Flavorful Spicy Nacho Popcorn

Lyndi Fultz

5 days ago

El Yucateco spicy popcorn in bags with football

Score a touchdown of flavor at your next football tailgating party with this flavorful spicy nacho popcorn. Extra points if you pack them in cute bags!

#Ad. This post is happily sponsored by El Yucateco, the #1 HABANERO hot sauce in the US. #ElYucateco, #KingofFlavor, #FlavorBlitz24

I love fall; it seriously is my favorite time of year. Is it yours? I love crisp, cool mornings, steaming hot coffee out on the deck, and the feeling that everyone is in a perfect mood—oh, and football game get-togethers and tailgating with friends and family. In honor of all things fall and football, I am sharing my deliciously flavorful spicy nacho popcorn recipe with a secret flavor bomb, El Yucateco Chile Habanero Hot Sauce.

Bring on the flavor!

It’s no secret that popcorn is a universally favorite snack. Therefore, I thought it would be super fun to mix everyone’s favorite snack with everyone’s favorite habanero hot sauce, El Yucateco, founded in Yucatan, Mexico, in 1968 by Mr. Priamo J. Gamboa O.

The El Yucateco Chile Habanero Hot Sauce is the US’s #1 habanero hot sauce. Did you know that? You’ve probably seen several of their 13 hot sauce flavors on the shelves at Walmart or your local grocery store. I often see them at restaurants, including Prelude Breakfast Bar in Fayetteville (which must have all 13 available, including six new sauces introduced last year).

You may wonder why I mentioned flavor and hot sauce in the same sentence. Isn’t “hot” sauce, well… hot? The short answer is: it depends.

While El Yucateco does indeed have a super-hot Ghost Habanero Hot Sauce, I enjoy the flavor of one of their mildest sauces, their Green Chile Habanero Hot Sauce. The Green Habanero Hot Sauce is made with “the freshest green habanero peppers, garlic, and fine spices blended into a fresh, flavorful sauce.”

Fresh.

Garlic.

Fine spices.

Not heat.

FLAVOR!

Put me in, Coach!

Bring on the tailgate party!

I don’t know about you, but I prefer fan food to football because tailgating food is the BEST! You’re surrounded by friends and family, meeting new people, cozy blankets, silly team outfits, and gloriously delicious foods!

Grilled dawgs.

Burgers.

Smoked meats.

Wings.

And you KNOW that someone will make that adorable cheese spread shaped like a football! If that’s you, wear that badge proudly.

The good news is that you can be that person who brings a flavorful spicy nacho popcorn snack in adorably cute football-themed bags.

My recipe is super easy. SCORE!

Here’s the game-play: Go to the store the night before the game and buy a bag of plain popcorn. Grab some nacho seasonings, a lime, Ghee, and a bottle of El Yucateco Green Chile Habanero Hot Sauce. (And have your cute little bags ready! A quick search online will get you dozens to choose from.)

Ready?

It’s GO TIME!

The focus is on LAYERING the FLAVOR.

You’ll microwave the Ghee and add the flavor of the Green Chile Habanero Hot Sauce with lime juice. Mix these three ingredients to incorporate before dousing the popcorn. I recommend Ghee instead of butter since the milkfat is removed (milkfat makes soggy popcorn).

Liquids make the dry nacho seasoning stick to the popcorn, so once you’ve mixed the liquid ingredients, pour it over the popcorn and stir. Lastly, add your nacho seasoning. That’s it.

Let the games begin!

One-and-a-half cups perfectly fill the little football-themed bags. Oh, one last thing: I recommend briefly letting the popcorn dry before putting it in the bags. You know, to keep the popcorn crisp!

Please scroll down to find my recipe and watch my recipe video. That may make it a little bit easier for you to make this flavorful spicy nacho popcorn the first time.

Enjoy the GAME! I bet you’ll be the MVP at the Tailgate Party.

Eat well, my friends.

Lyndi