12 Microwave Butter Popcorn Brands, Ranked Worst To Best

With so many microwave popcorn options on store shelves, it's impossible to know which is really worth your dime. With talk of artificial ingredients in microwave popcorn potentially posing certain health risks, it makes the process of selecting high-quality yet good-tasting popcorn that much harder.

I haven't had microwave popcorn in years; I've since resorted to making my own fresh-popped corn on the stove, complete with even distribution of freshly melted butter to help seasonings on my homemade popcorn to stick. However, making popcorn in the air fryer, though controversial, is also of interest — but I digress. Anyway, I was interested to see how my newly reformed palate would respond to the taste of microwave popcorn and, of course, which microwave popcorn tastes best.

In this post, I'm not only seeking to discover the best microwave popcorn out there but also which one packs the most buttery flavor. There are so many brands that claim to burst with buttery goodness, but which brands actually back up those claims may surprise you. Join me as I take you on a rich and delicious journey through the 11 best and worst microwave butter popcorn options in stores.

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

Act II Butter Microwave Popcorn is one of those signature microwave butter popcorn options you see on store shelves. I found it for $3.99 for six 2.75-ounce bags at my local grocery store at the time of publication, and it comes with 25 calories per 1 cup of popped corn, 35 milligrams of sodium, 3 grams of carbohydrates, and 1 gram of fat. It contains a variety of ingredients, including salt, "natural flavor," annatto coloring, palm oil, and TBHQ.

I hadn't had Act II Butter Microwave Popcorn in years and wondered whether it was as tasty as I remembered. It wasn't. It was so bland and flavorless that I had to double-check the package to make sure I hadn't accidentally picked up the plain variety. I could barely detect salt, let alone butter. It also had a lot of hulls, all of which were large and annoying to deal with. One thing I did at least appreciate was the overall light and crispy crunch of the popcorn itself — I may even be able to find a way to repurpose some of the leftover stale popcorn from this brand for use in other recipes. Even so, Act II Butter Microwave Popcorn still receives low marks from me, mainly because its flavor is virtually nonexistent.

I was looking forward to trying AMC Theatres Perfectly Popcorn Extra Butter Movie Theatre Microwave Popcorn, but alas, here it sits at the bottom of my best microwave popcorn list. AMC Theatres Extra Butter Movie Theatre Microwave Popcorn goes for $5.89 at my local Pick 'n Save and comes with six 2.75-ounce bags. It has 40 calories, 3 grams of fat, 115 milligrams of sodium, and 3 grams of carbohydrates per 1 cup of popped corn. This microwave popcorn brand contains beta carotene for color, soybean oil, maltodextrin, palm oil, and modified food starch.

Unlike some of the other microwave popcorn options on this list, AMC Theatres Extra Butter Movie Theatre Microwave Popcorn provides patrons with pourable "butter" to enjoy over freshly popped kernels. Sadly, as it turns out, this pourable butter option isn't butter at all. Instead, it's a concoction of soybean oil and other additives designed to mimic butter flavor.

Overall, I was disappointed with this brand. AMC Theatres Extra Butter Movie Theatre Microwave Popcorn tastes nothing like popcorn at the movies. The "butter" itself is flavorless (it tastes like bland oil), and the kernels have a strange bitter aftertaste to them. I will say that the pourable oil provided does at least give the popcorn a nice silky texture that I didn't get to experience with the other brands, but because the flavor was bad, I couldn't bring myself to enjoy it.

I was looking forward to SkinnyPOP Butter Microwave popcorn but was let down by the brand this time around. SkinnyPOP Butter Microwave popcorn comes with six in a pack of 2.8-ounce bags for $5.49 on Amazon at the time of publication. This "skinny" brand doesn't sport nutritional stats that are much different from the others, given that there are still 30 calories, 4 carbs, and 45 milligrams of sodium in each cup popped. Having said that, the brand does at least cut the amount of fat in each cup, with only 1.5 grams of fat as opposed to the typical 2 to 4 grams. In addition, SkinnyPop contains only a handful of ingredients, with sunflower oil, palm oil, sea salt, lactic acid, and non-dairy butter flavoring being the only components mentioned on the label.

One of the first things I noticed about SkinnyPOP Butter Microwave popcorn is that it scorches easily. It was the only brand that burned in under two minutes. And though SkinnyPop popcorn is light in texture with a limited number of hulls, it is also weak in terms of flavor. I get that it's low fat and may not taste like all the others — I'm actually a bit of a purist when it comes to popcorn and prefer lighter flavors anyway. Even so, this popcorn tastes a little too plain — no excitement of butter, salt, or anything that would make me want to purchase this brand again.

I went into tasting Target's Market Pantry Extra Butter microwave popcorn already cautious, and indeed, my suspicions proved correct. Market Pantry Extra Butter is priced at $2.99 at my local Target and comes with six 2.9-ounce bags. Per 1 cup of popped corn, expect to find 40 calories, 2 grams of fat, 80 milligrams of sodium, and 4 grams of carbohydrates. It contains artificial flavoring along with palm oil, soy lecithin, and beta-carotene for color.

