Christmas Popcorn Balls

We love making Christmas treats for the holidays. These homemade popcorn balls are always on the list as they are the perfect no bake dessert. These marshmallow popcorn balls are loaded with fun red and green colors which makes them perfect for Christmas.

We attend a lot of holiday parties during the month of December and I love bring these popcorn balls. They make the perfect holiday gift and they tastes amazing. Instead of making cookies for you holiday gathering, make these festive popcorn balls. You may also love this recipe, Grinch Popcorn.

What are Popcorn Balls?

Popcorn balls are a fun treat to serve. They are staple holiday dessert and can easily be made for any occasion. You can change the M&M candies to any color and add your favorite sprinkles

Popcorn balls are chewy, sticky and so delicious. Make for a party or wrap up in cellophane gift back with ribbon to make the perfect holiday gift.

Some recipes call for melting marshmallows corn syrup, water, and powdered sugar in a saucepan. But all your need in this recipe is melted butter and marshmallows. Make these easy recipe for your next holiday party.

Ingredients

• Popcorn Popped – Use any type of popcorn that you prefer. We have even made this with store bought popcorn.
• Red and Green M&Ms – Use different colors of M&Ms
• Christmas Sprinkles – Change the sprinkles to the color that you prefer.

Scroll to the bottom for the full recipe in the recipe card.

Variation Ideas

• Rice Krispie Treats – We love a classic rice krispies treats and you can easily make with these ingredients. Just replace the popcorn with the cereal.
• Food Coloring – If you want to change the color of the popcorn, feel free to add in food coloring. This will make it even more of a fun holiday treat.
• White Chocolate – Melt white chocolate over medium heat in the microwave or stove top. Then drizzle white chocolate once you have formed the popcorn balls.
• Vanilla Extract – For a warm flavor to the popcorn balls, add in teaspoons of vanilla extract.
• Candy Canes – You can easily change the candy in this recipe. We love the look and flavor that it gives the popcorn balls when adding in crushed candy canes.
• Any Holiday – This recipe works for any holiday. Change the sprinkles to pastel for Easter or orange for Halloween.
• Decoration – You can add sprinkles and candy to the top instead of mixing in. Either option is fine or you can add them to both. Feel free to add in other ingredients such as chocolate, nuts, or pretzels.

How to Make Christmas Popcorn Balls

Step 1 – Prepare Popcorn – Place the popcorn in a large bowl and set aside. 

Step 2 – Melt butter and marshmallows – In a small pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat.  Once it’s fully melted, stir in the marshmallows. Heat on low, stirring often until marshmallows melt smooth. 

Step 3 – Pour over popcorn – Pour this mixture over the popcorn and gently stir to coat the popcorn with the mixture. 

Step 4 – Stir in M&Ms and Sprinkles – Then gently stir in the M&Ms and sprinkles. Once the mixture has cooled slightly and is able to be touched. Spray your hands with nonstick cooking spray. Working quickly, shape twelve 3-inch popcorn balls. 

• Step 5 – Cool, serve and enjoy – Cool completely.  Then the popcorn balls are ready to serve and enjoy!

Recipe Tips

• Cool Completely – Make sure that the marshmallow mixture cools slightly once it’s over the popcorn. Before stirring in the M&Ms and sprinkles as the heat can cause the candies to melt the sprinkles to bleed. 
• Forming the Balls – Before rolling the popcorn into balls, we recommend spraying hands with non stick cooking spray. This helps to prevent the popcorn mixture from sticking to your hands. You can even use wax paper instead.
• Mixing Ingredients – We recommend mixing the popcorn and marshmallow mixture in a large mixing bowl. If you mix in the large pot it could melt the candies that were added. You may need to use a rubber spatula to mix the ingredients.
• Popcorn – We used plain popped popcorn for this recipe as we feel it taste better in this recipe. Make sure you remove unpopped kernels if you make homemade popcorn.
• Scoop – If you have a large scoop, you could use it to scoop the popcorn mixture. This helps you to easily form into popcorn balls.

How Long does Popcorn Balls Last

Popcorn balls are best served fresh. But you can wrap in plastic wrap and store in an air tight container. This will help them last up to 5 days. If stored to long they can become soft and mushy.

How to Store Leftovers

Store the popcorn balls in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5-7 days.  

Can you Freeze Popcorn Balls?

Popcorn balls are best served fresh. But if you want them to last a little longer, you can freeze them. Wrap the popcorn balls in plastic wrap and foil and store in a freezer safe container.

They popcorn balls will last up to 2 months if stored properly.