You should be cautious about selecting a popcorn product at the store if you wish to avoid dairy. We say this because some popcorn products have dairy while other do not.
Any popcorn with ingredients like cheese, butter, caramel, or chocolate should quickly raise a red flag that the product likely has dairy. Cheese and butter are dairy products while caramel and chocolate often contain dairy ingredients like milk, cream, and/or butter.
Below you will find examples of the ingredients in microwave popcorn, ready-to-eat (bagged) popcorn, and popcorn kernels. Next to the ingredients we indicate whether each popcorn contains dairy. This information should give you a solid understanding about the dairy in popcorn.
Does Microwave Popcorn Contain Dairy?
Microwave popcorn commonly contains dairy but there are certainly non-dairy options available. We highly encourage you to review the actual product labels if you wish to avoid dairy since the dairy content varies. The label will offer the most accurate ingredient and allergen information.
Interestingly, Act II Butter Lovers has the word “butter” in its name yet its ingredients show no dairy ingredients. The allergen statement on the Act II website confirms that the product contains no food allergens. Be aware that product names are not always an indication of what is actual in the food.
Popcorn Product | Dairy Ingredients (Yes or No)? | Ingredients |
---|---|---|
Pop Secret – Homestyle | Yes | Popcorn, Palm Oil, Salt, Natural Flavor (Milk), Rosemary Extract (for Freshness), Lactic Acid. |
Pop Secret – Movie Theater Butter | Yes | Popcorn, Palm Oil, Salt, Natural Flavor (Milk), Rosemary Extract (for Freshness), Annatto Extract (Color), Paprika Extract (Color), Lactic Acid. |
Orville Redenbacher’s – Naturals | No | Whole Grain Popping Corn, Palm Oil, Salt, Mixed Tocopherols (Vitamin E for freshness). |
Orville Redenbacher’s – Ultimate Butter | Yes | Whole Grain Popping Corn, Palm Oil, Salt, Butter, Natural Flavor, Color Added (Annatto), Mixed Tocopherols (Vitamin E For Freshness). |
ACT II – Kettle Corn | No | Popping Corn, Palm Oil, Less Than 2% Of: Salt, Sucralose, TBHQ and Citric Acid (For Freshness). |
ACT II – Butter Lovers | No | Popping Corn, Palm Oil, Salt, Less Than 2% Of: Natural Flavor, Color Added (Annatto), TBHQ and Citric Acid (For Freshness). |
Jolly Time – Simply Popped Butter | Yes | Non-GMO Popcorn, Palm Oil, Clarified Butter, Sea Salt, Rosemary Extract (To Preserve Freshness). |
Jolly Time – Healthy Pop 100s | No | Non-GMO Popcorn, Palm Oil, Salt, Dextrin, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Sucralose, Food Starch-modified, Soy Lecithin, Annatto For Color, Ascorbic Acid To Preserve Freshness. |
Quinn – Butter & Sea Salt | Yes | Organic Non-GMO Popcorn Kernels, Organic High Oleic Sunflower Oil, Butter Powder (Cream, Salt, Buttermilk), Sea Salt. |
Great Value – Light Butter | Yes | Popcorn, Palm Oil, Salt, Natural Flavors, Rosemary Extract (to preserve freshness), Color Added, Ascorbic Acid (to preserve freshness), Butter (cream, salt). |
Kroger – 94% Fat Free | Yes | Popcorn, Palm Oil, Salt, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Soy Lecithin, Beta Carotene (For Color). |
Bagged (Ready-To-Eat) Popcorn & Dairy
Similar to microwave popcorn, ready-to-eat popcorn may or may not contain dairy. Again, be sure to read the actual popcorn product labels for bagged popcorn if avoiding dairy is important to you. Plain or just salted bagged popcorn are generally what you want to look for if you are seeking dairy-free options.
