Trader Joe’s Movie Theater Popcorn

 

Trader Joe’s, the quirky grocery chain known for its eclectic selection and Hawaiian shirt-clad staff, has thrown its hat into the ring of bagged popcorn with their “Movie Theater Popcorn.” This snack, boasting a “mildly buttery” flavor, promises to bring the cinema experience to your couch. Let’s be real though, the only drama you’ll experience with this popcorn is the internal debate over whether it’s actually butter-flavored or just optimistically named. In a world where movie theater butter is an unapologetically bold flavor, Trader Joe’s offering is like the shy understudy that’s too nervous to take center stage. Let’s dive into a bowl of this popcorn and uncover the truth!

 

 

I was checking the end cap where they keep all the new products and spied this a mile away! (Not too hard with this packaging being bright red). I love popcorn, the kids love popcorn and so does my wife so what’s to lose? I am a popcorn nut. I have been since I was a little kid. I would eat huge bowls of it. It was one of the first things I learned to make myself, mainly for an after-school snack. I remember when Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn first hit the shelves and how it was so nice to have popcorn that all popped and hardly left any kernals at the bottom of the bowl that was unpopped. I turned my kids onto fresh popcorn as soon as they could eat solid foods. If Orville Redenbacher is a 9 or 10, Trader Joe’s Organic Popping Corn (the kind you pop yourself) is probably a 7 or 8. It’s just not as good or fresh. It doesn’t pop as fully as popcorn, but I digress…

 

After a shopping trip to Trader Joe’s I literally got home and tore open the bag because I needed a snack RIGHT NOW! And started shoveling hands full of this delicious popcorn down my throat! I think I ate half the bag before I stopped. It was that good. I don’t know how they keep it so fresh in the bag for so long, but all it needed was to be warmed up and put in a bucket and you’d be at the cinema!

I tried it on the kids when they got home from school and they both wolfed down a big bowl of it as their afternoon snack. Then my wife came home from yoga and she tore in the 2nd half of the bag and left about 20 kernels at the bottom of the bag for me to finish. She just kept raving about how good it was as she piled the popcorn into her mouth.

My thoughts on Trader Joe’s Movie Theater Popcorn

If you are looking for popcorn that is super buttery, this is not it. It has a nice mild buttery flavor and is lightly salted. Like the Olive Oil Popcorn, there is never an un-popped kernel at the bottom. Speaking of the Olive Oil Popcorn, it made our top 10 list of a while back mainly on my wife’s insistence that it be put on there. What could be better than corn popped in Olive Oil and sprinkled with sea salt??? Well, here it is, popcorn with butter! Just look at the ingredients, Popcorn, Oil, Butter and Sea Salt! Yum! The only downside it isn’t fresh from the popper like a movie theater, so we can’t be perfect here. 

The other nice thing is that you can dress this popcorn up with whatever sprinkles you have. One of our favorites is Everything but the bagel seasoning!

If you can I would sneak some into the theater and save yourself a ton of money at $1.99 a bag and compare that to the $10 a bucket at your local cineplex and it’s very tempting to try and stuff it in your jacket!

I am going to rate this Trader Joe’s Movie Theater Popcorn 9 Bells!