Going back to my suspicions, I was initially leery about Market Pantry Extra Butter microwave popcorn mainly because of the artificial flavoring used. Many of the microwave popcorn options I sampled did not contain artificial flavors, and since butter and salt are already flavorful enough, I generally consider artificial flavoring an unnecessary ingredient. I popped the corn and gave it a taste.

One thing I loved about Market Pantry Extra Butter is that the texture of the popped kernels was very light and airy, without the nuisance of large and clunky hulls throughout. Having said that, this brand of microwave popcorn definitely tastes like artificial butter, and not in a good way. There's no real depth of flavor or complexity to it — just simple, cheap popcorn, like what I used to enjoy as a kid. Is it gross? Not necessarily, but it definitely doesn't make the cut for being the best microwave popcorn out there.

Jolly Time Blast-O-Butter is marketed as "ultimate theater style butter," but once again, I wasn't impressed. The popcorn comes with six 3.2-ounce bags for $3.88 at Walmart at the time of publication. It contains 45 calories, 3 grams of fat, 95 milligrams of sodium, and 4 grams of carbohydrates in 1 cup of popped corn. The popcorn contains natural flavors, which include dried buttermilk, (real) butter, salt, rosemary extract, palm oil, and more.

It isn't that Jolly Time Blast-O-Butter is disgusting; I just think it's a pretty average grab. The texture is decent but isn't quite as crisp, light, and airy as some of the other brands. It had a decent balance of both salt and butter flavor. Still, despite being made of all-natural ingredients, the popcorn had a cheaper flavor to it that I can't quite put my finger on. Overall, Jolly Time Blast-O-Butter is an okay pick, but isn't something you'll find back in my grocery cart any time soon.

Kroger Movie Theater Butter Microwave Popcorn isn't the worst option out there — actually, it isn't half bad. I found this store-branded popcorn at my local Pick 'n Save priced at only $2.79 for six 3-ounce bags. Each cup of popped corn contains 40 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 85 milligrams of sodium, and 4 grams of carbohydrates. It has natural and artificial flavors, as well as soy lecithin and beta-carotene for color.

Though not the best butter-flavored popcorn out there, Kroger Movie Theater Butter Microwave Popcorn earns itself a couple of extra points with me just for tasting a bit better than some of the previous brands sporting artificial flavors. It had a decent balance of salt and butter, with more depth of flavor than the Market Pantry popcorn pick. And though there's no Flavocol in this one (it's the way to achieve irresistible movie theater butter popcorn at home, by the way), it still has a pretty good taste. As for the texture, it was okay — fairly light and crisp, but not anything amazing.

I typically really like Orville Redenbacher branded popcorn, but when it comes to Orville Redenbacher's Movie Theater Butter Microwave Popcorn, it's a bit of a miss for me. The popcorn comes with six 3.29-ounce bags for $4.99 at my local grocer. It has 30 calories, 2 grams of fat, 60 grams of sodium, and 3 grams of carbohydrates in each popped cup.

The popcorn wasn't full of hulls like some of the others, and the texture was crisp, which is nice. Still, one thing that irks me about Orville Redenbacher's Movie Theater Butter Microwave Popcorn Bag (and all the other brands that claim to have a "movie theater butter" taste) is that it doesn't seem to pack much buttery flavor at all. When I read the phrase "movie theater butter," I expect to actually be able to taste butter — and lots of it. I was especially excited since Orville at least uses real butter in its recipe. But once I took a bite, I was met with a mediocre flavor that was plenty salty but still didn't project the buttery flavor I expected. Overall, though not terrible, this Orville Redenbacher's Movie Theater Butter Microwave Popcorn Bag isn't the best microwave butter popcorn out there.

Things are getting a little better in the flavor department when it comes to Pop Secret Movie Theater Butter Flavor microwave popcorn, albeit only slightly. Expect to find this popcorn for around $4.49 at the time of publication for six 3.2-ounce bags. Each cup of popped corn contains 30 calories, 2 grams of fat, 65 milligrams of sodium, and 3 grams of carbohydrates. I have a deep appreciation for the ingredients here, as the brand opted to use non-GMO corn, and this is one of the few brands on this list that contain real butter (salt and cream) as an ingredient without the addition of artificial flavors.

Upon tasting Pop Secret Movie Theater Butter Flavor microwave popcorn, I was initially impressed. Out of the many options I had tasted up until that point, it was the only grab that packed potent flavor. As I continued munching away, however, I noticed that the "butter" used here doesn't exactly taste the way I think it should. It had more of a creamy, milky taste, similar to that of white cheddar. It wasn't horrible, but still not quite the flavor that I want from butter-flavored popcorn. Nevertheless, it's a decent grab, especially if you're tired of mundane and plain-tasting butter popcorn varieties.

