Peanut butter popcorn in white bowls on white table with kitchen towel and wooden spoon

Jaime Bachtell-Shelbert/Mashed

Why stick to just butter on your popcorn when there are so many more flavorful options? Nutella and candies like M&M's are popular additions if you prefer a sweet-and-salty snack to eat while you watch your favorite movie. But as delicious as those toppings are, we're here to tell you that peanut butter might be your new must-have thing to pour on your next bowl of popcorn.

Take inspiration from our simple peanut butter popcorn recipe — but first, let's tell you why it works so well (and tastes so good). Peanut butter offers salty, sweet, and nutty flavors that meld quite perfectly with popcorn. It's also easy to step up the sweetness with ingredients like honey, as our original recipe suggests. If you want some other variations, we've got you covered: You can try leaning into the saltiness with flaked sea salt or crushed peanuts for texture. Use crunchy peanut butter if you want the crunch with less effort. And to make you feel a little less indulgent, you should remind yourself that peanut butter also introduces some protein into your snack.

Tips for adding peanut butter to your popcorn and other options for upgrading your snack

Peanut butter sauce on unflavored popcorn in white bowl atop white table with kitchen towel

Jaime Bachtell-Shelbert/Mashed

According to our recipe, the best way to add peanut butter to your popcorn is to make a sauce that's pourable and therefore easy to evenly coat the popcorn. The recipe combines peanut butter with honey and vanilla that's melted on the stovetop. If your go-to brand of popcorn doesn't contain added sugar, then you might want to add sugar to the sauce, too. Other optional ingredients to throw in are margarine or butter, brown sugar, or even marshmallows. When your sauce is ready to go, just toss the popcorn in it and press play for the movie. And well, if you don't like peanut butter, almond butter would work well as a substitute.

You can easily upgrade your preferred microwavable popcorn with peanut butter. Not partial to one brand and need some recs? Our ranking of microwave popcorn revealed Orville Redenbacher's Smart Pop! Butter and Pop Secret Movie Theater Butter are top-tier options. However, if popcorn alone doesn't do it for you, here are our best snack ideas for your movie night, and maybe chocolate covered popcorn is enough to sway you.