Popcorn Product | Dairy Ingredients (Yes or No)? | Ingredients |
---|---|---|
Skinny Pop – Popcorn | No | Popcorn, Sunflower Oil, Salt. |
Skinny Pop – Real Butter | Yes | Popcorn, Sunflower Oil, Organic Whey, Organic Butter, Organic Non-fat Dry Milk, Salt, Natural Flavors. |
Smartfood – White Cheddar | Yes | Popcorn, Vegetable Oil (Corn, Canola, And/Or Sunflower Oil), Natural Flavors, Whey, Maltodextrin (Made From Corn), Buttermilk, Cheddar Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Salt. |
Lesser Evil – Organic Himalayan Pink Salt | No | Organic Non-GMO Popcorn, Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Himalayan Salt. |
Boom Chicka Pop – Sweet & Salty | No | Popcorn, Non-GMO Sunflower Oil and/or Non-GMO Canola Oil, Cane Sugar, Sea Salt. |
G.H. Cretors – Caramel | Yes | Brown Sugar, Cane Sugar, Popcorn, Salted Butter (Pasteurized Sweet Cream, Salt), Brown Rice Syrup, Vegetable Oil (Sunflower, Safflower, Corn and/or Canola), Sea Salt, Soy Lecithin, Baking Soda. |
Popcornopolis – Double Drizzle | Yes | Popcorn, Cane Sugar, Chocolate Flavored Icing (Sugar, Palm Kernel Oil), Cocoa, Milk Powder, Soy Lecithin, Vanilla), Vanilla Flavored Icing (Sugar, Palm Kernel Oil, Whey, Nonfat Milk, Soy Lecithin, Natural Flavor, Vanilla), Brown Sugar, Coconut Oil, Tapioca Syrup, Butter (Cream, Salt), Sunflower Oil, Sea Salt, Baking Soda, Sunflower Lecithin, Vanilla Flavor, Natural Flavor. |
Werther’s Original – Caramel | Yes | Sugar, Popcorn, Glucose Syrup (from Wheat or Corn), Butterfat, Cream, Whey, Butter, Contains Less Than 2% of Salt, Sugar Cane Syrup, Sunflower Oil, Soy Lecithin Emulsifier, Artificial Flavor. |
Cheetos – Cheddar Flavored Popcorn | Yes | Popcorn, Vegetable Oil (Corn, Canola and/or Sunflower Oil), Cheese Seasoning (Whey, Cheddar Cheese [Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes], Canola Oil, Maltodextrin [Made from Corn], Natural and Artificial Flavors, Salt, Whey Protein Concentrate, Monosodium Glutamate, Lactic Acid, Citric Acid, and Artificial Color [Yellow 6]), and Salt. |
Valley Pop – Tender White W/ Sea Salt | No | Popcorn, Coconut Oil, Salt. |
Valley Pop – Cheddar Cheese | Yes | Popcorn, Coconut Oil, Cheddar Cheese (Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes), Whey, Buttermilk Solids, Salt, Beta Carotene (Color). |
Good & Gather – Organic Olive Oil & Himalayan Salt | No | Organic Popcorn, Organic Olive Oil, Himalayan Pink Salt. |
Old Dutch -White Popcorn | No | Popcorn, Sunflower And/Or Canola Oil, Salt. |
Popcorn Kernels
Popcorn kernels are general a good options for people on dairy-free diets because they are simply just popcorn kernels (seeds). Popcorn kernels are dairy-free assuming nothing else is added to them. All popcorn kernel products below contained no dairy ingredients at the time of this article.
Popcorn Kernel Product | Dairy Ingredients (Yes or No)? | Ingredients |
---|---|---|
Orville – White Corn Kernels | No | Whole Grain Popping Corn. |
Jolly Time – Select Premium Yellow Popcorn | No | 100% Whole Grain Non-GMO Yellow Pop Corn. |
Pop Secret – Jumbo Kernels | No | Popping Corn. |
Bob Red Mill – White Popcorn Kernels | No | Whole Grain White Popcorn. |
Quinn – Popcorn Kernels | No | Butterfly Popcorn Kernels. |
Snappy – Yellow Popcorn | No | Yellow Popcorn Kernels. |
Market Pantry – Yellow Kernels | No | Popcorn. |
Kroger – White Popcorn | No | White Popcorn. |
Simple Truth – 100% Whole Grain Purple Popcorn | No | Purple Popcorn. |
Meijer – Yellow Popping Corn | No | Yellow Popcorn. |