Air-Popped Chili-Lime Street Corn Popcorn
Air-popped whole-grain popcorn tossed with lime, chili, and nutritional yeast for a vegan elote-style snack.
Best for A light whole-grain snack that's low in fat and calories but big on flavor
This is Mexican elote turned into a bowl of crunch you can eat by the handful. Air-popping keeps it genuinely low in fat and calories, so the whole grain does the work while lime, ancho chili, and nutritional yeast carry all the tangy-savory street-corn flavor. It's the snack I reach for when I want something bright and salty that won't sit heavy between meals.
Ingredients
- 90 g Popcorn kernels , dry, whole grain
- 12 g Nutritional yeast
- 4 g Ancho or mild chili powder
- 2 g smoked paprika
- 3 g fine sea salt
- 2 Lime , zest of both, juice of half
- 1 g cayenne pepper , for extra heat (optional – can be omitted)
- 5 g fresh cilantro , finely chopped (optional – can be omitted)
Instructions
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1
Stir the nutritional yeast, chili powder, smoked paprika, salt, cayenne (if using), and the finely grated zest of both limes together in a small bowl. Rubbing the zest into the mix with your fingers releases its oils and keeps it from clumping.
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2
Air-pop the popcorn kernels in an air popper, working in batches if needed, into your largest mixing bowl. You should have roughly 8 cups of popcorn; discard any unpopped kernels from the bottom.
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3
While the popcorn is still warm, squeeze the juice of half a lime evenly over it and toss immediately so the surface is just barely damp, then sprinkle over the spice blend in two or three additions, tossing between each so every kernel gets coated. The faint moisture from the lime helps the seasoning cling without any oil.
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4
Scatter the chopped cilantro over the top, toss once more, and serve right away while crisp. Cut the remaining lime into wedges for squeezing at the table.