- We tried five popular brands of microwave popcorn to see which one tastes best.
- The brands we sampled were Orville Redenbacher's, Act II, Pop Secret, Jolly Time, and Newman's Own.
- We liked Orville Redenbacher's the best because of its smooth butter flavor, which was evenly distributed over the popcorn.
- Jolly Time tasted most closely like movie theater popcorn and came in second place.
- Act II came in third, Newman's Own came in fourth, and Pop Secret came in last.
There's nothing better than curling up on the couch with a bowl of buttery popcorn.
But before you can do that, you have to choose from the numerous brands sold at most grocery stores.
Fortunately, four of my co-workers and I did the research for you. As part of an ongoing INSIDER taste test series, we put five popular brands of microwave popcorn to the test to see which one will satisfy your snack cravings the most. In the past, we've sampled everything from pie crust to vanilla ice cream to cheap beer.
The brands we tried were:
- Orville Redenbacher's Movie Theater Butter
- Newman's Own Butter
- Act II Butter Lovers
- Jolly Time Blast O Butter
- Pop Secret Butter
We bought all five boxes of popcorn at grocery stores in New York City. For consistency's sake, we sampled each brand's butter flavor, and judged it based on two main criteria: taste and texture.
Keep scrolling to read our thoughts.
Although the microwave times differed depending on the brand, all five popcorns had the same basic instructions: place bag in microwave and heat until the popping slows.
We started with Newman's Own, a brand that's known for its "all natural ingredients."
We weren't surprised to see that this popcorn came out looking a lot less artificially yellow than some of the other brands.
It was immediately clear to us that this popcorn needed some added seasoning or spice. It was bland and dry, and we couldn't taste much butter or salt at all.
Although Newman's popcorn had a solid crunch to it in terms of texture, it was lacking in flavor. One of my co-workers made the point that this snack was salvageable, though. As long as you have something in your kitchen to spice it up — Sirracha, salt, everything bagel seasoning — it could still be tasty.
Price: $3.49
Act II was up next. A couple of my co-workers said they grew up on this brand and still buy it today.
We found Act II to be fairly standard. It wasn't drenched in salt or butter, but it wasn't without flavor, either. There wasn't really anything remarkable about its texture.
"Nobody would get excited about it, but nobody would be upset about it," one of my co-workers said when describing this popcorn.
This brand was by far the cheapest, at $2.59 for three bags.
Price: $2.59
Orville Redenbacher's popcorn came out looking quite bright and yellow.
My co-workers finished the bowl of Orville popcorn first, making it clear that this one was a favorite.
One of my co-workers described this popcorn's butter flavor as "smooth." Others commented on the fact that the flavor was evenly distributed.
Orville had just the right amount of butter; you could taste it, but the snack wasn't drowning in it. Our only — very small — complaint was that the popcorn could have been slightly crispier in terms of texture.
Price: $4.59
We weren't sure what to expect from Jolly Time. Its bright, exaggerated packaging made us wonder if the actual popcorn would live up to the branding.
We were happy to find that it did — that is if you love butter (which we do). Every kernel of this popcorn was lathered in it.
Despite its shockingly bright hue, Jolly Time didn't have an unappealing artificial taste. We did notice a little bit of an inconsistency in its texture, though — some pieces were crispy while others were soft.
One of my co-workers said this brand tasted the most like movie theater popcorn, and considering that the Jolly Time package says "movie theater style," we think they nailed it.
Price: $3.19
Last up was Pop Secret. After an initial taste, one of my co-workers described this popcorn as "forgettable."
As we continued tasting, we discovered a powdery, artificial flavor that coated our mouths and left a strange, lingering aftertaste.
"Something is definitely wrong with the butter. They 100% used margarine instead of butter," one of my co-workers said. In other words, we weren't at all impressed by Pop Secret, especially not after realizing it was the second most expensive brand out of the five we bought.
Price: $4.59
We liked Orville Redenbacher's popcorn the best. Its smooth butter flavor coated the popcorn evenly, and it had an ideal level of saltiness that left us coming back for more.
Jolly Time came in a close second, mostly because it's drenched in butter — something that we enjoyed, but that everyone might like.
Act II landed smack in the middle, as it was pretty average. Not bad, but not amazing either. Newman's took fourth place, because blandness can be fixed with some seasoning. On the other hand, not much can be done for the unappealing, artificial taste that we found in Pop Secret.
If you love movie theater popcorn, go for Jolly Time. But for something a little less butter-drenched, try Orville Redenbach's; you won't be disappointed.
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