When I found my way into my popcorn era, I soon realized that there were a shockingly large number of microwave popcorn brands out there. The shelves are crowded with brands promising buttery bliss, clean labels or movie-theater nostalgia, and too many of them miss the mark. After one too many disappointing bowls, I decided it was time to find out which ones were actually worth buying.To find the best microwave popcorn, I tried 14 different buttery brands. Some results I expected, one budget option genuinely surprised me and one popular name landed far closer to the bottom than I expected. Here's what you need to know before your next snacking session.Related: The 'World’s Best' Way to Make Buttered Popcorn, According to Andrew Zimmern (and His Son)?? SIGN UP to get delicious recipes, handy kitchen hacks & more in our daily Parade Eats newsletter. ??
How I Chose These Microwave Popcorn Brands
To keep the comparison fair, I focused exclusively on butter-flavored microwave popcorn, using it as a baseline across all brands. I selected options that were easy to find at major grocery stores and big-box retailers, including store brands and national names. Organic and conventional versions were included, but stovetop-only popcorn was excluded to keep the test squarely focused on microwave convenience.
Courtesy Angel Albring
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How I Tested the Microwave Popcorn
Each bag was prepared according to package directions and cooked until the popping slowed, not stopped completely. After opening, I took note of the unpopped kernels to see if any bags had more than expected. Flavor, saltiness, butter quality and texture all factored into the rankings. I paid attention to stale notes, artificial tastes and any flavors that were not quite right or lingered after a few bites.
Courtesy Angel Albring
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Courtesy Angel Albring
14 Popular Microwave Popcorn Brands, Ranked Worst to Best
14. 365 by Whole Foods Market Microwave Popcorn, $4.79 ($1.60/bag)
Courtesy Angel Albring
The ingredients are organic popcorn, organic expeller pressed palm oil, salt and organic natural flavor, which I assume must be what's reading as soy to me. I might be more sensitive to this ingredient than others, but this brand landed at the bottom for me.
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13. Boom Chicka Pop Microwave Popcorn, $4.58 (.76/bag)
Courtesy Angel Albring
I really like this brand in the pre-popped bagged form, but the texture of the microwave version was not great. The popcorn tasted oddly flat and slightly sweet, almost like stale cereal, with very little butter flavor. It felt more like an overly healthy snack than a comfort food.
12. Market Pantry Microwave Popcorn, $3.12 (.52/bag)
Courtesy Angel Albring
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11. Nature’s Promise Organic Microwave Popcorn, $2.50 (.83/bag)
Courtesy Angel Albring
This was another brand with a soy-like flavor, though it was less pronounced. While it avoided the chemical notes I tasted in the 365 popcorn, the overall taste was muted and lacked both salt and butter depth. There was just a slight hint of salt.
10. Skinnygirl Microwave Popcorn, $4 (.40/bag)
Courtesy Angel Albring
The biggest problem here was the absence of flavor. It tasted like plain air-popped popcorn, with barely any salt or butter to speak of. The texture was also slightly chewy. Another thing to note about this brand is that each box contains 10 mini bags, which are about 1.5 ounces vs. the 3- to 3.5-ounce bags that are more common with microwave popcorn.
9. ACT II Microwave Popcorn, $2.19 (.73/bag)
Courtesy Angel Albring
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8. Giant Microwave Popcorn, $2.79 (.47/bag)
Courtesy Angel Albring
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7. Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn, $3.69 (.62/bag)
Courtesy Angel Albring
This is a classic option and has that familiar microwave popcorn flavor with a decent crunch. While it didn't stand out as something special, it delivered a reliable bowl of popcorn. This was also the only brand that had "double butter," although I don't think it offered more butter flavor than some of the others. This brand also had a large number of unpopped kernels in the bag.
6. SkinnyPop Microwave Popcorn, $5.24 (.87/bag)
Courtesy Angel Albring
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5. Orville Redenbacher’s Microwave Popcorn, $4 (.67/bag)
Courtesy Angel Albring
This classic brand also featured a large number of unpopped kernels, but the ones that did pop were consistently fluffy with balanced butter and salt. Good ol' Orville delivered exactly what you expect in microwave popcorn, making it a dependable choice.
4. Great Value Microwave Popcorn, $1.62 (.54/bag)
Courtesy Angel Albring
This Walmart store brand contender was a genuine surprise. It was one of the cheaper brands I tried, but the flavor hit that nostalgic microwave popcorn note, with solid butter flavor, a nice saltiness and good crunch.
3. Clancy’s Microwave Popcorn, $4.95 (.41/bag)
Courtesy Angel Albring
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2. Jolly Time Microwave Popcorn, $3.69 (.62/bag)
Courtesy Angel Albring
This brand feels like a premium snack, thanks to the balance of sweet cream butter flavor and sea salt. The popcorn was fluffy, rich and indulgent without being greasy or heavy. It wasn't bright yellow, like some of the other options, which also made it feel like a more natural (dare I say refined?) snack.
1. Kirkland Signature Microwave Popcorn, $16.99 (.39/bag)
Courtesy Angel Albring
Bonus: I can buy 44 bags at a time, which means my family and I are set for a while on the snack front, plus it's a great value. Winner, winner, popcorn snack dinner!
Final Thoughts
After testing these 14 butter-flavored microwave popcorn brands, the differences were impossible to ignore. Some bowls were weighed down by artificial flavors or stale textures, while others delivered the balance of salt, butter and crunch that makes popcorn such a reliable snack. Some, sadly, had very little flavor at all.
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