Patriotic Popcorn Cake is a gorgeous and colorful dessert! Get ready to celebrate any of our upcoming patriotic holidays like Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day with an ooey, gooey, sticky, and sweet Patriotic Popcorn Cake.
This red white and blue fun recipe is put together in just 10 minutes! Then all you have to do is let it chill for half an hour.
Patriotic Popcorn Cake
Easy recipes are my favorite! And this treat is perfect for barbecues, get-togethers, pool parties, and a last-minute bake sale. They’ll surely be a hit just like our fantastic Rainbow Rice Krispie Treats that everyone loves. It’s so popular the kids will want this festive treat at your next movie night.
Looking for more Fourth of July Desserts? You’ve got to make these American Flag Cupcakes too!
Why You’ll Love Patriotic Popcorn Cake
Red, White and Blue Popcorn Cake is a great treat for summertime when you don’t want to turn on the oven! This is a wonderful no-bake cake recipe that you simply can’t resist. It’s a fun Memorial Day weekend simple dessert that is great with a nice cold scoop of ice cream!
No bake desserts are one of my favorite ways to get kids involved in the kitchen. Ones that are a little sticky are fun for them too! Plus I don’t have to do all the ooey, gooey sticky handling for this red, white and blue holiday dessert.
This yummy popcorn will also look fabulous on the dessert table.
Recipe Ingredients
You only need 5 simple ingredients to take this colorful dessert recipe.
POPPED POPCORN: Pick whatever popcorn you love: microwave popcorn, air popper popcorn, kettlecorn, premade bags of popcorn, etc. They’ll all work just fine and once it’s popped pour it in a large bowl.
MINI MARSHMALLOWS: Plain miniature marshmallows or fruity ones will do fine. You can also add in some melted white chocolate chips.
BUTTER: We’ll be melting the butter, so let it set out to room temperature and slightly softened first. I used salted butter but if you’re watching your sodium intake, you can use unsalted butter.
RED AND BLUE FOOD COLORING: To color the butter and marshmallow mixture. You can also go above and beyond and use blue candy melts and red melts to bring more sweet flavors.
RED AND BLUE M&Ms: Patriotic m&m’s are the perfect thing to bring some fun feels to this festive marshmallow popcorn cake. Feel free to use the red, white and blue m&ms. I just didn’t use the white ones, but they would look great added.
Directions
It looks like a lot of steps to this recipe, but your essentially repeating the same steps several times to create the layers of the patriotic popcorn cake. It’ll come together really fast!
STEP 1: Place your popped pop corn in a large bowl and set aside. Discard any unpopped kernels.
STEP 2: Melt 1/3 of the marshmallows and 1/3 of the softened butter together in a big bowl that’s microwave-safe. Heat in 30-second increments and stir until smooth in between intervals.
STEP 3: Add a few drops of blue food coloring until you’ve reached your desired shade of blue.
STEP 4: Stir in 1/3 of the popcorn. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir the popcorn into the colored marshmallows until it’s completely coated.
STEP 5: Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.
STEP 6: Wet your hands or spray them with nonstick cooking spray and use them to press the mixture into the pan. The blue layer goes on the bottom.
STEP 7: Repeat the same process with another third of the melted marshmallow mixture to create the white layer.
STEP 8: Press the white layer on top of the blue popcorn layer.
STEP 9: Repeat the process one more time using the last remaining third of the butter, marshmallows and popcorn to create the red layer.
STEP 10: Press the red popcorn on top of the other two layers to make a 3 layer patriotic popcorn cake.
STEP 9: Finish the treat by sprinkling the red and blue M&Ms over top of the layers and press them down gently.
STEP 10: Put the dish in the fridge for 30 minutes to set.
STEP 11: Cut the popcorn cake into squares with a serrated knife and place on a serving tray.
How to Store Leftovers
Place any leftover Patriotic Popcorn Cake in an airtight container with parchment paper separating multiple layers of the popcorn treat. Store your treat in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
You can also store the easy dessert in the dish you made it in and just cover it tightly with plastic wrap in the refrigerator.
What Extra Treats Can You Add on Top?
There are so many fun things to add to this patriotic popcorn marshmallow cake! Feel free to pump up this dessert to make this snack mix even more exciting.
- peanuts
- caramel
- melted white chocolate to make patriotic white chocolate popcorn
- pretzels
- peanut butter
- milk chocolate drizzle
- chocolate candies
- patriotic themed red, white and blue sprinkles
Helpful Tips and Tricks
- Instead of a baking dish, you can use a bundt pan for a really pretty presentation.
- You can also get the little flag and star toothpick decorations or the cute patriotic picks and stick them all around your dessert to take it up a notch.
- You can also put individual serving size portions in cellophane bags for party favors.
Making a Patriotic Popcorn Cake is so easy and fun for all the favorite holidays when you want the perfect color scheme. It’s a a fun way to incorporate red white and blue recipes into a tasty treat! Bonus, it only takes about a half hour and it’s so scrumptious.
Watch how quickly this yummy red white and blue 4th of July popcorn will become a holiday favorite at your next party!
Patriotic Popcorn Cake
Patriotic Popcorn Cake is a gorgeous and colorful dessert! Get ready to celebrate any of our upcoming patriotic holidays like Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day with an ooey, gooey, sticky, and sweet Patriotic Popcorn Cake. This red white and blue fun recipe is ready in just 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- 4 quarts Popped Popcorn
- 10 ounces mini marshmallows
- 1/2 cup Butter, softened
- Red Food Coloring
- Blue Food Coloring
- 1/2 cup red and blue M&Ms
Instructions
- Place popped pop corn in a large bowl and set aside. Discard any unpopped kernels.
- Melt 1/3 of the marshmallows and 1/3 of the softened butter together in a big bowl that's microwave-safe. Heat in 30-second increments and stir until smooth in between intervals.
- Add a few drops of blue food coloring until you've reached your desired shade of blue.
- Stir in 1/3 of the popcorn. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir the popcorn into the colored marshmallows until it's completely coated.
- Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.
- Wet your hands or spray hands with nonstick cooking spray and use them to press the mixture into the pan. The blue layer goes on the bottom.
- Repeat the same process with another 1/3 of the melted marshmallow mixture to create the white layer.
- Press the white layer on top of the blue popcorn layer.
- Repeat the process one more time using the last remaining third of the butter, marshmallows and popcorn to create the red layer.
- Press the red popcorn on top of the other two layers to make a 3 layer patriotic popcorn cake.
- Finish the treat by sprinkling red and blue M&Ms on top of the layers and press them down gently.
- Put the dish in the fridge for 30 minutes to set.
- Cut the patriotic popcorn cake into squares with a serrated knife and place on a serving tray.
Notes
See recipe posts for tips and variations.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
-
M&M's Red, White & Blue Mix Milk Chocolate Candy Value Pack, 62 oz. ( 1 PACK ) -
Watkins Assorted Food Coloring, 1 Each Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Total Four .3 oz bottles -
Whaline 14Pcs Patriotic Party Decorations Set, 4th of July American Flag Party Supplies Hanging Paper Fans, Paper Flower Balls, Star Streamers, USA Flag Pennant Bunting Party Favors
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 287Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 171mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 2gSugar: 25gProtein: 2g
Nutritional values are estimates and not exact.