Does Popcorn Have Dairy? (Answered)

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).

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 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.