I was tempted to put 365 Whole Foods Microwave Butter Flavor Popcorn as my No.1 pick — that's how much I enjoyed it. This popcorn can be found at Whole Foods Market, but I grabbed it off of Amazon for $6.49 at the time of publication. It contains six 3.5-ounce bags and has 35 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 35 grams of sodium, and 5 grams of carbohydrates per 1 cup of popped corn. This microwave popcorn contains organic popcorn, organic palm oil, salt, and organic natural flavors.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Whole Foods when it comes to buttered popcorn. After my experience with SkinnyPop, I figured these seemingly healthier picks wouldn't be that great. Come to find out, 365 Whole Foods Microwave Buttered Popcorn is one of the best of the bunch. What stands out is its freshness — the fact that this is the only popcorn of the lineup made with organic ingredients is apparent in the way that it tastes. The texture is unmatched; it is the lightest and crispiest popcorn I've had the pleasure of eating.

Nevertheless, because this is marketed as "butter flavor," I have to be honest and say I can barely detect any butter at all. Thus, despite being my favorite grab out of them all, I can't say with confidence that this is the best microwave popcorn as far as buttery flavor goes, and therefore, it won't be featured as my top butter-flavored microwave popcorn pick.

Great Value Extra Butter microwave popcorn surprised me, but I suppose it shouldn't. After sampling Great Value's delicious steak sauce during my blind taste test of steak sauces and getting a chance to savor its yummy hazelnut Nutella alternative in one of my earlier pieces, I have come to expect pretty great things coming from Walmart's store-brand. Great Value Extra Butter microwave popcorn can be found at Walmart for only $4.82 for 12 2.55-ounce bags. Per single cup popped, you'll find 30 calories, 2 grams of fat, 50 milligrams of sodium, and 3 grams of carbohydrates. Each kernel is packed with real butter and the brand chose not to include any artificial colors or flavors. Sweet!

What I love about Great Value Extra Butter microwave popcorn is that it is an all-around tasty buttered popcorn. There is a pleasant balance of both salt and savory butter, which I found to be missing with some of the other more popular brands. Not only does Great Value do flavor better than the others, but the brand manages to wow customers with flavor without the use of artificial ingredients — something I hold near and dear to my heart. The texture was great with the right crunch to accent its balanced flavor. And though I still prefer 365 Whole Food Microwave Butter Flavor Popcorn overall, Walmart's Great Value Extra Butter microwave popcorn is better in terms of delicious buttery flavor.

Kirkland Movie Theater Butter Popcorn is one of the few microwave popcorn options that get it right in terms of natural buttery flavor, landing it as my second pick for butter-flavored microwave popcorn. You can snag it in Costco stores, but I grabbed it off of Amazon in an 8-pack box of 3.3-ounce bags for $9.99. A single cup of popped corn has 35 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 65 milligrams of sodium, and 3 grams of carbohydrates, and the ingredients include palm oil, salt, natural flavors, rosemary extract, and real butter.

Kirkland Movie Theater Butter Popcorn has the best authentically flavored butter popcorn kernels out there, in my opinion. Even so, I'll be transparent and say that Kirkland's butter popcorn doesn't necessarily taste like movie theater popcorn — but none of the brands mentioned thus far have. What I can say is that Kirkland Movie Theater Butter Popcorn replicates the "real butter" flavor best (though subtle) when sampled against its competitors side-by-side. As far as texture goes, Kirkland's brand popcorn is decent; it isn't as light, airy, and fresh as the Whole Foods brand, but it isn't terrible.

Overall, Kirkland Movie Theater Butter Popcorn is one of the better microwave popcorn options in stores. If you hate artificial ingredients, this is the store-bought brand I'd recommend you snag.

Call me uninformed, but I had never heard of Cousin Willie's Buttery Explosion popcorn up until now. It's sold through a variety of retailers, including Amazon, where it is listed for $12.16 for six 17.4-ounce bags. For a single cup of popped corn, expect to get 35 calories, 2 grams of fat, 80 milligrams of sodium, and 4 grams of carbohydrates. The popcorn contains palm oil, soy lecithin, beta carotene, and — gasp — artificial butter flavor.

I know what you're thinking. Considering my biases against artificial flavor, how on earth did a brand containing such an ingredient make my No.1 pick? Honestly, it's because this popcorn is, hands down, the best at delivering delicious flavor with the perfect balance of both salt and rich butter. Popping Cousin Willie's Buttery Explosion popcorn is exactly what microwaved popcorn should be. The taste is intensely flavorful, with lots of potent butter and salt flavors to send my tastebuds dancing. The texture is also perfect — the kernels are light and fluffy and tender to the bite.

The only complaint I have about Cousin Willie's Buttery Explosion popcorn is that the kernels tend to burn more quickly than the other brands on this list. For my microwave, 1 minute and 30 seconds was perfect, though this may vary depending on your microwave. All in all, if you're looking for microwave popcorn that exudes buttery perfection, Cousin Willie's Buttery Explosion popcorn is the ultimate pick.

This list of best microwave butter popcorn was put together with careful analysis of several factors, including ingredients, popcorn texture, and, most importantly, how well each brand encapsulated rich and delicious buttery flavor. All microwave popcorn options were popped according to the package directions and allowed to cool to room temperature before tasting to make for consistent analysis between brands.

Some popcorn brands were sent as samples for the purpose of review by the parent company, however, this did not alter my opinion. As always, pricing and availability are subject to change.