, aka the autumnal capital of the U.S. I live in the land of 85 degrees and sunny. So, when I feel the need for caramel corn puffs, I have nowhere to turn to but the grocery store.
Luckily, there are some very good caramel corn puffs available. I tried six different brands of both classic caramel corn and caramel corn and cheese popcorn mixes. And four of them are worth seeking out. When searching for the best caramel corn to buy, I looked for a crunchy outer coating of caramel and an airy, crisp popcorn exterior—no stale, chewy popcorn allowed! The caramel should also taste like caramel, not just sugar. That means it needs to have a brown buttery quality. And if there’s cheese in the mix, that should be seriously savory in order to complement the sweetness of the caramel corn.
Here’s the best caramel corn to buy at the grocery store, no matter the season.
- Cretors Cheese & Caramel Mix
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If you’re not up for investing in one of those huge cans of Chicago mix, as it’s known, this is the best caramel corn/cheese popcorn mix you can buy. First of all, the popcorn puffs are massive. The cheesy popcorn is good. It’s nice and savory. The caramel popcorn isn’t quite as good as the cheddar popcorn, but it has a nice crunch, which other brands don’t. This is the best mix we tried and it comes in a reasonably sized bag.
Related: Best Microwave Popcorn
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- Cretors Caramel
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Cretors enters the ring once again with gigantic caramel popcorn puffs. These caramel corn puffs are decadent and extremely rich. They have a delicious, brown buttery caramel flavor. You really don’t need much of this to satiate a sweet tooth—a handful is more than enough. If you’re craving candy, this is the best caramel corn to buy.
Related: Best Bagged Popcorn
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- Popcornopolis Caramel & Kettle Popcorn Mix
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Here’s what I loved about Popcornopolis caramel corn: It’s made with buttered popcorn. So you get a delicious sweet and salty mix. The actual caramel coating on the caramel corn puffs is thinner than some of the others we tried, but it still gives you a sugary crunch that gives way to salty popcorn. It’s more of a caramelized puff corn than a caramel-coated popcorn. It’s the best caramel corn brand for snacking on by the handful.
Related: Best Popcorn Seasonings
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- Werther’s Original Caramel Popcorn
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Werther’s makes more than every stereotypical old person’s favorite theater treat; they also make the best caramel corn. The caramel corn puffs are a nice size—not too big, not too small. And they have full caramel coverage with great crunch. But the real win is the flavor. It really tastes like Werther’s caramel-coated popcorn with a hint of underlying saltiness that keeps you coming back for puff after puff. Bring this to the theater instead, grandma.
Related: Best Popcorn and Candy Pairings
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Best Cheese & Caramel
Best Almost Candy
Best Salty-Sweet
Best of the Best
Other caramel corn brands we tried: Gold Emblem Gourmet Cheddar Caramel Popcorn, Crunch ‘n Munch Caramel Popcorn with Peanuts