Nutrition Facts on Popcorn: The Data You Need for Various Types of Popcorn

The History of Popcorn

Popcorn has been around for a long time and it is believed that the first use of it was, indeed, in its popped form. The oldest ears ever found of popcorn were located as early as 1948 in the New Mexico Bat Cave. These ears of corn are believed to be about 4,000 years old.

Sixteenth century Aztecs used popcorn in ceremonies and written accounts of Peruvian Indians of 1650 indicate they called it pisancalla and ‘used it as a confection.’

Popcorn was first mentioned in American media in 1880, and since then has been a favorite food, found in homes, stores, movie theaters, amusement parks, circuses, sporting events and many other places.

Popcorn Nutritional Data Note

While every brand and variety will have unique nutritional content, the following general nutrition facts on popcorn can be helpful in ascertaining the best choices for any particular dietary needs.

Air-Popped Popcorn

Air popping is one of the healthiest ways to prepare and enjoy popcorn. The following nutrition facts for popcorn illustrate why.

Air popped popcorn (plain), 1 cup: 31 calories, 0g fat, 0mg cholesterol, 1mg sodium, 6g carbohydrates, 1g protein and 1% daily value iron.

Top of Stove/ Oil Popped Popcorn

A traditional method for making popcorn is on a stovetop, using oil. The type of oil used can affect the taste of the popcorn as well as the nutritional content. The following is general nutrition facts on popcorn that has been oil popped.

Oil popped popcorn (no salt), 1 ounce: 146 calories, 8g fat, 0mg cholesterol, 1mg sodium, 16g carbohydrates, 3g protein, 1% daily value vitamin A and 4% daily value iron.

Microwaveable Popcorn

Microwaveable popcorn comes in a wide array of varieties from low fat, low sodium to extra buttery and kettle corn. The following are a few of the available varieties along with their nutrition facts.

Microwaveable popcorn (low fat, low sodium), 1 ounce: 120 calories, 3g fat, 0mg cholesterol, 137mg sodium, 21g carbohydrates, 4g protein, 1% daily value of vitamin A and 4% daily value of iron.

Microwaveable popcorn (94% fat free), 1 ounce: 113 calories, 2g fat, 0mg cholesterol, 176mg sodium, 21g carbohydrates, 3g protein, 1% daily value vitamin A and 4% daily value iron.

Microwaveable popcorn (regular butter, palm oil), 1 ounce: 148 calories, 8g fat, 0mg cholesterol, 216mg sodium, 16g carbohydrates, 2g protein, 1% daily value vitamin A, 1% daily value calcium and 4% daily value iron.

Other Types of Popcorn

There are other varieties of popcorn and popcorn snacks that consumers really enjoy. The following popcorn nutrition facts regarding flavored popcorn and popcorn snacks give general information regarding these delicious foods.

Caramel popcorn (fat free), 1 ounce: 107 calories, 0g fat, 0mg cholesterol, 80mg sodium, 25g carbohydrates, 1g protein, no daily value of vitamin A or C, 1% daily value calcium and 1% daily value iron.

Caramel popcorn (regular, no nuts), 1 ounce: 121 calories, 4g fat, 1mg cholesterol, 58mg sodium, 22g carbohydrates, 1g protein, 1% daily value calcium and 3% daily value iron.

Caramel popcorn (regular, with nuts), 1 ounce: 113 calories, 2g fat, 0mg cholesterol, 83mg sodium, 23g carbohydrates, 2g protein, 2% daily value calcium and 6% daily value iron.

Cheese-flavored popcorn, 1 cup: 58 calories, 4g fat, 1mg cholesterol, 98mg sodium, 6g carbohydrates, 1g protein, 1% daily value vitamin A, 1% daily value calcium and 1% daily value iron.

Popcorn cakes, 1 cake: 38 calories, 0g fat, 0mg cholesterol, 29mg sodium, 8g carbohydrates, 1 protein and 1% daily value iron.

Basic Popcorn Nutrition Facts and Data

If the kind of popcorn you are interested in is not listed above, one way to get a general idea of the nutritional value is to break down the popcorn into its basic components and add those numbers together.

The following is the nutritional information for the basic components used in a variety of popcorn types.

Industrial oil that is primarily used for popcorn has, per tablespoon, 119 calories, 14g fat, 0mg cholesterol, 0mg sodium, 0g carbohydrates and 0g protein. It has none of the recommended daily value for vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium or iron.

Unpopped popcorn kernels, 1 ounce: 105 calories, 1g fat, 2mg sodium, 21g carbohydrates, 3g protein and 5% daily value of iron.

Note: one tablespoon of unpopped popcorn kernels will make about 1 cup of popped popcorn.

Salt (table), 1 teaspoon: 0 calories, 0g fat, 0mg cholesterol, 2325mg sodium, 0 carbohydrates, 0 protein and 0% daily value of vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron.

Butter (salted), 1 tablespoon: 100 calories, 11g fat, 30mg cholesterol, 81mg sodium, 0g carbohydrates, 0g protein and 7% daily value vitamin A.

References

History of Popcorn. Popcorn.org. https://www.popcorn.org/AboutUs/PopcornPoppinMonth/HistoryofPopcorn/tabid/124/Default.aspx

Popcorn: Ingrained in America’s Agricultural History. Special Collections of the National Agricultural Library. https://www.nal.usda.gov/speccoll/images1/popcorn.html

Nutrition Data: popcorn. https://www.nutritiondata.com/foods-popcorn000000000000000000000.html

Salt nutrition data. https://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/spices-and-herbs/216/2

Butter nutrition data. https://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/0/2