Since we can't have dairy in our food right now I have avoided snack foods like popcorn altogether. There are so many, many preservatives and carcinogens in store-bought microwave popcorn anyway so I just put finding a recipe on the back burner (no pun intended!).
Until now. I recently read and fell in love with Eivin and Eve Kilcher's cookbook Homestead Kitchen. Out of many of their nutritious yet comforting recipes, I was inspired by this one.
Obviously it has been adjusted slightly to fit our family's needs but I'm sure that it is just as delicious as the original. Of course, this can easily be adapted with real melted butter instead of olive oil. Enjoy!
Cheesy Vegan Popcorn
1 tbsp olive oil, plus more for seasoning
1 tsp sea salt, plus more for seasoning
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
3/4 cup popcorn
In a 6 qt. pot with a tight fitting lid (keep the lid off for now) add oil and salt over medium-low heat. Add ONE kernel of popcorn and wait until it pops. Usually this takes 3-4 mins. Once it pops, immediately pour in all of the popcorn, put the lid on and remove from the stove, while moving the pot quickly in a swirling motion so that the popcorn can roll around in the oil and salt. After 30 seconds, put the pot back on the stove and wait. The popcorn will take a couple of minutes but will start popping. Leave on the stove with the lid tightly fitted on until it has been 30 seconds since you have heard the last pop.
Take off the heat and pour into a serving bowl. Drizzle olive oil or melted butter and sprinkle with salt and nutritional yeast and stir.
Serve and enjoy!