This campfire popcorn in a can is the ultimate camping hack — simple, fun, and wildly impressive. Once you try it, you’ll pack popcorn forever!

This campfire popcorn in a can will seriously blow your mind. Who knew that it was this easy to make popcorn while camping?!

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We discovered this camping hack on the first night of our Berg Lake backpacking excursion last year. We had stopped at a local recreation site on the lake to set up camp before our trek and decided to try our hand at making popcorn in a can!

It’s just as easy to do as it sounds, but here are a few of our tips. The most important things are to have a fairly hot fire and to always be moving the can!

How to Make Campfire Popcorn in a Can

Ingredients

Popcorn kernels – The star of the show, these little kernels transform into fluffy campfire popcorn with just a bit of heat and shaking.
Oil – Helps the kernels heat evenly and pop instead of scorch.
Butter and salt (optional) – For that classic, irresistible popcorn flavor.

Instructions

1. You will need a fairly hot campfire in order to pop the corn kernels and not just burn them slowly.

Start by building a decent sized campfire. Check out our “How to Build a Campfire for Cooking” post for more tips and tricks!

2. Next, place about 1 Tbsp of popcorn kernels and 1 Tbsp of oil into an empty can. Hang the can from the end of a roasting stick.

3. Place the can over the hot fire and shake gently. Once you hear popping noises, shake continuously until it stops.

4. Carefully cut the can open. The edges will be sharp! Top with melted butter and salt and enjoy!

Tip: Be sure to shake the can ALL THE TIME so that the kernels do not burn and continue to pop as the can heats up.

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More tips for camp cooking:

Menu planning for camping is something that I always do to stay organized. Grab this free Camping Meal Planner Printable to get started on your next trip.
A Pie Iron Camp Cooker makes cooking over the open fire super easy. Check out these tips for using a pie iron for more inspiration!
Foil Pie Plates make tinfoil packet meals even easier with the sturdy base that they provide.

How brilliant is this camping hack you guys?! We now bring popcorn kernels on all of our camp outs.

We can’t wait to try to make campfire popcorn in all the things!

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